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Huriel Davila

Dr. Alexis Walker

ENGL 1301-180

19 October 2021

Horror Manifested

What do horror movies display to incite the viewer’s emotion? A great fictional story. In

It, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Us, a fictional story is a key to targeting a viewer’s

feelings for a thrilling and horrifying experience. Though in the real world, each person has a

catalog of things that terrify them, in said movies, they have fictional ways to distress and exploit

their emotions to horrify the audience successfully. Reviews in these movies tend to highlight

and criticize the film. Through development, horrific scenes, and director, they tell the audience

what to expect.

The movies, It and Us include a fictional story that provides development background

information on the primary victims during this unexpected crisis to make the audience feel more

empathetic. For example, the film It explains the adolescence of the leading group of victims.

They are showing their everyday struggles and their relationship with each other. Movie

reviewer and YouTuber Emma Wolfe, says, “[Stephen King] always develops those coming-of-

age characters really well.” However, the film Us follows a family bond environment to institute

a feeling of distress for the audience. Critic Candice Frederick says, “Peele provides a haunting

image of a black family that is both unsuspecting and frighteningly unfuckwithable.” These

various techniques throughout the movie give the audience a lasting impression of unsureness of

the possible outcome. The central characters are widely unpredictable and provide the feeling

that anything can and will happen. If Emma Wolfe never criticized and praised the development
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of the characters, moviegoers would feel less inclined to find a connection with the movie. They

would not be able to compare their experience with the movie. The phrase "coming-of-age

characters" gives the anticipated fans of horror another factor to watch the film. Those who can

relate to the troubles of adolescence are more inclined to watch the film since they relate to the

characters. In the film Us, they introduced a well-liked and enjoyable black family. They are

finding happiness in their world. Candice Frederick gives a general understanding of the leading

group of characters and their personality as a whole in the movie. The phrase "frighteningly

unfuckwithable" provides the audience of future moviegoers with a sense of excitement and

exhilaration. A typical image of how every horror movie fan would like to act in a horror film.

These movie reviewers are creating a more empathetic connection with the film. Though both

use different variables, they both draw in the feelings of the horror fans. Both reviewers state

what they saw—giving the anticipated film audience a higher interest than before.

Both The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Us reviews give a short description of the gore

that the audience might expect since they are considered bloodier than the film It. They provide

an aspect of the emotions that come with it. These descriptions help viewers understand and

dictate what they want or do not want to see, following their personal catalog of things that scare

them. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre provides a more detailed explanation of the gore used than

the film Us reviews. Being primarly a more disgusting film warrants that kind of reaction. Noel

Murray, a critic, says, “As disgusting, harrowing, and ugly as the 1974 horror classic The Texas

Chain Saw Massacre is, the film has moments of eerie beauty.” A less severe description in Us is

used for gore when critic, Mark Kermode, states, “Fearsomely entertaining, consistently thought-

provoking and occasionally bloody scary.” Without these descriptions, the audience would not

have any idea of what type of horror movie it will be—differentiating films from the many types
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of horror. These reviews give a gist of the expected gore that the reviews on It hardly touch on.

These reviews are giving the audience information so they can decide whether they want to

watch the movie or not, if it follows their interest.

In the film Us, reviews are often critiquing the director more than the other two reviews.

Being Jordan Peele's, the director of Us, second film, many anticipated its release. These

reviewers highlighted the lows and highs of the director. Trey Mangnum states, "With his second

feature, Peele completely obliterates the concept of a sophomore slump." Mangnum uses the

phrase "sophomore slump" to differentiate Peele from other mainstream and successful directors.

These reviews hype up the director by highlighting Peele's movie greatness compared to other

horror films. John Semley, a top critic, says, "Peele develops a genuinely thrilling, heart-in-the-

throat-scary horror picture." This further critiques and emphasizes the film's director as an elite

one that can direct a horror movie. These reviews serve as a deterrence for hardcore horror fans

not to be discouraged from seeing a film from a so-called inexperienced and new director.

Compared to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and It, which have more reviews that touch on the

story and scenes than the actual director, Us reviewers tend to speak about the director and his

success in the film—a complete contrast to other horror movies. These reviews serve as a

motivator for moviegoers. They give the audience a confidence in the director and entice people

to watch what the reviewers are implying is a fantastic horror film. Without these reviews, the

general horror fans would be unsure whether to waste their time and money on a director with so

little experience. These reviews assure them of a positive experience.

In conclusion, reviews about different types of horror movies specify important

characteristics, basically what the public's primary concern is. Reviews will either attract or deter

a likely audience towards watching a horror film. While films like Us and It reviews tend to
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describe the setting, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre reviews highlight the gore in the movie. The

Us film reviews become separate from their counterparts in the emphasis on and pedestal the

director is put on. Horror reviews are meant to specify and acknowledge what the intended

audience wants, a movie that sounds interesting and warrants their attention. Horror movie

reviews are used as a marketing tool that may or may not attract an audience with the stated

opinions.
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Works Cited

Wolfe, Emma. “IT (2017) Double COME WITH ME! - Spoiler Free!” YouTube, uploaded by

spookyastronauts, Sept. 2017,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4ckmfpUWDA&list=PL29Hl-mzs6aKJkK7W-

bxI3uUj_RFVLcM6&index=210. Accessed 10 Oct. 2021.

Murray, Noel. “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.” The Dissolve, 22. Sep. 2014,

thedissolve.com/reviews/1088-the-texas-chain-saw-massacre/. Accessed 12 Oct. 2021.

Kermode, Mark. “US Review – a Terrific Horror Tale from Jordan Peele.” The Guardian,

Guardian News and Media, 24 Mar. 2019, www.theguardian.com/film/2019/mar/24/us-

review-jordan-peele-lupita-nyongo. Accessed 12 Oct. 2021.

Mangum, Trey. “With 'Us,' Jordan Peele Has Crafted the next Iconic Horror Classic [Spoiler-

Free].” Shadow and Act, 11 Mar. 2019, shadowandact.com/with-us-jordan-peele-has-

crafted-the-next-iconic-horror-classic-spoiler-free. Accessed 12 Oct. 2021.

Semley, John. “Review: Jordan Peele's Terrifying US Takes You out of the Sunken Place, and

into the Fire.” The Globe and Mail, 21 Mar. 2019,

www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/reviews/article-review-jordan-peeles-terrifying-us-

takes-you-out-of-the-sunken-place/. Accessed 12 Oct. 2021.