New Year’s Resolutions and Horror

How horror films mirror our failures in following through with our resolutions

Jan 04, 2025

The new year always brings an abundance of hope. Making New Year’s Resolutions every year is an ancient tradition focused on bringing balance, cleansing, and positivity into our lives. The goal is always to make ourselves the best version we can be, with one of the most popular resolutions being fitness.

There’s a focus on starting fresh and bringing something new into our lives to start the new year right, with many people even eating certain foods for New Year’s dinner to attract luck and money. The idea of beginning new healthy habits seems easy enough, but there’s a catch to the whole resolutions thing: 88% of people fail to reach their goals by the end of January, resulting in a yearly cycle.

Why is it that so many people give up on the goals they were so excited about, though? What makes it so difficult to follow through? It’s mostly a psychological thing, as most people find it difficult to find satisfaction by the first week. A mixture of fear, burnout, and self-doubt often accompany us on our journey to reach a goal, and with the obstacles of life, we often find it difficult to actually push through these things.

In horror films, these concepts are often reflected in some of our favorite stories. Haunted houses, obsessive tendencies, the fear of the unknown… What makes our favorite characters break just as we do?

DIVING INTO THE NEW YEAR

The Amityville Horror - A NEW START

While 1979’s The Amityville Horror is based on true events, the film highly dramatizes the story. The film follows a family who moves to a new house in New York, in which the home was once the scene of a gruesome family killing and an 18th-century satanist. As the family is terrorized by supernatural forces beyond their control, they eventually flee the home after only 28 days of residency.

The Lutz family desired to “start over.” George and Kathy, newlywed and excited for a fresh start, moved to New York to get away from the past. Along with them was Kathy’s children from her previous marriage, serving as the main connection between the new and the old. They wanted to get away from the hardships they left behind, including the economic crisis of the 1970s. After all, they only bought the house because of how great of a deal it was, even despite knowing its history.

When they first move into the house, they ask a priest to bless it for them. The priest, however, is met with a booming voice that demands them to, “Get out!” Despite the foreshadowing, the Lutz family decided to ignore the event. Similarly, ignoring early signs like the Lutz family did can be seen in why people fail their resolutions.

Instead of acknowledging that there may be emotional issues to confront, many people simply ignore them and believe tackling their dream goal will take care of the issue.

The more you ignore your inner struggle, the less likely you are to be successful. George Lutz, for example, became increasingly more paranoid and irritable as he stayed in the house. The house, of course, only exaggerates his existing insecurities and stress from the recent move, his mental health deteriorating. Changing the scenery for a new start only worsened whatever issues he had, and it’s the perfect reason why we shouldn’t make the same mistakes.

When we don’t confront our inner self, we don’t have any growth. Instead of believing you need to get a new planner or a new workout wardrobe to stay consistent with your resolutions, instead ask yourself why you want to complete said goals. Write down why you want to create this new habit, why you believe it will be beneficial for you, and why you feel you’re in a rut now. What’s making you feel the need to change?

Chances are, exploring your inner thoughts and struggles will prevent you from self sabotaging your goals. Even after your initial self reflection, write down how you feel every time you complete your habit for the day.

Sinister - A NEW PROJECT

To revive his writing career, true crime author Ellison Oswalt moves his family to a new town so he can write his new book. Although his family is unaware of the house’s history, Ellison specifically picked their new home as the subject of his new novel. The previous owners of the home were murdered on-site, and their youngest child went missing.

The more Ellison researches for his novel, the worse things get. He finds old “home movies” in the attic, all on Super 8 film reels. Upon watching them, he finds out that they’re actually snuff films of different families who were also murdered. Realizing he may have uncovered an unknown serial killer, he decides to study the tapes instead of turning them into the police, and slowly becomes mad as he drowns himself in his work.

In comparison, many people begin new projects as their New Year’s resolution. For some, it may even be a book like Ellison, but one thing remains clear: obsessing over your goal will get you nowhere. If you work yourself to the bone, you’ll never reach the end. Obsessing over perfectionism instead of consistency is a huge reason why so many people fail.

The film ends with Ellison discovering that the murders are actually the work of a demon. Ellison’s obsession ends in his demise, becoming the newest victim in the home movie collection.

He failed, burned out, and died before he could ever finish the novel he was so deadset to write.

To avoid this cycle of burn out with your own resolutions, try to focus on your small wins instead of the concept of perfectionism. For example, writing a book: you don’t have to write for an hour every day.

Instead, focus on the consistency of writing every day instead of the amount of time you write every day. You could do five minutes one day, an hour another day, 15 minutes another day… It doesn’t matter how long you write, it matters that you sit down to write. Doing this, along with having a habit tracker by your side, will give you a satisfying overview of your progress.

The Invisible Man - A NEW SELF

Cecilia tries to rebuild herself after escaping an abusive relationship, but her ex continues to torment her through the psychological trauma he put her through. Although she was able to get away from her ex, the trauma she has haunts her. She may not have to deal with him in-person, but trying to heal from their relationship is proven difficult because of how damaged she is left.

Cecilia is left with the fear of failure and self-doubt. She’s riddled with insecurities that her ex pushed onto her. Unfortunately, Cecilia realizes that she never truly escaped her past: her ex boyfriend, the founder of a human-computer augmentation company, has turned himself invisible with a specialized suit.

In our everyday resolutions, we may find ourselves in the same position as Cecilia. We may be held back by our past, extremely insecure because of what we may have been told by others. This self-doubt oftentimes keeps people from succeeding, sabotaging themselves from achieving their goals because they may not believe they deserve to.

You must be like Cecilia and face your fears. In the end of the film, she confronts her ex and kills him for everything he had put her through. She ends the thing that kept her back, detaching from her past.

In the case of New Year’s resolutions, though, you have to practice self-love. It may sound cliche, but the best way to achieve what you want is to love yourself. Build your confidence by trusting yourself. Leave affirmations all over your house. Tell yourself you’re worthy of achieving a goal. Write down what you love about yourself. Never say you can’t do something.

TIPS & SUGGESTIONS

In horror films, people survive by adapting and facing their fears. It’s no different in real life.

Address your inner struggles before trying to take on a huge workload for your goals. Write down your thoughts, emotions, and what you feel is holding you back. Explore yourself in any means necessary, counseling is extremely beneficial as well.
Focus on consistency with small wins. Don’t stress about doing something perfect. You don’t have to show up with 100% effort every day, because you’re a human being.
Truth the process. Enjoy your journey instead of worrying about not seeing results.
Practice self-love. Leave yourself affirmations, journal, eat nutritious meals, hydrate, and do what makes you happy.
Follow the plan, not your mood.

KEEP GOING!
If you're working on your New Year's resolutions, here are some resources I highly recommend!

Books to Check Out:

Atomic Habits by James Clear – I know, everyone recommends this one (because it really is that good). It breaks down how to shift your mindset and build lasting habits in a way that's simple and practical. Plus, it’s genuinely an interesting read.
I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi – Some parts feel a little dated, but it's a great beginner-friendly guide to understanding finances. It’s easy to follow and much less boring than most finance books.

YouTube Channels to Follow:

For discipline and fitness: Kiana Docherty
For mindset shifts: Mae Alice Suzuki
For financial growth: Social Symone, JJ Buckner
For overall personal growth (fitness, journaling, mindset): LenaLifts

CONCLUSION

Don’t start the year scared. Take inspiration from your favorite horror films—heed their warnings and follow through with your plans. Prioritize yourself, remember you’re worthy of achieving your goals, and step confidently into the year ahead.

Cheers to the new year. Here’s to self-love and all the amazing horror films ahead of us!