2. OUTLINE
• The horror film genre is a type of film that tries to evoke
negative reactions within the audience and play on their
primal fears. It tries to frighten and scare e viewer by
creating startling scenes and playing on supernatural
elements. Horror films often deal with the viewer's
nightmares, hidden fears, revulsions and terror of the
unknown.
• Plots within the horror genre often involve the intrusion of an
evil force, event, or personage, commonly of supernatural
origin, into the everyday world. Common supernatural
occurrences include
Vampires, Werewolves, Aliens, Demons, Serial Killers, Ghosts
and Zombies.
3. 1890-1929
• The first depictions of supernatural events appear in several of
the silent films that were created by the film pioneer Georges
Méliès in the late 1890s, the best known being Le Manoir du
diable, which is sometimes credited as being the first horror
film.
• In 1910, Edison studios created the first Frankenstein film, which
was lost for many years. German Expressionists during the
Weimar Republic era with films such as The Golem in 1920 and
made the first Vampire inspired film Nosefertu which was an
unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Hollywood
Dramas would use Horror like themes in versions of The
Phantom of the Opera, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The
Monster.
4. 1930-1949
• Often tipped as the Golden Age of Horror Films the thirties
and forties had a vast string of successful Gothic Horror films
mad by Universal Studios. Some of the most famous films to
come out during this time included the thirties version of
Frankenstein, Dracula and The Invisible Man. Two main
actors during this time were Bella Lugosi and Boris Karloff
who ere the two main actors to go to if you wanted to
make a Horror Film.
5. 1939-1949
• Lugosi’s credits include playing Dracula whereas Karloff was
most famous for his performance in Frankenstein, which
inspired an entire franchise and made his career. One of
the most controversial film made during this time was the
film Freaks by Todd Browning which garnered so much
controversy it was cut by thirty minutes and banned from
the United Kingdom for thirty years. The film followed the
lives of circus performers who in real life had massive
physical disabilities. During the 1940’s, B-Movie horror
became a trend with low budget films such as The Wolfman
which become a classic horror film in the long run.
6. 1950-1969
Due to the advancement of technology the main theme of
Horror Films changed from Gothic era films to contemporary
concerns. Many films during this time as well as the Horror
genre had themes and subliminal messages about the
current situation of the world at this time. Many productions
used the idea of threat that humans have not experience
with invading and trying to take over. This can be seen as
propaganda towards communism and films such as The Thing
from another World and Invasion of the Body Snatchers were
able to present the paranoia and tension of the Cold War
into a disturbing atmosphere.
7. 1950-1969
• Science fiction elements were often merged with Horror
during this period. A film in particular that is considered a
masterpiece during this era was The Incredible Shrinking
Man which has been seen as one of the most significant
films ever made. The film conveyed the fears of living in the
“Atomic Age” and social alienation.
8. 1950-1969
British film companies started producing remakes of classic
Universal Studio films in colour for the first time ever. This was also
an important time for the genre as Michael Powell created
Peeping Tom, the “slasher” film of its type. The story followed a
photographer who combined his talents with murdering his
victims. Later on came the iconic director Alfred Hitchcock who
was responsible for the Psycho which became one of the most
renowned pictures in pop culture. He then went on to direct
another ground breaking horror The Birds which explored the
themes of natural horror in which nature itself turns violent and
attacks the protagonists of the film.
9. 1950-1969
• Monsters and Ghosts were still a very popular choice but
chose a more demonic, evil theme. Examples of this during
this era are the Haunting and Rosemary’s Baby where a
woman was impregnated with the devil as the child.
• Another major film in this era was George A. Romero’s Night
of the Living Dead which became the point in time where
the zombie genre of films really started gathering
momentum. “This film about zombies blends psychological
insights with gore, it moved the genre even further away
from the gothic horror trends of earlier eras and brought
horror into everyday life.” Wikipedia
10. 1970-1989
• Due to the wild success of Rosemary’s Baby, many films
decided to have more occult themes in them. A perfect
example is The Exorcist which is often tipped as one of the
greatest mainstream horror movies of all time. In this film and
in many others, the Devil is presented as a threat in the film
often through possession or impregnating women. Another
notable example is The Omen in which a couple realize that
there adopted son is Satan returning to the real world.
11. 1970-1989
• However, Horror films like in the sixties also focused on
contemporary concerns with films like Wes Craven’s The Hills
Have Eyes and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre which
recalled the Vietnam War. George A. Romero Created the
sequel Dawn of the Dead which satirized the consumer
society. Body Horror was also a popular sub-genre in the
seventies with films such as Eraserhead and Shivers which
focused on physically disturbing objects and character to
frighten viewers. Stephen King novels were also adapted a
lot in this era with the most notable one being The Shining
which became one of the most iconic films of its time.
12. 1970-1989
• Slasher films were also very popular during this time with films
such as Halloween, A nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the
13th and Black Christmas. Steven Spielberg created the
genre of Animal Horror which made animals such as sharks
as seen in the world famous Jaws as the threat in the film.
Sci-fi and horror merged more during this time with films such
as Alien and The Thing which both combined natural acting
with extreme gore and violence in the films on screen.
Finally B-Movies were increasing popular during this time
with Sam Rami’s The Evil Dead that had a very low budget
but an original storyline so it was praised by critics and
became a cult classic.
13. 1990-1999
• During this era Horror films were in decline because they had worn
themselves out and had used all the tricks that had been seen before.
Many of the slasher films got sequels to them but were panned by fans
and critics of the original films. The only exceptions to this were New
Nightmare, a self-parody of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Silence of
the Lambs.
• Films instead had be self-aware and not take themselves seriously to
achieve success. A notable example was Scream which seen as more
of a horror-comedy rather than a slasher film.
14. 2000-2013
• This is often criticized for its lack of originality as it involved
remakes of famous films from previous generations such as
Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Evil Dead and Dawn of the
Dead. America adapted a lot of films from Japan as well
such as The Ring, The Grudge and The eye. Foreign films at
this time were extremely popular during this time with films
such as Let the Right One in, Marianne and Let me in which
were received well.
15. 2000-2013
• Another theme in this time is minimalist psychological horrors on low
budgets such as The Others. Zombie films also have had a resurgence
with films such as I am Legend, Quarantine and British film 28 days
later. Another major theme in modern horror films is the extreme level
of violence in them which is often referred as “Torture Porn” due to the
ridiculous amount of violence in them. A film franchise is most notable
for this is the Saw franchise which is currently the highest grossing
Horror franchise in the world. It focused on a low budget in which
filming takes place in less than a month. A notable example of cheap
horror films in this era is Paranormal Activity which has a found footage
aesthetic to it.
