"Fear, you see, is an emotion people like to feel when they know they're safe"
---Alfred Hitchcock
I think what this quote says is so true. Fear isn't something welcomed when one's safety is compromised. However, when one is safe, fear is an exhilarating emotion that gives a brilliant adrenalin rush. This is why we see the existence of roller coasters - the thought of death feels imminent, yet you are safely tucked away under belts and steel bars.
And of course, this is why horror films and novels are such a success. Murder, pain, terror, these are subjects strange to talk about, yet are tantalizing to view on the big screen. I don't know why people are like this. Why do we find these subjects so interesting?
Maybe because we have this urge to know what hasn't been told to us. What's under the sheet? Behind the curtain? In the crate? In fact, I think it was Hitchcock who said something like there is nothing more frightening than an unopened door.
This, my dear readers, is where horror films have changed. In Hitchcock's day, horror was exhibited with mystery. We weren't told in The Birds, for example, why they attacked people or what happened to the small town of Bodega Bay. The thought that the birds may still be on their rampage is much more frightening than the truth that was so cleverly left out.
Today, horror is shown by the display of pure terror or gruesome images. In the film Panic Room, we know exactly what's happening within the rest of the house. We know where the robbers are and what they plan to do, and this creates horror by the terrible thought of being trapped in your own home, with no way of calling for help.
Horror films, for me, and I think everyone, are a guilty pleasure. Like a thick, dark slice of chocolate cake, we know it's not good for us, but it's oh so good.
~~~Savannah
