If most of us are good people why do we enjoy horror, sadistic torture movies?

[TheAnabolicFreak]

I went on Netflix today and one of the top movies being watched was the “New” Texas Chainsaw Massacre so I just finished watching it.

The story doesn’t really mean anything because it was mainly watching humans get slaughtered and murdered as graphically and painfully as possible.

If most of us are inherently “Good” human beings then why do we spend money on watching these things and in many cases we will go to the movies, spend money on popcorn and soda only to watch ourselves get disgusted and grossed out.

What makes us do this to ourselves and in many cases we love to drag along friends and family members so they can have the same “Experience”?

 

[hevi-head]

I can’t stand to watch them. Never have.
Just gives me a bad feeling. I’ve always wondered the same.

 

[USMuscle9403]

I can’t stand to watch them. Never have.
Just gives me a bad feeling. I’ve always wondered the same.

Same here. In fact, always kinda wondered why they were a thing. Seemed like some kinda weird fetish

fwiw I've become a total bitch as I've gotten older, even the sight of blood makes me squeamish

 

[method2madness]

I don't know this answer but I can say two things on the subject. I have never enjoyed horror/slasher films. Also the assumption that most of us are inherently "good" human beings is false. Throughout human history and across the world are a plethora of examples how mankind will do what they want to satisfy whatever desire/need/goals they have. This could mean anything from taking advantage of others on a personal level to making war or blindly following leaders in to war. Human beings are not inherently good. People who are inherently good are the exception to the rule, not the standard.

 

[Durro NoHurtNoBigShirt]

I can’t watch them either I can’t put logic and common sense aside.

 

[qbkilla]

1. Most people aren't good
2. It's a movie, entertainment. You are watching something not to be bored, not fantasizing about what you want to secretly do.
3. People understand it is fake and no one is getting cut with chainsaws

Using your school of thought how can we watch war movies, or learn about war in history. If we are inherently good then wouldn't such things be too much for us to bear? How can we watch MMA or football and enjoy watching people get hit?

 

[Hyper-T]

I think it depends on the personality of the viewer. Studies have shown that people who are naturally anxious and under stress may feel a sense of calm and well being from the neuro chemical dopamine release after watching such films. That absolutely doesn't apply to everyone though.
I have always been a horror movie fan, so I like them. My friends that are also fans I think would all agree that seeing someone in an impossible horrendous situation can help us feel better about any predicaments or challenges we face in our own life which then pale in comparison to such extreme horror.
Another point is that violent films and games have also been shown to increase pain tolerance. Helpfull to those of us who have a certain level of pain to live with everyday.
I strive to live my life above all else to be a good human being, so I don't consider myself deranged for liking horror films.

 

[Cito33189]

I like Michael Myers that’s it.

I remember in high school I had the biggest crush on this girl. I thought she was so hot, she looked like christen cavalleri from Laguna beach. I finally convinced her to go on a date with my. I kick myself to this day. Picked the hills have eyes by rob zombie or some rob zombie movie. She sat there for about 10 minutes of the opening scene and She’s like I want to leave. No idea why the fuck I picked that movie.

 

[Elvia1023]

I consider myself a good person. Some of the guys on here will think this is soft but I don't even like it when people kill insects etc. Obviously killing for food is different but it's not like I am watching it. I can't stand watching real videos of people getting killed and they make me feel sick but I love horror movies. I have watched them since I was a kid. I watched films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Freddy Kruger, The Exorcist and Hell Raiser when I was very young and I enjoyed them. I like gruesome ones as well. Stuff like Saw, Hostel, Bone Tomahawk, Green Inferno and The Hills Have Eyes etc. As posted they aren't real but they are definitely not for everyone.

 

[qbkilla]

I consider myself a good person. Some of the guys on here will think this is soft but I don't even like it when people kill insects etc. Obviously killing for food is different but it's not like I am watching it. I can't stand watching real videos of people getting killed and they make me feel sick but I love horror movies. I have watched them since I was a kid. I watched films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Freddy Kruger, The Exorcist and Hell Raiser when I was very young and I enjoyed them. I like gruesome ones as well. Stuff like Saw, Hostel, Bone Tomahawk, Green Inferno and The Hills Have Eyes etc. As posted they aren't real but they are definitely not for everyone.

