Early horrors are largely based on classic literature of the gothic/ horror genre such as "Dracula" or "Frankenstein". But the later horror films drew their inspiration from insecurities from life after World War 2. This created three sub genres, which are as follows. (Derry Charles 1977, Dark Dreams)
Horror of personality - Psycho film
Horror of Armageddon
horror of the demonic
The last one can be seen as an advance of the early horror films expanding their view on supernatural agents that bring terror to the world. Most horror films incorporate elements of other genres such as sci fi, fantasy, black comedy and thrillers.
The first depictions of supernatural events appeared in silent movies created in 1890 the notable one being "Le Manoir du diable" which is credited for being the first horror film. Japan made early forays with the horror genre with "Bake Jizo" made in 1898. In the early 1910 the first film version of Frankenstein, which later became a big title in the genre of horror was created. Early 20th century brought big milestones to the genre which included a full length film which goes by the name of "Quasimodo"(wikipedia)
Most of the earliest feature length horror films were created by Germans, during the era of German expressionist films. Many of these films would significantly influence later Hollywood films in the ones to come. Around this time was also the era, which produced the first vampire themed horror. Hollywood started to dabble in horror themes including versions of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" Lon Chaney stared in this film and was the first American horror star but his most famous roll was in "The Phantom of the Opera".(wikipedia)
Q: What was it that made Phantom of the Opera so popular and set it apart
It wasn't until the 1930's that producers and Universal popularised horror film, which brought to the screen a series of successful features like "Dracula" and "The Mummy". These titles blended sci fi with the gothic horror idea. Some films made during this time brought on very controversial ideas much like the film "Freaks based on "Spurs" which was about a band of circus freaks which got 30mins burned and disowned. This film while designed to thrill also incorporated much more serious elements and where influenced by German expressionists. Iconic make up designs were created after these films. The horror films continued into the 1940s with the most influential werewolf film "The Wolf Man, while this was out many sequels where made to "Frankenstein" as well as films that teamed up several of the monsters to date. In 1949 an Indian film industry created there first go at a horror called "Mahal" which was the first film dealing with the theme of reincarnation.(wikipedia)
In 1950 there where some dramatic advances in technology, in this time as well the tone of horror shifted away from the gothic towards concerns more relevant to the late century audience. In the 1950s there was a stream of low budget productions featuring humanity overcoming threats from the outside like alien invasions and deadly mutations. In cases when Hollywood co-opted the popularity of the horror film, the director would use this opportunity to create gimmicks like 3-D and "Percepto" Filmmakers continued to merge sci fi and horror over the decades, one of the most notable films of the era was the "The Incredible Shrinking Man" this conveyed the fears of living in the "Atomic Age". In the early 1960s we saw the rise of production companies focusing on producing horror films, including the British company Hammer Film. This company had great success with full blooded Technicolor films including "The Curse of Frankenstein", "Dracula" and "The Mummy"(The Horror Genre Paul Wells)
American International Pictures made a series of Edgar Allan Poe themed films produced, these sometimes controversial productions paved the way for more explicit violence in both horror and mainstream films. They also made in the late 1960s the most brutal horror film of its time the "Witchfinder General"; it was oddly re titled for American audiences as "The Conqueror Worm", most likely in an attempt to capitalize upon the success of AIP. After this film many horror of personality films started to appear like "Psycho" in which there was no monster but rather a normal human being, Ghosts and monsters are still popular but many films that still relied on supernatural monsters expressed a horror of the demonic, In 1963 the film "The Birds" had a modern backdrop and was a prime example of a menace coming from nature gone mad it was also one of the first American examples of the horror of Armageddon. The other film was "Night of the Living Dead" which was later deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant it advance the genre and took it further away from the gothic horror trends.(wikipedia)
By the 1970s production code had been demised and the financial success of low budget gore films being brought out at a fast pace in the up coming years, combined with the fascination of the occult horror was able to reshape itself with intense gore and sexual overtones. Films about the devil became one of the most popular topics in horror, with stories like "The Exorcist". The ideas of the 60s started to influence the horror genre, as youths started to get involved in the culture and exploring the medium. This is all so the year that Steven King started to get his books turned into films starting with "Carrie", "Halloween" came out and created the sub genre:
Slasher
This film also became the most successful independent film ever made. In 1975 Steven Spielberg began his ascension with a film called "Jaws" which was noted for its expertly crafted horror elements. One of the main milestones in this year was the film "Alien" this film combined the naturalistic acting and graphic violence of the 1970s which a plot similar to the monster movies in earlier decades, this re-acquainted horror with sci fi. It spawned a long lasting Franchise and countless imitators. Horror films begun to explode in Europe, these came mostly from the hands of Italians. Hong Kong at this time also started to make spoof horror which brought forth "Kung-fu comedy horror" one of these films was titled "Spooky Kid"(Paper Planets)
1980s saw the horror genre to continue growing in popularity with many movie sequels. Even with all the sequels original horrors continued to appear with the release of "Hellraiser". This then also got sequels added to it but none where said to be as good as the original, In the 1980s there was one title that stood out from all the others this was "The Shinning" which became one of the most popular and influential horror films of the decade. Horror at this point began to dwindle and found a new market in the home video market. Horror films continued to cause controversy as the growth in home video lead to a much higher public awareness for horror films, and the concern about the ease of availability of such material to children.(The Horror Genre, Paul Wells)
In the early half of the 1990s there were mostly sequels from the 1980s, with the themes also being carried on. A few films came out and created a mini movement these films where "New Nightmare", "The Dark Half", "Candyman" these where all classed as self-reflective horror films. All films touched upon the relationship between fictional horror and real world horror. In the later half of the 90s horror tried to re connect to its audience by becoming more self mockingly ironic and outright parodic. The start of the 2000s saw a quiet period many re-releases where made due to the advance in technology, many popular films started to come out and get some awards. Around 2003 many zombie films started to hit the shelf each changing certain details about them.(General Genre Analysis Tanya Jones)
The representation of gender in horror films changes from film to film, however certain characteristics with gender do follow a certain theme. Many horror films where more concerned with the male hero while they used the female roles as victims, much like in "Carrie” There is also normally a sexual relationship that develops between the main male and female of the film. When if comes to sequels the relationship built at the end are normally vital to the next film, One key example of a women being the main gender is the alien series, due to horror being considered a mans genre it forced the males to relate to a women instead of the normal male role model(Men Women and Chainsaws)
When it comes to Slasher horror films the main male role that acts as the hero is very often one of the many that die, leaving one of the sub role. Horror tends to be mostly hybrids. This in turn increases the possibilities of plot lines and stories. Horror can be mixed with many other genres including:
Sci Fi
Comedy
Documentary
Drama
Action
Adventure
This has made horror very versatile and easy to adapt with the time and trends of the year. A Sci Fi hybrid would be the Alien series which became very popular in its time, and example of a comedy hybrid would be shaun of the dead which was a spin of dawn of the dead, this film also was a popular hit when it came out. Having all the choices for horror to blend with is very important as people go to see horror films to get scared and feel fear so if all of them where the same it would loose its fear factor, so having the hybrids allows it to keep new and not loose its fear.(Horror Genre Paul Wells)
BIBOLOGY
Websites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_film
http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/6136.php
http://horrorgenre.com/home.php
Books
Derry Charles 1977, Dark Dreams
Clover J Carol, Men Women and Chainsaws
Wells Paul, The Horror Genre
General Genre Analysis and Research: A-level film studies Tanya jones
