HORROR

back to genre study

[|Psychology of horror video]

[|History of horror video]




 * **WARNING!** **The content on this page might shock you/horrify you/make you puke. Viewer discretion is advised. So...yeah. You've been warned.** ||



horror |ˈhôrər; ˈhär-| noun An intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust // : children screamed in horror.// • a thing causing such a feeling // : photographs showed the horror of the tragedy// | //the horrors of civil war.// horror films |ˈhôrər filmz| An unsettling movie that strives to elicit the emotions of fear, disgust, and horror from viewers. Today, the term "horror" is applied to films which display explicit gore and/or supernatural content. Horror most frequently overlaps with the //thriller// genre.

Key Movements/Eras


 * 1896-1930** Silent Horror Films
 * 1930s** Popularization of Horror Film: Gothic and Monster Horror. Hollywood makes Horror a mainstream genre.
 * 1950s-1960**s Sci-Fi Horror, Apocalyptic/Catastrophic Horror, horror-of-the-demonic, first foreign Horror films (Italy), Low-budget horrors
 * 1970s** Satanic films, Slasher films, Biological horror films, Killer animals
 * 1980s** First Horror Series are created
 * 1990s** Sequels of horror films and First Remakes
 * 2000s** Teen-centred horror, Indie Horror, More Remakes



Timeline of Key Events/Films 1896 George Melies, known for //A Trip To The Moon//, directs //Le Manoir du Diable// (The House of the Devil), credited as the first horror film. 1898 Englishman George Albert premieres his film //Faust and Mephistopheles//, a film made with "double exposure" so ghosts can be seen on screen. 1908 Selige Polyscope Company releases //Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde//, the first cinematic adaptation of Stevenson's homonymous novel. 1910 Charles Ogle appears in the first cinematic adaptation of //Frankenstein,// made by Edison Studios.


 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Frankenstein1910.jpg align="center" caption="Charles Ogle in Frankenstein."]] ||
 * Charles Ogle in Frankenstein. ||

1914 German filmmaker Paul Wegener releases //The Golem//. 1919 //The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari// is released in Europe. 1920 John Barrymore is the first major star to play main character of a horror film, //Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde//. 1921 //The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari// is released in the US. The NY Times calls it a "cubist shocker".



1922 The German film //Nosferatu// by F.W. Murnau is released. It's the first screen adaptation of Bram Stroker's //Dracula//. 1923 Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal Studios, decides to produce a cinematic adaptation of //The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.// This will be the breakthrough film of Lon Chaney Sr., who plays Quasimodo in the film. From this point onwards, Chaney will be labelled as a horror film actor. 1925 Universal Studios releases //The Phantom of The Opera// with Lon Chaney Sr., arguably his most famous film.



1928 //The Terror// by Roy Del Ruth becomes the first horror film with sound. 1930 Lon Chaney Sr. dies of lung cancer at 47. 1931 Tod Browning directs //Dracula//, starring Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula. The film becomes a hit. Englishman James Whale directs another mainstream horror film, //Frankenstein//, starring Boris Karloff (aka William Henry Pratt) as The Monster. Karloff will become the official successor of Chaney.


 * [[image:ontheroad29/gg.png align="center" caption="Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in their trademark roles."]] ||
 * Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in their trademark roles. ||

1932 Tod Browning releases //Freaks//, a highly controversial film because it features a cast of real circus "freaks". 1933 RKO Radio Pictures releases //King Kong.// 1935 Whale and Karloff work together again for the acclaimed Frankenstein sequel //Bride of Frankenstein.//This is Whale's last horror film. The first werewolf film, //Werewolf in London//, is released. 1936 Todd Browning releases his last horror film, //The Devil Doll//. 1941 Lon Chaney Jr., the son of Lon Chaney Sr., becomes the new horror movie star. Chaney Jr. will be famous for playing werewolves. 1951 A new cycle of horror films begins, composed of aliens, space, mutations and anticommunism. 1953 The first cinematic adaptation of H.G.Well's //The War of the Worlds// is released. This is the first film about alien invasions. Ray Harryhausen provides special effects and stop-motion animation for horror and sci-fi films. 1955 Japanese studio Toho releases //Gojira.// This was the first "giant monster" film.


