History of Horror Summary

19th Century Horror

The 19th century was as era of rapidly accelerating scientific discovery and invention, with significant development in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, electricity and metallurgy that laid the ground work for technological advances of the 20th century. For example through Marie Curies discoveries in chemistry she coins the term 'radioactivity' as well as Max Planck: law of black body radiation, the basis of quantum theory. A well as this the Industrial revolution began in Great Britain and spread to continental Europe, North America and Japan. The Victorian era was also notorious for the employment of children in work houses and mines as well as strict social roles including modesty and gender differences.

It was the 19th century that blossomed the gothic era into a genre that modern readers call horror literature. Influential works and characters that keep resonating with film and cinema today saw their genesis in such works as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), the works of Edgar Allan Poe, the works of Sheridan Le Fanu, and many more. Each of these novels created an enduring icon of horror seen in modern re-imaginings of the stage and screen.

The Silent Era

This is the era of films that did not have the technology for synchronized recorded sound or spoken dialogue.The dialogue was represented in these films by characters making physical hand gestures, through miming and title cards or what are known as 'on screen inter-titles'. This was used for narration, key dialogue and comments on the actions of the characters. Musicians were also used in accompaniment with the silent films to help portray the mood/atmosphere. This was from 1894-1920.

At first it was the USA, Italy and France that were home to the biggest names within the film industry but due to the devastation in France and Italy during WW2 America took advantage and began patenting technology for film making. Eventually between 1907 and 1913 production companies moved to Los Angeles and Hollywood was born. This then led to German Expressionism, this refers to a series of silent movies that was influenced by art movements of the time relating to both expressionism and constructivism. Much like many silent films, characters were represented through misenscene and exaggerated facial expressions and body language.

Monsters and Mad Scientists

The rebirth of horror in the 1930s allowed for movies with synchronized sound and dialogue to enter a new dimension of fear factor, making the films come to life and become more realistic than ever before. Examples of monsters and mad scientist films of this decade include:

• Frankenstein
• King Kong
• Dracula
• The Mummy

In the 1930s scientific discoveries were advancing at a rapid pace which meant these types of film kept in theme with this time. For example, Frankenstein is about a scientist that creates his own monster. The scientists within these films are portrayed as insane and power hungry but many plots were based on future scientific predictions. The truth is stranger than fiction.

Also during the 1930s was the great depression, this led to the increase of popularity in horror films as a form as escapism entertainment. These horror films were then known as the sub genre of 'supernatural' which would allow the audience to escape and forget about their problems for a short while. 

The Primal Animal 

The 1940's were host to WW2 which became a large factor in shaping some of the changes that developed the horror genre during this period. With horror being banned in Britain, American film makers then took the opportunity to completely take over the horror genre. 'The Wolf' then became a key icon of this time, due to the referencing by Hitler of the Nazis as wolves and Adolf in old German meaning wolf. Propagandists even used this to depict Hitler himself as the Big Bad Wolf of fairy tales.  It seemed the wolf represented the predators hidden in the corners of public consciousness. This being the reason for the Universal home of the monsters during the 30s picked the wolf as the prime menace for the late 30s and early 40s. 

The film 'The Wolf Man' was released in 1941 written by Curt Sidomak, a man who fled the Nazis himself in 1937. This then gave birth to the Hollywood phenomenon known as 'Werewolf' and then formed the cliche icons that we still enforce today such as full moons and silver bullets. The Wolf Man is one of Universals top-tier monsters without a literacy source. 

1941 also brought the release of  'Cat People', a psychological thriller that had a different take than the one 'The Wolf Man' took. It was a great success making a profit of $4 million off of their original $134k budget. The theme of the film was based on women being portrayed as dangerous, aggressive creatures. This may relate to how women were treated after the war. When the men returned women were laid off from their jobs in order to give them back to the men. 

Mutant Creatures and Alien Invaders

One of the first mutant movies to be created was the iconic Godzilla. Godzilla was produced in the 1950s by Tomoyuki Tanaka. Since the original in 1954 there have been various remakes and sequels of the Godzilla franchise with the latest remake of the film being in 2014. Today godzilla is known univerally as one of the most popular and leading mutant movies ever created. Flight to Mars was also released in 1951, which was based on an american science expedition to mars only to discover it is inhabited by an underground dwelling Aliens. 

During the 1950s radio active weapons and atomic bombs were in commission. As well as this, NASA were able to explore more of space than ever with the advance in technology and discoveries. these events within this decade could have potentially impacted the mutant and alien genre. Because horror films of this period kept to the same central theme it may have created another dimension of fear for the audience. If they were aware of these advances in science and technology of the time it would have made these horror films seem a lot more realistic and the thought of the unknown moving into the known. For example, what we might find in space or what atomic bombs and radio active energy could create, like monsters. 

