Target Audience of Horror

I did research on the website about.com which gives decent profiles about different genre followings and demographics. My research on the horror genre showed that there is no specific or defining qualities about the horror genre; Horror's main following ranges from teenagers to late middle aged men and women. The specific audience depends on who is being asked. Middle aged men and women tend to prefer zombie and slasher films because of the large surge of successful horror films of those genres through the 1970s and 80s such as Friday 13th, Dawn of the Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Nightmare on Elm Street. Younger audiences like horror films because they are more likely to thrill seek and the shock factor of horror films gives home the adrenaline rush which young people like. However the dedicated followers of horror tend not to be largely outgoing or have a large social life. Hardcore horror fans tend to be enthusiastic about all forms of horror, including remakes which they inevitably hate, and when they run into a stranger who also likes horror they tend to talk enthusiastically about it together.


I created a survey and asked 100 people on their horror movie preferences. 33% of people said their favourite form of horror was physiological horror like films such as Black Swan and Silent Hill. Where as 22.2% of people said supernatural horror films such as The Omen and The Shining were their favourite. I also asked what people didn't like about Horror films; 43% of people said predictable endings and 30% of people said stupidity from the characters was the most annoying thing in Horror movies. Lastly, approximately 57% of people asked were under the age of 30 which shows that horror films generally appeal young people in the UK.