History of Horror Summary 19th century- now

HORROR IN THE 19TH CENTURY

One of the main forefronts of the 19th century was the rapidly accelerating advances in scientific discoveries and inventions. This is within the field of many subjects including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology which laid the groundwork for the advances during 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 for quantum theory. As 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.

Roots in classical literature
It was during this century that Gothic tradition blossomed into the modern genre we now call horror. Influential works and characters that continue resonating with film and cinema today saw their genesis in such works as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (a scientist that creates a monster) in 1818, the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) and Bram Stokers Dracula (1897). Each of these novels created a basis for most horror films today and are still seen as vry iconic with many of them having modern re-imagining on stage and screen.

HORROR OF 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 lasted from 1894-1920 before technology for synchronized dialogue was available.

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. 

German Expressionism 

This refers to a series of silent movies influenced by art movements of the time to do with expressionism and constructivism. Like silent films there was no dialogue, however the characters were represented more through mise-en-scene as well as gestures and movement. In silent films the characters body language and expressions where emphasised greatly in order for the audience to correctly read implied emotions and feelings. This specific time of film was made by German production companies from 1919 until 1933 when Hitler came into power.

 

Monsters and Mad scientists 1930's

The 1930's is known is film for the re-birth of horror.This is when synchronised sound and dialogue could be added to films which added another dimension of fear making the films come to life and become a lot more realistic. Examples of monster and Mad scientist films of this decade are... 

• Frankenstein
• King Kong
• Dracula 
• The Mummy

With scientific discoveries still advancing at a rapid pace these types of horror kept in theme with these times. Frankenstein is a good example as it is about a scientist that actually creates his own monster. The scientists within these films are portrayed as insane and power hungry but some of the actual plots were based on future scientific predictions.The truth is stranger than fiction.

During the 1930's was the great depression, this led to an increase in popularity of horror films to do with the idea of 'escapism entertainment'. This type of horrors were a sub-genre called supernatural' horrors which the audience said allowed them to forgot about their concerns for a few hours.

HORROR IN THE 1940's: THE PRIMAL ANIMAL WITHIN...

The 1940's were host to WW2 and  this was a large factor in shaping some of the changes and development in horror during this period. With horror banned in Britain, America took over the horror Genre. During this time the 'wolf' became a key icon. This is actually due to the war itself and the Nazi's who were often referenced to by Hitler as 'Wolves'. As well as this Adolf in old German means noble Wolf. Even propagandists depicted Hitler himself as the 'Big bad wolf' of fairy tales. It seemed the wolf represented the predators hidden in the corners of public consciousness. It was therefore no surprise that 'Universal' home of the monsters during the 1930's picked the wolf as the go to figure of menace for the late 1930's and early 1940's.

The film 'The Wolf man' was released in 1941 written by Curt Sidomak a man who fled the Nazi's himself in 1937. The film began the Hollywood phenomenon that is the 'Werewolf' bringing together the ideas we associate with these creatures today for example, full moons and silver bullets. The Wolf man is one of the three top-tiers universal studio monsters without a direct literacy source.

In 1941 Universal released 'Cat people'. This film was classed as a Psychological thriller and took 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 original budget. The particular theme of the film were based on Women but portraying them 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.

HORROR IN THE 1950's: MUTANT CREATURE AND ALIEN INVADERS

One of the first Mutant movies to be created was the iconic Godzilla. Godzilla was produced in the 50's 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 universally as one of the most popular and leading Mutant movies created and highly regarded by the horror genre. Another film released was 'Flight to mars' in 1951. Which was based on American scientists expedition to mars only to find out is inhabited by an underground dwelling 'Aliens'. 

During the 1950's Radio active weapons and atomic bombs were in commission. As well as this NASA were able to explore a lot more of space with advancing technology and discoveries. These events within this decade could have potentially impacted the Mutant/

Alien horror genre. Because horror films of this period kept to the same central theme it may have created another dimension of fear to the audience. If they were aware of these advances in science and technology of the time it would of made these horror films seem a lot more realistic and the thought of the unknown moving into the known e.g. what we might find in space or what atomic bombs and radio active energy could create (e.g. monsters). 

 

HORROR IN THE 1960'S: GHOSTS, ZOMBIES SATANISM AND YOUR FAMILY

Horrors of the 70's reflected psychological fears; one of the reoccurring fears being children and the fear of child birth. Psycho is a good example that 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 movie of all time. These types of horror had a particularly strong effect due to them using children who we would normally associate with innocence and being pure but they are transformed into evil conduits for demonic spirits to possess and control. Satanism along with the crumbling family image becomes the source of fear, portraying to the audience that evil can be found closer to home than they may of thought. As well as this many ghost films appeared within the 60's this being a reaction to the creature features of the 1950's.

