Timeline of Horror Films
The 1920's
The first horror films were silent and couldn’t contain some of the modern horror conventions such as shadows due to the technology of the era. However many other conventions used in these are still used in today’s horror films. They talk about early folklore and legends of Europe. Sadly, due to the fragile nature of the early horror films, they have been lost.
Films such as:
The Golem (1915/20) – this was one of the first monster movies, and involves a man built of clay.
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919) – It features a evil doctor and a madman in a lunatic asylum, and the audience never can tell who is or isn’t sane through a clever framing device.
Nosferatu (1922) – the first vampire movie, which plagiarises the Dracula story, but using different names.
The 1930s
Horror movies changed in the 1930’s. The sound which was available during this era impacted horror films greatly – adding suspense, and signalling the threat and added an extra dimension to the film, or for instance, footsteps down a corridor. These films were set in fantasy lands, in period costume and with strange accents.
Films such as:
Dracula (1931) – The film included common conventions such as crumbling castles, howling wolves, and strange eyes. It was the first film to be very successful for Universal.
Frankenstein (1931)
The Mummy (1932) – the Tutankhamen exhibition was touring during this era, and it centred around an ancient curse which was part of a contemporary urban legend.
Freaks (1932) – This horrifies instead of frightens, and was banned in several countries.
King Kong (1933) – a very successful monster movie, about what lurks behind our civilisation.
Bride of Frankenstein (1935) – Burning mills, crumbling castles, and witty/camp humour, and the evil doctor in the film is a corpse stealer.
Mad scientists and monsters were a big part of the 1930’s horror film industry, and in the years as Nazi Germany began, horror films shot up.
The 1940s
During the war, horror films were banned in Britain, and were purely from an American source. Many of the films involved men or women having an animalistic identity.
Films such as:
The Wolf Man: It is debatable whether this came from the name “Adolf” meaning noble wolf. The film depicted a horror big bad wolf, and eating people, and murders were all part of it.
Cat People (1942) – A woman who will turn into a cat if she consummates her marriage – very psychological.
The 1950s
Human faces became attached to the evil, and a huge monster had been created. After the second world war, less people wanted to see films, and the war had created a fear. The creation of the atom bomb lead to horror films of the 1950’s being about science and technology, and the monsters became even bigger than earlier ones such as King Kong. The humans represented a force for good against these monsters.
Films such as:
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) – Atomic testing in the arctic leads to a monster awakening and destroying New York.
The Wasp Woman (1960) – A scientist mixing things wrong, combining human and insect bits, and this then lead to killings.
The 1960s
A sexual revolution which saw events like Manson family murders, with low budget films, and violence and sex became part of the horror films. The horror was made from more reality, and something everyone could relate to.
Such as:
Pyscho (1960) – Based on the real story of Ed Gein, it features a knife in a shower scene, and a screeching soundtrack.
The Birds (1963) – Strange behaviour from the birds, blue screen work, and a spooky soundtrack which is half silence and artificial bird noises.
Ghost films were also part of the 1960’s, with minimal special effects and black and white photography. The characters do not believe they are being attacked by the supernatural until it is too late, and women were often the victims of these horror films. A suffering beautiful heroine and a final sacrifice are common themes during this era.
Films Such as:
Carnival of Souls – organ music, and absence of dialogue are similar to the silent movies of the 1920’s, and therefore the diegetic sound can cause you to be startled when it returns. Minimal special effects, and lots of ghouls.
Many of these films were very low budgeted, and therefore and the first splatter movie was created - Blood Feast (1963), and there was also the creation of Hammer Horror, which was completely x rated, and added erotic themes to those of earlier monster movies.
Night of the Living Dead also became one of the first zombie films, where zombies chase a group of humans, and try to eat their brains.
Films were also themed on anti-natal problems, like the reality of women taking Thalidomide in order to ward of the morning sickness, but having children without limbs. In Rosemary’s Baby (1968), strange things start happening and then the character gets pregnant, and is given herbal drinks by elderly neighbours, and good things happen, like getting the best obstetrician in New York, but gets really paranoid about all of the bad events that are going on around her. The camera is at a constantly low angle, and misses vital faces, suggesting further paranoia, and her naivety leads to her downfall, and she gives birth to the devil.
