Halloween horrors

Scary films popular among many GBHS students

Cyrus Mynar, staff writer

  Movies are one of the biggest form of media today and have grown so much over time.

  There are many different genres from Comedy to Romance, Action, thriller and today’s subject: Horror.

  Over the years, different types of horror films have evolved and branched out into many sub-genres such as Gore, Psychological Thrillers and Slasher Flicks.

  There is something for everyone in horror, however, some types of horror may have more of an effect on people than others.

  Psychological horror seems to have a deeper effect on some and slasher flicks while fun, often don’t imprint the viewer with anything.

The Silence of the Lambs Poster
Orion Pictures

  Scream is a classic 90’s slasher movie starring the Ghost Face Killer,  a team of teenagers with a lust for blood.

“After watching Scream, I was satisfied with the ending,”Senior at Granite Bay high Jaden Dunmore said, “however I didn’t think it was very scary.”

  Silence of the Lambs is a another 90’s horror movie, however it is much more focused on the psychological aspect of horror, rather than mindless killing.

Silence of the Lambs left me wanting more.” Dunmore said, “The character of Hannibal Lecter is much more unpredictable and his intelligence makes him more dangerous.”

  Dunmore’s statements show us that Silence of the Lambs capitalizes on human nature and the fear of the unknown. This is often used in psychological thrillers and even slasher movies to an extent.

  “With Scream, the killers actions are more predictable,” Dunmore said,

“with Silence of the Lambs you’re constantly trying to figure out what Hannibal Lecter will do next.”

  Scream is certainly an iconic horror film in its own right, however, Silence of the Lambs seems to be much scarier to some and have a stronger effect on them, as does the genre of psychological thrillers as a whole.

 “I would call scream more of a heartbeat raising movie than a horror,” Senior at Granite Bay Thomas Fromlak said, “though there was build up of tension sometimes it always fell flat. This could be due to the slasher genre.”

  “The build up of tension had a beautiful climb with an invigorating plateau that led to a satisfying decrescendo to a spooky climax that left many viewers wondering.” Fromlak said

  Scream and Silence of the Lambs while both being horror films are substantially different in terms of tone and the ways they attempt to frighten you.

 “While Scream left me with a heightened sense of awareness, Silence of the Lambs left me with a pleasing feeling of discomfort and paranoia.” Dunmore said.

  While both films are scary, psychological thrillers like Silence of the Lambs tend to have more of an impact on people than slasher movies like Scream.

     “Silence of the Lambs was a psychological horror that used my imagination to scare me,” Fromlak said, “that was very applaudable.”

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