Horror movies

Posted:
in AppleOutsider edited January 2014
In scary movies, why do the 'innocents' always walk backwards into the arms of the ghouls?

Why does the beautiful blond go alone into the haunted mansion or into the dark cellar?

Why do the naifs go unarmed into the most dangerous places? Etc., etc.



Of course, the movie wouldn't be as scary without the stupidity of the characters. Which brings me to the conclusion that Hollywood thinks we must be gullible to believe the stupidity of the characters. How do these movies 'sell' at the box office? Are there that many gullible people?



Can anyone clear this up for me? Thanks.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 2
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    Some movie makers do it a bit more sensibly. Like in the Saw movies, they have someone drugging the victims unexpectedly. They sometimes have the same cliché's though like walking in the car park late at night alone.



    It's all about contrast. Everything in life is defined by comparison. You can't define fear in any absolute way, it must be defined relative to comfort and people in the highest level of comfort tend not to be thinking or caring about what they are doing.



    It must be difficult coming up with new scenarios because part of the fear is the element of surprise and if they use scenarios you've seen then it's difficult to achieve that. I personally can't stand the films where they just shake the camera and have some weird looking character making an irritating noise and moving around like in The Exorcist. They did that in The Grudge.



    The further back they push the boundary, the more desensitized you get.
  • Reply 2 of 2
    It's just entertainment!...



    Both the viewers and creators know it is fiction... no-one is expected/assumed to be "gullible"... just in need of some entertainment.



    Like you said, if the characters didn't behave stupidly, the story would be even less plausible than it already is.
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