This is my updated history of horror presentation for my A2 media studies coursework on horror films.

1. THE HISTORY OF
HORROR

2. “The old horror was either dead or dying; a new
horror was about to be born…”
“Films made post-2000 testify to the broadness of
the horror category.”
- Peter Hutchings

3. THE 1920’S
 These were eerie, dark horrors which featured scenes of mutilation.
 They reflected the fact that the audience was terrified by mystical
monsters found in literature of the nineteenth century.
 Costume, isolated settings and dark lighting were used to create a scary
effect in order to frighten the audience. These conventions of horror are
still is use in films of today because audiences can recognise the genre
easily.

4. THE 1920’S
 ‘Nosferatu’ is an example of a
horror film released in the 1920’s
(1922).
 It was one of the first ever horror
films.
 It was a dark, gothic film that played
on audience’s fears of vampires.

5. THE 1930’S
 Most of the horrors were gothic and were set in far off lands that were alien
and feared by audiences.
 It was the first time sound was in use in horror and they featured monsters.
 Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi were the horror stars of this decade.
 They featured monsters and were inspired by 19th century novels.
 ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) was the first to feature a female monster and
is seen as one of the greatest horrors of all time. However, it did not break
boundaries in terms of gender representation, as the Bride was pretty, weak and
created only to fulfil the needs of the monster.

6. THE 1930’S

7. THE 1940’S
 Horror films were banned in Britain because of World War Two
as screen time would have been used for propaganda and because
there was enough horror occurring in real life. America took over.
 The Americans released horrors with many films recreating the
style of horrors made in the 1930’s.
 Horror featuring characters that turned into animals or were half-
human became popular.

8. THE 1940’S
 ‘Cat People’ (1942) featured a female antagonist.
Though beautiful, the villain ‘Irena’ terrorised the
streets in cat form, killing people. Unlike the ‘Bride
of Frankenstein’ she was actually scary.
 The film was one of the first to use film
methods that are still popular today such as subtle
scares (shadows, etc) and subtle uses of diegetic
sound.
 https://youtu.be/0ADPSaybusM

9. THE 1950’S
 After World War Two, previous horror films of the past decades
no longer seemed scary when compared to real life horrors.
 Audiences began to fear the effects of radiation, nuclear war,
technological change and scientific experimentation.
 Teenagers were the main audience for horror films so filmmakers
used them as characters so the audience could relate to them.
 Films such as ‘The Fly’ and ‘The Blob’ were typical for the 1950’s
as they played on the audience’s fears of radiation/experiments.

10. THE FLY
‘The Fly’ (1958) focused on the
audience’s fear of experiments as
the narrative is of a scientist who
mutates into a human fly after an
accident with his transportation
machine which switches their
DNA.

11. THE 1950’S

12. THE 1960’S
 Fears that plagued audiences in the 50’s were gone and new fears arose.
 It was a period of massive social change as there were new fashions,
there was more freedom and attitudes changed leading to looser sexual
morals and more widespread use of recreational drugs..
 Monsters in the 1960’s were in human form as audiences saw the
darkness of the human mind as they feared the effects of drug taking and
loosening morals.
 It showcased the first version of the ‘final female’ in the film ‘Psycho’:
the character of Lila Crane, Marion’s sister.

13. THE 1960’S
 ‘Psycho’ (1960) created the psychological-
horror sub-genre. It was typical of a 60’s
horror as the antagonist was a human so it
played on their fears of the effects of drugs
on the human mind.
 It was also the beginning of ‘B’ movies
that had the sole purpose of making a profit.
Roger Corman said they were full of gore
and buxom women and were the opposite of
intelligent horrors such as ‘Psycho’.
Roger Corman

14. THE 1970’S
 Horrors grew in quality, while tackling society’s fears.
 The introduction of the ‘contraceptive pill’ and birth defects caused by
Thalidomide lead to a fear of children and childbirth. This is portrayed in films such
as ‘The Exorcist’, which features a possessed, demonic child.
 In the 1970s. The idyllic family unit was falling apart, with divorce becoming
more widespread and women fighting for equal rights. This led to the idea that the
antagonist could be found in your own family and was reflected in 1970’s horror in
movies such as ‘The Shining’.
 The slasher sub-genre and the ‘final girl’ were born.

