And it is with that that we arrive at the proper conclusion of the journey from one end to the other of this trial (I repeat, trial) outlook on the various faces of the horror genre. As mentioned at the beginning, there are many glaring omissions from among the titles. But the intention of all this has not been to compile a comprehensive list, but simply to create a sort of rough framework for this vast genre that hopefully allows its various angles and approaches to all be fairly viewed as legitimate contributions to one of the most misunderstood categories of film.
Having said this, not all of the omissions were made for the sake of space; as much as it is important to respect all aspects of this genre, it is also important for the credibility of good horror-film-making overall to point out that genuinely bad films appear in this genre as much as they do in any other and that they are too usually the result of directorial error, terrible plots, bad acting and questionable scripts. John Boorman must have accidentally left the radio on in the background while he watched The Exorcist in preparation for making his dire sequel The Exorcist II: The Heretic – how else do we explain his total failure to notice that an absence of background music was vital to the first film’s atmosphere? And despite the genius that was The Sixth Sense, M.Night Shymyalan hasn’t directed a horror film since The Happening – presumably because he is still in hiding from the hoard of angry horror fans who want an hour and a half of their lives back.
But even films such as these provide the perfect point at which everything can be brought back to what is possibly the most important characteristic of the horror genre –personal preference. One of the whole points of this spectrum – of the fact that it began from certain criticisms that although understandable seemed somewhat unfair – is that none of the types of film along it are necessarily good or bad in themselves, or better or worse than any other. What one person might find intolerable while another finds it hilarious is simply a matter of taste. Horror is possibly the most subjective film-type of all, but quite why it should be criticized more than any other genre is not entirely clear, even when the argument goes that there is enough horror in the world without it having to be made up for entertainment value.
If that is the rule then why not ban all films that are based on a true story on the basis that it actually did happen, or all war films on the basis that we have enough war? Why not attack all films whose theme is a kidnapping on the basis that we have enough kidnappings in the news? Or all films that are based on the books of Nicholas Sparks on the basis that…You get the idea. In fact, the horror genre has the advantage of being able to include the entire awful and gorgeous range of human life in a way that is seldom recognized but that is unrivalled by any other. Whether it is the emotional sympathy of losing or saving a loved one or whether it is the comedy factor, be it good old fashioned morbid curiosity or empathizing with the relief of an escape, or whether it is simply the rush that comes once the whole thing is over and you can let go of whichever cushion/limb/passing pet you were clutching and turn the lights back on, there is no doubt that horror movies are an art towards which human beings will continue to be irresistibly drawn.
If there are two things that human beings can be counted on to do in this world, it is firstly to die and secondly to want to look the instant that someone shouts “don’t look!” Fortunately in the world of horror cinema, we have a collection of movies that deal with both of these inevitabilities at once, and that can do it with all the care, love and skill of any other genre.