How do you define Horror?

When I am discussing my favorite movies, collecting passions, etc. with other people, I usually make a blanket statement like, "I love horror movies", or "I collect monster and horror stuff". That is for their benefit and understanding, but what I really mean is that I like the horror, sci-fi and fantasy genres all together, and in my mind usually clump them together as one thing.

So, in defining my collection, especially in regards to Sideshow pieces, I have made the statement that my primary interest will be Universal/Classic monsters, Modern Horror and LOTR, and began selling off Star Wars, Marvel and sundry pieces. But you see the dilemma here right? Couldn't you define almost every Sideshow license as either being horror, sci-fi or fantasy?

Marvel superheroes... sci-fi/fantasy?
X-Files... sci-fi/horror/fantasy (sometimes all three at once!)
Darkness... fantasy/horror
Star Wars... sci-fi/fantasy
Hellboy... horror/fantasy
Jaws... horror
Bond... hmmm??? this might be one of very few that doesn't really fit any of the three genres

Anyway, you get the idea. So, how does one go about trimming a collection to just "horror" (which includes sci-fi/fantasy) when just about everything falls into this genre???

And for those of you who have read this far... this is just a rhetorical question for discussion, as I know the answer is up to each individual to decide for themselves, so I'm not looking for advice on what I personally should keep or sell, but more of how do you decide the answer...

For me, sci-fi, fantasy and horror are three separate and distinct genres. I define horror as scary, gory, supernatural, monster/creature or zombie-oriented or animals gone wild. Sci-fi for the most part is generally anything space-oriented, futuristic, or topics having to do with technology, vehicles, etc. Fantasy is generally movies dealing with myth and magic, or have some apocalyptic feel to them. There are many cases where movies do overlap, but for the most part each film gets lumped into one of those three categories.

Star Wars, for example, is sci-fi.
Army of Darkness, Darkness, LOTR is fantasy.
Universal monsters/New line and Jaws is horror.
Marvel/Hellboy are none of the three. They are comic-based and are in a category all their own.
I would make Predator sci-fi, but I'd put Aliens under horror. I'd say Terminator would be sci-fi.

That's just how I'd categorize them.

I think the key element in defining horror is there has to be something fantastic or other-worldly about the story. Otherwise you just have a court drama.

Oh yeah. Fear has to be a key element...


Oh and lots of blood and severed body parts.

and sometimes boobies...

I like the horror films with (black) humour, not the the ones ala "Hannibal"
You must have the feeling that the story takes place in a surrealistic world (but not too distand)

"The Ninth Gate" is one of my favourites and there is not much blood in it.

And I am always with the bad guy ;-)

choopie said:

...I would make Predator sci-fi, but I'd put Aliens under horror...

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Yeah, the original Alien was meant to scare the bejesus out of you, so I definitely classify it has a "horror" movie with a sci-fi theme. For me, Predator is a bit trickier... it was meant as an action movie vehicle for Arnold, so really it could good either way.

Classic horror and modern horror.

None of these are horror IMO:

Marvel superheroes
X-Files
Darkness
Star Wars
Hellboy
Jawsr
Bond.

I see what you mean Lonnie, lots of franchises out there are made up of multi genres and can't really be defined as one thing.

I think the worst is Buffy, it's horror, comedy, fantasy, drama and mystery all rolled into one big show

I guess for me the definition of horror would be the classic monster films like the Universal monsters or the more modern monsters like Freddy Kruger and Jason Vorhees.

I think some serial killer movies have been called horrors when to me they feel more like thrillers, like Silence Of The Lambs.

Great film but I consider it more thriller than horror.

I'm too desensitized to enjoy any slasher/zombie crap anymore. I do enjoy a good psychological thriller every now and then, but once you already know the plot, it's no longer watchable.

Nightwatch and Enemy of the State for instance, are good examples of what I mean.

With regard to films for me Horror is when I get the goosebumps running down my spine even though I know it's not real. To be able to believe that it could happen and be drawn into the story makes a good Horror flick.

Horror tends to deal with fear in one way or another. Does that mean that the films have to be scary? No, but the characters in them should be. That is not to say that a film about a car crash is horror because the characters fear the crash.

The fear should come from something out of the ordinary. Monsters, Zombies, Serial Killers, Witches, Animals gone wild, Demons, Ghosts etc.....

Now some other films do play with both genres but they can still be placed in one of the categories.

JAWS has it all, action, adventure, comedy, and Drama. But at it's core it is a horror film. It's about being eaten alive. Probably our greatest primal fear. Along with The Exorcist, no film has scared as many people as this film has.

Alien is pure horror. While Aliens is Sci Fi IMO. Yes it deals with horror elements but it is more action oriented. Yes the characters were scared but the focus was on the action and not the horror.

Silence of the Lambs is a big budget slasher film. So is Se7en. Thus both are horror films.

The Underworld films, while they deal with monsters, are pure fantasy for me.

Again I think it comes down to the fear factor from some outside force.\. Not always for the audience but for the characters in the film.

Great topic, people try to make the difference between horror, sci-fi and fantasy all of the time. I believe if it scares you then to you it is horror, but may be a part of another genre like Aliens.

Alien is a horror movie, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection are Action/Sci-Fi movies.

The Terminator is a horror/sci-fi movie, Terminator 2 is an action/sci-fi film. Terminator 3 is not worth mentioning.