Great movies. I remember as a kid hellraiser scared me. I'll never understand how some girls are afraid to watch horror. Are they serious or just pretending? As a elementary school kid goosebumps books were scary too. Night of the living dummy, they should have made movie's about them.

 

[fredmac82]

I have never been into slasher-type films where the goal is to see how much blood and guts the movie can show. I also don't think humans are inherently good. Too many examples in history to display that isn't true IMO.

 

[MasteroniPepperoni]

I can’t stand to watch them. Never have.
Just gives me a bad feeling. I’ve always wondered the same.

Same. Not something to put into your mind. Better off not watching that , or movies in general. Don’t put junk into your body , physically or mentally

 

[OuchThatHurts]

The psychology of it is that movies like "Passion of Christ", "Schindler's List", Saw I through XXVI, etc is that it gives the mind the ability to experience something horrific that would be traumatic in real life (and thus the fear in seeing it or experiencing it) from a safe place. The movie can't hurt them so they experience that which would, in real life, horrify and terrify them from a safe and secure point of view.

This viewing can allow viewers to "survive" a film with the same release of dopamine and pleasure chemicals the person would experience if they survived the experience in real life circumstances. They are surving the ordeal vicariously but it still has some of the same effects.

It goes even deeper than that to a primal level of disgust that originates in a part of the brain that has kept humans from eating and coming in contact with rotten meat, feces, and other objectionable things that allows them to see these disgusting things and acts without the smell, feel, etc. It's a showcase of things to avoid inside your brain.

And lastly, the curiosity we experience when we drive by a car accident and everyone has to take a look, called "rubbernecking". It's so common and instinctual, we actually have a word for it. Movies like this are a 2hr rubbernecking experience without the stiff neck and distraction of the road.

People that have truly seen horrible things or dealt with people who have committed these gruesome crimes often have little desire to see these movies while interestingly, people that have not tend to enjoy these movies.

I remember being just completely disappointed and laughably disgusted by the movie Fight Club. I was in a NYC city bar listening to guys talking tough and how much they loved the movie. I tried explaining to them that the movie was lame. But because I had broken noses, I broke noses, split heads open, and it was always miserable with much guilt afterwards. It wasn't "cool" at all. I had met people with violent multiple personality disorder. It is not cool. I could tell right away that these guys had never been in a fight in their lives or met a pathologically insane person. So they thought the movie was cool. While I lived it, they saw it from the safety of a movie theater seat.

That's the hook. And once desensitized, people need greater and greater levels of gore and macabre to illicit the same response. Ever notice that sequels within the same horror franchise get just more gore and bloody from one sequel to the next? Now you know why.

 

[MasteroniPepperoni]

The psychology of it is that movies like "Passion of Christ", "Schindler's List", Saw I through XXVI, etc is that it gives the mind the ability to experience something horrific that would be traumatic in real life (and thus the fear in seeing it or experiencing it) from a safe place. The movie can't hurt them so they experience that which would, in real life, horrify and terrify them from a safe and secure point of view.

This viewing can allow viewers to "survive" a film with the same release of dopamine and pleasure chemicals the person would experience if they survived the experience in real life circumstances. They are surving the ordeal vicariously but it still has some of the same effects.

It goes even deeper than that to a primal level of disgust that originates in a part of the brain that has kept humans from eating and coming in contact with rotten meat, feces, and other objectionable things that allows them to see these disgusting things and acts without the smell, feel, etc. It's a showcase of things to avoid inside your brain.

And lastly, the curiosity we experience when we drive by a car accident and everyone has to take a look, called "rubbernecking". It's so common and instinctual, we actually have a word for it. Movies like this are a 2hr rubbernecking experience without the stiff neck and distraction of the road.