Ghosts, Zombies and Satanism

1970 horror reflected psychological fears, One of the recurring fears being children and the fear of child birth. Psycho is a good example as it portrays psychological issues the killer is Norman Bates, a peculiar young man who has been dominated by his invalid mother all of his life. this psychological torment creates a cold blooded killer. One of the most prominent films in horror to do with children was The Exorcist. This film was actually banned in Britain until 1999 and was voted as the scariest film of all time. These types of horror had a particularly strong effect due to them using children who would at the time be seen as very innocent and harmless. But through the film were transformed into evil conduits for demonic spirits who possess and control. Satanism then becomes the source of the audiences fear, by portraying to the audience that evil can be found all around them. Examples of such films include:

• Psycho (1960)
• Night of the Living Dead (1968)
• The Exorcist (1974)
• Carnival of Souls (1962)

Hammer Horror

The British film production company created Hammer Film productions and was founded on the 5th of November in 1934 by William Hinds whose stage name was William Hammer. The company were best known for a series of Gothic horror films that were produced in the mid 1950s to 70s. Although they covered other genres of film, during their more successful years they dominated the horror film market by competitors and the loss of american funding forced changes for the previously successful hammer productions and led to the companies bankruptcy in the mid 1980s.

Since 2008 the company has been resold to a media tycoon known as John de Mol who planned to spend $50 million on a new series of horror films. This reopening then led to the production of such films as Let Me In (2010) The President (2011) and The Women in Black (2012).

Slasher Movies & Body Horror

Slasher movies were a sub genre from American horror films. The Slasher horror film trended after the successful release of Halloween in 1978 which led to a lot of copycats. This includes the four plot rule that slasher movies follow, the traumatic event that creates a killer, the killer returning on a specific date or anniversary of event, killer brutally kills a group of teens, a final girl survives which is often presented as androgynous and/or virginal. Such films include

• Friday the 13th (1980)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
• The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
• The Prowler (1980)
• Halloween (1981)

Video Nasties

In the 1980s, Video Nasties that presented a range of body mutilations, cannibalism, gang rape and many other disturbing and controversial themes. This is what led to the conservative MP, Graham Bright bringing forward the Private Members Bill that was passed as the Video Recordings Act (VRA) 30 years ago. Giving statutory power to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The act made it illegal to sell or supply any video that the board had not approved.

Video Nasties were bloody accidents that were distributed on tape and were available to view repeatedly by anyone with access to a VCR. This led to the mockery of the ratings system, and it quickly became apparent that relatively young children could have been exposed to controversially gory scenes which included things such as eye gouging, fingernail pulling etc. In the UK this led to the notorious 'Video Nasty Debate' as the tabloid press screamed with headlines creating moral panic.

Ironic Horror

The 90s were home to the ironic horror films, this simply mean they were aware of themselves. This means that they involve the use of horror parodies and are aware of the codes and conventions of the stereotypical horror genre. 

Wes Craven's Scream (1996) is a horror film that is often celebrated for its willingness to portray characters who we have seen in horror films. It is credited for reviving the horror genre after a string of disappointing sequels and direct-to-videos releases in the 80s and 90s which left many fans and critics to believe that once creative and lucrative genre was dead. The film wound up the highest grossing slasher film of all time earning $170 million worldwide.

To call scream original is perhaps misleading, though many critics and fans admire craven for creating an all new genre, the film itself is arguably ironically original for owning its unoriginality. Much of the film contains textual references to horror and these allusions give the film a post-modern self awareness.

Gore-nography and Torture Porn

The term torture porn was coined by David Edelstein in January 2006 and suggested we all engage in this type of film on a purely visceral level (relating to deep inward feeling) - all conditions of story and character aside. This suggests that as an audience we consume this type of media for physical reaction rather than an emotional one, much like porn itself.

In the 2000s, many films were released containing a lot of controversially graphic scenes of torture. Although this was not new to film, the way it was being portrayed with the technology available made them appear more realistic than ever which shocked its audiences. Global news revealed the US army has been accused of torturing their prisoners, which now made this topic seem realistic and topical.

Horror films of this decade were striving for aesthetic realism, designed not to look comical like many before them, but to look as realistic as possible. Details in every scene so nothing is left to the imagination, they are subject to every gory scene. 

One of the first pioneers of Torture Porn was Eli Roth. His first feature film, Cabin Fever, released in 2002, involved a flesh eating virus attacking a group of teen college graduates. One scene consists of a girl shaving her leg only to realise she is shaving her own skin.

However, in 2007, a film called 'Captivity' which was about a girl who is tortured displayed very graphical posters that were criticised and accused of 'crossing a line' in horror. As a result, the posters were then taken down and the film flopped.

Although Toture Porn made it into several popular budget movies and TV shows, the demand for it might be argued to have fizzled out by the end of the decade. Such films include:

• Saw (2004)
• Hostel (2005)
• Wolf Creek (2005)
• Hotel II (2007)