This is a weird question maybe but why do you enjoy watching horror? It’s a question I often have whenever I watch something really fucked up. We humans like to watch movies that are messed up and sometimes makes us not being able to sleep. It’s a very long time since a movie effected me to that point.
So what’s the reason you enjoy horror? Is it because you like being scared? For me one of the main reason I like horror is that I get so focused on the movie that I can get a pause from life. I’ve been struggling with depression all my life and horror gets me to focus on the movie at hand instead of my thoughts, or at least that’s how it is at my worst times. So maybe horror also have become a guilty pleasure for me because of this.
Note that I don’t enjoy horror just because of my depression. Horror is my favorite genre, but it’s something that has that effect on me and that helps.
These days there is more to hate than like.
I miss the old crazy prop horror days where you couldn’t watch mimic in theatres without an ID because they kill a child in frame. That silly smile in the image you chose shows up a lot in recent movies but I’ve never been frightened by somebody giving me a stupid look like they just reverted in mental age, just want to slap it off them.
I guess if there is one praiseworthy thing, it’s that the stories are at least original. No other genre explores new and exciting concepts like Horror.
I would say that this year have been an example that horror movies can really be great. We’ve had some really great horror movies this year and I think we will see more great horror going forward.
When it comes to the image I choose for this post, it was just because it was a fun image in general. I remember watching it in theaters and being annoyed that there was a jumpscare every 5 minutes… I think it’s creepy the whole smile thing but at the same time I do agree with you that it alone is not scary.