The Potential Optimism Of Horror

Whether or not ghosts, hostile extraterrestrials, or terrestrial cryptids exist, there is much for humans to be afraid of.  Fear is subjective in its intensity and in the sense of which experiences trigger fear in which people, for there is nothing that makes it logically necessary that everyone fears the same things--or fears at all--and yet there are many things perceived in human life that are threatening.  Sometimes the source of danger is other people, while other times it could be non-human creatures, existential issues, or unpleasant circumstances.  The most significant fears all pertain to matters of metaphysics and epistemology, to discovering that some intrinsic (if it is strictly a necessary truth of logic) or contingent part of objective reality is not how one would have wished it to be, regardless of whether it is something related to absolute certainty as humans, to God's existence, to conscience or morality, or something else.  That these fears are the most penetrating and weighty of all thankfully does not mean that everyone experiences existential terror even if they all were to recognize the same philosophical truths.

Fear is to some extent still present in many people's lives.  Though the cause or object of fear might differ wildly from one individual to another, enough people relate to it to find some sort of excitement in the horror genre, entertainment's artistic avenue for directly exploring fear.  Executed correctly, horror is actually one of the most personal, existential, metaphysically and epistemologically-charged genres in art across all mediums.  Of course, mediums with audio and visual components are objectively better at amplifying horror elements, with the absolute pinnacle of potential for horror storytelling being in video games since they can combine the premises and text of a book, the emotion-stirring sound of music, the visual side of film and television, and the interactivity that only gaming can wholly offer.  Nonetheless, the most mainstream horror stories often appear in film and television.

There has been a resurgence in cinematic horror in the last 15-20 years.  While there are darker horror films like Saw or The VVitch, both of which end with a triumph of the villain in contrast with the many movies that would not dare do such a thing, others like Doctor Sleep, It, and The Black Phone illustrate how horror stories can ultimately be about reaching a state of self-awareness that ignites the resolve necessary to handle the trials of life.  They share similar themes about the autonomy and liberation people can find when they confront their problems, focusing on how children can also discover and experience such things.  For instance, Doctor Sleep ends with one child in a position to avoid the misery faced by her mentor in his youth because she is approaching her psychic powers with a specific mindset.  The potential darkness of horror does not erase its capacity to ironically deal with authentic optimism.

This is the most objectively significant form of optimism (significant in that it is rooted in the necessary truths of reason whether or not objective values exist or whether anyone is emotionally persuaded): our trials do not damn us to forever have a better life outside our reach.  Emotionalistic optimism either deserves to be crushed at the expense of whoever believes in it or it is utterly meaningless, since it is nothing but someone's unwillingness to align with reason and the truth about things.  Horror films like Doctor Sleep and The Black Phone do not encourage this kind of shallow, asinine denial of reality; they deal with characters coming to deep determination, acceptance, and the resulting freedom that ends each movie on a very positive note in spite of the very bleak events beforehand.  Freedom from psychological or physical bondage is the endpoint, and these two films are particularly about children finding empowerment as they wrestle with and eventually overcome major trials.  Empowerment in the truth is not for children or adults alone, though, as it is a universally possible experience for everyone who has fears.

Now, horror can be made on the level of intention and execution so that it is not optimistic in the slightest.  Like other genres, there is no single way that horror can be explored.  Subgenres like cosmic horror, erotic horror, supernatural horror (which can sometimes blend with cosmic horror), and psychological horror (which, again, can overlap with other subgenres) are possible because of this, and each of them is uniquely suited to addressing or at least prompting thought about many precise aspects of reason, knowledge, and humanity.  Still, not only can horror be distinctly optimistic in a genuinely empowering way, but there have also been quite a few examples of this released over the past few years.  We might not face the same oppressive situations as characters in a Stephen King adaptation like Doctor Sleep, but fear and the capacity for triumphing over fears even if the terror does not disappear are things that many of us, in one way or another, can relate to nonetheless.  Horror has the potential to both terrify and to showcase humanity as individuals confront, understand, or even conquer fear.  In a life where there is much to be afraid of, the potential optimism of horror is one of its most impactful qualities.