Horror Films: History In Brief
— Stephen King, Danse Macabre
When I began research for this article it was my intent to write a brief account and history of the genre of Horror Films. But what I found was more information than I could get into a simple, short article for this edition. So, in an attempt to give a run down of how Horror Films have evolved from their low-budget beginnings, and hopefully not make it into a full-on history lesson, I’ve plotted a decade-by-decade brief—a sort of outline—on how the subject matter of Horror movies might reflect the times, advancements in technology and world events.
Although an ancient practice, that of frightening others and being frightened by others just for the thrill of it, the love for horror raises so many questions today as to why we love to be scared witless and will pay big money to experience it again and again. But, if you are not into horror films or literature, timeless tales of the macabre, transformed demons and monsters, space aliens, torture, gore and headless horseman, you probably find the whole obsession with fright and shock a bit abnormal, and will be the one covering your eyes in the theater amid screams when the blood starts to spatter across the camera lens...
THE BEGINNINGS:
Horror, before the age of film was found in great literary works that should not be missed by any fan of the genre. They are the background work for what frightens and thrills us today on the big screen.
(Frankenstein 1818) Mary Shelley
(A Christmas Carol 1843) Charles Dickens
(The Island of Dr Moreau 1896, The Time Machine 1895, War of The Worlds 1898, The Invisible Man 1897) H. G. Wells
(Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe or his works from 1830s & 40s) Edgar Allen Poe
1920s – Silent Films
The Golem (1915/1920)
There were several versions of this, dubbed 'the first monster movie'. Paul Wegener directed and starred in the screen version of the Jewish legend, set in medieval Prague.
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919)
Often cited as the 'granddaddy of all horror films', this is an eerie exploration of the mind of a madman, pitting an evil doctor against a hero falsely incarcerated in a lunatic asylum.
Nosferatu (1922)
Not simply a tale of vampirism…it echoes the Great War and the Great Flu Epidemic fatalities.
1930s – Horror Begins To Talk
Dracula (1931)
In the days before Dracula was such a well-worn story, it could be dealt with originality and panache, as Tod Browning does here. The concept of Dracula is taken from the stage play as opposed to the novel, and the results are highly theatrical.
Frankenstein (1931)
After Lugosi turned the part down, screen legend has it that Boris Karloff was plucked from obscurity in the studio canteen to play the Monster.
The Mummy (1932)
The Tutankhamen Exhibition toured the world in the 1920s and 1930s, and the concept of Egyptologists suffering the effects of an ancient curse was part of contemporary urban legend. Audiences were fascinated by the concept of 3000 year old remains, and the Ancient Egyptians' rituals that ensured immortality.
1940s – Hungry Like The Wolf(Man)
Horror films of this period deal with roots peeking through – in the form of men or women who were subject to the emergence of a primal animal identity. It's interesting to see this device in Disney's Pinocchio (1940) as the bad boys are turned into donkeys. But it wasn’t donkeys but wolves who posed a global threat. Hitler himself strongly identified with the iconography and legends of the wolf. The name 'Adolf' means "noble wolf" in Old German. Often and absent-mindedly he whistled "Who's Afraid of The Big Bad Wolf?" —an animal, it will be recalled, who wanted to eat people up and blow their houses down." (horrorfilmhistory.com)
The Wolf Man (1941)
Cat People (1942)
1950s – Creature Features/Drive-In Sleaze/Space Invaders
“The main audiences for horror movies were teenagers, who ensured that the genre remained very profitable. They flocked to the drive-ins in hordes, not caring too much about character development, plot integrity or production values. Some of these B-movies are, frankly, ludicrous, in the way they require the audience to suspend disbelief.” (horrorfilmhistory.com)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955)
The Fly (1958)
Godzilla (1954)
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Invasion of the Bodysnatchers (1956)
Plan 9 From Outer Space (1956)
Ed Wood deals with the same themes. Kind of. Aliens are hovering above Los Angeles, and are reanimating the 'recently dead' in order to form an army to bring down the governments of the world, who ignore the aliens' presence, and persist in their blind development of destructive weaponry. Dubbed The Worst Film Ever Made.
1960s – Bad Girls/Blood Freaks
Psycho (1960)
The Birds (1963)
Night of the Living Dead (1967)
An incredibly influential horror film which, in its deadpan approach to its subject, blew camp horror out of the water, and signaled the beginning of the searing social comment which horror films were to provide on the up-coming decade.
1970s – Nightmare Decade
The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist has been voted 'the scariest movie of all time' (Total Film magazine October 1999) and is hugely significant to any study of the genre.
Jaws (1975)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Carrie (1976)
Halloween (1978)
Often imitated, never equaled, this low budget ($325,000) masterpiece took all the suspense of Psycho and repackaged it in color with teenage protagonists.
Alien (1979)
Prelude to the Inside Body Horror decade…and remembering Invasions of Space Aliens.
1980s – Inside Body Horror
An American Werewolf In London (1981)
The Shining (1980)
The Evil Dead (1981)
The Thing (1982)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
The monster, a hideously scarred Freddy (named after a kid who bullied Wes Craven at school) Krueger represents a successful blend of humour and horror that began a huge franchise.
1990s – Psycho Serial Killers
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Fledgling FBI agent tries to track down trophy hunting serial killer with the aid of jailed psychopath. Stylish and disturbing.
Se7en (1995)
Perhaps the most gripping serial killer movie ever made.
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Scream (1996)
2000s & Beyond: Global Convergence/Torture & Porn/Comedy
Final Destination (2000)
FD implies a changing direction in horror cinema, as well as setting the stage for post-milliennial nightmares about Death raining from the sky.
28 Days Later (2002)
A low budget, digitally shot entry into the zombie apocalypse sub-genre.
Hostel (2005)
Slither (2006)
Shaun of The Dead (2004)
SAW (2004)
Zombieland (2009)
The Stepfather (2009)
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)
What is great about looking back on the Horror film titles from each decade you can see the flow of society’s influence in the films. For example each generation of horror fans were at a different level of innocence and/or awareness of what would be considered really scary; the subject matter became a direct reflection of events across the globe, and technology, special effects, and budgets allowed film makers to step beyond the man in a scary mask behind a cape. What will horror films be like for the next generation? In the 2010s will we have grown out of Zombies and hacking up bodies? Will we approach more realistic subject matter? What direction will film makers and authors of horrorfic material head in? Is it time to drag out and dust off those great old 19th century literary masterpieces and bring them into the 21st century, multi-media style? Or are we in for a slew of hashed over remakes? Grab a bag of popcorn and a soda, and even if movie ticket prices soar to $30 for an afternoon matinee, if you’re a die-hard fan of horror, you’ll pay the price painfully, just to be scared witless, entertained and grossed out every bloody time.
References:
Internet Movie Database
