The Jaded Horror Fan – What is “Scary”
I don’t often frequent the movie theater for various reasons, but mainly because not many movies pique my interest enough to get up and spend $20. This is especially true in the horror genre, which has a few (worthwhile) releases each year.
But then something showed up on the horror community’s radar and had what looked to be great promise. I am of course talking about The Witch by Robert Eggers, which turned out to be the best horror movie I’ve seen in a handful of years. But not everyone felt this way, including most of the people in my particular viewing; and I think the problem was that the majority of casual horror fans were simply confused or misled.
This experience, and the fact that what is deemed scary, frightening, terrifying, or any other synonym is simply subjective, prompted me to ask, “What is scary?” Obviously, there are various answers, and some will be affected in varying degrees from the same subject matter. But for me, The Witch was one of the most unsettling and terrifying movies that I have ever seen.
First, let me break down the misconception modern horror fans had when going to The Witch – jump scares and everything that comes along with them. 99% of the time the thing happening on screen is anti-climactic but always follows the same formula: quiet situation interrupted by an abrupt score that would make anyone flinch in his or her seat. Sure, there are some instances where the loud score amplifies the visuals at that one certain moment, causing you to flinch, and that’s okay when used properly. The issue I have is that most people equate abrupt noises with being scared, and that’s just plain weird and wrong. With The Witch, the score was used in an interesting way, whereas it would crescendo and then suddenly turn to silence, turning the typical jump scares upside down. I couldn’t help but be brought back to the horror of the 70’s whenever this would happen.
So here comes The Witch. The trailers don’t REALLY explain what all is happening, and the little pieces of dialogue suggest this is a typical “something in the woods” scenario. Usually with a trailer so vague, it will either turn people off or intrigue to the point of buying a ticket almost blindly and take the plunge; I was one of the latter. But The Witch couldn’t have be further from typical; from the dialogue down to the atmosphere, I couldn’t help but feel bad while watching due to the sheer amount of dread flowing through each character.
The Witch was scary in many different ways, but the most disconcerting fact would be that for Thomison and her family, their faith would be responsible for either saving or killing them. Thomison was literally left with nowhere to go and no person to help her. If she chose against Lucifer, she would have sparked what is known as the Salem Witch Trials, only about 50 years ahead of schedule.
By the time it was over, many people either laughed in disbelief or flat out confusion of what they just witnessed. “That was the worst movie I’ve ever seen” was said aloud by a couple in front of me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell they were watching or what they expected as they walked up the steps to their seat. I imagine these same people would have been turned off by The Omen or Rosemary’s Baby, both of which would fit into the same category as The Witch.
So, the question is a rather complex one – what is “scary?”
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