• Psycho (1960)
• Night of the living dead (1968)
• The Exorcist (1974)
• Carnival of souls (1962)

HAMMER HORROR

Hammer film productions is a British film production company founded on the 5th of November in 1934 by William Hinds whose stage name was William Hammer (which was taken from the area he lived in London which was hammer smith). 

The company were best known for a series of Gothic horror films they produced during the mid 1950's to 70's. Although they also covered other film genres during Hammer film productions more successful years they dominated the horror film market with worldwide distribution and considerable financial success. During the 1970's the saturation of the horror film market by competitors and the loss of american funding forced changes for the previously successful hammer productions. This led to the company declaring bankruptcy in the mid 1980's.

In may 2008 the company was sold to a dutch media tycoon John de Mol who planned to spend $50 million on new horror films. Since the companies reopening it has produced feature films 'Let me in' (2010) 'The president' (2011) and 'The women in Black' (2012).

• Quartermass experiment (1955) Started as a Sci-fi thriller series by the BBC to which Hammer Film Productions bought the rights to make adaptations.
• Remake of Dracula (1957) ...Low budget but great success.
• The Mummy (1959) ...Low budget but great success.
• The curse of Frankenstein (1958)...Great success.
• The Abominable Snowman (1958) ...Not as successful as their previous films.
• Dr Jeykll and Mr Hyde (1960) ...Low budget, £30,000 loss at box office.
• The phantom of the opera (1962) ...failed at the box office but gathered a cult following.

SLASHER MOVIES AND BODY HORROR

Slasher Movies were a sub genre horror from American Horror films. The Slasher horror film trended after the successful release of Halloween in 1978 which led to a lot of copycats. 

The four plot rule for a horror film to be classed as a Slasher consist of..
1. A traumatic event in the past that creates a psychopathic Killer.
2. Killer returns to event on the specific date.
3. Killer brutally kills groups of teenagers of both sexes.
4. Final girl survives normally portrayed as androgynous and virginal.

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

HORROR IN THE 1980's: VIDEO NASTIES

Mutilations of bodies. Cannibalism. Gang rape. That is what a video nasty is.” So said Graham Bright, the Conservative MP who introduced the Private Member’s 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 a video that the board hadn’t examined and classified.

Video Nasties were bloody accidents were distributed on tape, and were available to view, repeatedly, by anyone with access to a VCR and the tape. This made a mockery of the ratings system, and it quickly became apparent that relatively young children were exposed to eye-gouging, fingernail-pulling, exploding heads and tree rape, courtesy of their older brothers and sisters, or even careless parents.In the UK this led to the notorious "Video Nasty Debate", as the tabloid press screamed with headlines of the "Sick Films Warping A Nation's Young Minds" variety. MORAL PANIC!

• Nightmare on Elm street
• I spit on your grave 
• The Evil Dead
• Zombie flesh eaters
• Nightmares in a damaged brain
• The last house on the left

HORROR IN THE 90'S: IRONIC HORROR

The 90's were home to the ironic horror films, this simply means they were aware of themselves. By this we mean 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 80's and 90's which left many fans and critics to believe that the 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 a fresh genre picture, the film itself is arguably original for owning its unoriginality. Much of the film contains inter textual references to horror and these allusions give the film a post-modern self awareness.

HORROR IN 2000: 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 we as an audience watch this type of films for a physical reaction rather than an emotional one, much like porn itself. 

During the 2000's many films were released containing a lot of startlingly graphical scenes of torture. Torture was not new to films but the way it is was now being portrayed with the technology available made it appear very real. during this time period it was revealed on global news that the US army had been accused of torturing their prisoners making torture now seem again real and topical!

Horror films of this decade were striving for aesthetic realism, designed not to look comical or over the top but as realistic as they could get to the event (e.g a limb being chopped off) 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 for torture porn was Eli Roth. His first feature Cabin Fever released in 2002 involves a flesh eating virus attacking a group of young college graduates, one scene consists of a girl shaving her leg only to realize she is shaving off her own skin...and we see all of it!

However in 2007 a film called 'Captivity' about a girl who is tortured displayed very graphical posters that were criticized and accused of 'crossing a line'. The posters where taken down and when realized the film flopped.

Although Torture 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.

• Saw (Wan 2004)
• Hostel (Roth 2005)
• Saw II (Bousman 2005)
• Wolk Creek (Mclean 2005)
• Hotel II (Roth 2007)
• Saw V (Hacki 2008)
• Hostel III (Spiegel 2011)