Horror Movie Genres Explained

Hello Everyone, 

For this week’s Vikki’s musing I figured I would talk about something that is Halloween related. Lets explore the different types of Horror Movies that exist.

Monster Movies – Monster movies are your typical King Kong type movies. Huge creature comes, scares people, and destroys parts of the world. Humans rise up and take it out. 

Ghost Stories/Possessed/Haunted House – That would be your movies like The Shinning and Paranormal Activity. There is a ghost or entity reeking havoc. I would also include possessed kids like Children of the Corn and Village of the Damned. 

Character Killer Franchise – I am sure you immediately know this one. This is your Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, etc. I personally always enjoyed Freddy as he was funny as he killed you. 

Sci-Fi Horror – That would be your Zombie, Vampire, Werewolf, etc type of movie. I love zombie movies a little too much. Depending on the cause of the Zombie movie it can be part of a different type of genre known as Infection. (Contagion, Quarantine) 

Crazy/Possessed Animal – This is a great genre. You have your fun movies like Cujo, The Birds, and Jaws.

Comedy Horror – These are always the fun movies like Ghostbusters, Evil Dead, Ernest Scared Stupid, and Shaun of the Dead. I have Ghostbusters on DVD and on my phone for when I am bored at work. 

Slasher/Gore – These are your fun classic movies like Scream, Chainsaw Massacre, and Saw.

Religious/Satanic – An example of this would be Exorcist, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, and The Devil’s Advocate. These type of movies have a demon/devil aspect.

I really enjoy horror movies. I especially love Asian Horror movies. I enjoy movies that the person who thought they got away with their wrongdoing eventually gets destroyed by a spirit of the person that they wronged. Also Freddy will always have a special place in my heart. I also enjoy freaky ghost movies. I love the idea of ghosts. They are fun to watch when they mess with the living. Who did not love The Others? When it was revealed that they were really dead, it was quite enjoyable. I also scream my way through slasher/gore movies. I cannot help it. I watch through my fingers but a part of me loves watching them. As you can tell many of the horror movies can be moved into other genres but I tried to place them in the best category.

What other genres do you think I left off the list and what are some of your favorite horror movies?

S/N – I love Hocus Pocus. I guess that would go under Comedy Horror but it is one of my favorite movies.