Poll Suggestion: Oscar-Winner Horror Film

@ElMaruecan82​ 

Both of these films have a terrible story, it's just that the reluctance of the story conflict shows cause and effect that does not reflect the Horror genre film, Jaws has a fierce animal point of view, and it can be proven in real terms of sharks, just as The Silence of The Lambs reflects human cannibalism, and the fact is true.

So the Horror genre, which is supernatural in terms of story, is not visible from the two films, therefore the criteria for Horror films must show points of view that are not visible or cannot be proven in common sense.

The Silence of the Lambs is not a horror movie. Jaws is sort of horror, but IMDb is almost the only one not categorizing it as horror. I don't see how either one has a terrible story, though.

Thanks for your insights,  although I've always considered these two movies as horror films (which didn't prevent them from overlapping with other genres) I could see why people wouldn't... and I kind of anticipated your arguments which I agree with. 

But even then, I was puzzled by the way neither of them were ever tagged as horror films so I think I've settled that matter myself a few years ago without ever referring to a textbook definition. Now, the way I see it, it's not about what the film intends to show but how the majority of viewers respond to it... I wouldn't go as far as saying that if a film elicits fear it's enough to classify it as horror... but we can do that on a case-by-case basis.

In the case of Jaws, the presence of the shark is suggested in such a sinister way (music, POV etc.) and the effects of the deaths are so gruesome that there is an idea of malevolence which, as untrue as it is from a biological perspective, shouldn't distract us from the fact that filmmaking is an art and is meant to convey an emotion: in that case, a strong unsettling feeling whenever the sharks is close, culminating with sheer terror when he comes to action. Sure he's an animal and only kills to eat but the AFI named him one of the Top 50 villains and people cheered when he was blown to pieces... within Steven Spielberg's artistic framework, the shark was a 'bad guy', and a horrific one at that.

I'm more reserved regarding the one with Hannibal Lecter, I agree we can regard Silence of the Lambs as an atypical whodunit with dark psychological undertones and some pretty gruesome details that can find echo (sadly) in our everyday lives (like Se7en) but once again, we can allow ourselves some latitude and consider that once the circumstances of one's death reaches a certain level of morbidity or is gore enough to make one cover his/her eyes, we're stepping into horror territory. 

Granted cannibalism is true but in a case when one character is shown truly enjoying the act of barbarity he's indulging in with a whole operatic mise en scene to emphasize the moment, it's not exactly like a documentary explaining in a very matter-of-factly way the horror of the war or the camps, a serial-killer's story or whatever atrocity truly happened in history.

Still, this makes for an interesting debate. 

In The Silence of the Lambs, the way that the bodies of the security guards were mutilated is horrific and borderline macabre no doubt. I can see how the same thing in a different context would constitute belonging to the horror genre, like when a protagonist discovers the dead bodies hidden away by a serial killer. The scene in Se7en involving the sloth victim was the only thing in it that was akin to the horror genre, even though all of the victims were treated horrifically. Both of them, and Jaws, definitely conform to horror movie music scoring.

@ElMaruecan82​ 

From your exposure in the comments, I understand your point. I think this is already the effect of culture or it can be said that the environment around a person, which most affects a person's perspective. For example, I'm an Indonesian who will have a point of view on the horror of a film based on a mystical story built from a film. I'm very scared if I watch horror films made in my country, why, the answer is because it fits the mystical stories in the environment around me.

I will take the other side if I watch horror films from other countries, for example Halloween-themed films, for Indonesian culture it is not too scary for us, because it is outside of our culture, Halloween in my mind is going to nightclubs and having fun with friends at Halloween parties, we don't care about movies that show in theaters on Halloween night, if we watch them there is no fear with Halloween-themed films, except for the scary face decorations that are afraid to add to the excitement of the film. And that we still say it's a Horror film, because of the mystical story of the ghosts of the dead who return on Halloween night, which is related to the essence of the culture its.

If you talk about the horror of films other than the supernatural definition that can be felt from other genre films, I agree that, many films are full of horror and calmness that are no less than Horror films, Jaws is very terrible in terms of the genre that can be called Thriller, so I categorize Jaws as a Thriller film for the tension presented. Although the purpose of making the film Jaws is still to scare the audience of the ferocity of Sharks, which in normal life people will certainly avoid animals like Sharks.

Basically, horror is not only from the minds of other realms, dramas that have terrible endings because even human crimes can be considered scary, and normally everyone wants a sense of security in their lives and don't want bad things to happen in their real life. And film makes a place for us to feel the story in it, thus creating various perceptions in everyone who watches films. So I think the essence of watching a film basically depends on the psychology and culture that is formed in a person's point of view, in responding to the theme of a film or genre.

By the way this discussion is very long and interesting, so it is like a mind sport, but on the other hand your review adds a different perspective and is very good to consider, which is neither wrong nor right, therefore subjectivity is more dominant than objectivity. 🤯

@jeorj_euler​ 

Yes, it's very scary, that's why humans have scary characters to film, not just the supernatural.