 * [[image:http://www.dreadcentral.com/img/reviews/gojirapic1big.jpg align="center" caption="Gojira."]] ||
 * Gojira. ||

1956 Bela Lugosi dies. Don Siegel directs //The Invasion of the Body Snatchers//, a horror film about aliens replacing humans with replicas. The film is an allegory about US fears of communist infiltration. The first Italian horror film, //I Vampiri//, is released, directed by Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava. The latter will become one of the leading Italian horror film directors together with Lucio Fulci. 1957 James Whale dies. London-based Hammer Film Productions starts producing tons of horror films, from Frankenstein remakes to mummy films. 1960 Roger Corman emerges in the horror movie scene. His films in this period are inspired by E. A. Poe's short stories although his most famous work is //The Little Shop of Horrors//, a horror comedy film about a carnivore plant that eats humans. In the meantime, Alfred Hitchcock releases //Psycho//. This was a breakthrough film of the genre because of its portrayal of sex and violence. The screeching violins that make up the soundtrack became iconic. //Psycho// is also considered as the first slasher film. Meanwhile in Sweden Ingmar Berman releases //The Virgin Springs//, a story about a father who takes revenge on the men who killed and raped his daughter. This is the pioneering film of the "rape & revenge" subgenre.


 * [[image:http://images.starpulse.com/news/bloggers/640389/blog_images/the-little-shop-of-horrors-1960.jpg align="center" caption="Little Shop of Horrors screenshot."]] ||
 * Little Shop of Horrors screenshot. ||

1962 Tod Browning dies. Hammer Film Production continues to release horror film remakes. 1968 //Rosemary's Baby// by Roman Polanski is released. This will be the first in a long series of satanic-themed films. Romero makes the first zombie movie with the low-budget //Night of the Living Dead,// that becomes a cult film. 1969 Boris Karloff dies at 82. 1972 Wes Craven directs his first film, //Last House on The Left//, inspired by Bergman's //Virgin Springs// and by violent footage of the Vietnam War. This rape & revenge film is highly controversial for its brutal scenes of torture and rape. Craven said that this film was an attempt to replicate the horrors of the Vietnam War. The film is banned in many countries, including the UK.
 * [[image:http://365horror.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/last.png align="center" caption="Last House on The Left."]] ||
 * Last House on The Left. ||

1973 William Friedkin releases //The Exorcist//. The film breaks new ground with its portrayal of a child possessed by a demon. 1974 //The Texas Chain Saw Massacre// by Tobe Hooper is released. For its depictions of blood and gore, this film is considered to be one of the first who brought a new sense of realism in screens, along with //Last House on the Left.// 1975 Steven Spielberg releases //Jaws//. It becomes a worldwide phenomenon. David Cronenberg releases //Shivers// and automatically creates the new sub-genre "body horror".


 * [[image:http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Jaws-jaws-468738_1024_782.jpg align="center" caption="Part of Jaws movie poster."]] ||
 * Part of Jaws movie poster. ||

1976 //The Omen// by Richard Donnor is released. Brian de Palma releases his first film //Carrie// based on the first novel by Stephen King. 1977 Dario Argento releases //Suspiria//. It's one of the first Italian films to gain success internationally. 1978 John Carpenter, inspired by //Psycho//, releases //Halloween//. It marks the beginning of the slasher genre. George A. Romero releases //Dawn of the Dead//. 1979 Lucio Fulci releases his sequel to //Dawn of the Dead//, called //Zombi//. Ridley Scott releases //Alien//. 1980 The //Friday the 13th// saga begins with the homonymous film directed by Sean Cunningham. Jason Voorhees becomes the latest cult horror character. The series will spawn eleven sequels. Stanley Kubrick releases //Shining// with Jack Nicholson. //Cannibal Holocaust// by Italian director Ruggero Deodato is banned in many countries due to its graphic violence and it's considered a //snuff film//. Deodato will have to go to court to demonstrate that no-one was hurt or died during film production.


 * [[image:http://www.thefilmyap.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/cannibal-holocaust-impalement-300x208.jpg align="center" caption="One of the controversial scenes from Cannibal Holocaust."]] ||
 * One of the controversial scenes from Cannibal Holocaust. ||

1981 Sam Raimi releases low-budget film //The Evil Dead//. 1982 John Carpenter releases //The Thing//. In this period horror films don't fare well at the box office. 1984 The UK decides to modify films with obscenity and gore buy editing them or banning them. Affected films are //Cannibal Holocaust// and //The Evil Dead//. Wes Craven releases //Nightmare on Elm Street//. The antagonist of the film, Freddy Krueger, kills adolescents in their dreams. 1986 Cronenberg releases his highly influential and successful body-horror film //The Fly// (remake of the homonymous 1956 film) about a scientist (Jeff Goldblum) who accidentally merges with a fly and slowly transforms into one. 1987 The first //Hellraiser// film is released. It's a film that explores themes of sadomasochism and morality under fear. 1988 //Child's Play//, a story about a killer toy doll, is released. The antagonist Chuckie will become a cult icon. 1992 Francis Ford Coppola releases //Dracula//, his own adaptation of Stroker's novel, starring chameleonic actor Gary Oldman as Count Dracula. 1994 Kenneth Branagh creates his own version of //Frankenstein// with Robert De Niro as the Monster. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt star in //Interview with the Vampire// by Neil Jordan. 1996 Wes Craven launches his new slasher series //Scream//, a series blending horror film history with laughs.


