Best for:
Medical drama lovers, scary movie buffs, parody film enthusiasts, and creative writing readers.
What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
Becoming us:
Some stories don’t just entertain us… they become part of who we are. They anchor us to memories. Others may accompany us through life’s transitions, or offer comfort in their predictability while life is ever changing around us.
For me, three series have earned the distinction of being watched more than five times each at least: Grey’s Anatomy, Rob Zombie’s Halloween films, and the Scary Movie franchise. Would make up my top three, Degrassi, Wife’s with Knives, The Chucky Series, and Stabbed coming in close runners up.
One gave me chaos wrapped in scrubs; the others let me bond with the people I love most over slashers and satire. Together, they form a strange but perfect trifecta of my emotional landscape.
Grey’s Anatomy: The Perfect Amount of Chaos:
There’s a reason Grey’s Anatomy has endured for nearly two decades. Beyond the complex medical cases and will-they-won’t-they romances, the show mastered something few others have: the perfect amount of chaos.
- Emotional whiplash as comfort: One moment you’re laughing at a character’s absurd one-liner; the next, you’re sobbing over a patient who didn’t make it. That rapid emotional shift feels chaotic, but for viewers who process emotions in nonlinear ways, it mirrors internal experience rather than disrupting it.
- Found family in scrubs: The ensemble cast creates a sense of belonging that feels earned through shared trauma. This is something that resonates deeply with anyone who has found their people in unexpected places.
- Repetition as ritual: Watching Grey’s Anatomy multiple times isn’t about being surprised by plot twists. It’s about returning to a world where emotions are big, people fight and forgive, and somehow, the hospital keeps spinning. There’s comfort in knowing what’s coming while still feeling every beat.
The research on “comfort viewing” suggests that rewatching familiar series reduces anxiety by providing predictability in an unpredictable world. A 2021 study in Psychology of Popular Media found that rewatching favorite shows serves as a form of emotional regulation. Thus, helping viewers manage stress through narrative familiarity. Grey’s Anatomy, with its high emotional stakes balanced by consistent character dynamics, functions as an ideal comfort text for many viewers.
Rob Zombie’s Halloween: Slasher Bonding With Mom:
I know most people view Horror as a solitary genre, but for me, it’s deeply relational. Rob Zombie’s Halloween film, to name one series. Yes, both his 2007 remake and its 2009 sequel are movies I’ve watched countless times, almost always with my mom.
- A shared language of fear: Watching slasher films together created a bond built on something unexpected: safety in shared adrenaline. There’s intimacy in experiencing fear alongside someone you trust.
- The brutality of grief: Zombie’s Halloween films are often criticized for their brutality. Though, that brutality mirrors the rawness of loss and trauma. Watching them now, without my mom has become a way to sit with difficult emotions without having to name them directly.
- More than Michael Myers: Beyond the slasher icon, these films explore family dysfunction, survival, and the origins of violence. All themes that invite deeper conversation long after the credits roll.
Horror has been studied for its social bonding effects. A 2020 study in Journal of Media Psychology found that shared horror viewing increases cohesion and trust between viewers. Though, particularly when watched in safe, familiar contexts. The adrenaline response, when experienced alongside a trusted companion, can strengthen relational bonds. This further explains why slasher films became a ritual between my mom and me.
The Scary Movie Franchise – Parody, Friendship, and Growing Up:
If Grey’s Anatomy gave me emotional chaos and Halloween gave me bonding with my mom. Then the Scary Movie franchise, particularly the early entries with the Wayans brothers, gave me laughter with friends. Although we liked other parodies and road trip themed movies these ones stick out the most.
- Middle school and high school rituals: Watching Scary Movie with my friends during sleepovers and weekend hangouts became a rite of passage. The humor was ridiculous, the references were often inappropriate, and that was exactly the point.
- Shorty (and the ensemble): The late, great Marlon Wayans as Shorty Meeks, brought an iconic, unhinged energy that made the parodies land. The franchise’s ability to lampoon horror tropes while still clearly loving the genre made it a perfect bridge between genuine horror fandom and comedy.
- Shared cultural literacy: Scary Movie gave my friends and I a shared vocabulary. To this day, certain lines or scenes function as inside jokes that instantly transport us back to crowded living rooms, too much junk food, and the kind of laughter that makes your stomach hurt.
Parody serves an important cultural function. Media scholars note that parody requires deep familiarity with source material, creating an “insider” experience for viewers who recognize the tropes being subverted. Watching parody with peers during adolescence contributes to social bonding and identity formation, as shared humor reinforces group cohesion during formative developmental years.
Why We Return: The Comfort of Familiar Stories:
Watching something more than five times isn’t about an inability to find new content. It’s about the stories that become anchors. Grey’s Anatomy offers controlled chaos that mirrors how I experience emotion. Rob Zombie’s Halloween films are a shared ritual with my mom, a way to sit with grief and intensity in a space of mutual trust. The Scary Movie franchise holds the laughter of middle and high school friendships, preserved like snapshots in time.
Together, these three series represent different parts of my life: the emotional processor, the son, and the friend. They’re not just entertainment. They’re emotional landmarks I return to when I need to remember where I’ve been, who I’ve shared the journey with, and what it felt like along the way.
Leave a Reply