Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Terror vs Horror

Basically, Horror & Terror are the same thing; an intense, fearful reaction. The only real difference between these two words is when this reaction occurs.   

Horror is all after the fact: something one encounters whereas Terror is all before the fact: the dread of what may - or may not - happen: something one might encounter.  



Consider the following:    

Marcia hears unsettling noises in the basement. Terror grips her…


 ...what might she find? Since she doesn't know yet, she can't be horrified. Simply being frightened at what may be is why Marcia's state is described as Terrified.


What Marcia does find in the basement is Greg chopped into pieces, blood everywhere. Marcia, now knowing what she's dealing with...


...is appropriately horrified at the sight of him.

Had it only been her cat, Marcia could only relate she was terrified to check but not horrified at finding her cat rummaging about.


Terror is always in the unknown. Marcia had no clue what she'd find. Might only have been a loose window. Let's say it was.


From here, the writers have to determine if the dread is over with Marcia locking the window and returning upstairs seeing nothing unusual.

Or if the terror continues because Marcia knows she just locked that very window moments earlier. If this is the case Marcia can still only rely on Terror because she has nothing to be horrified at yet. Is the window loose because the lock is broken or has someone broken in?

Marcia remains in the unknown and so can only remain terrified.

Now what if, while checking on the noise, Marcia sees this:


Again, Marcia still does not know what she's dealing with and it's this not-knowing-what's-coming-next that terrorizes her.  

Still could be her cat looking at her, and so on.



Returning to Greg & the premise that Horror follows experience, Marcia can see Greg dead and so has something to react to. Once these conditions are met, Terror all but disappears and Horror guides her next choice. 

Were it just killer standing by himself, Marcia could only anticipate and so Terror would remain her primary motivator.    

Were it the killer standing next to Greg's dismembered body, Marcia would experience both. She'd be horrified at what the killer had done to Greg and terrified at what the killer might want to do to Marcia.

In the end, aftermath is what makes it Horror and THIS is why there is no Terror Genre. 

What makes a movie terrifying then? Lots of frightening suspense. All the viscera, blood, & gore is the horror. I like 'em both and that's their difference.   

I'd also like to thank Marcia and her now ex-boyfriend for their assistance.    






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