The Horror Genre Exposed
The horror genre has increasingly captivated its audiences with its ability to cause fear and fascination. From serial killer flicks to vampire films to zombie movies, people view disturbing depictions of human disease, mutilation, and death as a form of entertainment and excitement. Beneath this attraction lies a troubling reality: horror is fundamentally harmful because it reduces human suffering to a spectacle and distorts the empathy of its audience. Horror makes a spectacle of human suffering by stylizing death for the entertainment of its audience. Violence and bodily harm is used to evoke intense physical shock and disgust, and many horror movies involve scenes of dismemberment, evisceration, and decapitation. Producers use these various forms of torture or death to draw in their audience. The result is a soul-sickening meditation on that which is dark and wicked. By contrast, Philippians 4:8 commands us to think on things that are “true, lovely, commendable, ...