A History of Horror

Origin of Horror films
Stories of monsters, murderers and beasts have been around for ever, and the first horror films were an extension of a genre of literature (Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' and Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' for example) from the 1700's called Gothic Horror. These were developed by people in the UK and USA with 'Gothic' coming from settings of castles with secret passageways and dungeons.


The Silent Era-German Expressionism

This style of cinema, beginning in 1894, reached its peak in Berlin in the 1920's. Silent films largely appealed to the working class who were mostly illiterate as no words were used for them to understand.

In 1916, the German government banned all foreign films so Germany had to keep up with the demand from theaters itself and when the ban was lifted, Germany was part of the international film industry. From 1919-1933 (until Hitler cam to power)German film makers working for the Berlin-based Mega-studio UFA made a series of silent films.

An example of a German silent-era horror film is 'Nosferatu'. This film was shot in 1921 and released in 1922 and was an unauthorized version of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' and ultimately its production company 'Prana Film' became bankrupt after Bram Stoker's wife sued them for copyright. It largely received good reviews with 'Vossische newspaper' praising it for its visual style.


Monsters and Mad Scientists



The 1930's saw the re-birth of horror films with monsters and mad scientists replacing the floating ghost imagery of the 1920's and with sound adding an extra dimension to the films. During this time there was a depression and horror films offered an 'escape' from real life as most of the horror films at this time were in the sub-genre of 'supernatural horror'. 'Frankenstein' is an example of a film form this era. It has Gothic and romantic elements and is considered to be one of the first science fiction films produced. It was a hugely popular and well-received film with 'Film Daily' calling it a 'gruesome, chill-producing and exciting drama that was produced intelligently and lavishly and with a grade of photography that is superb'.

     The Primal Animal Within


This era was in the 1940's during the Second World War. As horror was banned in Britain, America took over and Universal produced many horror films to keep the household population entertained. The War influenced the themes in these films and soon Wolves became a common theme as Hitler referenced the Nazis as Wolves himself. In old German, Adolf even means 'Noble Wolf' and propagandists even portrayed him as the 'Big Bad Wolf' in old fairy tales. 'The Wolf Man' (1941) was written by Curt Siodmak after escaping the Nazis and was turned into an American Drama Horror film. It was Universals second werewolf film and did better than the first one 'Werewolf of London'.


Mutant Creatures and Alien Invaders


In the 1940's-mid 1950's atomic bomb testing was taking place which may well have effected the type of horror films coming from this time. In 1950, a Japanese producer, Tanaka, made 'Godzilla' and since then it has become somewhat of an iconic mutant horror film and has seen many remakes. Space exploration was becoming more available, which scared the public and allowed producers a and writers to expand their imaginations and prey on the public's fears of the unknown.


Hammer Horror


Hammer studios is a British Production company that is well known for a series of Gothic-horror films. 'The Curse of Frankenstein' was one of their better known films and the use of colour saw new levels of gore. It reached $8 million in the USA.


Slasher

Slasher horror films are a sub genre that involve a violent psychopath and include the violent murder of several victims. Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' is referred to as one of the earliest influential slasher movies. Many believe that this genre reached its peak in the 1970's-1980's. In slasher films you normally have character types that can be seen in all slashers. There would be a 'Final Girl' who is virginal and thwarts the killer, the killer (normally a psychopath), the sexualised girl (who often dies first) and the jock who tried to be the hero. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was another successful hit and it is the most commercially successful horror film since the Exorcist.


Format fears and moral panics

The 'video nasties' of the 1980's included films like Nightmare on Elm Street, I spit on your Grave and The Evil Dead. These types of film included cannibalism, mutilation of bodies and gang rape. These films were banned, but they were still distributed widely and were available for anyone who had a VCR player, which spun the public into a panic that they were corrupting the nation's young minds. With technology advancing a lot in this era, new effects made it possible for the gore to seem more realistic.

The ironic HorrorThe iconic horror film is 'aware' of itself in the way it knows the codes and conventions of typical horror films and uses them to create a parody. These films were from the 1990's which was, in society, all about people 'finding' themselves and as teenagers began to be looked upon more importantly, they were used more in horror films. Films from this era include- The Blair Witch Project and Scream.

Gorenography-Gore returns with a vengeance

This era is in the 2000's and is also known as 'torture porn'. Some say the act of torture goes against the highest power and creates absolute dominance for the person doing the torturing. Edelstein suggested that we watch these type of horrors for a physical rather than emotional reaction. Hostel and Wolf Creek both showed graphic scene of torture and suddenly made horror films seem very 'real'. However, this kind of horror film may have fizzled out- Hostel 2 making $million less than Hostel 1.