horror movies

Hi all,

I have just joined this forum. I have a quick question.

is it a sin to watch horror movies.
i have been watching these movies since long but not frequently.

Request you to let me know that being a roman catholic is it a sin to watch such movies.

Awaiting some reply from the members.

Regards,
Thaddeus Fernandes
UAE

I don't think it's a sin as such.. if it leads to you feeling uncomfortable, maybe it isn't a good idea.
I'm not a Catholic though, so I am not certain what their stance is... you may want to ask in the Catholic forum here, One Bread, One Body - Catholic

Hope that helps

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It's hard to just condemn an entire category by going across the board and say 'it's all sin', but the Bible does say,

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." II Timothy 1:7

I would say that since the purpose of horror movies is to instill fear into the viewers it is best to avoid them. An exception might be to documentaries that are merely attempting to describe a reality in an educational manner.

Amen.

Fear opens doors to the enemy in someones life, God has made this revelation very clear to me.

Listen to the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Only He can tell you what should and shouldnt be in your life.

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Moving to OBOB

I'm not sure if it's a sin or not, but it bothers me to see anything that turns suffering into entertainment. Of course, in movies, people aren't really suffering, but it's still troublesome to me.
The first time I really thought about it, I was at a friends party and some people had a horror movie on TV. I don't know which one it was, but the scene I saw involved a young woman, on the heavy side, sitting down to eat a banana and write a letter to her mom while out in the woods. The movie killer then came upon her and killed her. It wasn't any more graphic than most, but what bothered me the most is that the people who watched the scene thought it was very funny. It's weird to laugh at someone's tragedy, I think, even if it is just a story, and I wonder if over time, it desensitizes us to all the real suffering going on in the world.

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"If I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. If I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist." Fr. Dom Camera

“Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.” Albert Schweitzer

Horror films are movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently involve themes of death, the supernatural or mental illness. Many horror movies also include a central villain.

Early horror movies are largely based on classic literature of the gothic/horror genre, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Phantom of the Opera and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

More recent horror films, in contrast, often draw inspiration from the insecurities of life after World War II, giving rise to the three distinct, but related, sub-genres: the horror-of-personality Psycho film, the horror-of-armageddon Invasion of the Body Snatchers film, and the horror-of-the-demonic The Exorcist film.

The last sub-genre may be seen as a modernized transition from the earliest horror films, expanding on their emphasis on supernatural agents that bring horror to the world.

Horror films have been dismissed as violent, low budget B movies and exploitation films. Nonetheless, all the major studios and many respected directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, Roman Polanski, Stanley Kubrick, William Friedkin, Richard Donner, and Francis Ford Coppola have made forays into the genre. Serious critics have analyzed horror films through the prisms of genre theory and the auteur theory. Some horror films incorporate elements of other genres such as science fiction, fantasy, mockumentary, black comedy, and thrillers.

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In my personal opinion, it is a sin.

Anything that glorifies suffering and fear for entertainment and profit is sinful.

There is enough pain in this world ...

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love ...
... For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
- St. Francis of Assisi


St. Dymphna, our hero in depression and mental health, send us a prayer ...

Like the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Office for Film and Broadcasting gives ratings to films. In addition, the USCCB Film Office also gives film reviews. The ratings and reviews are advisory only, not binding in conscience on Catholics, and are intended to help Christians decide whether a particular movie is worth their time and money. However, although the bishops do not vote on film reviews, the Office is considered to be part of the teaching and social justice action of the USCCB as a whole, and is therefore a valuable American Catholic resource.

The USCCB's Film Office ratings are as follows:

• • A-I -- general patronage;

  • A-II -- adults and adolescents;

  • A-III -- adults;

  • L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.

  • A-IV -- adults, with reservations (an A-IV classification designates problematic films that, while not morally offensive in themselves, require caution and some analysis and explanation as a safeguard against wrong interpretations and false conclusions);

  • O -- morally offensive (source).

• A movie that is rated A-III is a movie that the USCCB's Film Office advises is suitable only for adults. An A-IV classification used to designate that the movie was only suitable for limited adult audiences; L has now replaced the A-IV classification. A rating of O designates those films that are considered by the USCCB Film Office to be morally offensive.

While the USCCB's Film Office reviews are not binding in conscience for American Catholics and do not thereby prevent Catholics from watching movies rated O for morally offensive, a Catholic who is aware of the rating should take it into careful consideration when making his decision about whether or not to see the film. As you can see from the explanation of the ratings the Film Office uses, an O rating is not given lightly and should therefore be respected.

Recommended reading:

USCCB - Office for Film and Broadcasting

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Ask yourself:

Does this movie help me on my journey toward Christ and His Kingdom, i.e., sanctity?

Does it benefit my spiritual life?

Does it help me to pray without ceasing?

Remember St. Dominic Guzman, founder of the Dominicans, who always thought about the Lord, preached about the Lord, and prayed to the Lord. He is a great Catholic role model who lived St. Paul's admonition to pray without ceasing.

Here is a Pieta done by Weyden where St. Dominic is depicted (on the right). He is shown reading and praying from the Gospel of St. Matthew, the only book he could afford to carry around with him because books were very expensive and heavy at that time.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Weyden_023.jpg

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Virgin Theotokos, rejoice!
O Mary, Full of Grace;
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
For thou hast borne the Savior of our souls.

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Glory to Jesus Christ!
Glory Forever!
O Giver of Life, Glory to Thee!


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