Reading Horror Movies

Horror movie producers encode a meaning into their film and audiences decode it. Horror films arouse strong positive and negative readings. They can also be easily misinterpreted.

Dominant reading- audience uncritically accepts the preferred meaning of the text
Negotiated reading- the message is partly accepted and partially rejected
Oppositional reading- the audience rejects the message
Aberrant reading- an interpretation of the text that is different than the audience intended

Controversial films are usually due to audiences rejecting or misinterpreting the message the film and the producers are trying to convey. These films are usually highly criticized by audiences. Below are a list of controversial films:

• Cannibal Holocaust
• Human Centipede
• The Exorcist
• A Serbian Film
• I Spit on Your Grave

Polysemy- "many meanings." In media, it is defined as text that is open to different meanings.

Not all films have a specific meaning encoded. Some films are open to different interpretations of what is being shown to the audience. The audience create their own theories on what the film is trying to convey, which is seen to be done a lot on social media.