changes and trends in horror-genre films are linked to the anxieties of the culture in its time and place. Vampires are the manifestation of grappling with sexuality; aliens, of foreign influence. Horror from the Cold War is about apathy and annihilation; classic Japanese horror is characterised by “nature’s revenge”; psychological horror plays with anxieties that absorbed its audience, like pregnancy/abortion, mental illness, femininity. Some horror presses on the bruise of being trapped in a situation with upsetting tasks to complete, especially ones that compromise you as a person - reflecting the horrors and anxieties of capitalism etc etc etc. Cosmic horror is slightly out of fashion because our culture is more comfortable with, even wistful for, “the unknown.” Monster horror now has to be aware of itself, as a contingent of people now live in the freedom and comfort of saying “I would willingly, gladly, even preferentially fuck that monster.” But I don’t know much about films or genres: that ground has been covered by cleverer people.
I don’t actually like horror or movies. What interests me at the moment is how horror of the 2020s has an element of perception and paying attention.
Multiple movies in one year discussed monsters that killed you if you perceived them. There are monsters you can’t look at; monsters that kill you instantly if you get their attention. Monsters where you have to be silent, look down, hold still: pray that they pass over you. M Zombies have changed from a hand-waved virus that covers extras in splashy gore, to insidious spores. A disaster film is called Don’t Look Up, a horror film is called Nope. Even trashy nun horror sets up strange premises of keeping your eyes fixed on something as the devil GETS you.
No idea if this is anything. (I haven’t seen any of these things because, unfortunately, I hate them.) Someone who understands better than me could say something clever here, and I hope they do.
But the thing I’m thinking about is what this will look like to the future, as the Victorian sex vampires and Cold War anxieties look to us. I think they’ll have a little sympathy, but they probably won’t. You poor little prey animals, the kids will say, you were awfully afraid of facing up to things, weren’t you?
I’m like one hour from going to bed so my take is not going to be extensive but my guess is that the social anxiety this is reflecting is the surveillance state. And the fact that private companies (i.e. not just the state) are also doing a ton of surveillance. And even the fact that the way we often use social media – less so Tumblr, which has some anonymity still – is basically internalising that surveillance and performing for it at all times.
It seems like there are two modes going on here: “avoid being perceived by the horror” (Bird Box, A Quiet Place etc) and “perform correctly so that the horror can’t get you” (your trashy nun example). Both of them arise from surveillance logics; one is “avoid being surveilled or it will Get you”, the other is “you are being surveilled, perform correctly or it will Get you”.
And with regard to the social elements it’s all reflecting, I mean – have you seen the state of things? It’s extremely difficult to avoid being surveilled! A monster where you have to not look at it is fucking easy mode by comparison!
(Pretend I cited Michel Foucault and Erving Goffman; they’re relevant but also it’s bedtime.)
Ooh yes, and breaking it down like this made me think:
- fear of observation (surveillance state)
- fear of not performing correctly (purity culture and evangelical backlashes)
- fear of confronting existential threat (climate change)
my contribution to this extremely salient and clever discussion is to say: I think we should call this subgenre panopticonsequencehorror
