There have been several theories of horror proposed over the last two decades, each designed to explain the value of the genre, and how good instances of it can be art, e.g.,
1: The Freudian notion of art as catharsis (Blue Velvet, The Shining)
2: The Play theory that horror pleases us with the adreniline rush of a good roller coaster (Aliens)
3: The cognitivist theory of Noel Carroll that talks about the narrative disclosure of impossible beings as a ratiocinative pleasure. (The Thing)
4: Horror films as one of the arenas in which the gender wars get fought, with Carol Clover's Final Girls holding their own. (Halloween)
5. My own theory of vicariously enjoying the power of the monster, and then of the human protagonists who vanquish it. (Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal)
6. The confrontation with death and dissolution argument.(The Evil Dead I & II)
7. Horror as a tonic, that makes us better able to deal with everyday horrors. (?)
Dan Shaw
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