Religion is used in films in various ways with the producer’s intention being to show redemption or the consequences of sin to humanity. However, this is not the same in most horror movies, where you find religion used for manipulation because of the human fear of what they do not know. It means that they use religion to drive fear within people because the films are mainly focusing on the supernatural. They expose the strength between good and evil on the basis of religion. Cowan is among the authors who have discussed the aspects of religion in horror films in his book titled “Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen.”
Anyone who reads the book will find several things to love about it. Cowan did not only expose the producers of horror films, especially the ways in which they see religion as a great opportunity to depict human fear but also revealed how it helps in making the films more interesting to the audience. The main theme of horror films is always supernatural and religion is used to express the ways in which both the living and non-living creatures respond to its presence. I was resonated by the ways in which Cowan used the aspect of death to bring out the bigger picture of fear in creatures. When someone does not know what to expect, they always end up fearing or having some anxiety about it and Cowan perfectly expressed this in the book. However, I think that Cowan had the potential to engage religion in deeper ways such as the ways in which it brings out the difference between good and evil. If he could have tackled the issue on this line, I could have not found the aspects of him discussing religion in regards to fear of the unknown repelling.
One thing that captivated the book is the social aspects of religion which resonate with every human being. Any individual who is weary of their faith or the ways in which they live their lives will have fear in them regarding eternity or darker forces. Nevertheless, I would critique the fact that Cowan decided to limit his focus on religion to fear. I think there is much more revealed in horror films that he did not discuss or touch on in the book. If given the chance, I would bring new thoughts and insights to the book such as the ways in which religion measures one’s faith which is depicted in horror films in different styles. Evil ends up consumed while those with stronger faith are saved. I believe in the existence of monsters but I do not tolerate the idea of them swimming beneath my bliss.