A response to the cause and effect essay “Why we Crave Horror Movies” by Stephen King
I enjoyed reading Stephen King’s essay on “Why we Crave Horror Movies”, which is surprising considering I don’t enjoy reading his novels. I liked how the cause and effect aspect of the piece was not over exaggerated. It was subtle, yet it got its point across. He brought up the issue of humans getting some pleasure of joy out of seeing people get cornered by a serial killer or visited at night by a menacing ghost. It got me thinking, why do I like to watch horror movies?
When I see previews for Saw 6, I know that I’m going to go see it. I get excited for it, my plans for the night are worked around seeing the gruesome film. I go because I’ve seen Saw 1 through 5 and I can’t turn my back on Jigsaw now. My friends will want to see it. I am curious about what forms of torture will be used in this installment of the stomach turning saga (that sound really creepy of me, I know). The effect Saw has on me, is probably the same effect it has on a lot of the individuals that decide to go and see it. During the movie I am sickened, my face scrunches and tightens and i sometimes have to look away from the scene. After the film, I tell my friends that I thought the movie was stupid, definitely not as good as the last one. I am very cautious about going into the theater bathroom on my own, I feel like I’m in the movie, and some a women in a pig suit might try capture me. At home I sleep with the light on for about a week, and in about a year and a half, I’ll go and see the next Saw, and repeat the series of events.
