Some of the scariest movies I've seen, like Schindler's List or No Country For Old Men would technically be "not horror movies" However, many "horror" movies are often not scary at all, sometimes even funny.
One of the most haunting films I’ve ever seen is 2013’s Prisoners from Villeneuve. It may not be a horror film, but the subject matter it deals is so heartbreaking and could happen in real life (which scares me) to the point where it becomes a tense film to watch. Paul Dano’s performance is also incredibly creepy and unsettling.
Jaws, while it has some gnarly scenes, I would call more of an adventure -thriller. The terminator is 100% horror. The only reason people don't see it that way is because he uses guns instead of a knife or a chainsaw. It has a really dark atmosphere, scary villain, it's unbearably intense... the police station scene, the self healing scene, the final chase in the factory, Matt and Ginger's. It is horror and one of the best there is.
I’d personally say jaws is a horror film where Jurassic park isn’t because the central narrative isn’t built around the fear of the dinosaurs like it is for jaws. There are awe inspiring moments of the dinosaurs, there are action scenes and set pieces, and philosophical debates. And then inter spliced are thrilling and edge of your seat scenes with the velociraptors but it’s never building the overarching sense of dread and terror that needs to be present for a horror movie at least for me but this is just one man’s opinion and if it sounds like I’m not trying to gatekeep just throwing in my two cents. Jurassic park 2 did traumatize me as a child so maybe that film I would personally consider to be a horror film just due to the overall darker tone, more graphic deaths, and sense of dread.
I really don’t understand why there’s so much horror gatekeeping on the internet. If you consider movies like Aliens or Seven to be horror, that’s perfectly fine. I consider 1984’s The Terminator to be a horror movie because it has a killer who will stop at nothing to make his victims suffer. However, I don’t really think of 1987’s Predator to be a horror movie because I think the action and sci-fi elements are a bit more prevalent than the horror. But I wouldn’t argue with anyone who thinks of Predator as a horror film. Horror has a thousand different ways to go about its execution, so why get annoyed with the definition of horror for others?
It’s pretty subjective when it comes to this topic. In my book, I wouldn’t consider Frailty as a horror film. But others considered as horror which I think it’s fine.
It’s because most horror movies are looked at is not so good which honestly is true. What most horror movies lack is substance,character development. They fill that with a bunch of jump scares and horror imagery. Thats why jaws and silence aren’t looked at as horror because they do what a lot of people make fun of the horror genre for not doing and that again is character development, building suspense and tension and also overall great acting.
That's one thing that annoys me about horror movies, just watching a guy with a knofe goong after people for me is not scary, I need substance, something that messes with my mind, but the moment they start expending the lore and doing anything that isn't jumpscares and things like that, people jump on it and say it's not true horror. I honestly have felt more anxious and scared during theiller films like Knowing than I dod during Halloween, Insideous, or any of the others I watched, because yes, I know film os supposed to be show don't tell, but if it's nothing but technique, there is nothing to say to me, "oh my goodness, what I f this could be real?" I need to feel the twistedness of the reality that fuels the horror than to just witness the results to really feel pulled into the fear of the experience.
If it horrifies me, or if it is meant to horrify me, I call it a horror movie. The difference between horror and thriller is right in the name, but the terms are subjective and have a lot of overlap. The only thing that irritates me is people who only seem to recognize horror when it has a billion jump scares. Maybe because I usually like subtile horror a lot more.
I think what'd I'd consider a horror film is if I would use that term to describe a film? Like, if I were to describe Jaws or The Thing I'd say action than horror. "Jaws is this horror film where a shark is terrorizing this beach", it's completely misleading what the film is actually like. Is coraline a horror? It's not considered one but I'd definitely consider it one.
That’s so funny, because I always say that I’m “not a horror guy but a big thriller guy.” Silence of the Lambs is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I call it a thriller
I disagree, it's horror if something inside you says it could be real, no matter how outlandish it may be. Do you believe in ghosts, maybe not, but does that place inside you that won't let you sleep at night believe? Then it's horror.
By today's standards Psycho is probably more "Thriller" or "Suspense" than horror, but it has left much more lasting chilling mark on me than something like Alien or The Thing, and I think of it often. Has made trips to the dark basement of my apartment complex a totally new experience...
