Psychological Horror: Difference between revisions

 

Psychological Horror is an element of fiction, not tied to a particular genre (it manifests itself in many stories which are not identified as "horror stories"), which aims at creating horrific or unsettling effects through in-depth use of psychology.

 

 

Often works hand in hand with [[Nothing Is Scarier]], [[Mind Screw]], and [[Through the Eyes of Madness]]. Due to the nature of this form of horror, it is usually [[Nightmare Fuel]].

 

== [[Anime]] ==

** The movie ''[[End of Evangelion]]'' certainly piles on the horror aspect of this trope.

** Impressively the only threat in ''Monster'' comes from the horror/madness as it's established very quickly that [[Complete Monster|Johan]] specifically wants to keep [[The Messiah|Tenma]] from being killed.

 

== [[Film]] ==

* Take a movie by Tarkovsky. ''Any'' movie by Tarkovsky. But particularly ''Stalker''.

* This is a big part of Japanese horror, and why it was so popular a few years ago.

** ''[[The Ring|Ring]]''

** ''[[Uzumaki]]''

** ''[[Noroi the Curse]]''

** ''[[Audition]]''

** ''[[Acacia]]''

** ''The Red Shoes''

* ''[[The Eye]]'', which is a Hong Kong movie, also does feature some elements of J-Horror.

* ''[[Shutter]]'', a Thai movie.

** ''[[Vertigo]]''

** ''Rear Window''

* ''[[The Cell]]'' (takes place inside the mind of a serial killer. It's a very unpleasant place.)

* ''[[The Silence of the Lambs]]'' and that whole series.

* Most of [[David Lynch]]'s movies fall into this category.

* ''[[Right At Your Door]]''

 

== [[Literature]] ==

** As mentioned, ''[[The Shining]]''

** ''Thinner''

* ''[[House of Leaves]]''. Does the Navidson Record really exist? Did Zampano actually write the manuscript or is it all in Johnny's head? Is the {{color|blue|house}} on Ash Tree Lane a metaphor for {{color|red|<s>the minotaur</s>}} the darkness within the human mind? [[Mind Screw|Does anyone have any idea what's going on at all?]]

* ''[[Miriam]] ''

** ''A Song for Lya''

** ''Meathouse Man''

** ''The Second Kind of Loneliness''

* ''[[The Bad Seed]]''

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

** Same goes for The God Complex. A monster that strips away your faith - not just religious faith, but faith in anything - and feeds off of it? ''Terrifying.''

* ''[[American Horror Story]]'' uses it along with all the [[Surreal Horror]], particularly in Ben's plotlines.

** ''[[Fatal Frame]]''

** ''[[Silent Hill]]''

** ''[[Eternal Darkness]]'', especially since one of the three traits in the game is Sanity, alongside Strength and Mana.

** ''[[The Suffering]]''. The ghosts of sadistic psychopaths are not uplifting company.

** ''[[First Encounter Assault Recon|F.E.A.R.]]''

** ''[[Rule of Rose]]''.

** ''[[The Path]]''

** ''[[Yume Nikki]]''

** ''[[Alan Wake]]''

** ''[[Manhunt]]''

** ''[[Condemned]]''

** ''[[Thief]]''

** ''[[American McGee's Alice]]''

** ''[[Dark Corners of the Earth]]''

** ''[[Calling]]''

** One of the reasons why the original ''[[Operation Flashpoint]]'' and its current successor ''[[Arm A]]'' are praised for their realism is how they not only accurately portray the tech and tactics employed on a modern battlefield, but also [[War Is Hell|the tension, paranoia and uncompromising unpredictability of military operations]]. Compared to most other military games, which are usualy action-pumped thrill rides with lots of loud set pieces, these titles have the player experiencing almost unbearable tension while moving through enemy territory. The enemies can be well hidden, may already know of your position, may be already surrounding you stealthily and killing you before you even manage to register them and realize your grave mistake. And don't even get us started on situations like being [[Trapped Behind Enemy Lines]], completely out of ammo and hiding in the bushes, because heavily armed brigades of soldiers and vehicles are combing the whole area. All of this goes hand in hand with the horror occuring [[Daylight Horror|commonly during missions set in broad daylight]].

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* ''[http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Animal%20Crossing/Update%201/index.html The Terrible Secret of Animal Crossing]'' in a similar vein!

** Due to her very nature, it seems that any extended appearance by Zimmy will cause a brief genre shift into psych horror.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Narrative Devices]]

[[Category:Literature Genres]]

[[Category:Horror Tropes]]