 * [[image:http://www.stardustmovies.com/gallery_film/Scream_%28280311164444%29scream.jpg align="center" caption="Ghostface, antagonist of the Scream series."]] ||
 * Ghostface, antagonist of the Scream series. ||

1998 Hideo Nakatu release //Ringu//, a movie about a "deadly video". 1999 //The Blair Witch Project//, a fake documentary about film students getting in trouble in the woods, becomes a hit and introduces the independent horror film genre as well as the mockumentary. This is the most successful independent film of all time. 2002 Looking for ideas in Japan, Hollywood starts to produce remakes based on Japanese horror films. The first American remake of a Japanese film is //The Ring//, a remake of //Ringu// made by Gore Verbinski. 2003 Horror film icons Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees fight together in //Freddy vs. Jason//. 2004 //The Grudge ,// the second American adaptation of a Japanese film (//Ju-On)// is made. The first film of the ultraviolent //Saw// saga is released. 2005- Remakes of horror films are released (//The Hills Have Eyes, Friday the 13th, Last House on the Left//, etc.).

Key Players (NOTE: Below are the key players of the genre that have worked for more than 10 horror films) **Actors**
 * Lon Chaney Sr. (1883-1930). First worldwide-known horror film actor. Nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces". Starred in first horror films such as //The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, The Phantom of the Opera// and //The Unholy Tree//. He is best remembered for his characterization of tortured and psychologically afflicted characters. He died of pneumonia when he was 47.


 * Boris Karloff (1887-1969). AKA W. H. Pratt. Born in the UK, he emigrated to Canada in 1909. After doing manual labor, he started making cameo appearances in films (like in 1932's //Scarface//, where he is gunned down in a bowling alley), before he was hired to star in Whale's //Frankenstein// in 1931, where he was chosen for the role over Bela Lugosi. From that film onwards he became a worldwide star. Apart from his trademark role, Karloff has been described as a kind gentleman who would dress up as Santa Claus every Christmas to give presents to physically disabled children in hospitals. He officially starred in //Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein// and //House of Frankenstein.//


 * Bela Lugosi (1882-1956). Hungarian, when he emigrated in the USA in 1921, he entered the theatre in NYC's Hungarian immigrant colony. After watching him play in a Broadway version of //Dracula//, Universal Studios hired him to play Count Dracula in Tod Browning's film. Bela Lugosi became famous. His other films include //Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Raven// and //Son of Frankenstein//. He then worked for Ed Wood in the films //Glen or Glenda// and //Plan 9 From Outer Space//. He died of a heart attack at 73.




 * Directors**
 * Tod Browning (1880-1962). He was one of the first Hollywood film directors. Before films, he was a barker at circus sideshow, an experience that influenced his films. His most famous films include //Dracula//, //Freaks, The Unholy Tree, Mark of the Vampire// and //The Devil Doll//. He made more than 50 films. He retired in 1942. He died in Malibu in 1962 of throat cancer when he was 82 years old.


 * James Whale (1889-1957). English from Dudley. He fought in WWI and he was captured by the Germans. After that he became a playwright. After the success of his play //Journey's End// in 1928 he moved to the US where he became a film director. His most famous films include //Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man// and //The Man in The Iron Mask//. He was openly gay. He became depressed and started having strokes during the early '50s. He committed suicide by drowning himself in a swimming pool at the age of 67.


 * George A. Romero (1940-). American-Canadian, he is the pioneer of the zombie genre. He gained mainstream success with the independent horror film //Night of the Living Dead// in 1966. His other films include //Season of The Witch, Dawn of the Dead// and //Day of the Dead//. He currently lives in Canada.




 * Wes Craven (1939-) He is one of the masters of American horror. His key films include //Last House on The Left, The Hills Have Eyes,////Nightmare on Elm Street,// and the //Scream// series. He was the first director to blend horror movies into real life by creating meta-horror-films such as //Wes Craven's New Nightmare// and //Scream//. He directed/collaborated in more than 30 horror films.




 * Producers**
 * Carl Laemmle Jr. (1908-1979). He was in charge of Universal Studios from 1928 to 1936. He introduce horror films into the mainstream world by producing films such as //Dracula, Frankenstein// and //The Invisible Man.// He is probably the most well-known horror film producer.

** Articles of Analysis/Links **
 * [] A detailed wiki on the history of Italian horror, from gothic to splatter, from Ferda to Argento.
 * [] A complete timeline on horror film history.
 * [] Another wiki on the history of horror films in general. Here you can learn about a specific era or movie.
 * [] You want to know more about the upcoming horror films produced in the UK? Includes clips and news of all the latest horror flicks.


