History Of The Horror Genre

The History of The Horror Genre

‘If movies are the dreams of the mass culture, horror movies are the nightmares’-Stephen King, Danse Macabre

The horror genre is considered (and often is) the darker side of cinema, replacing brave heroes and heroines with psychotic killers and monsters. Often dealing with the supernatural in the olden generations, with films like ‘The Creature From The Black Lagoon’ and ‘Nosferatu’, many modern horror films focus on the human side of it, with humans committing the atrocities on the silver screen. Films such as ‘Friday The 13^th’ and ‘No Country For Old Men’ emphasise this. Horror films fall into their own sub-genres, such as Slasher, Zombie and Psychological.

Horror literally means ‘an intense feeling of fear or shock’, which the films ply upon. Like the majority of film genres, horror has literary origins. Prolific authors of this genre are Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and, a more modern author, Stephen King. The term ‘horror’ was coined in the novel ‘The Castle of Otranto’ written in 1746 by Howard Walpole, in which the protagonists enter a castle full of supernatural entities. These books were often based on ‘the worst case scenario’ much like the modern ‘Final Destination’ series of films. But they may also play on common sayings, like ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ which is an allegory for ‘be careful what you wish for’.

Credited as the ‘grandaddy of horror’ and also considered the first horror film, ‘The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari’ in 1919 shook audiences with its eerie scenes and disturbing images. This was a silent film, and many of the others such as ‘The Golem’ and ‘Nosferatu’ followed suit. It also made evident that whilst a lot of other genres rely heavily on dialogue, horror was more about the imagery.

In the 1970s, audiences were exposed to a whole new level of horror, as ‘The Exorcist’ took to the stage. Voted as the ‘scariest movie of all time’ in 1999, it followed the story of a little girl named Regan possessed by a demon and her mother’s efforts to banish the demon and purify her daughter.  This film also started a trend in which the family was host to the evil killers and monsters in the movie. So even your brother (Halloween), your mother (Shivers), your father (The Shining), your daughter (The Exorcist), your son (The Omen) or your husband (The Stepford Wives) were trying to dismember you or others in horrible and disgusting ways.

In the 1980s, horror movies went on to include highly polished CGI and special effects, a trend started by ‘Alien’ in 1979. Films like ‘The Thing’ and ‘Evil Dead’ featured brilliant special effects, which added a huge fear factor to the movies and created new ways to frighten audiences. Other films found their way into the public eye, again focusing more on the human side of horror, two of them spawned possibly the most iconic series of horror films to date.  Those films were ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ and ‘Friday the 13^th’. 

Horror films seem to operate in a cycle, depending on the generation, it started on the supernatural side of things, such as ghosts, werewolves and vampires, with films like ‘Nosferatu’ and ‘Night of the Living Dead’. But as the years went by, they progressed and began to make the enemy of the film more human or an actual human. Films using this mantra include ‘Halloween’ and ‘Silence of the Lambs’. The modern age horror seems to stem from the supernatural side again, with films such as ‘Paranormal Activity’ and ‘The Wolfman’ at the forefront. This trend seemed to have continued through the 20^th and the 21^st century, and I predict it will still continue as time goes on.