The horror movie genre has always shown an interesting ability to go beyond our cinema screens to provide fans with an extra dose of gore. In recent years there’s been something of a mini-industry in comic books, online games and even some pretty weird horror costume parties that show just how vibrant the horror subculture has become.
Despite horror films usually being given a rating that means they are off-limits to younger audiences, there’s been signs that the genre has become a little more family-friendly through lightweight TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood and even this year’s Scream Queens.
But there are other TV series that have shown a relentless ability to provide some chilling action too. One of the biggest TV hits in recent years is undoubtedly the zombie-centric The Walking Dead that was the successful adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s critically acclaimed horror comic book series.
The fact that a horror comic could lead to a TV show that enjoys huge ratings also meant that it was perfectly suited to the accompanying Telltale Games title for PS4 and Xbox One. Furthermore, mobile fans received their dose of zombie fun with the Walking Dead: No Man’s Land game, and thanks to Betway.com there’s been a range of horror-themed slots games such as Halloweenies that show just how versatile many of these spooky motifs are.
The success of the horror game has perhaps reached its most terrifying conclusion yet with the current wave of virtual reality horror titles such as Dead Secret that show just how much fans want to be immersed in some chilling artificial environments.
Of course, there are some fans who want to take it into their own hands, and that’s why we’ve seen a rise of horror cosplay mashups that sees zombie stormtroopers, weird blends of Darth Vader and The Predator, and even some curiously creative Smurf horrors.
And then there’s the limitless horror fanfiction offerings at sites like The Dark Corridor that sees fans attempting to update previously successful titles such as Candyman, Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with their own fantasy interpretations.
Despite the varying success of fanfiction, it’s a testament to the limitless creativity shown by horror fans which suggests that we’ll be seeing plenty more horror costumes, TV shows, online games and comics in the future.
