I put it in sci fi/thriller, but then I do the same for stuff like Alien/Aliens. It's the same reason I don't think of Godzilla as horror.

Jaws doesn't have any science fiction elements and is focused on triggering the fear response. Jurassic Park is focused on telling what goes wrong when you fuck with nature, without being focused on just the fear response. Something can be scary and not be horror.

Curtis @ 8/6/2018 13:51

You don’t think Alien is horror? Or did I misread

Alien is a sci fi thriller for me. It becomes more obvious that its basis is not horror as you go through the franchise.

Again, you can have scary elements, but what is the basic premise of the story? It's about mankind running into something in space and the corporate greed that leads to most of the crew dying- it's almost more cyberpunk in that respect than anything.

Here's part of it for me: Jaws makes you afraid to go swimming, because a shark might eat you. Psycho made you worried you might get killed in a shower by a guy who thinks he's his mom in a weird hotel somewhere. Freddy makes you afraid to go to sleep. Jason makes you afraid to be the sexually-active teenage counselor out in the woods

Alien makes you.....not want to investigate derelict spaceships you find while tugging a huge platform across space? Sure, it has scary elements, but any of the former I deal with on a semi-regular basis. I don't even have a chance to fly on a space tug, let alone run into derelict spaceships. I blame your generation for this: you haven't even gotten me flying cars yet and Bladerunner takes place next year. Where's my spinner?

Curtis @ 8/6/2018 14:15

Alien is DEFINITELY horror. That’s not up for debate Vlady, don’t try it!!!! Also you can’t define Alien’s genre based on the progression of the series which was handled by different people each time, that’s just silly. Look at Evil Dead! It’s a sci fi thriller yes but it is undoubtedly a horror movie

Evil Dead is a bad example, as it is all handled by the same guy (except the lame reboot).

Again, tell me this: other than jump scares, what has Alien made you afraid to do in RL? You can't say "eat spaghetti" because we know you don't eat anything but chicken nuggets anyway.

Jump scares <> horror.

Boc @ 10/6/2018 16:44

"Making you afraid to do a certain activity irl" <> horror

That's the basis of horror- taking something that you could be afraid of. Even supernatural horror plays on your fears of monsters and boogeymen.

And yes, Curtis, Alien is a thriller, but I'm not afraid of eating spaghetti because I saw Alien. They even parodied it in Spaceballs ("He had the special? Can I switch to the soup?")

Again, I'd argue Alien is better cyberpunk-style story than classic horror. Based on your definition, then Predator is horror too. And Predator is in no way horror.

Ahoda @ 10/6/2018 17:42

Christian @ 10/6/2018 17:34 You're not going to be afraid of being eaten by a T-Rex when they don't exist. So I'd say no. Could it still scare children? Sure. But as soon as they realize dinosaurs became extinct millions and millions of years ago, there's nothing to be afraid of. :P This might be the dumbest post you've ever done Christian.

Ahoda is afraid of being eaten by a T-Rex?

Ahoda @ 10/6/2018 17:57

vladykins @ 10/6/2018 17:51 Ahoda @ 10/6/2018 17:42 Christian @ 10/6/2018 17:34 You're not going to be afraid of being eaten by a T-Rex when they don't exist. So I'd say no. Could it still scare children? Sure. But as soon as they realize dinosaurs became extinct millions and millions of years ago, there's nothing to be afraid of. :P This might be the dumbest post you've ever done Christian. Ahoda is afraid of being eaten by a T-Rex? You’re not?

If there are T-Rexs running around, getting eaten by one will be the least of my worries.

Ahoda @ 11/6/2018 10:51

Christian @ 10/6/2018 21:07 Christian @ 10/6/2018 20:42 Ahoda @ 8/6/2018 13:50 I always thought it was horror. What about it makes it that way? the movie scares me. So it's horror to me. You could argue it's more thriller/suspense but from what I remember it was more of a horror genre.

Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka scares the fuck out of me, because he looks like a pedo Michael Jackson clone. That does not make the movie a horror movie.

Ahoda @ 12/6/2018 16:49

vladykins @ 12/6/2018 16:45 Ahoda @ 11/6/2018 10:51 Christian @ 10/6/2018 21:07 Christian @ 10/6/2018 20:42 Ahoda @ 8/6/2018 13:50 I always thought it was horror. What about it makes it that way? the movie scares me. So it's horror to me. You could argue it's more thriller/suspense but from what I remember it was more of a horror genre. Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka scares the fuck out of me, because he looks like a pedo Michael Jackson clone. That does not make the movie a horror movie. If it makes horrified it is a horror movie to you

Nope- it is intention. If Tim Burton's intention was to make people afraid of MJ-lookalike pedos, then it would be a horror movie. But that was not the point of the film. A horror film is specifically designed to draw out and exacerbate fear and dread around a particular object, situation, or issue. So something like The Day After is a horror film in that the fear of a nuclear war becomes palpable. Or Nightmare on Elm Street makes you believe that there could be a monstrous ghost out there that can kill you through your dreams. These were the points of the movies- bringing out that dread. Zombie movies like 28 Days Later? Horror- because the point is to make you feel it *could* happen and you should be afraid.

That's why Jurassic Park is more of a thriller (sci fi thriller at that) than a horror film, because the point is warning about unconsidered science (Goldblum even sums up the entire point of the movie with "We spend so much time seeing if we can instead of thinking about whether we should"). The point of the film isn't to make you afraid of dinosaurs or to make you afraid that dinosaurs might be made, but instead to warn about science without conscience.

Curtis @ 13/6/2018 16:51

Ahoda @ 13/6/2018 17:33 Is the 3 Vlady, primate, and spin? JJ. Despite Vlady’s terrible points earlier I still think he knows Jaws is a horror movie. But who knows with that guy

I totally said Jaws is a horror movie. The entire concept of the movie is designed to produce a fear of sharks and going in the water.

Vance @ 13/6/2018 18:57

I can't believe there was an argument that Alien isn't horror. All of these thoughts were so innovative they needed their own post.

Alien is also sci fi thriller. Otherwise Predator is a horror movie too and I think that is fucking hilarious if so.

For those noting that Alien is listed on Wikipedia as a "sci fi horror" film, then explain why other lists Species as a sci fi thriller instead?

Sugarboogerz @ 13/6/2018 15:56

Is this the new Kevin Spacey thread?

I've already mentioned Michael Jackson being a pedo so the answer is clearly "Yes".

And I don't think anyone will argue that Jaws-3D wasn't a horrible movie.

Jaws 86 had a shark that ruined a family by stealing their identity and then using their accounts to buy bitcoin.