Narrative Pain and Neurochemical Change: Exploring Hidden Trauma in Split (2016) Through English Literary Horror and Cognitive Neuroscience

This interdisciplinary study examines how M. Night Shyamalan’s Split (2016) employs horror cinema’s narrative and sensory techniques—particularly jumpscares and the portrayal of dissociative identity disorder (DID)—to externalize the neurobiological and psychological dynamics of trauma. Through qualitative analysis of the film’s audiovisual structure, contextualized by frameworks from cognitive neuroscience and clinical psychology, the research reveals that Split’s jumpscares and fragmented identity tropes function as somatic metaphors for trauma recall, mirroring amygdala-driven fear responses (LeDoux, 1996) and DID’s dissociative coping mechanisms (Dorahy et al., 2014). The film reframes horror conventions as therapeutic allegories, proposing that confronting fear through controlled exposure—akin to exposure therapy (van der Kolk, 2014)—can foster post-traumatic resilience. By juxtaposing hyperarousal (e.g., the Beast’s aggression) with hypoarousal (e.g., dissociative freezing), Split models the nonlinearity of trauma recovery while critiquing stigmatizing media depictions of DID (Reid et al., 2016). These findings underscore horror cinema’s potential to simulate trauma processing, offering audiences a visceral yet safe space to engage with fear as a catalyst for empathy and growth. The study advocates for interdisciplinary dialogue to leverage horror’s pedagogical role in destigmatizing mental health struggles and reimagining trauma as a narrative of survival.