Concept comparisons, pros and cons:

Examples:

The shining is an example of a psychological horror film based on Stephen Kings books. It was released on the 7th of November in 1980. The shining has a fairly hard hitting psychological aspect and in scenes comes across with a great sense of realism. 

General plot: 

'Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) becomes winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer's block. He settles in along with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and his son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), who is plagued by psychic premonitions. As Jack's writing goes nowhere and Danny's visions become more disturbing, Jack discovers the hotel's dark secrets and begins to unravel into a homicidal maniac hell-bent on terrorising his family.'

Hostel is an example of a slasher horror movie, it was released on January 6th in 2006. Overall it has a very stereotypical over the top use of blood/gore making is appropriate for the slasher/horror genre.

General plot:

'Beth (Lauren German), Lorna (Heather Matarazzo) and Whitney (Bijou Phillips), three young American women traveling abroad in Rome, decide to take a weekend excursion. Lured from their intended destination by a beautiful acquaintance (Vera Jordanova), the women anticipate a stay at a luxurious spa. Instead, they become pawns in a grisly game designed to entertain wealthy deviants from around the world.'

Comparisons:

• The shining happens to be  psychological with slasher elements however there are some very clear differences. The shining plays on human emotion, causing the audience to think and question themselves as they watch . It causes discomfort to the viewers through their own mentality.
• Whereas Hostel is more on the over the top gore, it gives a disconnect from the characters since it does not greatly develop into who they are. It is for the visual show, it also has many more common conventions that it conforms to such as an isolated area, a female victim and male perpetrator.