History of horror

By Ryan Hughes

The silent era• German expressionism 1920’s-1930’s• Expressionism confined to Germany• Film production raised from 24 films to 130 within four years (1914-1918)• Germany became a part of the international film industry• The extreme anti-realism of Expressionism was short lived• Two genres that influenced the Expressionism where Horror films & film Noir

Monsters and mad scientists

The horror films in this decade where with characters often being inhuman or a monster like appearances . Having monsters in films increased films popularityin this decade. Successful monsters in the era including Dracula, Frankenstein and King Kong. Mad Scientists was introduced to horror films in the decade for example the invisible man. Mad Scientists where about a Scientists achieving the impossible e.g. turning themselves into a monster.

The Primal Animal WithinIn the 1940s we started to see werewolves and cat people. The horror genre started Making people that could turn into animals.• The wolf man is a mishmash of several wolf legends.• Using werewolves in film as this was the main fear factor • Werewolves could be seen as Nazi’s, this comes from when human is bite, they transform. This links to Hitler how he was trying to take over the world• Cat people came alone in 1942 follows the story of Irena a young woman who carries With her belief that she is cursed. The is that she turns into a large dangerous cat.

Mutants and more monsters • Existing life forms made into monsters by using blue screen techniques.• Monsters represented movie technology of that time which draw the audience.• The mutants and idea of monsters for this era comes from the fear generated by the atom bomb.• Monsters offered a vision of destruction created by non-humans.

Body Snatchers was a popular Film in the 1950’s, as the aliens Taking over there human bodies Signify communism.

The blob, released 1958the message from this film was to warn peopleof space travel. The blob feed and expands on individual fears.

Technology scared people in the 50’s as a part of the unknownHorror films used this and created aliens and Sci-fi horror.

Founded in 1934 and created films such as, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) Dracula (1958) The Mummy (1959)

COFColour, not black-&-white

Focused on victim, not creatureFrankenstein on quest for knowledge,

not a criminal

The wheel of inspiration is Universal project moves to change script than on the audiences if they liked it they would make another one making it start over again and so on.

1970’s horror films reflected on the grim outlook of the decade, this was also when big budget and respected horrors returned.

The Exorcist was of this era which was about a little girl Possessed by a demon, this filmWas voted “the scariest film of all times”. These film resolve around the children being unwanted and doing bad things to their parents.

The most poplar of this time was ghost story's which was seen as a reaction to the elaborate creatures in the late 1950’s

Ghosts and Satanism 1960’s and 1970’s