People that have truly seen horrible things or dealt with people who have committed these gruesome crimes often have little desire to see these movies while interestingly, people that have not tend to enjoy these movies.

I remember being just completely disappointed and laughably disgusted by the movie Fight Club. I was in a NYC city bar listening to guys talking tough and how much they loved the movie. I tried explaining to them that the movie was lame. But because I had broken noses, I broke noses, split heads open, and it was always miserable with much guilt afterwards. It wasn't "cool" at all. I had met people with violent multiple personality disorder. It is not cool. I could tell right away that these guys had never been in a fight in their lives or met a pathologically insane person. So they thought the movie was cool. While I lived it, they saw it from the safety of a movie theater seat.

That's the hook. And once desensitized, people need greater and greater levels of gore and macabre to illicit the same response. Ever notice that sequels within the same horror franchise get just more gore and bloody from one sequel to the next? Now you know why.

Same with pornography

 

[OuchThatHurts]

Same with pornography

Superb observation. Both are almost analogous to each other in many ways. Excellent observation my young friend. Excellent.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

Who wasn't feeling absolutely psyched and thrilled to joy, exhilarated even, when the young lady escaped Leatherface in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Everybody did. When the family finally escaped the house in Poltergeist? Who didn't laugh when the father put the TV set out on the terrace in the final scene of the movie? Yeah, you did.

 

[MasteroniPepperoni]

Superb observation. Both are almost analogous to each other in many ways. Excellent observation my young friend. Excellent.

That's why I do not watch either! Keep the mind and body clean

 

[maldorf]

The psychology of it is that movies like "Passion of Christ", "Schindler's List", Saw I through XXVI, etc is that it gives the mind the ability to experience something horrific that would be traumatic in real life (and thus the fear in seeing it or experiencing it) from a safe place. The movie can't hurt them so they experience that which would, in real life, horrify and terrify them from a safe and secure point of view.

This viewing can allow viewers to "survive" a film with the same release of dopamine and pleasure chemicals the person would experience if they survived the experience in real life circumstances. They are surving the ordeal vicariously but it still has some of the same effects.

It goes even deeper than that to a primal level of disgust that originates in a part of the brain that has kept humans from eating and coming in contact with rotten meat, feces, and other objectionable things that allows them to see these disgusting things and acts without the smell, feel, etc. It's a showcase of things to avoid inside your brain.

And lastly, the curiosity we experience when we drive by a car accident and everyone has to take a look, called "rubbernecking". It's so common and instinctual, we actually have a word for it. Movies like this are a 2hr rubbernecking experience without the stiff neck and distraction of the road.

People that have truly seen horrible things or dealt with people who have committed these gruesome crimes often have little desire to see these movies while interestingly, people that have not tend to enjoy these movies.

I remember being just completely disappointed and laughably disgusted by the movie Fight Club. I was in a NYC city bar listening to guys talking tough and how much they loved the movie. I tried explaining to them that the movie was lame. But because I had broken noses, I broke noses, split heads open, and it was always miserable with much guilt afterwards. It wasn't "cool" at all. I had met people with violent multiple personality disorder. It is not cool. I could tell right away that these guys had never been in a fight in their lives or met a pathologically insane person. So they thought the movie was cool. While I lived it, they saw it from the safety of a movie theater seat.

That's the hook. And once desensitized, people need greater and greater levels of gore and macabre to illicit the same response. Ever notice that sequels within the same horror franchise get just more gore and bloody from one sequel to the next? Now you know why.

Once I did a bunch of autopsies and took gross anatomy, the gory movies lost some of their effect.

 

[Tomgrass]

Just because i like watch horror movies does not mean i get a boner when somebody head is smashed. For me i like horror movies as I like those type movies. I always was fan of them but…. Only few of them are really good. In fact good horror is not about killing people- it is about making climate . For example exorcism of Emily Rose is good one. Horror does not mean cruel !!!

 

[pickapeck]

The only gore movie I enjoyed was Law Abiding Citizen staring Gerard Butler because he handed out justice.