History Of Horror

We have got our information on horror by doing research on ww.google.com . We have decided to research the history of horror so that we have an insight into what makes a conventional horror and what things horror films have in common, we think it will help us understand how horror has progressed through the decades and how we can develop our horror.

Horror films are designed to unsettle the viewers by causing fear and panic. They dwell on our fears to create terror, they focus on the darker side of life, the unknown, aliens/science fiction and death. There are many sub-genres of horror: slasher, teen terror, serial killers, satanic etc.

The first ever horror film is called: Le Manoir Du Diable (1896)
It was directed by Georges Méliès and it was only 2 minutes long.

The Plot:

A bat flies into an ancient castle and transforms itself into Mephistopheles himself. Producing a cauldron, Mephistopheles conjures up a young girl and various supernatural creatures, one of which brandishes a crucifix in an effort to force the devil-vampire to vanish.

Horror in the 1920's:
The horror genre became more popular in the 1920's and classics like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde(1920), The hunchback of Notre Dame(1923) and The Phantom of the Opera(1925) became popular. Films were very gothic and most involved monsters.




Horror in the 1930's
Classics like Frankenstein(1931) and Dracula(1931) were released and this brought on very similar films which involved monsters, like The Mummy(1932)



Horror in the 1940's
Still predominatly about monsters and many sequels were made to earlier films The Ghost of Frankenstein(1942) and The son of Dracula(1943)

Horror in the 1950's
Films shifted from gothic to technology and science, Science fiction and horror was triggered by the Roswell Event.
The invasion of the body snatchers(1956) and The Blob(1958) Alfred Hitchcock's film Rear Window(1954) became a big hit.



Horror in the 1960's
The publics view on horror films shifted and soon they demanded films on reality and the world around them, people, social psycho traditions and stereotypes.
The most famous director of this era was Alfred Hitchcock and his famous Psycho(1960)and The Birds(1963)
The Hammer Film production and Hammer House of Horror became a popular show.



Horror in the 1970's
Horror films in this decade completely reflected the grim feel of the decade and big budget films returned that dealt with contempary issues and psychological issues, children and childbirth as well as killer animals.

The Exorsist(1973) was rated the scariest film of all time and was even banned from the UK and re-released in 1998. Cinemas had sick bags for the viewers and ambulences were called due to so many people fainting. During filming, a priest was brought to bless the set as it was rumoured that strange occurances were happening. Actor Jack MacGowran (Burke Dennings) died during filming.



Horror in the 1980's
Special effects like blood and gore were used and new effects were experimented with. Many films dealt with Evisceration(disembowlement). Friday the 13th(1980), Halloween II(1981) and Wes Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street(1984) all became big and were later led to be remade.



Horror in the 1990's
The films were mainly psychological thrillers and intelligent horrors.
The people under the stairs(1991) and Candyman(1992)



Horror in the 2000's
After 9/11 it was really hard for the horror industry and it hit recession. Horror films were nearly banned in the name of world peace.

Final Destination(2000) was made before the 9/11 attacks and is about a man who has a premonition of a plane crash. Many old classics were re-made and gore was taken to a new level with the Saw films.