LogFAQs > #930246978

15. Daylight Horror (22 points)
Nominated by: Shonen_Bat (3/5 remaining)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdKlvjOQn-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbKAu272_bI

Importance: 8
Fear: 7
Snake: 7

A very underrated aspect of horror, daylight horror shatters the notions of what we think it means to feel safe and secure in a horror story. I'm actually glad it's underused, since it makes more scary when it does pop up. Some of my favorite examples include Resident Evil 5, The Devil's Rejects, and The Twilight Zone episode, "The Midnight Sun". In the Resident Evil series, practically all games before it took place either during night, or, if it did take place during the day, it was completely shrouded by the smoke rising from fires across Raccoon City. The advent of sunlight often meant the nightmare was over; in RE1, it's just rising as the STARS members fly home safely. In Resident Evil 4, Leon and Ashley escape on the jet-ski during sunrise in a similar situation. I still remember the reactions to the first ever RE5 trailer, which made the sun a starring character, blinding Chris as zombies appeared in a shrouded haze. There were rumors players would've had to battle against dehydration and hallucinations in a hardcore twist on the survival horror formula. The full game may have lacked these features, but still featured many daylight sections and it was refreshing for sure to see it in the series.

Rob Zombie is amazing at daylight horror. The Devil's Rejects, and indeed the follow-up 3 From Hell, take place almost entirely during the day, in a scorching heat that shows off the sweat & grime of basically every character involved. This is a great example of the scariest horror sometimes being the thing that is most visible. It creates a "fear of the light" effect; at least in the dark, you may not be able to tell someone or something is there. In the light though, there's no hiding it, and you got no choice but to confront it head on. In the infamous "devil's work" scene, you could even compare Otis to Lucifer, the "light-bringer"!

The Midnight Sun offers a different perspective. While the previous examples offer more physical observations, this TZ episode examines the psychological aspect as well. In it, the Earth begins to move closer to the sun, with no night to speak of, making things overbearingly hot every single day. It showcases how fragile our lives are, and our pure desperation to survive by any means necessary. It shatters our illusions of safety even further by taking place primarly inside an apartment room, and with the twist ending, offers a satisfying contrast with the main story.

There are plenty of other examples to draw from, but for me, these three cover it well. I guess if you're looking for more (and you should be!), The Walking Dead, Dying Light, David Lynch films, 28 Days Later, and especially Jaws all come to mind. Daylight horror is often some of the brutal and effecting horror there is, but probably not very suggestible if you say, have a bad looking rubber monster suit for example. Then, yeah, stick to the shadows! In the world of horror, you should never feel safe, and by continuing to examine the scope this trope provides, you can create terrifying memories that achieve this exact feeling.

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https://imgur.com/MmrKwGZ - https://imgur.com/ntWVGyh