There’s nothing better than curling up with your SO or an esteemed family member to watch creepy horror movies. It gives you a healthy dose of adrenaline, an excuse to hug and cuddle your partner, and it serves as a great tool to learn how to navigate all kinds of sticky situations (if you pay attention to the plethora of errors the victims of said films commit, that is; you will hopefully learn from them). There’s literally no downsides, they can serve as an outlet for anxiety, stress, pent-up tension, and ultimately as a reminder that even though evil exists, the good always outweighs the negative. The movie The Conjuring, for example, teaches us that a strong family unit can tear down any shred of malevolent intents. Halloween, on the other hand, showcases how ghosts from the past can keep haunting us until we finally face them head-on. In addition to this, the naïve trust that Georgie gives the creature in the movie It is another central mistake that these flicks show on a consistent basis, in hopes of teaching us younglings (for the last time) that we shouldn’t trust any strangers.
Lorraine and Ed Warren from the movie The Conjuring.
Image retrieved from El Periodico USA.
Georgie talking with the murderous clown from It.
Image retrieved from Warner Bros.
Serial killer Michael Myers from Halloween (2018).
Image retrieved from Universal.
These terrifying fantasies take us on a trip to strengthen our values and make us doubt our own conscience. We can either side with the victims and the heroes, or take a deep look inside a killer’s mind and past, learning about what went wrong in their own childhood or life experiences to create the monster that they have become. There’s plenty of psychological trauma to dissect in these movies. Just like Jason from Friday The 13th, he was mistreated when he was a child for his disfigured face and drowned in Crystal Lake by his bullies. Only his mother tried to avenge his death (admittedly the wrong way) just to be beheaded in front of Jason by one of the camp’s counselors. He turns into a monster, but you could partially understand where he’s coming from. Furthermore, sometimes these same monsters can make us reflect on the state of humanity and our proclivity to act as if we’re the judges of the world; and you know what this all means right? That the naysayers can’t tell us horror geeks that we don’t have any positive role models. Plus, it was also discovered that having a first date while watching a horror movie ensures (in most cases) a second date, since you’ll both share a strong emotional experience; which probably means that we’re all a bunch of casanovas. There’s nothing better than to spike your feel-good hormones levels screaming at the television with your buddies. So go forth and dust off your collection of Tales from the Crypt and get comfortable under a blanket! It’s officially time to make hilarious memories (have you ever played a scary prank during a movie? I highly recommend it), and munch on some popcorn alongside that special someone. It’s the most scary and fun time of the year!