Watching Horror
Video Projection, 2007.
Screening at Bonington Building, Nottingham Trent University

As an avid fan of horror movies I admit that I enjoy the thrill of being held in suspense, from watching the tense and torturous chases to the gory and graphic death scenes.

The cinema has such an overwhelming and powerful effect on its viewer and its easy to become completely immersed in the on-screen events. I wanted to record and observe my reactions to horror movies and certain scenes by measuring the amount of fear I felt depending on my facial responses and comments. The video recordings revealed many different emotions while watching horror movies including: sadness, guilt, shock, surprise and in some places hilarity.

The image to the right of the screen shows a video still from the Halloween Horror Screening at Nottingham Trent University. The group had mixed reactions to the screenings of horror and some even had to cover their faces when the violence became too graphic. After a rather intense and graphic scene the group became jumpy, worrying what would happen next and when one person gasped the whole group laughed together as a sense of relief that the tension had been broken not only on- screen but within the room. Thus showing that fear can be passed on from one person to another in a group, triggering irrational and paranoid behaviour.