There are different genres of horror movies, and knowing they types can help you find the one that is perfect for you. It is not all blood and guts, there is a diverse range of these films for you to enjoy.
Slasher films are where the villain kills the victims in gruesome manners and they get more and more violent. Usually they leave one survivor, and many spin off into sequels, many of which are long lived. You will either see the killer from the beginning, usually in a mask or you will be left with a mystery to figure out who the killer is. These are some of the most popular and common types that are found.
Thrillers tend to use a psychological angle to cause suspense. In this genre, they tend to have more blood and guts than the typical one, although they contain suspense and mystery throughout the film. These are designed to leave you on the edge of your seat during the entire movie with many plot twists and turns to keep you guessing as to what is occurring on the screen.
Those that are called exploitation films often introduce methods of torture and are some of the most gruesome on the market. These rely more on the shock value of the film rather than imagined threats, and is often very controversial in both the sights it shows on the screen and the subject matter because it makes the idea of these acts glamorous and frequently sexualize the methods of torture and murder.
Monster films, or creature features, take a being from the movies like a vampire or werewolf and center the film around them. They can be dark humor or serious films, and usually culminate in the monster being killed or otherwise controlled in some way.
Zombie films, while technically monster oriented, have gained popularity on their own, and have properties that are different from the others. These can incorporate more than one type, but they all deal with the undead and the survival of an outbreak of them. These are either very dark and graphic or full of humor and campy, and each has a high following of fans.
Paranormal films deal with ghosts and other things that cannot be seen. Many of these rarely show the object of terror, instead relying on the idea or the effects that they cause. It can include ghosts, phenomena and magic as a method of creating the suspense and many of these are effective with what they don’t show versus what they do.
You are likely to get a diverse viewership for horror films, and each one has their own favorite sub genre. Whatever you find that you like, there are movies that come from the golden age of Hollywood to modern offerings that can make seeing these films entertaining and scary for the viewer. Some are bad, but a surprising number of these have well thought out plots and great special effects to make them worth watching.