The history of horror

   

The beginning

Horror is feeling of fear and discuss it can make the hairs on a human skin stand up. Horror films have been scaring people since  the silent era, when such silent films like Nosferatu  where made and opened a new genera of film. But before even silent film where even invented horror stories where chilling readers.Horror first comes from the 1764 novella 'the castle of otranto' by Horace Walpole. This book is more supernatural theory's then horror but it cause over writers to start right horror storied. The stories that went on to be written now comes under Gothic horror which stared in the late 18th century and went of to be a success in the 19th. Three of the most known Gothic horror literature was made in this century. Such as 'Frankenstein' by Merry Shelly about a scientist Victoria Frankenstein who created a abnormal creature known as Frankenstein. This was written in 1818 when Shelly was just 18 years old and went on to be made a classic horror film in 1931.'Dracula' witting in 1897 by Bram stocker made a modern form of a vampire which is still used today in films also the famous character of Dracula. Finally the 1886 novella 'strange case of Dr Jekll and Mr Hyde' by Rober Louis about a man who transforms between two different people one good and one evil. These books still influence horror movies and litterateur today form there scary characters to the evil plots.

The horror silent era. 

Horror films first started as photographs that tell a story these were and edited to include creatures and ghosts people enjoyed looking at photos that captured abnormal thing.One of the first clips classed as a horror was a showing of a dancing skeleton bu Lumiere brothers in 1895 which is known as a 'spook tail'. Le Manoir du Diable made in 1896 was the first  silent horror film on record last only a bit over three minutes but fist plenty of supernatural thing in it.

            German expressionism is a movement that was started in German before the first world war. It was an expressions movement that included dance, painting, cinema. People say that 'The Cabinet Of DR Caligari' was one of the first films to kick off horror film made by Robert Wiene made at the start of German expression. The cabinet of Dr Caligari is about an insane hypnotist who uses a man to commit murder. Due to world war 1 German was isolated and the government had banned German film but by the time the ban has been lifted in 1916 Germany had become influential for it's film because of the demand of people wanting to watch films. When Hitler took power before world war two most German film makers fled to Hollywood where they found better lives and a few of them very successful. These silent would go on to influence horror film and be iconic in the movement of film.

Monsters and mad scientists
In the 1930 horror film kicked started again in the era of the great depression as people wanted to
escape. This then led to the idea of 'escapism entertainment' so people could escape and watch a film for a few hours and forget the troubles and concerns. Also there was new and improved visuals and the way films used sound became very important. Sound became very important being played with scary visual cause the film to be more scary and suspense. Sound is something that has become so important when course suspense in a horror film. In the 1930 monsters and mad scientists where main characters in theses film based on the 19th century literally. The horror films in this era are famous for there costumes, far away places and distinctive accents. Also in the 1930's Universal studies began making iconic films and 'Dracula' and 'Frankenstein' played by . These films would go on to created such iconic character that are still coped and used in today's film such and 'Hotel Transylvania' and kid film.

The primal animal within; werewolf and cat people

The 1940's world war two was astablishing and horror film were banned in the UK and were purely american products. The horror film industry started look for new ideas to amuse and domestic audiences this is when werewolves and car people came into play. The wolf and werewolf became a big part of the 40's as Hitler was in power and he thought himself as a wolf also called and reversed the nazi's as wolfs. Even his name 'Adolf' mean 'noble wolf' in old german and even made his own sister change her name to 'Paula Wolf'. Universals were clever to make the animal the werewolf just like the big bad wolf in fairy tails. Surprisingly on of Hitlers favour song was 'who's afraid of the big bad wolf?' from a Walt Disney movie.

'The werewolf is neither man nor wolf but a satanic creature with the worst qualities or both'. 'Werewolf of London' was the fist movie to bring the werewolf to life. Dr.Wilfred Glendon is reaching for a rare plant when comes across a strange creature that bits him under a full moon. 'The wolf man' writing by Curt Siodmak who himself was a nazi and fled away form the wolf. This includes some of the thing that are know always represented with the werewolf such as silver bullets and of course the full moon.

In 1945 the psychological thriller 'Cat people' was made and was very successful earning $4m and helping Universal form it's downward spiral. 'Cat people' is about Irena a women who believes she will turn into a large dangerous cat if she consummates her marriage.


Mutant creatures and alien invaders
in ten shot years horror films evolved drastically in the charters and creatures they included and invented. Now in the the 1950 mutants and aliens became and big thing in the horror film industry. One of the most iconic films in the 1950's and one the most icon mutant films ever made 'Godzilla'. This today is so iconic new interpretations of the film are still being made a produced today with the new being out in 2016. The original was created by the Japanese produced called Tomoyuki Tanaka.

         

In the later 40's mid 50's radioactive weapons and atomic bombs were being made and these has a big
impart in horror films and the majority of the film include these weapons and bombs. This made films more realistic to what was going on in the real world but also an escapism from the ralitles of the war.  Another film realised in this era was 'The Blob'. This film could of represent the 'red scare' by Joseph McMathy. As people where growing more frightened of communism and both Joseph and 'the blob' both fead of individuals fears. 

In the 50's people were worried about the advances of technology and that it would take over there lives and people were also scared and excited about the fact they could be over being in space. Because of the movies that were made in the 50's people wanted to explore space.  'Flight to mars' was a film that would of influenced people directed by Lesly Selander. This film represented what people wanted to do when going to space what they could find and how that could effect the world but in a scary way. Alien films scared people as it was the fear of the unknown.

