I hate horror movies. Seriously though. Especially if it's a film that isn't advertised as such but then out of nowhere it puts the most horrific imagery onto the screen. I just...I still find it hard to fathom how some people can see such horrors and walk away laughing and smiling. Personally, my mind is just too obsessive for that. When I witness something horrible, it almost always sticks in my brain and when I'm out and about in everyday life my brain just randomly reminds me of it. Family meals. Going shopping. Trying to sleep at night. It's there. Always. It becomes a new obsession. Sometimes I think I've moved on from it, but then I'll have a nightmare about that topic and I'm back to where I started. Depending on what it is, sometimes even my eating habits will change or I'll avoid going to certain places. Just because of some stupid film that refuses to leave my mind. You try not to think about it, but it's like that thing with the white bears... https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/10/unwanted-thoughts.aspx I hate it when the thoughts stop for ages but then without warning come back. Almost as if you are building yourself your own mental prison. Especially if you are in a nice conversation with someone and suddenly bam horrible mental imagery.
I also hate horror/scary movies. Who the heck dreams up that crap? I also have had childhood memories of scary movies I was stuck in front of and had to watch. I had nightmares for years. The funny thing though, is those scary memories ended up not being so scary after so many years past by that the situations they depicted were so out of date that they weren't scary any more, just out of date. I have avoided horror movies since I was a teenager, since I didn't see the humor in them at all. I haven't had a nightmare for a long time now and don't believe any trapped memories would upset me anymore.
I'm the same way. I also have a memory of seeing a movie that was too scary too young, it stuck with me for years. I almost entirely watch comedy with the occasional drama. I love sci-fi but a lot of what's out there can be very serious and depressing (think Black Mirror) so I have to parse them carefully. I usually just call myself a scaredy-cat, but honestly it's more that I'm already a person prone to depression and try hard to attract positivity, so it's more a deep revulsion and inability to understand the aesthetic. Life can be so dark and gloomy anyways, why purposefully put your head in that place?
I think horror movies give us a form of escapism, although it might not appeal to everybody. But watching a movie filled with horrific scenes can be a way of removing yourself from the mundane day you've been having - ok, here's a bunch of people in a doomed situation, lets see how the hell they get out of it. Watching horror movies doesn't actually mentally prepare you for any situations in real life where you might be vulnerable or at risk. And that might also be part of the thrill - we second guess all the characters' decisions. We watch a horror movie thinking "if I was that character, I wouldn't be running around screaming, I would grab that heavy object and hit the killer over the head with it several times and then set fire to them" but if I ever have been in a situation where I felt my safety was at risk, the last thing I thought about doing was what I would have done if I was in some horror film. It's not fun being in danger, but watching a horror film makes a dangerous situation feel like a bit of fun that we can walk away from.
Well, I live horror movies and stories, so you're on your own there. However, too much horror does exist. After I watched the Netflix movie "Apostle" , I was deeply disturbed, so much that I was tormented by the thought of the scenes of that movie occurring to me. I thought I was going to have a panic attack. You'll get over it, whatever it was, eventually, and you'll be able to get peace once more.