The 1970s
Society was going through a bad time, and horror films got a bigger budget, and addressed psychological fears. They focused on deep seated paranoia, children, and also that the enemy could be found in your own home.
Films such as:
The Exorcist (1973) – Lots of special effects, but differs from most horror films because it takes the subject seriously, and there is no humour. The devil is inside a little girl, and causes horrific things to happen.
The Stepford Wives (1975) – Satirical thriller, about women who want more than the home, and marriage. Large Houses, middle class people, leafy streets, and women who aren’t complying to normal life, and being too feminist, and the irony is that the maternal instinct seals her fate, she has the opportunity to run, but won’t leave her children. Dark mansions, thunderstorms, horrific things in daylight.
Also, the children of this time had been growing up with television, and had already seen previous movies, and universal horror films, so knew all about typical monster movies.
Jaws (1975) – Steven Spielberg, small budgeted films, based on the novel, and it gave horror goers a monster who was neither human or inhuman, but perfectly real.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974): Horoscopes tell the truth, and all of the warnings are ignored. Banned for 20 years in the Uk, and the murderers motives are never revealed.
Carrie (1976) – when a young girl who is not very popular and very drawn back from society is played a trick on and murders many people. Lots of blood.
The Omen – big budget horror film, about another demonic child like the Exorcist. It has stunning special effects, evil and lots of shock.
Halloween (1978) – A teenage baby sitter, and lots of shadows make this film really frightening.
The 1980s
In the 80’s, visual effects caught up with the special effects, and other forms of technical advances led to an introduction to body horror films. The American Werewolf in London and Re-Animator, were themed upon deformed or defunctioning body parts, and in this era, zombies also came back. Aliens were also a big part of the era, in films such as The Thing and Alien, combining human biology with alien.
The VCR had just been created, and watching films in private was therefore possible. Teenagers talked about the grossness of films, body parts explosion, amputation, decapaciation, and a lot of blood/gore. These also encouraged the rating system, as young children could get hold of films too horrific for their eyes.
The Evil Dead – college students going into a woods, finding things they aren’t supposed to find and demons coming. It uses a POV camera, and therefore gives a better showing of the peoples view.
Nightmare on Elm Street – this was a horror monster who didn’t hide behind anything, and each of the killings are very separate.
Childs Play (1988) – a dummy who is a murderer, the doll comes after you. He is a toddler who never sleeps, and you run away from, and is restricted by plastic.
The Hitcher (1986) – A thriller about a hitch hiker, which plays on a phrase all mothers say – don’t pick up a stranger.
The 1990's
The 1980’s horror film industry was so full of gore it had almost lost the power to do anything else other than shock and amuse. This era centred around the horror of a realistic serial killer and again psychological fears. The murders of America’s Ed Gein is sometimes found to be an idea behind films of this era. The serial killers communicate through notes and phonecalls, and can appear to help the victim, and the length of their killing sprees is varied, such as in Silence of the Lambs and Se7en. Supernatural and psychological horror films were also part of this era, with things like Jacob’s Ladder. It talks about medieval images and of heaven and hell, and life and death. There is a transformation scene, and a twist, where the victim is actual seeing himself, and he is the demon.
Scream (1996), provides a slasher to the era, and is full of death and a lot of blood.
The 2000s
The earlier films in the previous era almost predicted that the next century wouldn’t be pleasant. 9/11 changed the horror film industry greatly, and many wanted horror films to be banned to encourage world peace. But by 2005, many of the audiences wanted a good form of escapism to the tragic society, like during the war.
Final Destination provided real life horror to the audience. The first one almost foresees the 9/11 tragedy, and shows the audience real life things going wrong, in order to horrify them, and everyone is in danger.
Asian girls were also brought into the horror scene, in films like Dark Water, where the hair creates a scary effect.
Films focus on things happening which could happen to members of the audience, and therefore scare them more than unrealistic things like monsters.
