2. The silent era which carried on through
1910 and 20’s brought to light such films
as ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ’ which
depicts an evil doctor putting a sane man
into and asylum and ‘Nosferatu’ which
was thought to be the very first vampire
movie.
The very first evidence of horror was in the late 19th
century was ‘Le Manoir du Diable’ made in 1896 by
Georges Méliès although it was a little of 3 minutes.
This idea of ghosts and other nightmarish creatures
came from the images in the 1860’s show image of
looming figures behind people that was usually
created with double exposure camera shots. Creating
this ghostly feel and drawing people to believe in such
myths.
3. This leads me into the 1930’s with the entrance of sound to
cinema it completely redefined the face of the horror genre.
With this era came more supernatural beings and the increase in
funding of special effects. Films such as Dracula and
Frankenstein both made in 1931 and produced by Universal and
were very well received by critics and the public. Another key
film in the 30’s was King Kong was most distinguished for it’s us
of stop motion animation.
During the 1940’s however while in the midst of WW2 horror films were
at a stand still as the horror genre had been banned in Britain and had
been majorly curbed all over Europe so they were mostly produced in
America. The only film that was most successful that year was ‘The
Wolfman’ and ‘Cat People’, which did not reach the level of success
that, the horror films through out the 30’s did.
4. After the end of the war the
50’s was a period of
experimentation for
filmmakers with the entrance
of more films and monstrous
creatures coming onto our
screens. Which studios trying
to keep up with the television
the audience for horror had
massively reduced and the
stars were reserved for more
PC films. It was the teenagers
of the 50’s who kept horror
live. For example films such as
‘Godzilla’ and ‘The Fly’, the
technology had changed stop
motion and models was the
way forward to create these
absurd creators. You also so
the introduction of aliens and
the entrance of sci-fi on our
screens no longer just in
comic book form, an example
of this was ‘Invasion of the
Body Snatchers’ made in 1956
which was very well received
by audiences and critics.
5. With the 60’s came the increase in gore and
what the public perceived to be horror
more money was being put into horror
movies. Unlike the 50’s it was no longer
about the toy like mutants that once was
depicted, but about exploring the audiences
perception of sex and violence. Hitchcock
had entered the scene during the 60’s
created such classics as ‘Pyscho’ and ‘The
Birds’ which was and still is to this day
thought of as a master piece by many. With
‘Blood Feast’ made in 1963 came the
introduction of blood and gore also referred
to as a ‘splatter movie’ a sub-genre of
horror. Following with the
concept of blood and gore
came the entrance of zombie
movies such as ‘Night of the
Living Dead’. Then finally you
have ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ which
un like the splatter movie it
touched on the subject of the
morning sickness pill given to
some women in the 60’s
causing there babies to
become deformed and even
die at birth and the war
generation attempting to build
a better life for themselves.
6. The shift from the 60’s to 70’s
was quite a big one the budgets
expanded and the quality of the
story lines increased as well.
With societies views changing so
did what they personified in
horror films. The troubled
children seemed to play quite a
big role in films of that era with
The Exorcist (1973), The Omen
(1976) and Carrie (1976). With
the changing view of women
came ‘The Stepford Wives’
(1975). Also came the gory and
more thrilling story lines with
such classics as Jaws (1975),
Halloween (1978) and The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre (1974).
7. With the 80’s came a technological boom
meaning the quality of the films got better and
again the budgets increased. This was
fantastically portrayed in Ridley Scots film ‘Alien’
made in 1986 that was a critically acclaimed
masterpiece. Another key film of the 80’s was
Stanley Kubrick’s film ‘The Shining’ made in 1980
showing the public it is not only about blood and
gore in the horror genre, but about a cleverly
written story line with many twists and turns.
Also another cult classic of that era was ‘Evil
Dead’ playing on the ideas of ghosts and teens
without supervision never being a good thing.
Following that two horror classic of that era
which have lead to sequels where ‘A Nightmare
on Elm Street’ (1984) and ‘Child’s Play’ (1988)
which then transformed into another cult classic
‘Chucky’.
8. With the 90’s came the expansion
of psychological thrillers and the
more disturbed characters with
plotlines directors where trying to
separate themselves from the
splatter genre of horror and turn
to the more psychological side.
With such films as ‘Silence of the
Lambs’ (1991), ‘The Sixth Sense’
(1999), ‘Jacobs Ladder’ (1990) and
‘Candyman’ (1992). Although
some directors stuck to the classic
slasher horror series (which also
ran through the 80’s) for example
‘Scream’ (1996).
9. In early 2000 we have seen the rebuild
of cult classic horror films with ’28 Days
Later’ made in 2002 which had a great
reception with both critics and viewers
then on the other of the spectrum you
have mock comedy horror ‘Shaun of
the Dead’ (2004) mocking the zombie
genre and was a favorite with both the
public and critics. Another classic at the
beginning of the 21th century is ‘Final
Destination’ (2000) teen appeal horror.
Another pinnacle movie is ‘Donnie
Darko’ (2001) also considered a cult
classic considered a psychological
thriller. Finally it was a key point in the
expansion in Japanese horror films and
the familiarization of such classic as
‘The Grudge’ (2004) and ‘The Ringu’
(2002) all over the world.
