History of Horror

Steven Fackman

Gothic Horror
The early days of Horror came from roots in classic
gothic literature from the 18th Century. Stories such as
Frankenstein, Dracula and Jekyll and Hyde originated
like this before being adapted as multiple films.
Frankenstein is considered to be the first true horror
story as the book was first published in 1818 and the
first film was produced in 1910.

The Silent Era

It was the 1920s when silent horror really took off after
the success of films such as The Cabinet Of Dr
Caligari and Nosferatu.
The idea of German Expressionism comes into play here
as the above films are seen as early classics of
expressionist cinema.
German Expressionism is the creative movement
coming out of Germany in the time in between the
wars.

1930s Mad Scientists and Universal

Monsters
Universal Monster movies peaked in the 1930s, with
films such as Frankenstein, Dracula and Werewolf of
London released. Frankenstein in fact is a hybrid, with it
featuring both a monster and a mad scientists.
The genre was then influenced by European culture and
cinema as their myths and creatures began to be
featured in these American Universal films.

Primal Animal Within - 1940s

Films from the 1940s include Cat People, The Wolf Man and
Frankenstein and The Wolfman.
Wolves were very prominent in World War II and were seemingly
an obsession of Hitlers. He named many Nazi HQs after
Wolves and even made his sister change his name to Paula Wolf.
Because of this wolves were a fear of the public.
When the men returned from WW2, women were forced out of
the workplace and back into the house. They had lost their
freedom. This made them angry and the wanted rights.
This is reflected in Cat People, as the females dominate the
males and hold the power.

Mutant Creatures and Aliens 1950s

The Mutant and Alien trend first began in the 1950s with
the low-budget film Rocketship X-M. Popularity
ensured similar films would be made.
The most popular films of this genre include The Day
The Earth Stood Still and The Thing.
These early films were considered blockbusters of the
time.

Ghosts, Zombies, Satanism and Your

Family
Horror movies of the 1970s reflected the outlook of the decade.
The films by this point were given big budgets. These films dealt
with societys issues and addressed real life fears.
The main film from this era is considered to be The Exorcist. It is
considered to be the scariest film of all time. This film reinforces the
idea of children turning against their parents.
Ghost stories appeared in the 1960s. This could be seen as a
reaction to the Aliens and Mutants of the 1950s.

Hammer Horror
Films include: The Curse of Frankenstein, The
Abominable Snowman, The Mummy
Hammer Films is a British company who are best known
for their gothic horror films between the 1950s and the
1970s.
They are still active, with films such as Let Me In and
The Woman In Black were released in recent years.

Slasher Movies and Body Horror

Slasher Movies and Body Horror are subgenres of horror films.
Slasher films typically involve a serial killer in a game of cat and mouse.
The film that started the Slasher movement is considered to be
Halloween by John Carpenter. Many similar films such as Friday the 13th
were released soon after.
Body Horror films are typically quite graphic and gory when it comes to
the destruction of the body. They include Evil Dead, Dead Ringers and
From Beyond.

Fears, Panics and Video Nasties

At this time, parents began to worry about their children
seeing these films.
The Video Nasty list was created for films that were
criticised for their violent content by critics and the media
in the early 80s. Some of the films were banned, some
were edited and some were given a warning.
These films include: The Evil Dead, The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre and The Thing

Gore-nography
Gore-nography, or, Torture Porn came around in the 2000s when
films were being released solely for the purpose of gore and the plot
and storyline were seen as secondary.
They claim to be a subgenre of horror, but they dont tend to be very
scary to many people as theyre just violent.
A pioneer of the genre is the director Eli Roth whos films include Cabin
Fever and Hostel Part II.
Arguably, the most well known gore-nography films are the Saw series.