Genre Research: Horror

1. Genre Research: Horror
What was the name ofthe first horror film,and whenwas it released?
The firsthorror film,whichisknownof,wasa short Frenchfilm, releasedin1896, it wascalled‘Le
Manoir du diable’inEnglanditwascalled‘The devilscastle’orinAmerica‘The hauntedcastle’.This
filmwasdirectedby GeorgesMéliès.
GeorgesMélièswasa Frenchfilmmaker;he wasfamousforleadingmanytechnical andnarrative
developmentsinthe earliestdaysof film.Between1886 and 1906 he directed17 horror films;he
alsostarredin all of them.These were all shortfilms. GeorgesMéliès isone of the firstpeople to
have directedahorror film.
Main filmcompanies/directors/actorsin the horror film genre:
Key directors:
WesCraven isprettydominantfigure inthe worldof horror films;he’sdirectedfilmssuchas: The
Last Houseon the Left (1972), The Hills HaveEyes (1977), A Nightmareon Elm
Street (1984), Scream (1996).
James Wandirectedthe firstsawfilm,and wrote the scriptfor it,and there have been7 saw filmsin
total.
Rob Zombie was previouslyamusician,whohasnow turnedintoahorror filmdirector.He’s
directedfilmslike: Houseof 1,000 Corpses andThe Devil's Rejects, Howeverhe isstill upand coming.
Tobe Hooper directedthe iconic‘The TexasChainsaw Massacre’whichisstill consideredone of the
mostprominentfilmsinthe horrormovie genre. He wasalsohiredbyStevenSpielbergtodirect
anothericonichorror film‘The Poltergeist’ itisarguedthatTobe has changedthe course of horror
films.
Key actors:
Kane Hodder hasstarred inmany inmanyhorror filmsthroughouthiscareer,hismostfamousrole
was playingJasonVoorhees.
Key productioncompanies:
Benderspink:Previousfilms:TheRing, TheButterfly Effect,Insanitrarium andKill Theory.
Blumhouse Productions:Previousfilms: ParanormalActivity,Insidious,Sinister,ThePurge,Dark
Skies, Ouija, ParanormalActivity 5, And thePurge2.
GhostHouse Pictures:Previousfilms:TheGrudge,theBoogeyman,TheMessengers,30Daysof
Night,Drag Me to Hell, The Posession, EvilDead.

2. PlatinumDunes: Previousfilms: TheTexasChainsaw Massacre,TheAmityvilleHorror, The Hitcher,
The Unborn, Friday the13th
, Nightmareon Elm Street, The Purge.
TwistedPictures: Previousfilms:Saw, Saw II-VI,Saw 3D, Dead Silence,The Tortured,Mother’s Day.
Key features of Horror movies:
 Fear:Fear isby far the mostimportantfactor of a greathorror story.The real trickto
constructinga storybasedon fearis makingsure youcan scare people withfearstheymay
not have.
 Surprise: Gettingsomeonetofearwhatyou've createdisn'tthe hardestpart; makingthe
fearsurprisingis. Once youcan make someone fearspiders,youhave tokeepthe surprises
going.
 Suspense: Some surprisescome atthe endof a longsuspense.The best scenarioconsists
of someone waitingforsomethingtohappen,andwhenitdoesit'scompletelyunexpected.
An expansiononthe same scenarioincludesfear.We mightevenknow whatwill happento
character basedon theirfears,butthere'sstill the anxiety of waiting.
 Mystery:Whethersmall orlarge,we like notknowingafew thingsaboutacharacter. In
general,horrorstoriesfeaturingagroupof innocentswill waituntil the mid-pointoreven
the endto tell youwhatthe maincharacter - the leaderinthiscase - fears.Itwill surprise
youby the way theyencountertheirfears.Anditwill keepthe suspense until the veryend,
at whichpointto mysteryissolved.
 Spoiler:The maincharacter freaksoutat the sightof a spider,soyouknow they're going
to face one at some point.Thiscanbe positive anticipationwithsurpriseandsuspense.
You mightrealize there'safalse sense of identityinanovel.Therefore,yoususpectthe
narrator mightbe a little unreliable.Thisaddstoeveryelement,especiallymystery.
https://www.cmhumphries.com/blog/5-elements-of-a-good-horror-story
Most famous horror films:
Dawn ofthe Dead (1974)
Director: George A Romero
Cast: KenForee,GaylenRoss,DavidEmge
Suspiria (1976)
Director: Dario Argento
Cast: JessicaHarper,StefaniaCasini,FlavioBucci
Halloween(1978)
Director: JohnCarpenter
Cast: DonaldPleasence,JamieLee Curtis

3. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Director: Roman Polanski
Cast: Mia Farrow,JohnCassavetes,RuthGordon
The Thing (1982)
Director: JohnCarpenter
Cast: Kurt Russell,WilfordBrimley
Alien(1979)
Director: RidleyScott
Cast: SigourneyWeaver,JohnHurt,IanHolm
Psycho (1960)
Director: AlfredHitchcock
Cast: AnthonyPerkins,JanetLeigh
The Texas ChainSaw Massacre (1974)
Director: Tobe Hooper
Cast: Gunnar Hansen,MarilynBurns
The Shining(1980)
Director: StanleyKubrick
Cast: Jack Nicholson,ShelleyDuvall
The Exorcist (1973)
Director: WilliamFriedkin
Cast: EllenBurstyn,LindaBlair,JasonMiller,Max vonSydow
http://www.timeout.com/london/film/best-horror-films#tab_panel_10