The Return of the Repressed

Sigmund Freud theory

Definition- The unconscious exclusion of painful impulses, desires, or fears from the conscious mind.

 

A process whereby repressed elements, preserved in the unconscious, tend to reappear, in consciousness or in behavior, in the shape of secondary and more or less unrecognizable "derivatives of the unconscious." http://www.answers.com/topic/return-of-the-repressed#ixzz1GIy5ssc1

 

This for example, is when an audience of a particular horror film has a past which causes the film to relate to them strongly and bring back memories. They then feel like they become the victim themselves.