Which type of horror do you find scarier?

[Tentickles]

I like the kind of scare that makes my imagination do the work.

I know there is something behind me. I can hear it breathing and its foot steps are getting closer. I turn around...

NOTHING.

 

[Lionsfan]

I prefer psychological so much more than jump scares, because I can pretty much always call when jump scares are coming (at least in all the modern films)

 

[triggrhappy94]

The earie unsettling kind.
The gorey kind--like Saw-- are just discusting. Watching people explode isn't scary, it's a snuff film.
The ghost/paranormal kind--Insidious, Paranormal Activity-- I find hilirous. Paranormal Activity has to be one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, highlighted by some preticularly creep moments.

EDIT:
Also documentries that focus on evangelical kids and summer camps--like Jesus Camp-- because I reminds me that I share a country with these people and I have just as much say in government as one of them do.

 

[DANEgerous]

psychological by a very wide margin. like the margin a fighter would beat a sloth in a trip around the world.

 

[CODE-D]

Alien will always be scarier than Aliens.

Your mind can scare you far more than the latter.

I never found alien scary. Maybe cause i was born in 1991.

 

[Strain42]

Hmmm...I'm not sure which one of your categories this would fall under, but I like a horror film that actually manages to horrify me*.

I absolutely can't stand horror movies that just rely on sound effects and things jumping out to just startle you and make you jump.

But I'm also incredibly squeamish so I don't like movies that are...um...gore porn I think is the scientific term

As you may notice from the asterisk, I'm actually not a big horror fan, and the few I like are usually more campier horror like the Evil Dead series or Little Shop of Horrors.

However, I do love a good Thriller movie, and I do enjoy the psychological approach to those. So I guess I could say I prefer the former category.

 

[Savo]

For the most part, psychological horror. I like both though, a fusion of the two like in Insidious can be amazing. Movies like Lost Highway or Jacob's Ladder that screw with your head simply can't be described in words.

Now that I'm thinking about it, psychological horror can be a tricky genre to get right. Since there's not so many jump scares, a movie can get boring if the atmosphere isn't pulled off right. For example, Audition is called a psychological horror movie, but the first part of the movie is excruciating to watch because of the lack of scary scenes.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Jump scares, I can't deal with. I have a stress disorder, so I overreact to tension and I don't find it pleasant. One or two jump scares in a film, sure.. but a film composed of lots of them is just torture for me.

So yeah, I suppose I find them scarier, just not in a fun way.

That said, I think it's genuinely hard to be original with psychological horror now, and I can almost understand why horror has generally regressed into senseless gore or torture porn, just because it's easier. The boundaries are pretty clear and you can push them without much work, whereas with psychological horror if you don't just want to repeat the same tired tropes you have to really work at it.

 

[Shuguard]

Psychological horror is the best! I'm still terrified to play amnesia even though i haven't downloaded it. The mind is a cruel thing. The whole thought of being weaponless terrifies me on a completely different level rather than something ugly or disturbing jumping at me.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Alien will always be scarier than Aliens.

Your mind can scare you far more than the latter.

I never found alien scary. Maybe cause i was born in 1991.

... I might just be missing something obvious, but what has that got to do with anything?

 

[superbatranger]

Alien will always be scarier than Aliens.

Your mind can scare you far more than the latter.

You nailed it. It's like they say, the mind plays tricks on the eyes.

 

[DarthVella]

Psychological horror, all the way. You can prepare for a shock, but there's no escaping something that lives in your mind and breathes your fear.

 

[zehydra]

the psychological creepiness is actually scary. Jumping out at you stuff is only shocking.

 

[Phlakes]

Psychological. That's why Dead Space isn't scary at all to me, all it relies on throwing big ugly monsters at you that really aren't a threat.

 

[Rikomag132]

I was genuinely scared watching the Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child". Some combo of gas-mask zombies and that creepy child's voice going "Are you My Mummy?" had me shitless.

Oh my god that was the scariest episode ever, especially when they tell him to go to his room and then they go to his room themselves.

 

[Rheinmetall]

Actually both types can be very scary for me. Examples: Resident Evil 2: suddenly two huge spiders jump on you, and I throw down the controller and run for my life.
Project Zero: You are trapped inside a haunted mansion with an old photographic machine as your only weapon against the phantoms. You have to play it to understand how scary it is. I would say it's so scary it's almost unplayable for most of gamers.

 

[Nouw]

Psychological horror. The horrors of the mind can be more horrific. The Shining? Fantastic example.

 

[keve4433]

Sadly I haven't seen anything that genuinely scared me in a long time which is sad because I used to love that stuff. -sigh- The good old days.

Anyways, I suppose I would have to say psychological horror was more my thing. Jump scares always made me laugh and gore isn't scary to me. It's always that bastard I call my brain that ends up scaring me the most...

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Alien will always be scarier than Aliens.

Your mind can scare you far more than the latter.

I never found alien scary. Maybe cause i was born in 1991.

Out of curiosity, why would the year you were born make a movie less scary? Over exposure in popular culture? Special effects failures?

 

[Biodeamon]

I'd have to say pyschogical. Deadspace becomes almost laughable after the second playthrough.
Amnesia is scary everytime.