Trigger Warning: mention of mental health, mental illness and suicide.
The weather is finally chilly enough (at least for this week) to wear a sweater outside. Halloween is quickly approaching. The excitement of fall and the anticipation of Halloween means that it’s time for (at least) a month of scary movies. It’s the season to host a scary movie night marathon with the girls and some popcorn. It’s the season to make a blanket cave consisting of pillows, stuffed animals, water, snacks, a dimly lit room and a fully charged laptop with classic horror movies on and ready to go. Finally, it’s the time of year that theaters present new scary movies to the public. With the weather changing from hot to colder and less sunlight, it’s also that time of year when mental health might decline into seasonal depression. Not to be a buzzkill, but it’s important to be especially aware of how psychological thrillers and the horror genre can affect you as a viewer.
While horror movies can be scary enough on their own, several of them explore themes of mental illness. Not even horror movies, but movies with a generally eerie feel. A great example of graphic scenes of untreated mental illness in characters is in “The Lodge” (2019). The movie opens with an uncensored suicide scene. It continues into the winter, where seasonal depression and other seasonal issues can be more likely to arise. The movie follows themes of religious and spiritual abuse and the mental health effects that such intense gaslighting can do over time.
A great example of a mental illness in a thriller movie is “Black Swan” (2010). The movie follows Nina, a top ballerina in an NYC dance academy. She lives with an obsessive and controlling mom, who treats Nina like a child throughout the movie. Nina struggles with extreme anxiety, especially during scenes that challenge her sense of normalcy. Another major aspect of her anxiety is an unattainable standard of perfection she sets for herselfā€”especially for her performance as the lead swan, which then leads to her big break as a dancer. Throughout the movie, they show the rough parts of her anxiety. They show the screaming fights, destruction of property, skin picking and even use her hallucinations as a way to symbolically show the audiences what’s going through her head.
A popular new movie currently in theaters is “Smile.” The movie follows a psychologist as she deals with patients that have a disease that causes violence hidden behind a constant unsettling smile. The movie critiques the American mental health system. The overall mood of the movie is not only unsettling because it is a horror movie, but the suicide scenes and the feeling of constant doom and hopelessness add another layer of uneasiness. While there is nothing wrong with this movie, it can potentially be more than just unsettling for someone that is struggling.
The media we consume can have an effect on us even after the film is over. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, nearly half of characters with mental health conditions are ostracized by other characters due to their condition. The stereotype that mentally ill people are all violent is consistently perpetuated on screen. 46% of characters take part in weaponized aggression and 25% were violent. According to the USC Annenberg School, suicidal characters rarely have a chance to explain the underlying reasons for their suicidal ideation. For the average person, these statistics have little significance. To someone with mental health conditions consuming this media, this can easily be internalized and have real-life effects.
There are ways to ground yourself after a rough moment. Simply doing some breathing exercises can help. Getting some physical movement in, like going on a walk, shaking out the stress, or using sensory techniques (like holding something cold) is another great way to regroup. The “five, four, three, two, one” method can also help. Name five things you can hear, four you can see, three you can touch, two you can smell, and one you can taste.
Fear not, there are still options for enjoying the scary movies of the season. A great website to search for trigger warnings without spoilers is Does The Dog Die. It’s a great way to prevent any unwanted scares without missing out on movie nights.
While there is nothing wrong with graphic scenes on screen, there are measures that should be taken to avoid a bad movie night. It is also the responsibility of directors and producers to add a trigger warning before films. Everyone should be able to enjoy movies of the season.