Fright Night : Freddy. Jason. Chuckie. Teens love those slasher flicks. But should that be cause for worry? Depends on why they watch.

W hy do we act the way we do?

Research scientists all over the world are busily investigating the mysteries of human behavior.

In some ways, how we relate to each other is rooted in biology and perfectly predictable for upstanding members of the animal kingdom. In other ways . . . well, the Doors pretty much nailed it when they sang, “People are strange.”

Beginning today, the Commitments page will share human-behavior discoveries in a column called the Strangest Species. Look for it every other Monday.

Today’s topic: Why do teen-agers love slasher movies? And should the rest of us worry about it?

Slasher flicks and teen-agers are like theater seats and wads of gum: Where you find one, you’ll find the other--inseparably bonded and, to grown-ups, totally gross.

A recent study shows that teen-agers love to watch such movies as “Friday the 13th,” “Nightmare on Elm Street” and the macabre documentaries “Faces of Death” for a variety of reasons.

Should parents worry?

That depends.

The effect of all that gory death on impressionable young minds is determined by each viewer’s motivation for watching, said Deirdre Johnston, assistant professor of communication at Hope College in Holland, Mich.

“Teen-agers have a tremendous desire to see graphic horror and violence,” said Johnston, who has researched media-influenced mental and cognitive responses for six years. “Yet there are big differences in how they interpret and internalize those experiences.”

Johnston’s study is one of the first to focus on horror films and adolescents instead of college students. She interviewed 220 adolescents, 13 to 16. Of them, 95% said they watch slasher films--deftly overcoming such obstacles as R-ratings at theaters, parental prohibitions and video-store policies of refusing to rent to underage viewers.

About 57% of the teen viewers said they watch slasher films two or more times a month. A favorite, cited for its verite, is “Faces of Death,” a series of videotapes produced since 1978 that show actual footage of a man jumping to his death from a building, a prisoner being executed, animal decapitations and baby seals being beaten to death and skinned. (Gee, whatever happened to “The Blob”?)

Using a focus group, Johnston grouped viewers into four major categories:

* Gore Watchers, who are gratified by the film’s gruesomeness;

* Independent Watchers, who watch the films because their parents tell them not to;

* Thrill Watchers, sensation-seekers who like being scared witless;

* Problem Watchers, who take refuge in such films to escape isolation and who most enjoy them when angry.

At greatest risk for aggressive behavior, especially against women, are the Gore Watchers, Johnston said. They exhibit little empathy for others, have almost no fear, and favor the most gruesome displays of slicing and dicing.

Gore Watchers say they identify with the film’s killer. Some dress up like the wacko hackers and act out scenes from the movies. Favorites include Freddy Krueger of “Elm Street,” the child-killing janitor with razor fingernails and a fried-cheese complexion, or the faceless hulk Michael Myers of the “Halloween” series, an insane asylum escapee and murderer who kills teen-age girls after peeping at them naked or post-coitus. (Jeez, talk about your lousy role models.)

When asked to be specific about why these films are enjoyable, Gore Watchers express a combination of intellectual curiosity and an interest in seeing the meting out of, uh, justice.

“I’m interested in the ways people die,” one teen said. “I like to see the victims get what they deserve,” said another. “Slasher films are educational,” some said.

Two-thirds of Gore Watchers were male. Johnston said that after seeing the films, Gore Watchers reported no change in their moods.

Freddy and the other homicidal maniacs featured in slasher movies are equal-opportunity killers, murdering as many women as men. But another academic researcher reported that those Gore Watchers who have punitive attitudes about female sexuality report deriving more enjoyment from slasher movies than those who do not.

“Women victims get more screen time during their actual victimization and there are lots of examples of these women being chased and stalked in the film,” said researcher Mary Beth Oliver, an assistant professor of communications at Virginia Tech University. “With men, sometimes you just see the corpse. These films strongly suggest that sexual women deserve to be punished in its most extreme form: Death.”

Other research focusing on college students suggests that long-term viewing of these movies can lead to sexual violence and decreased empathy for rape victims.

*

For some teen-agers, slasher films are feel-good movies. Independent Watchers and Thrill Watchers reported that they felt good before and after viewing them.

“Independent Watchers, who identify with the victim, use these movies almost as a rehearsal to cope with fear. Certainly, for teens who are not integrated into society, it is a way to test yourself out in real life,” Johnston said.

“I watch to be brave,” said one teen-ager in this category. “I watch to feel mature,” said another. After seeing the films, Independent Watchers reported being afraid to be home alone or to go out in the dark. (Wow, a constructive application of Freddy: defensive living skills.)

Thrill Watchers, who identify with neither the victim nor killer, are what we consider “typical” teen-agers, Johnston said.

“I watch to freak myself out,” they said. Horror movies are the equivalent of a roller-coaster ride, but with more bang for the buck.

These teen-agers have high levels of empathy and are excited by the movies’ intensity of suspense. For these teen-agers, the best slasher films are those that shock and titillate most dramatically. Thrill Watchers characterize the films as not real and describe the victims as stupid.

*

Independent Watchers and Thrill Watchers outgrow the need to watch such movies as they take on the challenges of their early 20s, such as dating, waking up in time to get to college classes, or supporting themselves in the style their parents have accustomed them to on minimum-wage earnings.

But it is far less certain whether the films are as benign for Gore Watchers and Problem Watchers, who view the cinematic blood-splattering for sadistic purposes or as a way to escape isolation and to exorcise anger.

Johnston said Problem Watchers, who tend to be troubled at home or in school, report feeling negatively before and after seeing slasher films.

About 10 years ago, Johnston said, researchers theorized that on-screen violence was cathartic, a healthy way to work off anger--like playing racquetball. But there is no clear research about how long-term viewing of such films affects deeply troubled, hostile, hormone-raging teen-agers who spend lots of time alone, she said.

By far the most worrisome group are the Gore Watchers, who are most notable for their lack of empathy and their belief that victims who are hacked to bits deserve their fate, Johnston said.

And Oliver, who calls most slasher films misogynistic, worries that young Gore Watchers, whose ideas about sexuality are not fully formed, are too impressionable for a high diet of such bloody fare.

“It’s really disgusting,” Oliver said. “There is a sick morality lesson going on in these films that says that sexual women are bad and deserve what they get in these movies. That makes for a very volatile, potentially dangerous situation.

“We need to teach critical viewing skills. We teach kids you are what you eat. We need to teach them that they reflect what they view.”

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Who’s Watching?

* Gore Watchers, who are gratified by a slasher film’s gruesomeness.

* Independent Watchers, who watch the films because their parents tell them not to.

* Thrill Watchers, sensation-seekers who like being scared witless.

* Problem Watchers, who take refuge in such films to escape isolation and who most enjoy them when angry.