Here are a few more subtle and not-so-subtle attacks on the horror genre. These posts first appeared on Quora.
Is it true that the more you watch thriller horror movies, the more will you think bad about life?
Not at all. There is no evidence to support this idea at all. In fact, horror films can be therapeutic.
I’m one of the most optimistic people you will ever meet. I have also seen over a thousand horror films. I have overcome PTSD (it has been in remission for ten years* now) and horror films have helped me through it.
It’s almost as if it depends on the individual.
Some people can’t handle the news without it influencing how a person feels about the world and life. Some people feel the world is crap after watching romance. Personally I’d rather watch Haute Tension for nine hours straight than watch one minute of The Notebook.
And I’m not knocking people who feel the opposite. Everyone has their own jam.
To each their own. Chacun à son goût as my mother always said.
Are there any horror movies that teach you good morals?
Most horror movies are cautionary tales, actually. They demonstrate what will happen if you do foolish or irresponsible things. Killers represent swift punishment for so-called immoral or otherwise reckless behavior.
Think of it as the “sin factor,” as they say in the movie Scream. Drinking, getting high, lying to your parents, not being a responsible babysitter, splitting up the group to search for strange noises? All punishable by death. Only the final girl would survive by virtue of her virtue and wits.
These concepts are nothing new. Fairy tales told hundreds of years ago often forewarned children of the dangers of wandering into the woods alone. But unlike the Bowdlerized versions of these stories, there were no happy endings and the final girl or child would often die for their ignorance.
*The total amount of time I’ve been in remission is 15 years. The first five years are the proving grounds where full remission awaits. Over the past ten years, I’ve been symptom free. Recently I have considered my remission to be the full total of 15 years after processing what it means to me.