The remake, though truer to the book, is nothing next to this. |
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One can become extremely frustrated watching a horror movie. The characters can be so dumb! "I just shot the bad guy in the chest; well I'll just turn around now." SPLAT. And the audience groans in unison. If WE were in that situation, that bastard wouldn't have a HEAD. Yet, are we sure? Horror films allow characters to experience a myriad of feelings, sometimes all simultaneously. Two of the most prominent are panic and the instinct to survive.
Most characters in horror films are thrust into a situation of strife and ridiculous turmoil. They have been plunged out of their normal, mundane lives and into some set of circumstances where everything is upside down and covered in mess. Take THE SHINING as an example. Your husband has become a crazed, murderous wacko ("I'm not gonna hurt ya, I'm just gonna bash your brains in!") and is coming for you and your son. What do you do? You panic, become vulnerable and die, or you survive.
Panic is very easy to succumb to for humans. Our ability to use logic and reason makes us try to not believe 
Haha, can you see the bottom of the poster? Ebert called it |
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the extreme and weird. When we see Bigfoot, it's a bear. A UFO is a blimp. But when faced with a tentacle-clad monster whose method of communication consists mostly of brain sucking, we might freak out a bit.
Even under less frightening situations, we can become frightened. There is a scene in THE DESCENT where one of the cave explorers gets stuck in a narrow tunnel, and begins to lose all sense of calm and focus. Though she has done similar excursions before, she has lost all sense of composure.
When faced with our fears and panic begins to seep in, we, like all animals, go through an inner question. Do we face what scares us, or run like hell? Now, either of these choices can be made on the side of panic or survival. If someone runs, they aren't necessarily panicking, just doing what seems most logical. In DAWN OF THE DEAD, the characters must leave where they have taken refuge, because there was a freaking boatload of zombies coming after them. They were running on the side of survival.
Survival is one of the most primal, if not 
"It's been a funny sort of day, hasn't it?" |
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the most, instincts. When born, the instincts of every species are the same, to survive long enough to propagate its species. Down in the most primitive parts of our brains, we know that to survive is more important than anything.
However, for many characters, the survival of their loved ones is something that is worth dying, and killing, for. In SHAUN OF THE DEAD (which though mostly a comedy, deserves to be called a horror film in my opinion) the main character chooses to go save his mother, step-father and ex-girlfriend before running away to safety. This type of action still holds true to what I had said about surviving being most important in our brains. It's just that certain people believe that the survival of others takes importance over their own lives.
Fight or flight is seemingly an ever present question in horror flicks. And some would say in reality. Perhaps, once again, horror films could teach us something that is useful to us in our lives. So next time you're watching DEAD ALIVE, CUBE or ZOMBI, make sure you're taking notes.
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| The Lair of the Mad |
Every other Tuesday
'The Lair' discusses the many aspects and qualities of the horror genre. From actors, to make-up, to music, James Shafie explores everything the "cult" genre spews up.
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| James Shafie |
James Shafie is an avid watcher of movies of all sorts, but the horror genre is closest to his heart. He loves to read and is addicted to music, mostly metal and it’s thousands of sub-genres. He was once fired by Blockbuster, which we see as a strong character trait.
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