History of Horror
Roots in Classic literature- Some of the most popular horror films are based from classic literature written in the 19th century. For example, Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, Dracula and Frankenstein were some that were adapted into films. Frankenstein is one that created great controversy, People were disgusted that children could see this sort of behavior so easily and also caused religious offences as people believed only god could create life.
Gothic Horror (1920's-30's)- Gothic horror is based around the idea of romance and fear. It generally came from books and the audience were made to feel scared and sympathetic of the creature. For example a modern one being the popular film 'Twilight'.The horror films of this genre generally drew inspiration from classic literature such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. These horrors proved to be effective as the books themselves were based on deep rooted urban myths of monsters lurking in the shadows.
Monsters and mad scientists (1930's)- In this era , universal studios broke through the big monster and mad scientists films Dracula and Frankenstein. During this era Hitler came into power and the films were sometimes based around him as he was seen as a mad scientist. Some more famous films from this era include Freaks, The Mummy, Frankenstein, Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein and King Kong.
Werewolves and cat people (1940's)- There began a introduction of werewolves with films such as 'The wolf man' and 'cat people'. Through this time period the WW2 was being fought and the nazis were often associated with wolves. The link was used to scare people more as the fear in this decade was primarily to be killed in the war. Cat people in film were representing women in the generation dominating as their jobs were lost with men returning from war.
Mutants creatures and Alien invaders (1950's)- 'Rocketship XM' was he first film of the mutants and aliens which was low budget but started the generation of trend in sci-fi films. More famous and iconic films from the generation were 'The thing' and 'Invasion of the body snatchers' These films were the start of seeing more special effects in horror films.
Hammer film productions- Hammer films was a production company that evolved from the 1900s to one of the biggest titles in the era. They produced film such as 'Dracula', ' The abominable snowman','The mummy' and 'Curse of the werewolf' Hammer used a wheel of inspiration with the first stage being a Universal production, this then leads to a change in the script. If this film does well then they make another, which then links back to start again.
Zombies, Ghosts, Satanism and your family (1960's-70's)- These films focused on social issues and phycological fears, its very much mainstream horror but this time with a lot more budget. A big film from this era is 'The Exorcist' which focuses on the fear of children. This was banned in 1999 and voted to be the scariest film of all time.
Slasher films and body horror(70's/80's) - This is the type of film typically involves a killer who would kill other characters often with a bladed tool such as knifes, machete, axe, chainsaw etc, causing them to often be very gorey films. There have been many successful films from this genre such as 'Halloween','Scream','Friday the 13th','Prom night' and many more.
Video Nasties- These are films that were made to go straight to VHS as they were too explicit for the cinema. They became popular through over advertising in shop windows and also how they are dealt with taboo subjects. A few titles are 'Bloody moon','Axe' and 'The burning'
Torture porn and Gorenography- This sub genre is extremely gorey and brutal. Gorenography has no real plot it is just focused on brutality. One of the most famous films from this genre is 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' which was inspired by the psychopath Ed Gein. This type of horror is liked by people due to the thrill of the fear factor. Eli Roth is a famous director and producer from this genre creating films such as 'Hostel'.
Zombies, Ghosts, Satanism and your family (1960's-70's)- These films focused on social issues and phycological fears, its very much mainstream horror but this time with a lot more budget. A big film from this era is 'The Exorcist' which focuses on the fear of children. This was banned in 1999 and voted to be the scariest film of all time.
Slasher films and body horror(70's/80's) - This is the type of film typically involves a killer who would kill other characters often with a bladed tool such as knifes, machete, axe, chainsaw etc, causing them to often be very gorey films. There have been many successful films from this genre such as 'Halloween','Scream','Friday the 13th','Prom night' and many more.
Video Nasties- These are films that were made to go straight to VHS as they were too explicit for the cinema. They became popular through over advertising in shop windows and also how they are dealt with taboo subjects. A few titles are 'Bloody moon','Axe' and 'The burning'
Torture porn and Gorenography- This sub genre is extremely gorey and brutal. Gorenography has no real plot it is just focused on brutality. One of the most famous films from this genre is 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' which was inspired by the psychopath Ed Gein. This type of horror is liked by people due to the thrill of the fear factor. Eli Roth is a famous director and producer from this genre creating films such as 'Hostel'.
No comments:
Post a Comment