Scream: What We Forget About Being Scared

This Halloween, we decided it was time for our daughter's first scary movie. She had been curious about Ghostface after hearing other children talking about the character, so we eventually sat down to watch Scream together.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. After all, Scream is one of those horror movies that's become so familiar over the years that it's hard to watch without noticing its flaws. Some scenes are a little silly, the acting isn't always great, and some moments we might even find unintentionally funny as adults.

But watching it with a child was a surprisingly different experience.

We've forgotten what it's like to be scared

There's something interesting about watching a familiar horror movie through someone else's eyes, especially when that someone is experiencing the genre for the very first time.

We become desensitized. We recognize the clichés, anticipate the scares, notice the mistakes, and sometimes even appreciate the dark humor. We know we're watching a movie, and that distance changes everything.

Children don't necessarily have that same perspective. They aren't analyzing the filmmaking or recognizing genre conventions. They're simply experiencing what's happening on screen.

And suddenly, the silliness doesn't seem so important. What stands out is the cruelty, the unnecessary violence and the sheer madness of someone hunting down other people while wearing a terrifying mask.

Ghostface isn't an iconic horror character yet. He's just frightening.

A different kind of movie night

I found it fascinating how much our daughter's reaction changed my experience. Not because Scream suddenly became a better movie, but because I was reminded of something I'd stopped noticing: horror is supposed to make us uncomfortable.

We spend so much time watching increasingly elaborate scares that we sometimes forget how disturbing some of these situations actually are. Seeing someone experience that fear without the filter of familiarity reminded me how much our perspective changes over time.

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