There was a drought in horror movies these past few months with very little horror movies being released from October to December. Though modern-day horror movies are incredibly hit or miss, some horror movies, like Smile 2 and Nosferatu, have gained instant popularity with both horror and non-horror fans alike. But what sets these movies apart from lesser-known new horror movies such as Wolfman?
Well for one, movies like Nosferatu and The Substance feature a very popular cast. These big names draw in a large audience of fans, therefore growing the movie’s popularity. However, this creates some controversy when it comes to horror fans. Many think that the casting of big names for the sake of having big names takes away from the authenticity of the movie. For example, when it was revealed that Harry Styles and Anya Taylor Joy were originally set to be the main characters in Nosferatu, there was a slight uproar. Many fans were glad that they weren’t in the movie in the end, despite the fact that they could have made the movie even more popular.
There has also been an increase in movies featuring jumpscares. The perfect model for this is the Smile series. Following the large success of the first Smile film, Smile 2 came out in 2024. Thankfully, the sequel lived up to the hype of the first movie, utilizing even more jumpscares and unique ways to scare the audience. A broader audience tends to prefer more straightforward scares with less of the psychological aspect. Skinamarink was a horror movie released the same year as Smile, to a much smaller audience. However, Skinamarink was much more of a psychological horror with no jumpscares. The movie was long and slow-paced, building up suspense and anxiety in the audience instead of outwardly just jumpscaring them and showing gore. This movie was praised by people who were already into horror, with horror blogs like “Destroy the Brain” saying that it was creative and a new way to get scared, “releasing fears that few other films can reach.” But non-horror fans criticized the movie calling it long and boring. In fact, Rotten Tomatoes claimed that most of the audience found the movie “frighteningly dull.” The more obvious scares there are in a horror movie, the larger the appeal is.
This appeal to obvious scares can be seen in movies like Terrifier 3. The original Terrifier movie was an indie film that became a horror classic due to its brutal horror and gore. Both horror fans and non-horror fans have morbid curiosity and are drawn to shocking things. People don’t want boring horror movies with the same template. Since the Terrifier series worked hard to continue shocking audiences, audiences stayed engaged.
Most of the time, horror movie lovers and regular movie fans want different things. Horror fans are more likely to appreciate camp and surreal movies that are catered to the horror fan genre instead of just being a money grab. Still, it is not impossible to make a horror movie that many different types of audiences can enjoy. These movies that do appeal to both types of fans help grow the horror genre and community.
