Horror movies may be said to be ‘cathartic‘ because the camera’s viewpoint with the perpetrator of the violence: “ you wield the knife or axe,” “you chase” the unlucky victim,” “you see” the body fall out towards you.” The movies, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street, and all their many imitators, are examples of tragedies that use spectacle to move the audience’s emotions. Does this in viewpoint produce the same kind of ‘catharsis‘ that Aristotle wrote about? I think that horrors arouse a terror in their audiences through this vicarious identification. The audience is no longer feeling overwhelming pity and fear, but is left depleted of emotion. This kind of critical work helps to give some structure to and make cleaver distinctions within the genre of tragedy. We can find in his system guiding principles rather than absolute dictates.