2. 1900-1920s(Thesilentera)
These years were considered the silent years because mainly books were used to influence
the early horror films during this time. The first horror film was called ‘The House of
the Devil’ which was an 1896 short. It featured many conventions and semantic features
which would be used in later horror films, such as bats, witches, ghosts and a crucifix.
Many horror films during this time included random and premature deaths, to play on the
masses fear of war and diseases that was common at the time.
The first thriller film was called The Lodger (1927) which was based around Jack the
Ripper who was a infamous serial killer at the time. Therefore, this film included a lot
of suspense.
3. 1930-40s
This era introduced new technology which allowed
horror films to have diegetic and nondiegetic
sounds. This was an effective way of allowing
the people to escape reality because this was
during the Great Depression. Notable horror
films of the time were Dracula (1931) and
Frankenstein (1931).
There were more thriller films being produced by
Alfred Hitchcock which included many more
conventions in thriller such as suspense and
mysteries. This included an oscar winning film
‘Rebecca’ (1940).
4. 1950s
During this time, people were still reeling from the war. Therefore, major
actors and actresses such as Marilyn Monroe were used and starred in films to
boost morale. Also technicolor was introduced. Notable horror films during
this time were ‘The Fly’(1958) which was many films to further explore and use
CGI effects in horror movies to create larger than life monsters and make them
seem more realistic.
5. 1960s
CGI effects were more commonly used in horror films and old attitudes towards
sex, violence and social norms were being challenged. Notable horror films
during this time were Psycho (1960), directed by Alfred Hitchcock which was
more of a psychological horror film which were being more prevalent during
this time.
New thriller films were being produced, notably by Michael Powell who released
many such as Peeping Tom (1960).
6. 1970-1980s
During this era there were many big budget horror films with a lot of them
using childbirth and children as a main theme of the movie. This may be due to
the Thalidomide situation, which caused birth defects. The 1980’s saw an
advancement in technology and new material allowing for close up’s to become
more realistic and gory to live up to the audiences standards. Also, there was
a rise in popularity in body horror that contained bloody content which
nauseated the audience. Notable horror films at this time were Alice, Sweet
Alice (1976) directed by Alfred Sole featuring heavy "catholic iconography,
ideology and guilt” and The Evil Dead (1981) Directed by Sam Raimi. Thriller
films took a violent turn with many being R-rated and showing explicit scenes.
Noticably, Duel (1971), directed by Steven SPielberg was a popular thriller
movie at the time.
7. 1990-2000s
During this era, there was a sudden change in the horror genre where the
bloods, guts and gore of the 80’s wore out and more movies involved new fears
such as psychotic, serial killers. It saw the rise in psychological
thriller/horror as well as slasher films. Also, during the 2000’s there was
also a rise in torture porn in movies that focused heavily on the
realistically portrayed distress and creative torture of victims. Notable
films during this time are Silence of the Lambs and Scream. The Dark Knight
trilogy is a popular psychological thriller as well.
8. 2010s-present
Nowadays a lot of horror films are remakes of classics.
More horrors are based on the supernatural with demons and
spirits and most thriller films contain a heavy action
element as well. Notable horror films are The Conjuring
(2013) directed by James Wan. Inception (2010) is another
noticeable film which is a thriller.
