horror genre

1. GERMAN
EXPRESSIONISM
German expressionism is a term used for artistic
movement which portrays elements such as corruption,
social decay and paranoia in the life of the Germans.
German expressionism consists the use of strong
contrast, painted shadows, expressionistic locations,
and the composition created by irregular shapes
which convey a disturbing and patronizing feel.

2. SOCIO-HISTORIC
CONTEXT
German expressionism began just before the first world war in 1920, however
the artistic movement of German expressionism carried on from before and
after the war (1910 – 1930). The purpose of this was for Germans to express the
isolation that their country felt during the war, however after the war had
finished in 1922; the international audience started to appreciate the German
cinema. Soon after the term German expressionism formed a genre which other
film industries had adopted, one example of the very first German
expressionism films with a good budget was Metropolis directed by Fritz Land.
This was the opposite of realism, with the use of distortions the films were
showing inner emotion reality rather than what's on the surface. This new way
of film making was brought to the US when the Nazis gained power and several
German film makers moved to Hollywood to work on film making. This has had
an influence on the modern film making, genres like horror and film noir were
majorly influenced by German expressionism, and till this very day conventions
of German expressionism are still being used in modern horror films.

3. FRITZ LANG
Fritz Lang was a filmmaker, screenwriter and a film
producer, he was born in Austria-Hungary but after
the first world war had moved to the US, California.
He was mostly known for
creating the astonishing
film ‘Metropolis’ which has
changed the genre ‘Film
Noir’ forever.

4. FILM NOIR
Film Noir is a long-standing term used to describe the genre of
Hollywood crime dramas, which has been brought up from
German expressionist cinematography.
The term Film Noir comes from a French critic who recognized
this genre as ‘Dark Film’ (French translation from Film Noir).
The genre was only first adopted in 1970 where the classic Film
Noir films were also called Melodramas.
The genre follows typical conventions of a private investigator
being lured into the life of crime typically by a charming woman
who ends up being the one who started it all.