An audience is a group of people experiencing a work of art or media. There are two main audience theories: uses and gratification theory, which sees the audience as actively using media to satisfy needs and interests, and hypodermic needle theory, which is outdated and saw media as having power over passive audiences. These theories can both be linked to horror genres. Uses and gratification theory applies as some audiences watch horror for entertainment or escape, while hypodermic needle theory could apply if graphic horror inspires harmful actions in rare cases, requiring filmmakers to consider audience impact.