 * [] If you are interested in lurid horror b-movies and exploitation films, this is your gold mine! Includes classic exploitation poster art.

** Influences **
 * [[image:ontheroad29/grindhouse.png align="center" caption=""The Deuce" Grindhouse Database homepage."]] ||
 * "The Deuce" Grindhouse Database homepage. ||
 * [] You want to know more about horror films from the silent era to modern days? This huge article made by Tim Dirks of Filmsite.org will be a fun read.
 * Gothic horror novels. Novels such as //Frankenstein// by Shelley, //Dracula// by Bram Stroker, //Notre-Dame de Paris// by Victor Hugo, and the various short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle and Howard Phillips Lovecraft have become the main influence for horror films starting from the silent era, since countless adaptations have been made from these novels.
 * Wars and various world conflict (specifically, WWI and the Vietnam War). The bloody and dreadful events that have occurred during these wars (manslaughter, rape, genocide) have shaped up the brutality and gore present in horror films. It also inspired horror film directors to add more vivid realism to their films, just like what Wes Craven did for //Last House on the Left.//
 * Serial killers. Creepy but true, the crimes committed by serial killers such as Charles Manson and Ted Bundy have influenced the antagonists and assassins present in horror films. For example, the character of Norman Bates from //Psycho// was loosely inspired by Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein.
 * [[image:ontheroad29/fuk.png align="center" caption="Ed Gein and the Vietnam War."]] ||
 * Ed Gein and the Vietnam War. ||

** Influenced **
 * Society. Most of the films we see on the big screen influence other people to do the same, from innocent youths to disturbed adults. Why do you think today everyone takes out their camera whenever they see something violent?
 * Serial killers. Some serial killers, inspired by horror films, have committed crimes based on them. One example relates to the splatter-gore film series //Guinea Pig//. There has been a case about this film influencing the crime of Japanese serial killer Tsutomo Miyazaki, a necrophilic who brutally murdered four girls between 1988 and 1989. The court eventually dropped the accusations on //Guinea Pig// and Miyazaki was hanged in 2008.
 * Film directors and normal people. Horror films have created a whole universe full of horror film fans, and the works that are currently being released today are all mainly inspired by old horror films (for example, //The Rite// is inspired by //The Exorcist//).



** Quotations ** //Hi, I'm Chucky, wanna play?// (Chucky from the //Child's Play's// series recurring catchphrase) //We all go a little mad sometimes//. (Norman Bates in //Psycho//) //You start to play it and it's like somebody's nightmare. And then this woman comes on, smiling at you, right? Seeing you throught the screen. Then when it's over, your phone rings, someone knows you watched the tape and what they say is, "You will die in 7 days"// (//The Ring//) //Be afraid, be very afraid.// //(//The Fly) //It's alive! It's alive!// (Frankenstein)

//Heeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny! (//The Shining) //I see dead people! (//The Sixth Sense) ** Critical Reception **
 * //The Exorcist// is the highest-grossing horror film of all time, according to cnbc.com, with a worldwide gross of over $441 000 000 (which adjusted for 2010 inflation corresponds to over $2 billion).
 * Countless horror films have been falsely labelled as //snuff films// (for example, //Cannibal Holocaust// by Ruggero Deodato), but so far no real snuff film has ever been released in the film market.
 * This is a list of the Top 10 Scariest Horror Films of all time according to boston.com:
 * 10) //Audition// by Takashi Miike
 * 9) //Halloween// by John Carpenter
 * 8) //Evil Dead II// by Sam Raimi
 * 7) //Dawn of the Dead// by George Romero
 * 6) //Invasion of the Body Snatchers// (1978 remake) by Philip Kaufman
 * 5) //Alien// by Ridley Scott
 * 4) //The Ring// by Gore Verbinski
 * 3) //REC// by Juame Balagueró and Paco Plaza
 * 2) //Ju-On// by Takashi Shimizu
 * 1) //The Thing// by John Carpenter
 * The most disturbing horror films of all time (according to Evil on Two Legs blogger Corey [|here] ) include:
 * //Funny Games// by Michael Haneke
 * //Faces of Death// by Conan Le Cilaire
 * The Japanese //Guinea Pig// series
 * //Cannibal Holocaust//
 * //Last House on the Left//. These films were permanently banned in some countries, especially //Cannibal Holocaust// and //Faces of Death//, because they are billed as //Banned in 40+ Countries//.
 * Starting from the early 2000s, many remakes of classic horror films have been and are currently being made, including //Last House on The Left, Nightmare on Elm Street// and //Friday the 13th//.
 * According to //Yahoo! Movies, Saw// is the most successful horror film series, with 6 films and a worldwide gross of $800 million.
 * //Troll 2// is the worst horror film ever made, according to //Total Film [|here] ,// because of the terrible special effects and the bad plot (an army of trolls tuns people into vegetables).