HORROR HISTORY

By James Brewer

MORBID BEGINNINGS

Like every idea Horror had its beginnings in spooky stories told to each other, over a camp fire if your into creepy things ;)

And told as stories to children to keep them in line, just like Santa Clause giving coal if parents didn’t want to frighten children, like the famous doctor’s apple story.

However the true rise of horror can only be when Mary shely

BACK TO THE BEGINING

The first horror movie was released in 1896 and was called Le Manoir Du Diable, which translates toakaTheDevil'sCastle.

The movie was only about 2 minutes long

It was written by a man named George Melies, a french film maker.

1900-30’SWorld war begins and ends, and the rise of the German worker front, (later renamed Nazi Party)

Films of this era were very generic with stock characters, a good guy, bad guy, damsel in distress and never an anti hero. And the characters were all clearly recognizable.

Possibly the most famous Horror movie of all time Nosferatu (based on Dracula by Bran Stoker) is released in 1922 by German director F. W. Murnau.

Albin Grau (head of parna studeos) had the idea to shoot a vampire film; the inspiration arose from Grau's war experience: in the winter of 1916, a Serbian farmer told him that his father was a vampire, and so hired F. W. Murnau to direct.

1925

The phantom of the opera 1925 movie directed by Rupert Julian

Staring Lon Chaney in the key role of Erik the phantom.

This movie was credited as the scariest movie ever, as up till this point the general idea was that a monster is the enemy, because it is much scarier to imagine a man being responsible for horrors.

So as not to scare the audience too much the director had the man horribly deformed outside to show what was wrong with his soul.

People were given smelling salts upon entering in case someone fainted (many women did)

30’S-40’S

Hitting the 30s we have sound as well as film for movies

Dracula 1931 was the first true horror movie to incorporate sound

Ripped off the stage play rather than the book so many aspect of the book were dropped, and in doing so angered many audience members.

Rather than just sticking to horror the film took on a romance/gothic view rather than just horror.

This film truly opened the future to vampires

SOUND

With the introduction of audio and sound it made the characters much more terrifying, effectively bringing theatre to the poor as well as the upper class, and as such it was very popular.

The fear factor intensified with both sound and speech. The characters tone helped set the scene and added much more to the character. Heavy breathing and creaking noises were used extensively in Dracula. The film is also famous for zooming in on whatever creaked to explain to the audience this is what was making the noise, and it needed to as it was the first horror film to sue sound this way.

TECHNICOLOR AND COLOR

In 1932 colour was used rather than just 2 strip Technicolor and truly brought terror to the screen.

Blood was sued more and more as the excitement grew and slasher films made there big entrance.

Doctor X was the first horror film to use colour.

50’S-60’S

The 50’s was the age of sci-fi and creature features.

People were used to mad men and killers, and directors recognised that to move onwards they needed to be shown something new, exciting, and possible.

The answer was of course aliens and ancient unknown terrors.

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS 1953

The earth is invaded by aliens who want our minerals and want to eviscerate all mankind to get it, and were not beaten by us, and were only destroyed by a fluke of them being allergic to our air.

This movie is infamous and scaring almost everyone into supporting the military and showing that there could be a genuine threat from the stars.

The movie relied heavily on special effects, something not used very often to this point.

This movie pushed forward the plan to put a man on the moon by years.

CREATUR E FR OM THE BLACK L AGO ON 1954

Directed by jack Arnold

The first horror to be released in 3d

An instant classic and holds its place alongside the liked of Dracula and the mummy.

Spawned 2 sequels, both of which were considered failures.

However despite the praise it has a truly weak ending with the creature being shot.

70’S-80’S

The age of broken families and serial killers.

1973 the excorsist. A movie about the death of innocence and how everyone is a potential threat from satan, and how because children have been given too much free reign they are open to demonic influence.

Uses special effects heavily and makeup that scared the daylights out of audiences. Especially the infamous head twist scene.

This movie was an act out against the hippy movement and a call for stricter rules.

THE SHINING 1980

A move back to the good old hack and slash, with a psychopathic twist.

The movie acts mainly on showing a mans slip into insanity after being isolated with only his family for a long stretch of time.

The film shows that everyone is able to slip if they don’t keep themselves in check.

The movie was a call against children spending too much time inside, away from real people.

90’S-NOW

The modern era

This era called for something with more but less story.

The answer was simple, killers who simply enjoyed killing. No reason behind the impulse. A famous example is Hannibal the cannibal from silence of the lambs 1990.

And stories that progressed and showed characterization rather than just an endless gore bath or senseless killings.