There is some conflict to the first horror film made. Technically "The Execution of Mary Stuart" by Thomas Edison in 1985 is the first despite it only being 18 seconds long. Therefore some may say that George Melies "Le Manoir de Diable" (House of the Devil) was the first film at around 1-2 minutes long.
The first horror films were silent film, which is a wonderful medium in which to examine terror. Darkness and shadow are important in the horror genre but was a lot more difficult to be created in this time period without the technology that was developed later on.
Longer films started to appear around the 1900's. The first full-length horror film was made in Germany, "The Golem" by Paul Wegners.
There was a sense of dreamlike imagery in the 1920's, they included ghostly wraiths floating silently through the terror of mortals, this just made a visual representation of 'horror'
The first ever vampire film. Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau was the director and he demonstrates within this film the use of light and shadow.
Horror movies were reborn in the 1930's, sound now had a massive impact on the intensity and how scary a horror film could be. Sound adds an extra dimension to the horror, this could be by music used to build suspense or magnified sound effects of simple movements. Now for example monsters that grunted and groaned and howled could be introduced to a plot. You could describe the 1930's horror films as exotic fairy tales, located in an unfamiliar land, characters in period costume and speaking in unusual accents.
Another vampire film directed by Tod Browning. The concept was developed from the Dracula stageplay over the novel. It was actually the first horror film that included talking.
Directed by James Whale, it involves a monster being created. Whale payed great attention to the detail throughout and became a very successful, well known horror film.
From Universal Studios, directed by Karl Freund and starring Boris Karloff as priest brought back to life, at the time audiences were fascinated however it may now seem slow paced for modern viewers.
Development on the 1930's 'beasts'. The plot entails a film crew visiting a mysterious island, they come across a giant gorilla who takes a liking to the lead actress.
Sequel to the successful film Frankenstein. In which a new friend is assembled for Frankenstein. Another 'monster' involving plot.
The 1940's seemed to show the idea of people turning into animals of some kind. Ideas were still being developed from 19th century novels.
A horror film that has moved on from the more typical 'monsters' and involves a wolf.
A psychological thriller, follows a woman who believes she is holds a curse that if she is intimate with her husband she will turn into a cat. It is known for shadows and darkness creating the unknown therefore the audience uses their imagination, particularly the swimming pool scene.
Mutation on existing life seemed to be a theme throughout the 50's, it seems directors and writers were intrigued by science and how it could just be a reason for something extraordinary to happen in a film. A popular development from this was either the enlargement or shrinking of something that already exists, insects were often used.
1950's horror films were big on science mutating to either enlarge or shrink existing life forms, in particular insects. This was partly because it was easier to film. Godzilla is an example of enlarging, which created a 'beast'.
Following the idea of mutating insects,The Fly follows this as a scientist accidentally shrinks himself and a fly together. "Help Me! Help Me!"
The 1950's also saw technology and more science related plots develop. The Tingler is an example of this, it's a film about a mad scientist intrigued by fear, who experiments on unwilling subjects.
There was a great change in what the public now perceived as horrifying. Also people were now more open to nudity, onscreen violence, and other taboos in films. A lot of films in the 1960's stopped using things such as monsters but instead people and their inner evil.
The 1960's began to play on what the public now viewed as horrifying. Psycho presents a relatively normal seeming man who's 'inner monster' is not completely revealed till the end, showing how monstrous a man could be. The violin screeching soundtrack and the flashing of the knife in the shower scene is well known and has influenced a lot of aspects of the horror genre.
The first ever splatter movie in which a caterer specialises in body parts. Developed from psycho's success in the borderline gory parts, Blood Feast included a lot of blood and gore.
Looks into ghosts and the supernatural involving a strange professor. Is this what audiences are now scared of?
Rosemary becomes strangely pregnant and everything going on around her is very peculiar. Paranoia kicks in for the safety of her baby. This film goes on to inspire many films that focus on anxieties. Camera angles in this film show that film production is being a lot more thought out for the effect on the audience. For example, the steady tracking on a low angle that repeatedly misses vital faces and expressions contributes to the audience's share in Rosemary's paranoia.
This film explored the fear of zombies. It also played with the people closest to us, such as family and friends turning against us. The special effects, make up and performances are of good quality, resulting in some genuinely terrifying moments. Film making development is starting to speed up.
One fear that keeps popping up in the 1970's children in general and the fear of childbirth. This links in to the idea that maybe the enemy is in your own home...
Some say it's the scariest film of all time. The tale of a young girl being possessed and her mother in seek of help for her, turns to two priests. This film is what the 1970's is all about, the use of children and the use of the 'enemy' being in your home - creepy!
Five friends visiting their grandpa's old house are hunted down and terrorized by a chainsaw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals. Decomposing flesh, news report detailing grave-robbing in rural Texas, oozing red sunspots of the title sequence, and the opening narrative shot of roadkill, all in the first five minutes. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is definitely full of blood, guts and gore.
Revolves around a demonic child who can use the supernatural to make adults helpless to the point of death. Another example of a classic 1970's idea of using children to make the audience feel vulnerable and scared.
A psychopathic killer who was put in an institution as a child for the murder of his sister, escapes and stalks a group of teenage girls, whilst his doctor after him. Halloween used the suspense from Psycho and developed it for a teenage audience.
Special effects have come along way up to this point in time and in the 80's special effects were used to their full potential to create blood, guts and gore.
In the dreams of his victims, a child murderer stalks the of the members of the mob that killed him. The more simple effects had the biggest impact, such as the lighting when the murder (Freddy) appeared, the sound effects when knives were pulled out and the actual ghostly face of Freddy.
Introduces a doll named Chucky, who happens to have the soul of a serial killer. It creates an interesting mix between the monster children of the 1970's and the serial killers of the 1990's.
It seems that by the 1990's directors had run out of new, original ideas therefore many turned to re-creating old classics. However there was a theme throughout which was serial killers. Nothing out of this world but something that could potentially be in your neighbourhood.
Does not involve serial killers but instead takes place between the horror and thriller genres. The trailer shows screaming human faces, exploding vehicles, flapping birds and talk of demons suggesting something along the lines of ghost tale. In fact it is about a Vietnam vet who is mourning the death of his son, he must know the difference between reality and life from his own dreams, delusion, and perception of death.
A killer known as "ghost face" begins killing off teenagers, and as murders are on the rise, one girl and her friends find themselves questioning the "rules" of horror films as they find themselves living in a real life one. This is could almost be classed as a parody towards 1970's and 1980's horror film clichés however it does still have genuinely scary moments.
In the early 2000's horror movies looked into terrors going on in the world. Events such as 911 had an impact on some plots. Towards the later 2000's torture was a common theme.
This film entails upon a group of people surviving death but then being picked of one by one. The unique thing about Final Destination is that the film starts off with explosions, loads of deaths, worst case scenarios where as usually horror films build up to that towards the end.
Saw is all about torture along with some blood and guts. Serial killer "Jigsaw" sets victims tasks and objectives. To survive they must play the game.
This horror film revolves around the paranormal. Demonic presence that terrorise an innocent family. The layout of the self filming layout allows the audience to engage with what's going on and feel involved, increasing the intensity.
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