Psychological horror, such as we will see in "Dream House," is a powerful subgenre of horror that keeps people coming back for more. There are reasons why this subgenre can be so exciting, and can draw people in. There are also reasons why psychological horror is fitting when talking about today's society.
The Roots
The roots of psychological horror are based in the thought that a person is traversing the line between realities. Often, the audience does not know if the main character is sane, or insane. As the story progresses, the main character has his or her doubts as well. We find ourselves relating with the main character because, like him or her, we do not know what is real and what is not. We are sharing this experience with the character so it becomes more realistic.
The Goal
The goal of horror is to cause a person to temporarily suspend disbelief. A movie that appears more realistic can draw more of an audience in due to the fact that the walls of disbelief might not have to give way as much. With psychological horror, the audience does not know how to react as they find it difficult to decide what parts of the story are real, and which are fabricated. This increasing and decreasing of our mental barriers can bring an audience on a wild ride if the movie is done correctly.
The Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing happens throughout psychological horrors. We get hints early on in the movie as to what is actually real and what is not. The problem is that we have no clue as to how to interpret or incorporate these messages. It is not until the end of the movie, or the next time that we watch it, that we pick up on these clues and are able to see how they relate.
The human mind is set up to connect points in logical orders. Many of us love psychological horror movies because we are able to use them to trick our minds. We try to solve puzzles, but have no way of interpreting the clues. We end up laughing at ourselves at the end of the movie when the final reveal shows us what we missed.
Today
This type of horror makes sense in today society as we all sometimes wonder if we are on the brink of insanity. The world is a very cruel place that constantly bombards us with new challenges and issues. We worry if our children will be safe, we worry about our expenses and our jobs and we worry about terrorism and elections. When simple decisions like what new cell phone comes up, we almost crack. It makes us feel better to think that we can watch someone else unravel for a few hours.
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