A New Definition of Horror
No, it's not about whether or not it scares you
Despite the ancient and universal nature of scary stories, the horror genre is exceptionally broad. The antagonists can be anything from a monstrous beast to a killer clown to a ghost girl to the imaginings of one’s own mind. Most of them are scary, or are intended to be, but many people watch movies they’d consider horror without feeling much horror.
Despite the variety of ways a horror movie can be made, most of them are generally and intuitively recognized as horror movies. There are disagreements of course; the genre home of The Silence of the Lambs is infamously debated. But most people agree on most films when it comes to classifying them as horror or not horror.
There must be something that defines horror that we intuitively pick up on.
The Classic Definition of Horror
Perhaps the most seminal piece of work on the horror genre is Noël Carroll’s The Philosophy of Horror, or Paradoxes of the Heart. In it, Carroll argues that horror is a genre in which the primary goal is to evoke a reaction of "art-horror," a combination of fear and disgust directed toward entities (for Carroll, usually monsters) that defy scientific and/or moral categories. He also says that a key feature of the genre is the (extraordinary) monster existing in an ordinary world.
I like Carroll’s definition pretty well. It does a good job of distinguishing horror from fantasy, which often includes dangerous beasts and precarious environments, but in extraordinary worlds. If Sauron and the orcs tried to take over New Jersey, that’d be horror. But with the elves and dwarves of Middle Earth, it’s fantasy.
I think Carroll’s definition also includes most stories we would consider horror. Those with monsters are obvious fits: Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Ghosts also work here since they blur the lines of living and dead. Stories of witches, jinn, and other evil, magical creatures who exist in otherwise ordinary worlds would also work since their powers violate natural law.
Where Carroll’s Definition Falls Short
Psychological horror is tricky for Carroll. I’m not sure Psycho would be considered horror under his definition. Norman Bates is a psychopath, but he doesn’t violate any natural laws and isn’t a “monster” in the traditional sense. I’m also not sure if Saw would be labeled as horror under Carroll’s definition. John Kramer isn’t exactly a category-violating monster.
Some films we don’t typically consider horror might also be (mis)categorized as horror under Carroll’s definition. A good example of this would be some of the Batman movies. The villain Poison Ivy could probably be classified as a monster that defies natural categories under Carroll’s definition. And she exists in an otherwise ordinary world. The Pirates of the Caribbean films might also fall under horror with Carroll’s definition: Davy Jones fits Carroll’s definition of a monster to a T and exists in an otherwise ordinary world.
Less academic definitions often draw from Carroll’s general premise. Some people say that any film that scares the audience is horror. But of course, we all have different tolerances. If Bela Lugosi doesn’t scare me in the 1931 film Dracula, that doesn’t mean Dracula it isn’t a horror movie.
Another, more common definition is that a movie is a horror movie if its intention is to scare the audience. This is also pretty flimsy. It relies on an individual’s sense of what is scary (in this case, the writer or director—another dilemma: whose intention?).
Other definitions center around the atmospheric elements common to horror movies. I’m not sure gothic or dreadful atmospheres are a very sturdy definition either. The Dark Knight is about as gothic as it gets, but it’s not a horror film.
A New Definition of Horror
As a behavioral biologist, I often think about human behaviors and cultural products in a somewhat different fashion than psychologists, and certainly in a different way than philosophers or literary critics. And, as someone who studies the human attraction to danger, I also think a lot about the types of danger that show up in stories. That’s is one reason I like Carroll’s definition: it focuses on the type of danger in the story.
But I do think Carroll misses the mark a bit. For him, it’s not just important that the monster is dangerous, but also that it’s impure. The monster must violate the character’s expectations (and the audience’s expectations) of the ordinary world, and that creates the feelings of disgust and fear that combine to create horror.
Carroll is on the right track by thinking about how the threat relates to the protagonist, but it’s not the violation of natural categories that makes the antagonist a horror monster.
What makes an antagonist in horror so much more terrifying than one in an action film? While horror often relies on supernatural elements or gore, there’s something more fundamental at play: the antagonist’s formidability, which affords them an overwhelming capacity to instill fear and a sense of helplessness in their victims. It’s the same feeling a prey animal gets when it encounters its natural predator.
Based on that, here’s a new definition of horror:
Horror is the genre in which a more formidable antagonist aims to kill a less formidable protagonist.
A quick primer here on what I mean by formidable. It’s a bit academic, but stick with me and it should make sense.
The Importance of Formidability
In aggressive social interactions, quickly assessing the other party’s capabilities is essential for making effective decisions. To avoid unnecessary conflict, it’s essential to estimate whether an opponent is stronger and therefore more likely to win a conflict. If they are, it’s best for you to flee rather than fight.
Across many species, physical size and strength are reliable indicators of success in conflicts, often serving as a quick gauge of one’s fighting potential. Still, factors beyond physical power—like aggressiveness, fighting skills, and weaponry—also influence the outcome.
