On Fear: What Is It? From a Standpoint of the Creators
By: Jazmine Martinez
@jazminemyleigh_
This article was originally published in October.
Whether it be the middle of July or October 31st, there is a quality of horror films that the American culture craves. There is usually at least one scary movie playing in theaters as they are being filtered in and out. Although, Chaffey College student Kate Palomino waits all year long to attend Halloween Horror Nights along with the thousands of people that are willing to wait in line for an hour to jump in fear.
As a community, we crave the adrenaline rushes, the feeling of a rollercoaster, and the drop of doom. However, very few actually question why this insidious nature is compelling. This mood is translated through the classic horror films from "The Shining," "The Conjuring," "Halloween," "Insidious," and "Scream" series.
Why do we encourage the things that we fear in a form of entertainment? We are drawn to the sounds of chainsaws walking into Horror Nights, the demonic nature of "Hereditary," and the psychological issues within Stephen King’s novel and movie, "It." They are the fears that keep us up at night, but we desire the intensity of watching a horror film. I interviewed students in the film department to get an intake within the industry itself.
Music video and short film producer, Luke Leidelmeyer worked as a social media producer of American sitcom Grown-ish. Creative director and film major Anthony Terry works locally in productions, also gaining physical experience in the industry. I asked them what generally makes horror so interesting from the perspective of the creators.
“Taking it slow and building up momentum is what makes a film scary,” Anthony said.
He explained that the production of whatever horror movie it is needs to have their own creative way of drawing the audience in with curiosity. Luke mentions the distinct feeling of watching a horror movie in which the characters do something that we see to be illogical, resulting the audience to scream at the TV in frustration. He says that:
“[…] in Hitchcock’s way of writing (director of "The Birds" and "Psycho"), he sets foreshadows and traps in which, ‘you know a bomb’s about to go off, but the characters don’t know it yet.”
As an audience, it is extremely nerve-wracking when the main character walks into the situation of being slaughtered or possessed. There is always a clear answer in how to avoid this situation, but the filmmakers want some type of way to get you up and screaming at the screen. It seamlessly creates an attachment to the movie without the audience trying to become attached.
It transpires from the general nature of the film down to each and every scene. Luke says:
“Within a scene there’s always different sequences and beats, [which are] the changes in the scene [where] different emotions and tactics are used from the character. Moment to moment there is always something changing.”
Like any other movie, people are drawn to those with a conflicting, yet intriguing, storyline and plot. The only difference is that horror film productions want to get the audience’s hearts pumping out of their chests and on the edge of their seats, as if they are in that situation themselves. These movies are based off of hypothetical situations (fiction or not) that elude to the audience contemplating an undesirable situation even after the movie has concluded. There are what-if’s within every dark crevice of the house and the silence of a room after watching something so gruesome.
The ideal reaction that filmmakers would hope to receive from their audience was explained by Anthony and Luke as:
“They were on the edge of their seat yelling, and now they’re on the floor crying.”
After a film of mentally insane characters, unfortunate situations, and the uncomfortable feeling through background noises, it builds tension to get the viewers through this story with blood pumping through every scene. After, the production has nothing else to leave you with except for the agonizing thought of this situation actually occurring.
"You can’t forget something like that. This is how a person grows and they learn to cope with it,” said Nicko Mohtashem, another student within the film department.
Coming from actor and student Angel Roa, he states that his experience acting within haunted mazes as well as theatric plays, within playing a role in the maze as a patient in the insane asylum:
“I was talking to myself and saying a bunch of things […] Being in that role you need to think of all the [trauma] they’ve been through and all the twitches. You have to think in the mind of them and pull yourself back from who you are.”
Angel found himself having the same twitches and quirks that his character had even months after acting in the maze. However, he doesn’t discount the fun and adrenaline-rushing experience he has from the maze.
The minor technicalities within the creation of horror films, whether it be today's movies or from years ago, have transcended our culture. The rising question of 'what is it that makes horror films so attractive' seems to be ironic, yet, so relevant for it being close to our attention spans and wakening to our adrenaline.