Watching horror movies is an essential part of the Halloween season for all spooky lovers. Many may love the cheesiness and predictable scenes that come with many horror films because it brings a sense of comfort knowing what is going to happen. However, many others wish horror movies weren’t so predictable because it takes away from the horror aspect of them. It would be refreshing if horror movies didn’t seem to follow the same plot and be so predictable. So what is it that makes a horror movie too predictable?
One thing that seems to play into the predictable aspect of the film is that some features seem to be a bit overused. Like the “spooky music” leading up to the jump scare scene. The purpose of the music is to create an eerie atmosphere and add suspense prior to the scene. However it just seems like a warning to expect a jump scare or something along those lines, now if you are expecting the next scene to be a jump scare it’s no longer much of a jump scare.
Another thing in horror story lines that always seems to remain the same throughout films is you can easily predict which characters will make it to the end of the film and which won’t. It’s almost a known fact that the main character pretty much never dies in a film. So when the main character in a horror film is on the verge of death you almost feel like you don’t have to fear for them because it’s rare that a main character dies. Also in most horror films in the beginning a pretty and not very bright girl is usually the first to go.
Izic Baron provides his input on what he fells is predictable in horror films, ” A lot of the time in horror films there is a girl who is being chased and ends up tripping and falling over something, also in most movies the characters are not very bright and there are similar kill patterns when it comes to which characters die first.”
Even the setting of a film can play into the predictable aspect, Juniper Miyasaki says “I definitely feel like the setting of a horror movie can make it more predictable. Especially if the movie is about a loose killer then certain settings provide specific opportunities, like drowning or falling off cliffs.”
A lot of films also have other overused setting and scene features, like we all know if the film showcases a night with a full moon or a ton of fog then something bad is going to happen that night.
It is understandable though that film companies all seem to have these key components in their films since the most successful horror films feature these which would usually mean their films would be successful to. Nonetheless, it would still be refreshing if more films didn’t keep these predictable components that take away from the horror aspect.