Humans have evolved to assess others’ formidability based on cues like physical size, access to weapons, and motivation. Larger opponents are perceived as more formidable, weapons increase how formidable an opponent is perceived to be, and being aggressive also increases perceptions of formidability.
Bigger → stronger
Using a weapon → stronger
More motivated/aggressive → stronger
These claims probably all make intuitive sense, and they have a mound of empirical data behind them.
So how does all of this relate to horror?
Horror Villains Hijack Formidability
Horror villains are crafted to exploit our instinctive reactions to formidable threats. The villain’s attributes—size, weaponry, supernatural power—heighten our perception of the threat. This amplification creates the uniquely horrifying experience of feeling outmatched, where the protagonist’s chances of survival seem slim.
Physical Size and Supernatural Strength
Many horror villains possess exaggerated physical attributes or supernatural strength that signals heightened formidability. Characters like Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th or Michael Myers in Halloween are not just large and strong; they are relentless, seemingly invulnerable beings whose physical stature and endurance feel larger-than-life. They’re not just threats—they’re overpowering presences that immediately suggest that fighting back is almost futile.
Weaponry as a Signal of Power
Villains armed with weapons, from Ghostface’s knife in Scream to Leatherface’s chainsaw in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, don’t just have a physical advantage; they project an aura of imminent and deadly harm. Weapons amplify the audience’s perception of the antagonist’s threat level, reinforcing the idea that they hold power over the protagonist in a way that feels overwhelming and inescapable.
Bodily Damage as a Signal of Mortal Threat
The display of bodily harm or mutilation taps into the threat assessment mechanisms of our minds. Horror’s use of gore reinforces this sense of mortal threat, portraying the villain as capable of inflicting wounds that are not merely injurious but fatal or incapacitating. In Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Leatherface’s infliction of grotesque bodily damage signals his power and ruthlessness, making his formidability clear through the lasting, brutal harm he inflicts.
Control Over Environment or Supernatural Abilities
Formidability isn’t limited to physical attributes. Control over the environment or supernatural abilities also increases an antagonist’s perceived power. For example, Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street possesses absolute control over the dream world, rendering his victims powerless. Similarly, The Shining’s Overlook Hotel, as an entity, exerts a psychological and environmental influence that traps the protagonists, making escape seem impossible. Supernatural abilities create a sense of heightened formidability, where the antagonist’s power far exceed anything the protagonist can counter.
Psychological Manipulation as a Resource
In horror, formidability can also be psychological. Characters like Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs wield intellectual and psychological dominance, making them formidable in a different but still terrifying way. Lecter’s ability to manipulate those around him puts protagonists at a disadvantage. Psychological horror uses the antagonist’s insight into the protagonist’s fears and weaknesses. However, this advantage often only goes so far, and many psychological-oriented films probably fit better in the thriller category.
A Predator-Prey Dynamic
Action movies with powerful villains are like dominance competitions in nature. The two opponents are somewhat evenly matched and there’s a lot of fighting until one (typically the protagonist) comes out on top.
Horror films are like predator-prey interactions, where the protagonist is prey and the antagonist is predator. As in nature, predators in horror are more powerful than their prey. This, combined with their intent to exact total elimination of the prey, is what inspires fear and dread. In nature, those feelings promote fleeing.
That’s why horror movies have a lot of running, whereas action movies have a lot of fighting.
Protagonists do sometimes fight back in horror films. But this only happens under specific conditions: the protagonist has found a temporary advantage, acquired a weapon, or the villain is incapacitated for some reason. This usually only happens at the end of the movie as a way to tie up the story.
When the antagonist’s perceived formidability dwarfs the protagonist’s, horror is at play. It’s not just that the villain is scary; it’s that they represent an insurmountable power that leaves the protagonist (and the audience) feeling completely overwhelmed. This is the horror experience at its core: not just fear, but the deep, unsettling dread of facing a power that could annihilate you.
The Walking Dead showed this beautifully throughout its run. The show started off more in the “horror” realm because the protagonists were thrust into an apocalyptic wasteland filled with flesh-eating zombies. Over time, the survivors learned to counter the threat. There was no longer a formidability inequality in favor of the antagonists.
The show then introduced new societies that were hostile. The first major threat came with the Governor. However, the protagonists were somewhat evenly matched with this threat, and it didn’t take long for them to overcome them. By Season six, the show was pulling millions of viewers every episode. Its popularity was at an all time high.
And then, in the Season 6 finale, the audience suddenly became aware of how powerless the protagonists were at the hands of the new villain: Negan. Once Negan entered the scene, The Walking Dead became a true horror show, and it scared off millions of viewers that never returned.
Negan was a great character. The acting was good and the storyline was interesting. But, The Walking Dead had become less of a horror show over the years as the protagonists became adept at dealing with their apocalyptic world. This increased its appeal to the general population. People who didn’t really like horror began watching it. That is, until an overwhelmingly formidable villain entered the scene.
Until it became a horror show once again.