The History of Horror

The History of Horror

Early horror films have changed the way that films have been made. Different characters, sub-genres and themes have heavily influenced the modern film-scene.

1930's:
realistic day-to-day events of the war and the sense of depression. Over 80 million people attended the cinema on a weekly basis in the 30's, which is almost 65% of the US population.
One of the most iconic horror films released in the 30's was James Whale's Frankenstein, based on the novel under the same title by Mary Shelley. One scene in which Frankenstein throws a little girl into a lake and then goes on to drown her has long been controversial.

1940's:
Most horror films were American during the 40's and a large number of the films were banned in the UK, as the American's viewed themselves as a safe and normal country, where-as anything coming from Europe was a danger. One of the iconic horror 'creatures' that came form the 40's was the wolf - which led to Universal
choosing the wolf as a figure of menace for the 40's.

1980's:
The 80's saw an increase in blood and gore-filled movies, that were born from the minds of horror fans and
directors. Better technology enabled film-makers to use advanced SFX, making the films more grotesque and realistic. Monsters and creatures were more adapted in the 80's, some examples being:
Creatures with a supernatural origin:

• Ghosts
• Freddy
• Jason
• Creatures with human origins:
• Vampires
• Werewolves
• Zombies

Creatures with unknown origins:

• Alien-like beings.

Due to the large number of gory/slasher horror movies being released in the 80's, the public starting getting a
fascination of the inside of the human body. Alot of the films released once they'd realized the obsession with the body, focused on maiming, mutilation and modification of the human form.

The term slasher/splatter film, refers to a messy film, with over-used blood and a lot of violent scenes. Slasher films usually follow the same set of conventions, which include a psychopathic killer that stalks teenagers whilst carrying large weapons of some sort. A large number of slasher films were released in the 80's and because of the popularity of them, alot have been remade into new versions, or had multiple sequels.

Torture Porn, Gore-nography (2000's)
Torture porn is the term for a horror that gives the audience a physical reaction instead of an emotional one - just like porn. Many torture porn films were released in the 2000's, with the likes of Hostel, Wolf Creek and Saw I-V. Although the concept of torture in a horror is not a new one, the way that it is portrayed is, and made it look more realistic. Torture-porn was seen as a very real theme in 2004-2006 after the whole Guantanamo Bay incident, which involved the US Army holding prisoners, and starving them, exposing them to heat/cold, dehydration and enforced immobilization. This influenced the film maker's immensely, and the subject of their films were then torture, as it scared more people.

One element of torture-porn is the realistic locations, which scared the audience. They would have felt safe
watching the film in the comfort of the cinema, or in their own home - but when they went outside, the settings are recognizable and the locations familiar.