Ghosts, zombies, satansim and your family 

Horror films in the 1960's and 70's reflected the grim mood of these years. In the 60's and 70's horror films became scary again dealing with psychological fears and societal issues. Also nudity and on screen violence became more executable and with no aliens found people where no longer scared of them. In the early 60's the cult classic horror 'psycho' was realised by the Alfred Hitchcock who to this day is a very iconic director when it comes to horror. This film presented the audience with a killer that was so normal until the last minutes when showed the audience how evil this one man could be. Alfred also realised 'the birds' in 1963 which was also a very successful.

A number of ghost stories where made in the 60's and 70's such as the 1093 'The Hunting' The ghost film followed people as they have to choose between sanity and psychosis. These types of films thrived by using psychosexual tension.

Not only ghost stories where introduced but also zombies with the film 'night of the living dead' that

dealt with the ides of our nearest turning against us. There was something that scared people more when families where involved an the thought of our siblings and parents not being who they say they are even women un born babies not being something they expect them to be. The film 'Rosemary's Baby' represented this but also all the women that had taken Thalidomide for morning sickness that made many women give birth to babies with miss limbs.

The family became a very impotent element in horror films in the 60's and 70's it was the fear of the normal shifting. A lot of film represent people in the audience lives, mum (Shivers), Dad (The Shinning), brother/ son (The omen), Sister/ Daughter (The exorcist).

Hammer Horror
Hammer Horror is a British film production founded in 1934 by a comedian and business man,

William Hinds. The company is most known and successful for gothic horror. Hammer horror filmed lots a horror films in the 1950's to the 1970's but went bankrupt in the mid 1980's. The first successful film they made was was 'The quatermass experiment" filmed in 1955 a sci-fi adventure serial but soon the company moved on as they realised that monsters in human form drawer more attention for people.

Hammer horror started to recreate class family films like 'Frankenstein' and 'Dracula' but made them 'x-adult only'. Hammer horror always chased the 'x' certificate in every pitcher they released. The cures of Frankinstein was one of the first horror film which shows incurably amounts of blood and guts more then any other horror film had done. This film was a huge success in Britain and made £8 million in the USA. They also made 'Dracula' a huge success and breaking box office record in the uk and us. Hammer horror kept out doing them selfs with 'The mummy' and then going on to break box office record again with 'Dracula'.


In 2007 the company was sold to Dutch media which then went on to to make box office horror movies such as 'let me in' and 'Women in black.

Slasher movies
slasher films are a subgenera of american horror films which typically involve several victims being killer. The killer is typically and violent psychopath who uses a blade to kill his victims. slasher films have a set of established charters within them. This also makes a leeway to make sequels form the charters backgrounds and back stories for the good or evils side also thought serving charters in the movie. This also meant the horror franchise was able to build and get bigger.

Grand Guignol in the late 19th century is said to of have an influence in the slasher genre. Also
another influences are vileness in images or violence in films like Mauice Tournur's 'The Lanatics' (1912) and adoption of Grand Guignols play. But also this film lead to the Hays Code in 1930 which is one of the earliest guide lines to what could be shown the public on film. The hays code disallowed mid referees to sexuality and brutality in films. Other early influences to the slasher genre also included George Archainbaud's 'thirteen women' made in 1932.

Slasher films where born in the 80s some critics believe Alfred Hitchcock's 'psycho' made in 1960 was the made influence to slasher films. Iconic slasher films in the 80's included 'A nightmare on elm street' (1984), 'The slumber party massacre' (1982), 'Friday the 13th' (1980) and 'Halloween' (1981) which the last two films went on the have sequels. slasher films in the 80's the majority of them were based on a calendar date.

Formal fears and moral panics
A video nasty is a conversational term in the uk to a number of films distributed on video cassettes
that were shunned for their violent content by the press and social and religious group. Even judges in court blamed video nasties for a murder in the 80's. In 1993 child's play 3 was accused so influencing two 10 year old boys who tortured and killed an boy ages 3. In the 1980's horror was able to become more realistic and make scene in horror films become more shocking. The advances in technology made film able to make the effects of gore and horror more life                                                                                         like.

Video nasty released in the 1980's included 'Nightmare on elm street', 'The last house on the left' and 'evil dead'. These films where band but are now all of the 39 films classed as 'video nasty' are now all able to be watched. But what hasn't changed is the way people felt about horror films towards children watching them. Video nasty where so out ranging in the 80's because children where able to get hold and watch these films.

Gore retunes with a vengeance
The act of torture represent the ultimate corruption of power; the torture has absolute dominate over their victim, the control pain which is often of far more consequence then death. The term torture porn comes from David Edelstein he suggested that the movies he's on about engage people on a purely visceral level, all considerations of story and character aside. Edelstein's suggests as an audience the films are physical rather the emotional just like porn.

Many films released in the mid 2000's, like 'Hostel' and 'Wolf creek' contacted graphic torture. The way torture in horror films was becoming very 'real'. Even tho the films where not real these films had very realistic location. In the cinema you feel safe watching these horrible scene happen to other people but in a very recognizable location.

Gorenography made it into several movies and popular tv shows in 2000's like 'Casino royal'. But torture begin to die out with hotel 2 making £50 million less then it's preprocessor. Key 'gorno' texts included 'hotel', 'Wolf creek' and the 2004 film 'saw' and american psychologic horror film which included lots of toucher sense but this film is now classed as one of the top horror film.