4 out of 10 on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com), yet the highest voted user review gives it a solid 9 and claims that the director, Oren Peli, rivals the legendary Alfred Hitchcock. This phenomenon can be seen in movies like Chernobyl Diaries (2012), The Ring (2002), Halloween (1978), and hundreds more. Why are everyday viewers so much more enchanted by these movies than experienced critics? The difference between these two groups of people, as discussed above, is their perspective. A critic will focus on issues like chronology and character development, whereas a pedestrian viewer will be preoccupied with simply keeping his composure-he relishes the imminent emotional overload and generally remains oblivious to common logic and reason. Therefore, the explanation behind contradictory ratings lies in the horror genre's natural tendency to appeal to pathos over logos.
II. Background.
The history of the horror genre features rather distinct trends that mirror public concerns over time: What do people think is horrible? At first, this genre took broad, clumsy steps in an effort to figure out which direction to take this concept of "horrible." Even if horror's entrance was ungainly, films such as Dracula and Frankenstein (1931) saw raging popularity as a new and exciting form of entertainment, facilitating the entrance of a cultural phenomenon. After several more years of monster movies, directors began to realize that people tend to fear change in the things they know the best. Accordingly, as America mobilized for WWII, the horror genre followed technological advancements closely with its own tales of science experiments gone wrong. Later, the government's mysterious tests of concept aircraft led to a UFO epidemic; an era of outer space-related movies was born during the Cold War. Society quickly became bored of science and the unknown as children born in the 1950's grew accustomed to the empty promises of miniature sets and rubber dolls.