History of Horror

History of horror:

Roots of horror in classic literature:

·         "Frankenstein", "Dracula" and “Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” are the three best known original horror stories

·         Frankenstein raised a lot of controversy with science vs. religion arguments coming from the film. Also there was a controversial scene in the film where the monster throws a small girl into the lake imitating the act of throwing flowers in the lake. This was not common to see in films of the day.

·         Horror first properly originated in Britain in the late 18^th century

The silent era of horror

·         19^th century audiences enjoyed seeing ghosts captured in still photography. So it was natural that the techniques of superimposition would be transferred to new technologies so supernatural stories could be told in moving images.

·         The first horror movie was made in 1896 entitled “le manoir du diable”

1930’s

·         Horror movies were reborn in the 1930s with the addition of sound.

·         Sound adds another dimension to horror with the use of music to build suspense or to signal the presence of threat.

1940’s

·        At the end of world war 2, films about werewolves and cat people were beginning to be made.

·        Hitler himself had strong links to wolves, with his name (adolf) meaning noble wolf and also many nazi HQs being named after wolves.

·        Women at the end of the war were released from their roles in factories etc. and men took back their places. Women had shown they were capable of doing mens jobs and were actually quite dangerous and films represented this in films such as cat people, where female characters would trick men and then they would kill them.

Mutant creatures and alien invader

Most popular sci-fi films were “the thing”, and “the day the earth stood still” among others

The space race between Russia and America in the 50’s sparked an obsession with aliens and outer space. People believe technology was too advanced for the time and believed it would take over their lives.

Hammer Films

 Founded in 1934, a British horror film company but died down in the 1960s

·        It thrived worldwide in its best years

·        Its films were surprisingly big hits
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Slasher movies and body horror

·        Advancements in FX meant more gore could be shown on screen

·        An obsession with the human body and “what is inside” sparked an increased number or films with the main focus being on modifying or maiming the human body.