My engagement with “horror” is relatively restrained; while I have interacted with it occasionally, I tend to view its various media with apprehension, bordering on contempt. The genre is commonly associated with gratuitous violence and sexual immorality, glorifying evil almost directly; this alone should be enough to caution any God-fearing individual. Occasionally the aesthetic of horror is applied in a less blatant way, yet this does little to mitigate the harm such depictions can ravage on the mind and heart. Such flippancy is more likely to endear the audience thereof toward these sinful enactments, or at the very least deaden the conscience against them. Yet for all this, the true danger of horror is far more insidious, rooted in its core theme of hopelessness.
What often sets horror apart from other storytelling styles is its focus on some power or force beyond the reckoning of man. Some of the most popular franchises, such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street, all feature semi-supernatural monsters seemingly invulnerable to any efforts made against them; climatic defeats at the end of each entry are shown to be but temporary setbacks in their fearful endeavors, reaffirming the futility of the protagonists’ resistance. Other examples are more explicit, showcasing literal demons overpowering man’s attempts to contain them, as in The Omen and The Exorcist. In all of these stories, evil is depicted as being the greater force, easily overcoming whatever good it encounters, and leaving the audience with the perception that there is no hope for the world it inhabits.
But what does the Bible say? For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, . . . for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:6a,7) There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (1 John 4:18) In theory, the world has much to fear so long as it sets itself against God. However, this fear is not meant to be reveled in or acclimated to, but is meant to incite the heart toward repentance and redemption, that those who once feared might experience the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7a). This should be our focus, that we honor the power of God, rather than fear the subservient powers of the world or even Hell.
Hope is an assurance in things promised, a looking-forward to a good and guaranteed future. Godly hope is born out of faith, and cultivates the love of Christ in us; to stifle it is to handicap sanctification. Horror revels in hopelessness, elevating the powers of darkness over God Himself; in reality, God is sovereign over all, and nothing can subvert His great plan. Mayhap elements of the genre may be employed to emphasize God’s preeminence, provided it keeps this alternative theme continually in the foreground. However, such endeavor carries great risk, as failure to keep focus will result in a falling back into the folly of fear (e.g., the Left Behind series, some Frank Perretti works). Outside of being specially called to such ministry (and even then, with extreme caution), it is often better to leave such discouraging and dishonoring content alone.
Be strong and courageous! TTT