Horror is a genre of film that captivates people with fear. It is filled with gore, suspense and mystery. Horror faces the concepts we are all afraid to think about.

Classic horror movies helped build the foundation that modern horror movies use today. Unfortunately, many of the basic attributes of horror films have been turned into clichés that affect the overall quality of the genre. It is still disputed whether this genre of film has lost its touch or has gotten better over the past decades. There are some modern horror films that have gone above and beyond the normal concepts of horror and have given the classics a run for their money. But which ultimately wins?

Diana Hughes, a freshman majoring in political science, feels that in some senses, classic horror films are more entertaining.

“Modern movies are all about the blood and gore,” Hughes said. “Classic movies are better because they had more suspense and better plots.”

Kiana Smith, an undeclared freshman, also thinks that horror movies have gone downhill.

“They’ve become superficial and mainstream,” she said. “They’re just teen movies that don’t have that scare factor. They don’t have any real ideas for horror movies anymore.î

But what are the implications of the horror movies of today?

Evan Schulz, a freshman majoring in environmental science, believes that both classic and modern movies have benefits.

“Movies like the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ are classics,” he said. “They pioneered the trends that are acceptable for horror films now, like the girl walking home alone late in the dark. Also, the classic horrors came out when the genre was new, so there were a lot of new ideas in the film that were never seen before rather than just copying from ideas that were already used. Modern movies are awesome because they have great graphics and gore.”

When you look at the ways in which horror movies have changed over time, there are some movies that go against the graphic, gory conception that people have of modern films. Films such as “The Hills Have Eyes” dispute the normal, modern horror by using a family as the main characters, rather than ditsy teenagers. Movies such as “Shutter Island” give a psychological twist to horror films that leaves audiences questioning their sanity.

But we cannot forget that without the originals, we would not have the gory, suspenseful films that we watch today. Many of today’s best modern horrors are greatly influenced by the classics. So have today’s horror films lost their touch? It depends on the perspective of the watcher.