Army of Darkness is techinically a horror/comedy movie as the third film in the Evil Dead series which are all horror/comedy films. To be even more accurate Army of Darkness is really a monster movie in the same vein as the old Ray Harryhausen movies of the 50's, 60's and 70's. Think Jason and the Argonauts or 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en are cop dramas/murder mystery movies. They are not horror movies though they do have a psycho like a horror movie, but the emphasis is on the cops trying to find them. To consider these horror movies would be to consider Dirty Harry or Zodiac horror movies which they most certainly are not. For these to be horror movies then they would have to be more concentrated on the killer, think Halloween or Psycho.

Bond created a genre all his own when Dr. No came out in 1962, the Spy Thriller/Action film. Bond does dive into the Sci-Fi catagory every now and then, Moonraker for example. Most of the Pierce Brosnan Bond films were straight Action films whereas Casino Royale was more of Spy Thriller.

piccolodaimaoh said:

The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en are cop dramas/murder mystery movies. They are not horror movies though they do have a psycho like a horror movie, but the emphasis is on the cops trying to find them. To consider these horror movies would be to consider Dirty Harry or Zodiac horror movies which they most certainly are not. For these to be horror movies then they would have to be more concentrated on the killer, think Halloween or Psycho.

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IMO since both Se7en and Silence focus on fear they are horror films. Dirty Harry and Silence have nothing in common "feel" wise. Zodiac, while it had some scarry moments, it became a who done it type mystery.

I can see an argument against Se7en even though I feel the overall tone of the film is that of horror. Compare Zodiac and Se7en. Same director but both films have a completely different feel.

But Silence is a Horror film all the way. I mean we have skinnings, victims displayed as art, the pealing and wearing of other people's faces, heads in bottles, Dark and dank pits with with finger nails imbedded in the walls from people trying to escape, the escape of a serial killer, corpses decaying in a tub in a basement, a climax that takes place in the dark were only the killer can see, and one of the serial killers wins in the end.

piccolodaimaoh said:

The Terminator is a horror/sci-fi movie, Terminator 2 is an action/sci-fi film. Terminator 3 is not worth mentioning.

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Hmmm I never thought of Terminator as a horror film. Always been Sci Fi all the way for me. Focus is way too much on action IMO to be a horror film. But an argument could be made.

I never understand the hate for T3. It's not as good as the other two but it's a solid action film IMO.

How do I define horror?

A thread of nothing but dekandantdave and ironman1188 posts...

Horror to me is anything that brings out any kind of fear.

JAWS said:

But Silence is a Horror film all the way. I mean we have skinnings, victims displayed as art, the pealing and wearing of other people's faces, heads in bottles, Dark and dank pits with with finger nails imbedded in the walls from people trying to escape, the escape of a serial killer, corpses decaying in a tub in a basement, a climax that takes place in the dark were only the killer can see, and one of the serial killers wins in the end.

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Just never thought Silence of the Lambs was all that scary. As Fry would say, "Maybe I am just too macho."
Silence has gore no doubt but gore does not equal horror. Robocop had some shocking, gory moments. What makes it so great is the mind games between Lecter and Starling, the detective work done to find the killer, the shocking set of events perpetrated by Buffalo Bill.
I compare it to Dirty Harry because there are undeniable similarities between Buffalo Bill and Scorpio. Silence was great, don't get me wrong, just not horror in my book. For me, a horror movie has to be scary, if Silence was scary it would be the greatest horror movie of all-time.
Scariest movie of all-time is Halloween in my book.
But then again it is all subjective, if Silence scared you then yes it is a horror movie. That is the great thing about this topic, everyone experiences horror in a different way.

JAWS said:

Hmmm I never thought of Terminator as a horror film. Always been Sci Fi all the way for me. Focus is way too much on action IMO to be a horror film. But an argument could be made.

I never understand the hate for T3. It's not as good as the other two but it's a solid action film IMO.

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Terminator 3 = Sci-Fi Original Movie.
'Nuff said.

By the way, I heard mention earlier that JAWS is a horror movie and I would argue that JAWS is so much more than just a horror movie. JAWS is the original summer blockbuster, it is well written, well acted, well directed. Just class all around. JAWS created a whole new fear of swimming the summer it came out.
It is scary at times like when they are on the boat and JAWS passes by while Roy Schneider is throwing chum in the water or when JAWS attacks Richard Dreyfus while he is in the cage underwater.

Sorry for the tangent, just had to bring up my love for this film while looking at JAWS' avatar.

Horror is closing the bathroom mirror and seeing the reflection of someone standing behind you.

JAWS said:

I never understand the hate for T3. It's not as good as the other two but it's a solid action film IMO.

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T2 is a better action film (or it was for its day, it's dated now), but T3 is a much better sci-fi film. The hatred comes fans of T2 who have so much affection for the 1991 movie that they see T3 as sacraligious instead of what it is: a fine sci-fi movie -- IMHO.

piccolodaimaoh said:

By the way, I heard mention earlier that JAWS is a horror movie and I would argue that JAWS is so much more than just a horror movie. JAWS is the original summer blockbuster, it is well written, well acted, well directed. Just class all around. JAWS created a whole new fear of swimming the summer it came out.
It is scary at times like when they are on the boat and JAWS passes by while Roy Schneider is throwing chum in the water or when JAWS attacks Richard Dreyfus while he is in the cage underwater.

Sorry for the tangent, just had to bring up my love for this film while looking at JAWS' avatar.

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Yeah JAWS is more then just a horror film. It is the greatest film ever made! It's perfect. Perfect characters, direction, pace, humour, action, adventure, thrills,chills, script, and music.