this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2024
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Jump scares aren't really meant to scare you, they're there to relieve tension. If a jump scare feels forced to you, then you weren't very engrossed in the movie, or it was put in a bad spot -- but if you're really on the edge of your seat and then a jump scare gets you, you'll relax afterward so the tension can start to mount all over again without feeling too oppressive.
If jump scares aren't doing that for you, then you've probably watched enough horror movies that you're slightly desensitized to it, but the director has to think of every movie goer when making a movie, and bringing new viewers keep the genre alive.
To use the comedy analogy from OP, it's more like a long winded joke that keeps going and going and building and building, and then suddenly PUNCH LINE! and you're laughing. Except the long winded joke is the tension building, and the jump scare is the punch line.
No, some people just straight up don't enjoy being negatively surprised.
I personally even dislike well done jumpscares, but it is made worse that in many horror flicks there isn't really a good buildup to them because they want to "get" you when you don't expect them.
To come back to comedy, people don't want the punchline of a joke to be something they loathe, they want to look forward to it.
People want to be scared, they don't want to be shocked or surprised (talking about people that don't like jumpscares, off course those who do also have every right to enjoy them).
Sure, it's totally fine to not like them. My point wasn't whether jump scares are good or bad, but just to explain why they're used in basically every horror movie ever. They're a good tool to help ease less experienced horror fans into the movie who would otherwise walk out or turn it off once the tension got to be too much for them.