Horror for the Whole Family

It’s a nightmare picking a film for the whole family to watch. My mum tries her best to pay attention, but will most likely fall asleep halfway through. My dad can’t stand films he deems too ‘shouty’. My sister's attention span lasts about as long as a Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode. So when lockdown came about, and we decided to try and watch more films to stave off the boredom, we just couldn’t decide on something we all wanted to watch. The answer? Horror. You’ll never find them under family films on Netflix, but anybody who’s watched a horror film with their mates will know that it’s a genuine bonding experience. You scream with them, you guess twists with them, you criticise the protagonist’s actions with them. And once you get past the instinctual embarrassment of watching something more R-rated with your parents, you can have this same experience with your family. The genre suited us perfectly. The jump scares and tension made sure that my sister would pay attention and my mum wouldn’t sleep. My dad deemed most horror films too shouty and gory, but was more than happy to delve into more classic, ‘high-brow’ horror. For me, horror was one of the main genres that I hadn’t watched much of. It ticked all the boxes. We eased ourselves into it at the start, with Psycho and Jaws, films that are arguably more thrillers than horrors. However, as both utilise clear elements of horror, they were perfect starting points. Too often you’ll see film nerds downplay or ignore the significance of both Hitchcock and Spielberg, but to do that is a mistake that downplays the genuine mastery of craft that both display, and arguably to no greater degree than in these two films. My personal favourite watch was The Shining - not only because it’s one of the all-time greats, but because I had seen it and nobody else had, so got to enjoy all the reactions to jump scares I knew were coming. It’s also a perfect rewatch film. While your first watch is about the experience of it all, on later watches you begin to pick apart the clues to Kubrick’s meanings behind it all.

Then came Silence of the Lambs, arguably the most traditional horror film out of the selection. It’s one that doesn’t shy away from the gore, which might be awkward for some families, but there’s a morbid fascination in it all, and especially in Anthony Hopkins’ legendary performance. Hannibal Lecter is surely the greatest psychopath on film. Except not. The Vanishing, a film that needs to be watched by more, showed my family what is, in my opinion, the most chilling psychopath on film. The chills come from his normalcy, his everyday appearance, the casual delivery of his disturbing lines. While we as a family were all scared by the blood and jumps of the previous films, it was this film that truly disturbed us the most, even as it arguably tried the least. This won’t work for a lot of families. Some just want to watch the Paddington films, and fair play to them, they’re amazing films. But the next time you’re arguing over what to watch, just think to yourself. Why not a horror?