15. THE 1970’S
https://youtu.be/AWKQSDRekBM

16. THE 1980’S
 There was a technological change as there was an increased use of
special effects and prosthetics in horror films.
 Society became materialistic as they believed everything, including
films, should be bigger and showier. So they changed in the 1980’s to have
more colour, more gruesome killings, brighter lighting and more SFX.
 The villains remained human as society still feared the evil of fellow
men and it was easier for the audience to relate to the characters in the
film if they felt that their lives were in danger as well.
 The VCR was introduced so horrors could be viewed at home.

17. THE 1980’S

18. THE 1990’S
 Audiences became tired of seeing gore in horror films and wanted more
intelligent ones. ‘The Silence Of The Lambs’ was released in response to this
and featured serial killer ‘Hannibal Lecter’.
 Audiences were also too knowledgeable on horror conventions and found
them too predictable so directors had to come up with new, exciting narratives
to hook ardent horror film fans in.
 Films such as ‘Scream’ and ‘The Blair Witch Project’ were released in the
1990’s to give audiences something new that they could relate to as they can
identify with the protagonists as the experience could happen to them.

19. THE 1990’S

20. THE 2000’S AND BEYOND
 After 9/11, audiences began to fear the evil that lurks in our world, especially
terrorists.
 Modern horrors often feature ‘a game’ of sorts that the characters have to
participate in or a killing force that cannot be seen e.g. Saw.
 Remakes and ‘spoofs’ of classic horror films have become popular as
audiences find it comedic to mock horror films for their lack of logic.
 Audiences enjoy different genres of horror such as psychological,
supernatural, zombie, possession, slasher, etc. which is beneficial for filmmakers
as they can cater their films to a wide range of audiences.

21. THE 2000’S AND BEYOND
 Horror films that have been shot in a ‘found footage’ format have
become popular. This makes the film seem more realistic to audiences and
increases the scare factor as it could have actually happen.
 Possession and exorcism films have become extremely popular and can
also be presented in a ‘found footage’ style which show how the
antagonist is relentless in terrorising the characters.
 Horror films have become more transportable and accessible for
audiences thanks to new e-media.

22. THE 2000’S AND BEYOND

23. THE HISTORY OF HORROR
Antagonists in horror films have evolved and changed over the passing
decades depending on what sub-genre is the most popular at the time. We
can compare films from the 1950s or 1970s where creatures and monsters
were commonly used because audiences were afraid of the ramifications
of the war and the impact they would have on society to modern horror
films such as The Human Centipede which is extremely popular despite the
antagonist being shockingly gruesome but this
may have been the factor that attracted
hardened horror film fans to the movie.

24. THE HISTORY OF HORROR
It can also be noticed that the representations of various characters in horror
films have developed as each decade has passed. Women used to be
represented as weak and vulnerable in horror films as they were the main
victims but in modern horror films there is the idea of the ‘final girl’ who
survives until the end of the film. The antagonist of the film was usually
depicted as male because the representation of men was that they were strong
and powerful so it was appropriate for the villain to be someone who was not
easily defeated.

25. THE HISTORY OF HORROR
In the past almost 100 years, horror films have changed and evolved
massively. This is mostly due to the audience’s fears changing and the
horror genre having to keep up to date with it. If horrors didn’t adapt to
reflect audience fears they would not be scary. The horror genre has also
expanded by creating many sub-genres (e.g. psychological) that many
different audiences would enjoy and this has ensured that the horror film
genre is still popular today and satisfying a much wider audience. I too will
aim to ensure my film idea will acknowledge fears that are current in
today’s society in order to scare my audience.