Now That's Fantastic

In the last several decades, science has invented and explained things which were previously unimaginable. Our world is changing everyday and things seldom stay the same. With the invention of new technologies and the formation of new theories, our society is conditioned to expect the unexpected. Contemporary thought should lead us to not be surprised when or if science confirms the existence of aliens or ghosts or anything else that can be imagined. Because we live in a society continuously on the verge of scientific breakthrough the line between the natural and supernatural has been blurred. In the past decades, many things could not be explained by science and were thus of the supernatural world. Today with the advancement of science, one can no longer say that UFO’s or vampires or ghosts or haunted houses undoubtedly do not exist. The doubt that should creep into the mind of those who oppose the existence of these things is what drives the horror film genre. The thought that there could be a monster out there that rips the head and eats its victim is what is truly horrifying. Since this doubt exists, the word ‘supernatural’, meaning not of this natural world, cannot be used without a little doubt that the supernatural could actually be of the natural.

In the genre of the fantastic, the film proposes a question to the audience as to the nature of the events in it. According to Carroll, a film of the fantastic genre shows an event or scenario and then offers two explanations, one which is natural which can be explained with science and one which is supernatural. This creates suspense for the audience in wondering which explanation is correct. The film would then spend the remaining time exploring these two options, but ultimately leave the translation up to the audience. Often times, these films labeled as the fantastic will contain a horror plot and have scenes of ‘art-horror’. The problem with this description of the fantastic film genre is that the supernatural no longer exists in our contemporary society. Science is to the point where all things can be described as natural or having the possibility of being naturally discovered at a later time. Describing something as purely supernatural is limiting the boundaries of science and is; therefore, not realistic. Speaking to the religious institutions, God is an exception to this theory as He is not of this world, but all other monsters or aberrations are or have the ability to be a natural part of this world.

Since the supernatural has been thrown out, the whole genre of the fantastic must be thrown out as well. These films will then be considered suspense films since they propose two equally logical or ‘natural’ explanations for the events of the film. These suspense films then can be considered as suspense-horror or suspense-action films.