Horror, Gore, Fear and the Christian…

A lot of Christians I know love science fiction. Even more like tales of the heroic - comic book heroes or action figures fighting for justice on a big screen. That’s not to suggest that a lot of Christians I know don’t love drama, the low-budget indie, or comedy… though what’s appropriate in comedy is harshly debated. Still, the hot button genre with the highest temperature seems to be horror, and how Christians should - or shouldn’t - interact with it.

I grew up with the basic premise that horror movies were of the devil. I remember with fascination seeing part of “The Fog” with Adrienne Barbeau on Prime Time (edited) television before my parents realized I was peering out from behind the couch. I also remember that certain fairy tales for kids - Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel - contained horrific elements (contingent on the version you read) which felt incongruous with a general disdain for horror. Monster movies like “Them!” and “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” were acceptable, but anything dealing with the supernatural was not… unless, of course, it was a chain-smoking Rod Serling with “The Twilight Zone“. I definitely grew up confused about the right and wrong of scary movies and the Christians interaction with the “horror” tale. As a young man, I became obsessed for a season with the writing of Clive Barker. My Dad even burned a copy of “The Great and Secret Show” he found in my school bag. While no longer a big Barker fan as an adult, I have enjoyed some King novels and share a fondness for Lovecraft and Poe. I always find - particularly with movies - that some Christians are baffled to why Christians have anything to do with horror at all.

The three chief complaints - particularly with cinema - are that horror movies are bloody and gory, often contain nudity and sex, and often glorify the demonic. I’ll tackle these three areas as they pertain not simply to the horror genre, but in and of themselves… (more…)