The document provides a history of the horror genre in cinema from the early 1900s through the 1970s-80s. It notes that early films adapted literary classics as Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The silent film era of the 1920s-30s is considered the finest. The 1970s-80s saw a focus on religious evil and possession films inspired by The Exorcist and The Omen. It also lists some early French and British horror films from 1896 and provides details on common horror movie narratives, character types, settings, sounds, costumes/makeup, props.
2. History of horror
• Between 1900 and 1920, an influx of supernatural-themed films followed with
many filmmakers—most of whom still trying to find their feet with the new
genre—turned to literature classics as source material. The first adaptation of
Frankenstein was released by Edison Studios in these early days, as well as Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Werewolf.
• Widely considered to be the finest era of the genre, the two decades between
the 1920s and 30s saw many classics being produced, and can be neatly
divided down the middle to create a separation between the silent classics
and the talkies.
3. History of horror
• Occult was the flavour of the day between the 70s and 80s,
particularly when it came to houses and kids being possessed
by the Devil.
• The reason for this cultural obsession with religious evil during
this period could fill an entire article on its own, but bringing it
back into the cinema realm we can boil the trend down to two
horror milestones: The exorcist(1973) and The Owen(1976).
• Supernatural horror was now very much back in vogue, and
harking back to its cinematic origins, literature once again
became the source material.
4. A terrible night(1896)
Originated from France
The house of the devil(1896)
Originated from France
The haunted castle(1896)
Originated from the UK
Early films from the Horror Genre
5. Horror movies narratives
• The horror movie genre is all about eliciting from its audience emotions such as
fright, terror, or disgust. Horror films typically have an unsettling theme, such as a
serial killer on the loose, and bloody or "shocking" scenes designed to a certain
audience.
• They usually follow a linear storyline.
• The movie ‘The awakening’(2011) produced by BBC is about a woman who visits a
boarding school and she happens to see a child ghost as its set in world war 1. It has
the typical narrative and has a linear structure as it isn’t episodic.
6. Character types
• A horror movie antagonist can be any type of person, animal or
creature that represents some kind of evil force.
• Such as ghosts, werewolves, vampire, demons, vicious animals,
cannibals, zombies and masked killers.
• The victims of these evil forces are usually characters that have
apparent weaknesses of character. They are portrayed as underdogs
that either fall prey to the evil forces or gather the courage to defeat
them.
7. Typical settings
• Dark scenes filled with disturbing shadows and strange and alarming
props are typically seen in horror movies. These scenes reflect the
eerie atmosphere required to establish a frightening or menacing
mood.
• Abandoned houses or anywhere with a dark atmosphere is common
for example cabins which has been one of the main settings for
horror films.
• As well as forests or cemeteries which include dead bodies and
skeletons that makes this a natural setting for a horror movie.
8. Sound
• Usually there has a lot of diegetic sounds inserted in horror movies
like a sudden loud bang or a falling object crashing to the floor will
deliver a shock factor with good timing, after an anticipated silence.
• However there are non-diegetic sound which is commonly a narrative
reader in the beginning of the film.
9. Costume, makeup and hair
• As usual the evil force would have excessive makeup and costumes to
get into character like a ghost, clown or vampire. To make them look
more gruesome and scary to trick the audience into thinking it’s a real
character.
• Where as the main character would have minimal makeup and casual
clothing as an innocent citizen.
10. Props
• Ropes, chains and knives are generally found within horror as
instruments to restrain victims against their will usually within a
torture scenes which is common within the horror genre.
• Fake Blood is another iconic prop used throughout horror as well as
headstones which emphasizes the idea of death.
