A brief summery of the history of horror films

1. HISTORY OF HORROR

2. Horror’s roots in classic
literature
Frankenstein
 Written in 1818 by Mary Shelley
 A horror/science fiction combination
 (Brief, spoiler free) tells the story of a scientist
Victor Frankenstein who wanted to reanimate
the dead. He builds a creation out of cadavers
which goes on a rampage
 The story is responsible for inspiring the beginning
of the science fiction genre
 In 1910 the film enraged parents at the time for its
graphic scenes (including the drowning of a child)
and Christians as it depicted playing God

3. Horror’s roots in classic
literature
Dracula
 Written in 1897 by Bram Stoker
 Film made in 1931 and directed
by Tod Browning
 (Brief, spoiler free) tells the story Jonathan
Harker who meets and must escape from the
vampire Dracula
 The idea of being bitten by a bat and having
diseases/infections spread added to the fear

4. Horror’s roots in classic
literature
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
 Novel published in 1886 by Robert Louis
Stevenson
 (Brief, spoiler free) tells the story of Dr Jekyll
who has two personalities with two very
opposite levels of morality
 Today we still use the phrase ‘Jekyll
and Hyde’ to refer to people who
have different moral characters

5. The horror of the silent era
 People enjoyed seeing ghosts on camera and the technique
of superimposition became very popular
 Films at the time included ‘The Golem’ and ‘Nosferatu’
 The Golem, 1915, dubbed ‘the first monster movie’ was
based on the Jewish legends about a clay man. There were
three films made in total however the first two have been lost
or damaged over time and are no longer viewable
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&
v=uZO_Kd3kkwE
 Nosferatu, 1922, was the first vampire movie. Many scenes
involved the use of lighting and shadows to create an eerie
effect
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcyzubFvBsA

6. The primal animal within
Werewolves
 Adolf means ‘noble wolf’ in old German
 The main fear at the time was of the war and
its lingering effects
 Werewolves were compared to Nazi’s
as the idea of biting humans and them
turning into another was similar to
how Hitler was making people join
his army.

7. The primal animal within
Cats
 During the war, men left to fight leaving the
women behind to fill their roles in their jobs
 Women felt their freedom was taken taken
from them as men returned and they wanted
rights to other forms of work
 The movie ‘Cat People’ involved
women dominating men and holding
power, reflecting the current state
of matters

8. Aliens and monsters
 For example, ‘The Thing’ and ‘War of the Worlds’
 Blue screen technology allowed for the turning of
regular animals into monsters
 The obsession derives from the fear of the atom
bomb (and destruction created by a non-human
cause)
 Monster movies of the 50’s were the first
blockbusters
 ‘Invasion of the body snatchers’ referred to
communism where everyone’s bodies were taken
over and they all became the same
 Today we are still obsessed with unknown
creatures however we are less scared, hence
films such as Monsters Inc.

9. Ghosts, Zombies, Satanism and
your family
 These films reflected the grim outlook of the
1970’s
 Children were often involved as they made the
threat feel close to home
 The Exorcist was banned in the UK
until 1999 and was voted the scariest
movie of all time
 Ghosts were partially inspired by
the monsters of the 50’s

10. Slasher
 Features violent killing or mutilation, for example
‘Scream’ and ‘Friday the 13th’
 They hit off in the 80’s with technology which
allowed for more graphic special effects
 Killers, even if they are human, still have inhuman
roots such as Jason and Freddy
 80’s horror films all seem a little over the top
because the filmmakers were enjoying their
freedom to do so
 Audiences became fascinated with the human
body therefore maiming and mutilation became
popular

11. Video nasties
 These films were not released in cinemas, they
went straight to VHS
 Many films were banned such as ‘Axe’ ‘Blood
Bath’ and ‘The Evil Dead’ because VHS
distribution was unregulated, therefore children
had access to them
 They were typically over the top gore fests with
very little plot
 In 1993 the film ‘Childs Play 3’ was blamed for
influencing two 10 year olds to kill and torture a 3
year old, however many, including the police, did
not blame the film

12. ‘Gorenography’/’Torture porn’
 These are heavily brutal gore fests with little
plot or character development, similar to video
nasties
 Films include ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and
the ‘Saw’ franchise
 People enjoy these films as they get a thrill out
of being pushed out of their comfort zone
 Torture was not a new theme to the big
screen however the way it was portrayed
and its detail made it suddenly more
‘real’