Top 10 Horror Genre Categories

3. Zombie/Vampire

These two have become super popular horror icons in the past few years, spawning movies, books, graphic novels, video games, and everything else in between. Why are they so popular? It’s simple really because they have characteristics unlike anything else, allowing someone to tell the difference right away due to an extensive background and mythology. Zombies, made famous by George A. Romero, are somewhat considered the newcomer among the other classic creatures, making them quite popular to younger generations as well as others. They’re a simple creature really; a lifeless body reanimated from usually a virus of some sort, without a conscious and completely rabid with a hunger for human flesh.

That’s why they’re so popular; they’re so simple yet complex, causing the main characters trying to survive to be completely stripped of security, making them just as rabid. While the main focus of course are the zombies, the characters in these type of films and television shows are extremely intriguing to observe as each other’s values conflicts with the other, causing emotions to break down. The television show The Walking Dead does a perfect job of this, while also giving the characters a conscious when they’re forced to kill an infected, rather than the typical kill and forget about it. They were once all normal people, until a virus, whether man-made or natural, took that all away, giving them a fate worse than death; walking the earth as a vicious and mindless being, which essentially is heartbreaking for all sides involved. That’s not to say some of these films are filled with light-hearted moments, especially made famous in the classic Evil Dead series. So even though zombies may be the new kid on the block, they still pack a powerful punch, keeping things fresh with an ever-growing mythology.

Vampires, on the other hand, have been around for years, starting with the silent yet utterly disturbing 1922 Nosferatu, based on classic literature of none other than Dracula himself. A much more sophisticated monster that, from the outside, appears human, with Bella Lugosi’s Dracula capturing a suave yet menacing creature of the night. The basic foundation of a vampire is normally a human that was bitten by either a bat or fellow vampire, granting them enhanced strength and agility, immortality, and a thirst for blood. While the foundations stay mostly the same the lore has changed dramatically throughout the years. First, we had the classic, Victorian vampire (again, Dracula) who manipulated others with his casual coolness, but on the inside was a cold soulless being searching for something to fill their emptiness. Then, we have the completely violent and deadly ones made famous from the graphic novel/film, 30 Days of Night. These guys don’t care about making friends with their dinner, they just care about surviving, and will take out anyone that stands in their way.

Then we have the notorious one of the bunch, the Twilight vampire, created solely to fulfil every teenage girl’s fantasy, turning the menacing creature into a sensitive, understood, glittering entity that just wants to be loved. Yea, not for everyone obviously. But that’s what makes them iconic because they just never get stale (although there are quite a few too many being made), often because we have so many variations of them. These two creatures define pop culture and will be around for centuries to come, just because they’re so likeable. Though there are millions of debates consisting if the zombie or vampire is better, I say they’re both pretty equal just because they’re essentially two different genres and all depend on one’s preferences. But if two simple fictional creatures can cause such a stir out of individuals, that really shows they’re both a big contender in the horror universe.

2. Monster Movies

These are definitely a big one. Though these may seem just as straightforward as a slasher movie, this time with a monster doing the killing, they’re really completely different and, believe it or not, much more complex. It normally involves either an experiment gone wrong mutating the recipient into a hideous monster, a man-made creature, or even a monster taken from its original habitat. They all have a creature that is misunderstood, such as the Frankenstein monster, an experiment of a maniacal doctor, who is simple-minded on the outside but is just so tragically shattered on the outside.

These “monsters,” as they’re called are just doing what they can to survive, sometimes not even harming anyone, but are attacked by uncomfortable humans just because they don’t understand the reason for their existence. King Kong is another valuable example, a giant ape taken away from its habitat and held captive just so a crazed filmmaker can make a profit, but once he escapes, he’s bombarded with a frightening new environment, causing him to follow his instincts and by default, take the one person, a woman, that he actually had a connection with, which suddenly makes him a threat. A classic and tragic story that deep down inside is thought-provoking.

Even the tale of The Wolfman gives something to think about, this time in the form of a man who has been cursed by a werewolf’s bite, which with every full moon, causes his primal self to take control. This causes an inner-struggle to ignite within the man, who just wants to tame his inner-beast, which can be used as a connotation to real-life scenarios. Of course we have the more light-hearted of the bunch, like Godzilla, were there’s not much except a giant lizard that attacks Tokyo but yet protects it from dozens of other giant monsters, this is what it is, nothing more.

That’s of course not to say these are extremely fun to watch, because sometimes we just want to shut off our brains and indulge in mindless destruction. So with that being said, monster movies are the more diverse of the bunch, making them very unpredictable yet engaging. Currently, they’re unfortunately hard to come by, with Cloverfield really being the only mainstream one for awhile, and that really needs to change, because, honestly, I know I’m not the only one to enjoy these.

1. Psychological

All I have to say is the name “Alfred Hitchcock” and you’ll know a psychological horror film will mess with your mind, often with no blood necessary. These cause all characters involved to question what’s real, and what is just manifested from their own thoughts. Fear is normally the tension builder in these type of films, such as the use of heights in Vertigo or the newly formed fear of showers in Psycho.

A thinking man’s horror film, a psychological horror movie will rely on disorienting events that trigger our adrenaline levels to go through the roof, mainly because it will break down the characters until there’s nothing left but their true selves, often associated with twist endings. These types of films are still alive and well, like Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, which most have mixed views about, but undoubtedly still manages to disturb you towards uncomfortable levels.

I prefer these over the blood and gore types mainly because they generally come with a complex story, and honestly which is scarier, not only short term but long term as well: a scene that involves a character slowly creeping around in the dark only to be unnecessarily scared by a friend or inanimate object (a jump scare) or a scene that throws your greatest fears at you and the character, that may in fact be real or fake, leaving both of you as an emotional and paranoid wreck?

Well then again, it all depends on the person I guess, but there’s no doubt I enjoy a little thinking with my horror movies, which is of course not for everyone. I mean, I know people that came up to me and said The Shining isn’t scary, meaning they obviously didn’t understand it wasn’t necessarily supposed to visually scary but rather a more paranoid, cerebral form of horror. But of course, these still often become critically and commercially successful, regardless if you’re left mentally and emotionally disturbed in the process.

Conclusion

So with all of that soaking in, it’s no wonder why the horror genre is a truly diverse one riddle with so many variations, all waiting for someone interested to take an escapist journey, depending on their preferences. They’re all unique and different in their own way and are consequently all universally iconic to each and every generation.

After breaking it down, it’s obvious why some see horror as the laughing stock of movies but, at the same time, show that their well loved and are often very inspired films with fans in mind. Horror movies have definitely evolved over time, for better or worse is up to you to decide, but have no doubt thrown some pretty creative pieces of film to the movie watchers of the world.

So I hope this list didn’t offend you or your favorite horror movie, but instead inspired you to find a different subgenre to take a look at, for your Halloween viewing pleasure. So look it that, because you took a few minutes to read my senseless rant, you learned a little history, hopefully got to know your favorite category better (as well as get interested by a new one), and you hopefully got into the spirit of Halloween to do what the holiday should really be about; watching movies! That about wraps this up, so again I hope you were entertained at least a little and have a great Halloween!