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What makes horror to horror

Horror. What do you mean by this? Or better say: What makes a horror scene to a horror scene? I don’t talk about the disgust scene á la SAW. Or the low/no-budget scene. I’m talking about the classic one. But are you frightened when I show you two shadows and one use an axe to—er…well—destroy the other head? What need a scene to become a horror scene?
 
I think 'classic horror' is about fear. (While gore and splatter seem indeed more geared towards disgust and 'humor'.)
Sometimes it is the unknown that instills fear. Sometimes the viewer knows what to fear, while the main characters do not (yet).
And sometimes both viewers and characters know what to fear but they don't know how to survive it.
 
You seem to be in search of very simple answers when the topics you raise are extremely complex.

Watch some classic, well-made horror films. What do you notice in any given scene that instills fear? Is what you see? What you don't see? Is it the dialog? The sound design? The lighting?

Hint: it's all of these things, in varying degrees suited to individual films and to specific scenes within each film.
 
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Hint: it's all of these things, in varying degrees suited to individual films and to specific scenes within each film.

Well said. It is the synergy of elements. Just like a great apple pie is great because all ingredients are great and in balance. Give 2 people the same ingredients and one can make a great one while the other might fail.
 
The true definition of horror is a feeling of revulsion, disgust, and dread.

I've only really felt genuine horror from 2 movies. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and A Serbian film. Neither film would likely be found in the horror section.

Most movies are terror through suspension of disbelief, or creepiness through being creepy, or movies designed to instill fear. "Scary Movies" is a more accurate moniker. Many horror films are merely macabre.

The most horrible thing I ever saw was Muammar Gaddafi get beaten to death on CNN. I didn't like the guy, but it was horrible to watch. It was more like a zombie movie than a zombie movie. There was an utter absence of humanity. I didn't want to see it, but TV has the ability to shock and surprise.

There was a really good interview with Christopher Lee where he outlines how horror movies are not actually horror movies. I can't find it, but it was an excellent interview.

While I was searching for the Christopher Lee interview I found this:

"J. A. Cuddon has defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing".[1] It creates an eerie and frightening atmosphere. Horror is frequently supernatural, though it can be non-supernatural. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for the larger fears of a society."
 
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Ooh that gives me an idea. Most horror movies are dark and dreary...what if we go the other way?


Yeah, it was someone from the old-school Marilyn Manson line-up that said something to the effect of "making scary music is easy, but taking a sample from H.R. Pufnstuf and making that a goth tune... that's what you want to do". Not an exact quote, obviously.

I gotta find that Christopher Lee interview you mentioned earlier. And for the record, "A Serbian Film" is one of my favorite films... as weird as that is to say. I'm a big horror guy, and that movie (the director's cut) was truly revolting.
 
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