Horror movies have always been hit sensations. From the first horror movie, “Le Manoir du Diable,” which translates to “The Haunted Castle” to the most recently released theater hit, “Heretic,” horror is one of the highest-grossing movie genres ever according to The Genre Trend Analysis in 2023. But, there is one problem: the more gory and gross a movie is, the more we are desensitized to real-world monstrosities.
One might think that watching horror movies will have no serious consequences or effects on one’s mental state, but this is a misguided assumption. A prime example of desensitization is in larger cities where a grotesque secret is hidden. Millions of people jump from high-rise buildings a year, and what do most onlookers do? They videotape and record the incident instead of calling authorities or seeking others’ help. This is a horrible attribute to society, but a very true one. Most people see someone hurt, torn up, or even bleeding out and do not pay any attention because, in most cases, they will believe they’ve seen worse. But from where are they seeing such horrible things? Horror movies, gore-filled franchises, violent video games, you name it…someone has seen it.
Consciously, there is no strong effect after watching a horror movie. Some anxiety and fear, perhaps, but no feelings of numbness to people in need. It is stuck in the subconscious level of the mind until a real person in need is put into your life, and you simply choose to walk away. These horror movies can cause diminished emotional empathy and psychological reactivity. As a society, we need to cut back on the amount of tolerable gore we choose to watch.
To get opinionated feedback, I posed the question, “Do you feel that there are serious effects of watching horror movies and being desensitized to the gore?” In response, it is said by Kyla Davis, a Dover High School Freshman, that “I feel like people are so used to seeing bad things that [a] part of them doesn’t register what is going on… They see bad things [and] they become so used to seeing them that it doesn’t hit as hard as it should”. Even avid horror watchers can agree that becoming desensitized can cause the horror to seep into the modern day as,“The more you are exposed to anything the more [desensitized] you are going to be” (Desiree Riffle). Another question was brought to my attention by fellow Crimsonian staff member Sydney McCabe,, “[Are] scary movies getting scarier because of the desensitization in our society? Do they need to be scarier to get reactions and profit from their movies?” This question poses a slightly different point of view. Maybe in our society, we as people are already so desensitized to the horrors in the world that producers, production crews, and authors need to be scarier and goreier to make money off of their movies.
Some horror movies significantly affect more empathetic people as they realize what is going on and that it is wrong. But to some people, it is the opposite. They are undisturbed and perfectly fine sitting down and watching a gruesome movie. These people are more likely to watch something horrible and walk by than stop and help. They are completely desensitized to the possible horrors around them.
