Hey, You–Why Do You Like IT So Much?

As time goes on movie CGI gets better and better, superhero movies keep adding more explosions and monsters and horror films get gorier and a lot more terrifying. With all the added blood and special effects, it’s a wonder that people are still interested in the gore–much less kids from ages 13-18.

Is it because the horror keeps getting…more interesting? Different plot-lines, different monsters, horrors cooked up that boomers wouldn’t even have thought of in their era of entertainment?

Or maybe it’s because kids want to be freaked out. There’s a certain appeal in the thrill you get from being thoroughly scared out of your wits. According to high school senior Elysia Olsen, “it’s all for the jump scare.”

Kids our age get a literal rush of adrenaline when they watch something designed to be a jump scare, a pure thrill.

So what’s the appeal of the gore?

What is it about blood splattering across a cement wall that invokes an “mm, yes, superb,” from Gen Z? It’s likely the “gross” factor, honestly. It’s something we can’t look away. It’s almost like a car crash in that we want to stop looking, but often, we just can’t tear our eyes away.

The psychological analysis is something of interest as well. According to an article by Mark D. Griffiths, “[it is] the notion of catharsis (i.e., that we watch violent and frightening films as a way of purging negative emotions and/or as a way to relieve pent-up aggression.”

This theory dates back to Aristotle, that sometimes people just have to be violent to relieve frustrations.

Horror movies can do this very effectively, and in a world that seems designed to stress kids out it only seems right that we would be obsessed with something that is not only a way to get freaked out, but that can actually relieve aggressive feelings.

All in all, horror movies can actually be counted as a coping mechanism–something to distract us from the real-life horror show we seem to be living.

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Tegan Elliott

Tegan Elliott is a comic artist, a fiction writer, and a sushi enthusiast. They're pretty much addicted to drawing, from people to places to ridiculous situations. They are embedded in nearly every form of pop-culture, so watch what fictional character you decide to roast in front of them.