Last November, I attended a panel, Scare Tactics: Craft of Writing Horror, that gathered accomplished writers Akela Cooper (M3gan, Malignant), Carey & Chad Hayes (The Conjuring franchise), and Jeffrey Reddick (Final Destination franchise). Each was asked, “What do you consider a horror film?”
This answer got me the most: “You have that aspect of ‘Oh my God, could this happen to me?’ that kind of thing that raises the pulse within your own body. It kind of constitutes that fear factor. That’s what I look for in good horror movies is the actual feat factor.” Chad Hayes said.
By such reasonable criterion, one of the most horrific horror films I’ve seen is wrongly labeled as a “drama/coming-of-age story.”
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