What makes a horror film good?

I love horror movies as almost everyone that knows me is painfully well aware of. I spend a lot of time discussing them; however, I don’t discuss what makes one “good”. That’s a pretty freaking loaded statement as there are a multitude of aspects that can make a horror film entertaining as hell to me. Some of these things can even be contradictory. I’m going to boil things down into a list of what I find the most entertaining. FYI, this will more than likely be a living document that will be updated and altered periodically.

It would be prudent to begin with the sub-genres that I prefer, so I’ll start there. Not in order but: teen/college slasher, found footage, vampire, zombie, apocalyptic, survival, haunted house, occult, folk, and sci-fi are my favorite horror sub-genres.

Now getting into what this article is about: every horror movie doesn’t need it in order for me to enjoy it, but a great chase scene, preferably a cat-and-mouse game, is probably my favorite horror film device. I love the action and the anxiety of guessing if the character is going to Get Out of Dodge or not. Someone chasing you with the intention of doing bodily harm is a real life horror story, so watching a psychopath don a mask and wield a knife to chase some poor teenagers is truly one of my favorite pleasures in life.

Sort of in the same vein, but I find it entertaining when characters are trapped inside someplace while someone or something is trying to get in. I love seeing the ingenious ways that the characters try to keep the villain/creature/entity/etc. out, while simultaneously trying to get away. These devices are a way for writers to flex their creative chops and I love it.

Coinciding with the aforementioned but I really enjoy when claustrophobia is used. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a tight place, but I love horror films where the characters are some place where they can’t readily leave. Films like Alien, Escape Room, or Cube come to mind as they wield this at a very high level. I love the dread and despair that being trapped inside of a place brings. Trapped isolation can be debilitatingly scary to me, so I find it very enjoyable to see it used on screen. Again – this is a real life fear, so it’s incredibly effective when used in cinema.

Anything set in the woods or that ventures into the woods will at least pique my interest. I’m a big nature guy, so a part of me just enjoys seeing shots of the outdoors regardless of genre. There’s something simultaneously liberating and anachronistic about being out in the woods. I see why people find peace there because no matter the year, it seems to harken back to an earlier time than the present. Technology is largely inhibited in the woods, so you’re inevitably reverted to a time before their existence. In 2022, where Wi-Fi, cellphones, GPS, etc., exist, using the woods where these are rendered inoperable is a great trope that’s used in horror films. It sounds simple but disallowing a character from having service to call for help can be very effective in making a horror film entertaining and ensuring that it can span more than 20 minutes.

I like horror films that are “real”. What I mean by that is that some horror films feel like they are in a Universe outside of our own where current events haven’t occurred. I like seeing horror films reference modern life, current events, and society as we know it. It can be something as small as talking about something trending on Twitter or going viral, but I like when these films let us know that it lives within our world. I see this more in tv shows – especially teen-centered ones like Scream or the Solstice, the third season of Slasher.