Horror films: to watch or not to watch

Some people believe that one should stay away from horror films: they have a lot of negative emotions, bad attitudes and nightmares as a consequence. But others simply cannot live without horror films and action-packed thrillers. How do scary films really affect us, what effect on the psyche do they have, and is it worth quitting horror movies?

Opinions about the benefits and dangers of horror films are shared not only among the audience, but also in the professional environment. Some scientists believe that there is nothing wrong with watching scary movies, other researchers argue that it has a destructive effect on the body. Here are some facts for and against horror movies:

Why you shouldn't watch horror movies

1. Fear destroys the body

In 2009, biochemists from Washington conducted an experiment in which they studied the composition of the blood of a person watching films of different genres. The participants in the experiment watched a melodrama, a documentary, and an action movie. After the first two films, there were no changes in the composition of the blood, but after watching an action movie with scenes of violence, the content of hormones and antibodies in the blood increased.

The feeling of fear that a person experiences while watching a movie, "boo" effects or just a tense atmosphere is stressful. And every stress is the triggering of inflammatory processes, which is confirmed in the body.

Stressful situations also produce large amounts of cortisol, which has a detrimental effect on immunity and inhibits cognitive function.

2. Development of phobias

The memory of negative events and fear is stored in the amygdala, an area of the brain inside the temporal lobe, and, unlike positive experiences, does not disappear from there for a very long time.

Therefore, scary films in which you experienced strong emotions can give rise to phobias, so that a person will be temporarily isolated from some part of life. For example, a person has watched the film "Astral" and is afraid to walk around the apartment without light, because the imagination draws all kinds of terrible spirits, or watched the movie "Jaws" and spent the whole vacation at sea on the shore.

Movies can also have a powerful effect on a person if they are close to the area of his work. For example, students said that they don't watch horror films about nannies, because they themselves work part-time in this profession.

So, negative experiences, the ability to acquire a phobia, destroyed immunity and inflammatory processes in the body. It sounds scary, but not all scientists think so. Here are some positive opinions about watching horror movies:

Why watch scary movies?

1. Pleasure after the movie

A really good horror movie acts like an exciting attraction - the heart "jumps" out of the chest, the pressure rises, the breathing becomes faster. Most interestingly, this state persists after the movie ends. This is called the arousal transfer process, and Glen Spark, Ph. D., believes that this is what makes people "addicted" to horror movies.

The doctor explains that this process heightens all the emotions you experience after the movie. For example, if after watching a horror movie you chat with friends, the joy of this will be amplified at times.

In addition, one study has shown that it is the feeling of fear that helps to better perceive art, that is, sharpens emotions. Three groups of participants received different assignments before evaluating abstract art. Some sat quietly, the second had to jump 15 to 30 times, and the third watched a horror movie. As a result, it turned out that those who watched the horror movie subsequently got more pleasure from the art.

So, the next time you visit the gallery, go to another horror movie and the sublime art will impress you more.

2. Opportunity to vent aggression

It has been proven that people with developed empathy, which, most often, accompanied by excellent imagination, developed sympathy, humanism and emotionality, as a rule, do not like horror movies.

Aggressive people, that is, those who are not afraid to go into conflict and often resort to this, on the contrary, prefer exciting, scary films.

Scary movies help you survive the adrenaline rush, unusual, interesting events that do not occur in real life, and get rid of your aggression.

Are you "for" or "against" horror films?