Horror has been prevalent in literature and cinema for centuries, from ancient Greek folklore warning listeners to follow certain virtues, to blockbuster films like Halloween sending popcorn flying in movie theaters. Recently, the entertainment company A24 has produced four critically acclaimed horror films that utilize an interesting formula that doesn’t require a man in a hockey mask to scare people. Midsommar, Hereditary, The Witch, and The Lighthouse have even lured in new fans who were once hesitant to approach anything horror-related with their outstanding cinematography and A-list actors. Midsommar became especially popular on platforms like Tiktok, spawning hundreds of memes, cosplays, and other fan-made content. The director of Midsommar and Hereditary is also currently working on a four-hour long “nightmare comedy” film, something which fans are both excited and anxious for.
So what exactly do these films do that other horror movies don’t? There are hardly any jump scares, yet they’ve gained a cult following ever since The Witch came out in 2015. Well, there’s something unique about these horror films in that they focus more on psychological horror in a way that appeals to a wider audience. In these movies, the characters are trapped in a relationship against their own will and seek an escape that they think will save them, but will ultimately hurt them in the end. It’s an easier and more relatable metaphor to swallow than say, the embodiment of pure evil being a man with a knife and white mask killing sexually active teenagers. Gone are the days of scary men in masks; what really gets people is seeing their own ordinary lives be put in the worst case scenarios.
For instance, The Lighthouse’s Winslow follows the same cycle of insanity his coworker ends up in due to extreme quarantine. When the characters do find an escape it comes at the cost of their morality, like in the case of The Witch’s Thomasin’s desperation for freedom from her strict religious upbringing. The films also pay attention to the build-up and the constant feeling of anxiety that differs from the formula most horror films use, right before a Twilight Zone-esque ending slaps audiences in the face. Those who watch Midsommar see themselves or their loved ones in Dani, who is in an unhappy relationship with her neglectful boyfriend. While gruesome, audiences can relate to these characters and their situations, making it so these films don’t need a haunted house or spooky ghosts to scare the daylights out of their viewers. Instead of being scared because a monster’s going to pop up on the screen at any second, the viewers are scared because they can see that everything is going horribly wrong for the characters, yet they are unable to escape the hell they unintentionally put themselves through. Stories like this result in the entire family of Hereditary being put in harm’s way due to traumatic events being passed down through generations.
This isn’t to say that other movies are doing something wrong. Jump scares are effective, and leave a lasting impression on audiences. However, those films are unlikely to attract much of an audience outside of people who already like those kinds of frights. The approach A24 takes woos those who often think horror movies are too gory, too scary, or too trashy. Black Mirror, though not entirely horror, has used such tactics with significant success in episodes like “Bandersnatch” and “Crocodile.” Doki Doki Literature Club! is also famous for its unexpected psychological horror elements and even going as far as breaking the fourth wall to mess with the player. The popularity of these projects and the four aforementioned A24 films means that audiences are ready for mainstream horror to implement other elements into their media that go beyond just jump scares.
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