2. Several different well known horror films were made in the
1900’s. The first horror films looked at Gothic Horror. These
were often famous literature that they decided to turn into
films.
Gothic horror is a genre that combines both romance and
horror. Famous gothic horrors from this period of time include
• Frankenstein
• Dracula
• Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
19th Century
3. 1920
The horror genre first appeared with German Expressionism. This was throughout
the silent era of films in the 1920’s. German Expressionism started in the 1920’s.
This was due to WWI and the government banning foreign films from being
watched in the country, so as a result of this Germany needed to produce their
own films made in the country. After WWI budgets were very low which meant to
create these horror films they had to use non-realistic sets to create the eerie
quality.
4. 1920
The films relied on over the top body language and expressions to portray the
speech, as they were all silent. Most of the topics of the German horror films
included insanity and madness, and due to them being very different from the usual
they attracted a huge audience. When the Nazi’s came and took over Germany
several filmmakers went to Hollywood, bringing their talent and different ideas with
them, many began making their own Hollywood films.
5. 1920
Due to the abstract characteristics used to create
these German Expressionism films a very distinct
style began to form and greatly influenced the
horror genre in films, even to today. German
Expressionism is known for some of the most
famous horror films. These include The Cabinet Of
Dr Caligari and Nosferatu
6. 1920 - Nosferatu
Nosferatu is a German Expressionist film
which features the first vampire. The
film was first released in 1922. This was
an adaptation of literature piece Dracula
by Bram Stoker, but it was
unauthorised. Because they didn’t have
the rights to the piece they changed the
names and other details of the novel.
Due to copyright the makers were sued
by Bram Stoker and all copies were to be
destroyed. However one copy wasn’t
and the film is now seen as a
masterpiece.
7. 1930
In the 1930’s sound started to become available. This meant that film studios could
play around with the special effects in sound, adding more to the impact of the
film – essentially making them even scarier! The image known in the 1920’s
changed, from ghosts floating silently, to monsters that grunted, and with the
advance to sound this change turned the horror genre around completely! Film
companies were able to control their audience more, if they wanted them to feel
suspense, or eerie it could be done just by adding sound.
8. 1930
Universal Pictures began making very successful films, of which were based on very
gothic horror novels. This includes both Frankenstein and Dracula made in 1931. Mad
scientists were also introduced and became a reoccurring theme. Due to the love for
horror films people flocked to the cinema – creating a huge number of attendants
each week – due to this, just to add to scaring the audience nurses would often be
standing in the audience of the cinema just to create a realistic element.
9. 1930- Frankenstein
Frankenstein was one of the first “mad scientist” horror films. The film
looks at Dr Frankenstein who assembles a living creature from remains
of corpses. This was based upon a book by Mary Shelley. The first
adaptation was released in 1931, however there was huge controversy
over this as religious groups didn’t approve of the theme, arguing that
God can only create life.
10. 1940
There was a slight stand still in Britain for horror films in the
1940’s. This was due to WWII and several films were banned.
American companies such as Universal Pictures however,
continued to make horror films. The plot for several of the films
at this time was nature – with a twist. Although some werewolf
films were released in the 30’s they weren’t too popular, but
after “Wolf Man” and “Cat People” were released they created
a craze around the idea of nature going wrong and so this
genre of films took off. However they didn’t reach the success
the films in the 1930’s did.
11. 1950
In the 1950’s the horror genre started to advance in technology and
move away from the literary roots. These films featured a lot more
monstrous creatures and alien invaders. During all the changes two
sub genres were created – Armageddon and Demonic.
12. 1950
In the 1950’s horror genre also moved away from its gothic
theme and became more about real, modern day fears.
Horror of Armageddon films looked at real threats that
could affect and end human life, this was due to the fear of
communism being destroyed in America. Examples of
Armageddon films created in this time include The Blob and
Them!
13. 1960
In the 1960’s came the increase of gore – which meant even more money going
into the films. The first slasher film Psycho was released in 1960, which brought a
lot of money in. A big theme that this film brought up for the horror genre was
the perception of sex and violence.
