There's so many things to be scared of so

Horror is the most malleable film experience. If it's bad, you and your friends can dunk on it for fun. If it's good, then it's a third date movie. Being scared alone is vulnerable, being scared together makes you feel like you're part of something.

16:41 "The Old World is dying, and the New World is struggling to be born. Now is the time of Monsters."

Most modern movies have no stakes. The main characters joke the whole time they are in danger, they never get seriously hurt, and I they don’t face any challenges. It’s annoying. Horror is one of the last genres to maintain stakes and have characters that have realistic responses to stress. It feels more real and it makes me care about what happens next.

Horror as a genre is the Final Girl. Who woulda thunk?

Horror is such a unique genre because it's probably the only one where the real star is the genre itself. You don't need an A-list actor or a filmmaker on the level of Christopher Nolan to sell a horror movie. If the premise is creepy enough, the execution delivers, and word of mouth is strong, audiences will show up. And sometimes, the movie doesn't even have to be that good, it just has to be part of a recognizable franchise. The first Annabelle, despite its mixed-to-negative reception, still rode the momentum of The Conjuring and became a box office success. Several later entries in long-running horror franchises have benefited from that same effect.

Sure, other genres like musicals, action, and superhero movies have loyal fanbases too, but they usually rely much more heavily on recognizable stars, acclaimed directors, or established IP. Horror is one of the few genres where a compelling trailer, a great hook, and strong word of mouth can be enough to turn an original film or an adaptation into a hit. More often than not, audiences show up because it's a horror movie first and foremost.

We live in a world where pretty much everything we're told is a lie and unspeakable nightmares occur around every corner.

Horror films are a safe way of confronting the terrifying nature of our own reality and achieving some kind of catharsis in the process.

One of the biggest strengths of horror as a genre is that it forces filmmakers to be creative with their limitations. Whether they're making a large-scale supernatural epic or a small, claustrophobic story set in a single location, great horror often comes from atmosphere, tension, and imagination rather than sheer budget. Sometimes, what you don't show is even scarier than what you do. If I'm being honest, if I ever become a filmmaker, I just can't see myself making a horror movie. It's a genre I deeply admire, but I don't think it's within my capabilities. Crafting genuine fear, sustaining tension, and knowing exactly what to reveal or keep hidden is an incredibly difficult skill that I have so much respect for when it's done properly

Horror films are great at triggering empathy when done right. It's a genre that can make you feel human more than others.

Its funny to think of horror as the most creative genre since it is also the most cannibalistic. No other genre, not even superhero movies, has as many sequels as horror.

Reminds me of that Gramsci quote. “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.”

Great analysis. Another thing to note: no other genre (except erotic films) generates as much dopamine as horror. It creates fear, then relieves it, and our brain registers that relief as a reward. So it becomes a sort of addiction, where you get constant doses throughout a film and want to go back for the next one. This works at any age too, even as kids we're drawn to scary stories, which is probably why creepy fairy tales and campfire stories have stuck around for centuries.

Not going to be saying "Have you seen the new A24?" all that much longer. Crazy how much they're shooting themselves in the foot.

Horror can fluently contain all other genres in a way others can't.
- It's a Drama, just with stakes dialed up to a deliciously evil degree
- A good scare is setup, subversion, punchline like good Comedy
- Usually you'll see some great rigging, stunts or chases like an Action film (Weapons finale, anyone?)

- The supernatural force invokes various fun degrees of Fantasy (One Wish Willow)
- Romance something something Obsession something Ready or Not something

I think one of the reasons comedians like Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger (yes, for those who don't know, Cregger actually comes from a comedy background) have been so successful making horror films is that comedy and horror are built on many of the same fundamentals. Both rely heavily on pacing, timing, and, most importantly, subverting audience expectations. A joke lands because it catches you off guard. A scare works for the exact same reason. It's no coincidence that so many great horror filmmakers started out making people laugh.

Horror saves Hollywood every few years. Still doesn't have a category with the Academy though.

The reason horror films work at the cinema is that your invested to sit through the film no matter how uncomfortable it gets. At home it's too easy to turn off or distract yourself with something and that basically ruins the tension.

17:32 the timing of a sponsored ad after talking about how hollow everything feels now was diabolical

Really hoping Clayface turns out to be great and finds an audience. Not only does it sound like one of the more interesting DC projects in years, but it also wasn't a movie the studio was actively looking to make. Mike Flanagan approached DC on his own with a Clayface script simply because he loves the character so much, which makes the project feel far more filmmaker-driven than studio-mandated. Leaning into horror is also a smart move, and releasing it during the Halloween season couldn't be better timing to capitalize on the genre's biggest time of the year.

I think another thing horror has it that it can appeal to both people that just want to watch a movie without thinking too much about it and at the same time to people that want to see every detail