- History and evolution of the horror genre - Why has the genre changed over time?

1. HORROR GENRE
○ History and evolution of the horror genre
○ Why has the genre changed over time?
Horror Films are unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and
alarm, and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while
captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience.
Kanta Wongchai

2. ○ History and evolution of the horror genre
Origins of the horror genre
Horror in movies was inspired by gothic literature.
Famous authors of the time included :
Mary Shelley,
Bram Stoker and
Edgar Allan Poe,
creating tales such as Dracula and The Raven.

3. 1920’s
Before the horror genre was established, movies of the 1920s were short, silent and black and white.
It was difficult to build suspense and fear without the addition of color and sound. Due to technological
restrictions, films had to rely on captivating stories and visuals like the mise en scene and costumes.
Popular movies at the time were :
- The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920),
- The Golem (1920), which was the first monster movie
- Nosferatu (1922) which was the first vampire movie.

4. 1930’s
The word “horror” was only used to describe this genre when Universal Pictures released
Dracula and Frankenstein in 1931. Sound was introduced which helped create suspense and tension
by using music and the voices of the actors. Horror movies were popular at this time due to the Great
Depression as it gave the audience a way to escape reality. During this time, monsters were a big hit.

5. A film that disappointed audiences was
○ Freaks (1933)
as it horrified people rather than scare them.
It was so unpopular that it was banned in the
UK and other countries for 30 years.
1930’s
World news such as the Tutankhamun Exhibition touring the world
inspired new stories like
○ The Mummy (1932).
This film gave a new setting on the desert as well as introducing the
idea of ancient evil returning.

6. During WW2, directors were cautious of making
horror movies influenced by the war as they didn’t
want to cause more panic and chaos.
Films that came out this period were:
○ The Wolf man (1941)
○ Cat People (1942)
1940’s

7. 1950’s
The 50’s introduced new ideas for monsters in films. Better technology was being invented
to upgrade film however, audiences were so used to the same quality of film that when it
changed, directors had to improve on impressing the audience.
Throughout this period, horror movies were aimed at teenagers and instead of horrifying the
audience, they thrilled them.

8. 1950’s After WW2, radiation was a common
convention in horror films. Radiation was used to
change the size of something such as Godzilla.
Directors would photograph animals and recreate
into stop-motion animation.
○ It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955) -
was about a mutant octopus assaulting San
Francisco.
○ The Wasp Women (1959) -
was also another popular movie that came out in
this period.
1950’s

9. 1960’s
In the period, the Manson Murders took place which changed people’s views on what was horrible. The
60’s explored the ways in which sex and violence could be used. Teenage audiences started to notice the
conventions in usual horror films. Audiences wanted more reality in horror thereby making it scarier.
○ The Night of the Living
Dead (1968)
has also become one of the
most popular films. It created
a darker path for horror.
○ Psycho (1960)
has become popular and
iconic horror film to be made.
It has influenced other films
such as Texas Chainsaw
Massacre and Silence of the
Lambs.

10. 1970’s
The general convention of horror films during this time was children and childbirth. Also, the occult and
supernatural evil became a popular theme during the 70’s.
Other influential movies from this decade include :
○ Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974),
○ Jaws (1975)
○ Halloween (1978)
The Exorcist (1973)
has been voted the scariest movie of all time. It wasn’t released in the UK
until 1999 as it caused outrage due to some of the content.

11. Slasher films is a subgenre that was very popular during the first half of the decade. Throughout the 80’s,
special effects were being commonly used. The effects became more realistic as technology advanced.
1980’s
Compared to Stephen King’s works, Gremlins (1984)
showed a comic side to horror. Each of the gremlins
were animatronics that cost between $30,000 - $40,000.
The 80’s were filled with the adaptations of Stephen King’s books. A well-known
movie was The Shining (1980). This was filmed in one of the biggest sets ever
and took over a year to film.

12. 1990’s
Since the over-use of special effects, audiences had become accustomed to the shock factor.
Films released were considered to be thrillers and needed to captivate the audience with other shock
factors such as jump-scares and plot twists.
Scream (1996) is part of the slasher genre but is considered a
parody. This inspired sequels and a TV show plus spoofs such as
the Scary Movie franchise.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) was the highest grossing film of the year.
However it offended the LGBT community as it portrayed
transgender people through Buffalo Bill, the antagonist.

13. 2000’s
Videogame, comic book adaptations, Hellboy (2004) and Silent Hill (2006)
and the new sub genre ‘torture porn’, Hostel (2005)
became box office hits throughout the decade.
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
- Friday the 13th (2009)
- One Missed Call (2003)
- The Ring (2002)
- The Grudge (2004)
are Asian horror movie remakes that received
positive reviews.
The 2000’s released film remakes of many old horror movies such as

14. Saw (2004)
being a popular yet controversial film in the subgenre ‘torture porn’, received
mixed reviews due to the intense visuals. As a result of its popularity, this led to
the start of a franchise with 7 films.
2000’s
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
is a unique horror film. Although it is a musical, the movie does contain conventions
of the subgenres, splatter (graphic violence) and slasher (serial killings).

15. 2010’s
The Conjuring (2013)
is a box office hit and received many positive feedback as well as starting its own franchise.
It is about a family haunted by a dark presence. It says that it's based on a true story with frightens the
audience even more. The film uses CGI to show supernatural power, ghosts and holes in walls and more
technology has really improved from previous horror films and it's clearly show as the film running is
smooth and in HD.
Found footage films became increasingly common during the 2010’s after successes like
The Blair Witch Project (1999) and the Paranormal Activity franchise (2007-2015).

16. ○ Why has the genre changed over time?
The horror genre dramatically changed over the time is due the fact that individuals needed change in
society and life therefore, the film structure had to too because of new technology and development that
takes place over the years.
Furthermore the horror genre also changed to become more realistic otherwise the audience wouldn’t
be satisfied as they would be expecting something more or different. By changes taking place it means the
audience will still be unsure and sacred as they don’t know what to expected as the genre changes.
In addition another way horror changed is by the changing of society therefore films changed from
black and white to colour, no sounded films to films with sound and more realistic monsters as the
audience, growing in age also wanted the horror genre to grow with them hence to changes in make-ups.