Well, I’m finally getting to working on my blog! I’m really bad at keeping up with things like this, if I’m being honest. I’m trying to fix that this year! To kick start this year off, I want to start by talking about my favorite genre. With my shift in focus for my writing, I thought this would be a good place to start for my blog. What’s my favorite genre you ask?
I’m so glad you asked. My favorite genre of book and movie is horror. I love quite a few of the different sub-genres, but I think ghost stories are my absolute favorite. That being said, let’s take a cursory glance at some of the different sub-genres of horror.
Zombie: I must admit, I am not much of a fan of this particular one. As silly as it sounds, I think they’ve been overdone, and I don’t think there’s much room for originality here. However, I did love I Am Legend which sort of melded zombies and vampires. I think this one’s pretty self-explanatory. This sub-genre is all to do with zombies.
Paranormal: This is my favorite, especially when it crosses into the gothic realm. The Woman in Black has remained at the topic of my list for ghost stories for a long time! While I don’t believe in ghosts, this section of the genre has consistently held my interest. Some people put demons under this category, but I’m saving that for another section. I have to draw attention to my absolute favorite horror movie here. If you want to see one of the best, yet intense, horror movies, you have to try The Autopsy of Jane Doe. It has yet to be bumped from the top of my list, and I love the way the story was weaved together! It’s got some unexpected twists and turns that catch you off guard!
Slasher: This one is lower on my list, much like the zombies. I do enjoy the Halloween movies and the first The Nightmare on Elm Street, but that’s been about it so far. It’s not the blood, just these stories don’t really capture my attention. I do like the way Halloween shows that depravity exists and doesn’t try to explain it away with a sympathetic backstory. Not all villains need or want to be sympathetic. I’ll get off my soapbox now.
Monster: This is another one of my favorite genres. You have vampires, werewolves, and mythological creatures! There are so many fun ones here! My favorite movie of 2023 is a monster movie. Andre Øvredal helmed The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and it did not disappoint! Seriously, if you love Dracula, then this is the movie for you. It’s based on the “Captain’s Log” section of the book, and despite knowing the outcome, this movie still kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. I’ll save the rest of my thoughts on this movie for another post. I want to address the mythological monster section before we move on to the next sub-genre.
I have to give props to movies like The Ritual while I’m talking about monsters. There’s something so fascinating about movies that tackle folklore. Adam Nevill has two great ones, but The Ritual was definitely my favorite of the two. I love Scandinavian mythology, so that makes this even better. I love seeing stories of lore come to life. Antlers was another great folklore movie. I find the Wendigo a very fascinating and underdone creature.
Demonic: This one is a little harder. There are a lot of different thoughts on this, so I’m going to give you my thoughts on this sub-genre very briefly. I’ll have a video and post coming later this year where I’ll delve into my thoughts on faith and watching horror movies. My dad has agreed to participate in the video, and I’m excited about that because he always has great thoughts on these things, and he’s so much more articulate than I am! So, there are very few of these that I enjoy. Demons are not my favorite horror focus. The Conjuring 2 is one of the few exceptions. I also enjoyed the Hell House LLC. movies, but I’m not 100% sure if that counts or not. Still don’t have all the answers. For me, I know the (otherworldly) sub-genres listed above aren’t real, but I know that demons are. I firmly believe that the demonic activity that goes on in these movies is fake. I don’t know anything about demons outside of what the Bible tells me, and I don’t care enough about the topic to do any digging. I’d rather dig through my Bible for things that edify Christ and grow me as a believer.
Psychological: This one is fun and extends to other sub-genres. One of the most well-known movies in this sub-genre is The Silence of the Lambs. My dad really enjoys this one. It’s okay, but it’s not my favorite. I do like The Shinning if I take it as a cabin fever movie rather than a Stephen King story. It does a great job of showing his descent into madness while in the hotel. The Blair Witch Project is another great example of psychological horror. This movie is labeled as supernatural horror, but that label made my sister and I disappointed after watching it. We both agreed that if it had been labeled psychological horror, we would have had a much warmer reception to it. The way you can see them slowly start to lose their grip on reality while trapped in this forest is perfect and really keeps the viewer engaged in their struggles.
Other: There are other sub-genres that often intersect with the ones I’ve already talked about and I want to give a few of them some attention. Found footage is a very popular one with movies like The Blair Witch Project, Hell House LLC., or my personal favorite As Above So Below. This is when movies are shot to look like it was filmed purely through something like a camcorder or phone. It’s meant to be more like a home video. This style makes it feel more authentic to the viewer since it’s a medium most have some experience with themselves. Another one that deserves attention is gothic horror. It’s known for feeling haunting and dark. There aren’t many movies that fall into this one, but it’s still worthy of recognition! I love the old Universal monster movies, and those are a prime example of this sub-genre. I am very attached to The Woman in Black because it’s one of my favorite horror novels. Sleepy Hollow is a must-watch every Halloween for my mom and I, so that makes this list too. Tim Burton captured the heart of gothic stories in that one for sure. There are a few TV shows that fall here as sell, but I’ll save that for another time!
What do you think? What’s your favorite sub-genre of horror?