14. 1960/1970
In the late 1960’s to the 1970’s the trend for these films were ghosts, zombies and
Satanism. Night Of The Living Dead was one of the first zombie films, released in 1968.
This is a an independent American film, following the conventions of what we known
today as typical zombies, all thanks to this film. Controversy was created over this due
to this being completely different from what horror viewers had seen before. Troubled
children became a huge trend in that era of film with The Exorcist and Carrie being
released in 1973 and 1976. This theme of possession in women and children is still a big
theme in today’s horror genre.
15. Hammer Horror
Hammer films are a British film company that became well
known for their horror films in the 1950’s, until around the
1970’s. During the companies most dominating years it
distributed worldwide and had huge financial success, but this
was also due to the help of partnerships with US companies,
like Warner Bros. The company was known for films based on
gothic novels, including new versions of both Dracula and
Frankenstein. In the 1970’s the company lost its popularity,
which meant losing backing by the studio. People’s interests
had changed and developed from the gothic horror genre and
unfortunately the company didn’t keep up.
16. 1980
With the 80’s came a boost in technology, which also meant a
higher budget. Slasher films started to become big – although
these were present before the 80’s. Some of the popular films
within this sub genre released in the 1980’s include Friday the
13th (released 1980) and Halloween (released 1978). Sci-fi
horror also began to emerge with the release of Alien in 1986,
these were hugely popular due to the new technology, and
nothing so advanced had ever been released.
17. 1980
What is a video nasty?
A Video Nasty is a movie that was banned from being distributed in
the UK. This came around due to the National Viewers’ and Listeners
Association. Films were started to be released on tape, a new
technology in the 1980’s. Smaller companies caught on that there was
nothing to state they couldn’t release their films on tape without
being sanctioned by UK Film Censors, this meant lots of horror films
were sold in the UK on tape even though they were banned in UK
cinemas. These films were going against the “Obscene Publications
Act” that prohibits “Deprave and Corrupt” materials to be distributed.
18. The media can be held responsible for authorities acting upon these
‘video nasties’. The Daily Mail headlined its newspapers claiming they
were affecting young people and a danger to society as the twisted
plots could actually influence immoral and wicked people. A new
law, the video recoding's act, forced video tape regulation which
prevented the sale of video nasties.
1980
Press Influence
19. 74 films in total were prosecutes, these include -
Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
- Due for animal abuse and graphic gore
I Spit On Your Grave (1989)
- Sexual abuse (gang rape)
The Driller Killer (1999)
- Graphic gore (drilled through victims head)
SS Experiment Camp
- Graphic sexual assault
The Evil Dead (1981)
- Violent
1980
List of video nasties
20. 1980
What happened?
All films from the list are now available to watch. They varied having from
30 seconds to 10 minutes edited out. When you watch them now, due to
the graphical content compared to the detail and effects we have today
people may not be too phased, however the views people have of young
children watching graphic gore hasn’t changed.
21. 1980
Censorship today
Today all films are looked at by the British Board Of Film
Classification (BBFC) Due to film makers being aware of the
restrictions very rarely are films banned to this day, if there is
something wrong they are simply re-edited and put with an
over 18 rating. An example of this is Human Centipede 2,
which was stated by BBFC to be “tasteless and disgusting” but
after 2 minutes and 37 seconds were cut the film was released
in the UK.
22. 1990
Parody horror films started to become popular in the 1990’s. These
include both gore and black humour. Some of these films include
Scream (1996) and Dead Alive (1992).
23. 2000
In the 2000’s sequels came along such as Scream, Scary Movie
and Final Destination – all of which consist of several films.
Gore also returned in the 2000’s and became a huge part of
horror. The terms ‘gore-nography’ and ‘torture porn’ became into
existence to explain the new movies that try to stimulate the
audience with huge amounts of gore. These phrases, specifically
‘torture-porn’ became known due to how all the gore in the films
was meant to excite the audience as in the way something sexual
would. ‘Gore-nography’ refers to the killing and torture of people
within the films; they don’t focus too much on the story line.
Example being Saw (2004).
