The History Of Horror Films...

The History of Horror Films.

Since the 1930s, horror films have been made for our entertainment, and for every horror film, there is normally a set of guidelines they follow in order to make it a good horror film and for it to become the perfect horror film. There are categories in which horror films fit into so the audience can identify what type of horror film it is; Mad Science, Religion, Haunted House, Psycho Killers and Teen Slasher’s. Over the years there has been researchers, feminists and psychologists who have came up with theories and suggestions about horror films, which changed the minds of people and influenced their decisions on horror films altogether. 

The first ever horror film was made in 1931 and fits in the Mad Science category which is ‘Frankenstein’. Edison Studios were the production company for the memorable horror film and still today ‘Frankenstein’ is well known for the line “I know what it feels like to be god”. There are several other films that fall into the Mad Science section, for instance ‘The Fly’ created in 1986, which shows the complete disintegration of a body, which therefore means it fits into the Mad Science category for horror films. ‘Duck and Cover’ made in 1951 changed the lives of children as kids were forced into watching it and taught self defence, the film also reduced children to quivering wrecks after watching the horror film. In 1979 ‘Alien’ was made and the film had a psychoanalysis approach with sexual connotations and ground breathing music. These films all fit into the Mad Science category as from the time they were created, each film had its own unique part of the horror film genre and Mad Science is major part of the horror film genre. 

Religion is another part of the horror genre that cannot be forgotten about, as the most memorable films were made from this category. In 1973, ‘The Exorcist’ was created and took the world by storm! When the film was released, the Catholic Church was appalled in the fact that a horror film had represented religion in such a bad way; the film had shown the viewers that the devil had no conscience and no limits. The film, at the time, was quite bad that outside every cinema was an ambulance, this shows that ‘The Exorcist’ is quite a perfect horror film. There are other films that also squeeze into the religious category such as ‘The Wicker Man’ made in 1973, this films shows a lot of spiritual isolation and as the main character was a virgin, the climax was similar to the crucifixion of Christ, so like ‘the Exorcist’ this film represented Christianity.  As these films represented a religion or was based on things around religion, they fit in to the religion horror film category.

The third part of the horror film genre that makes a perfect horror films the Haunted House category. The film that mostly represents this section is ‘The Shining’ created in 1980 and has the golden rule of isolation throughout the movie, it has subliminal shots which created the effect of isolation in the film too. The Haunted House section has deep psychological territory in the category and has created fear for centuries. 

The next category is the Psycho Killers part and there are many movies that represent this section. The Psycho Killers category was majorly influenced by the most famous killer of all, Jack the Ripper and most of the films have sadism and slaughter to drag in their audience. The most perfect horror film for this particular horror genre category of Psycho Killers is the 1960s classic film ‘Psycho’, this film really represents the Psycho Killers section itself with no other films needed, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the whole film is based on the famous high pitched sound when the killer strikes, which is known all around the world. The film shows that sex equals death (which is later shown in nearly every horror film) and the famous shower scene that optimises women’s fear, which shows realism. 

The last category is the Teen Slasher’s section, which this section is full of movies that make the perfect horror film as they all follow the guidelines related to the perfect horror film. The Teen Slasher section has a fear of untimely death and sticks to the codes and conventions of a virginal friend. The Teen Slasher category is the biggest part of the horror genre as it sticks to the rules of the horror film guidelines which make the movies from this category more popular. The first film that represents this category is the 1984s ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ as the film shows people killing the characters in a ridiculous way possible. The 1980s film ‘Cannibalism’ pushed the boundaries related to the holocaust showing almost realistic video of the holocaust that made it such a controversy film which also had it banned in over fifty countries! The other well known horror film that fits into this category is ‘The Blair Witched Project’ created in 1999, as it was the most profitable film because most of the filming was done by high street cameras which also added realism and added profit of £120,0000. 

Over the years that horror films have been made, there have been many been researchers, feminists and psychologists who have came up with theories and suggestions about horror films. The most well known feminist was Carole Clover, who came up with the Last Girl Theory, when the main girl shares history with the killer, who is normally a virgin, and usually survives, however her friends who are not virgins end up getting killed by the killer and dies first. This also means that the main killer usually has a masculine name such as Sidney or Chris. The films that conform to the Last Girl Theory are; ‘Scream’, ‘Friday the 13^th, ‘Halloween’ and ‘Alien’. Carole Clover suggests that in these films, we have begun to share the perspective of the killer however throughout the film we experience a shift in identification to the final girl. Carole Clover stated herself “if the young men in the audience were there to watch women be terrorized and killed, why is it satisfying to watch the women triumph at the end?” Carole Clovers Final Girl Theory fits in really well with the Teen Slasher category of the horror film genre as it conforms to most of the films in that category such as ‘Scream’ and ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’.

Another researcher and psychologist that have came up with theories and suggestions over the years that horror films have been created is Sigmund Freud who came up with Freud’s Sadistic Voyeurism, which is that there are two types of people who watch horror films and what they feel. The first one is a Sadist; which means the audience like to watch pain being inflicted on others such as watching a film or a show with someone being teased or hurt. And the second, a masochist; which means the audience like pain being inflicted on themselves, for example someone enjoying going on a rollercoaster as they like the thrill. Both Clover and Freud’s ideas and concepts relate to the horror film genre and are well known and influence us on horror films and how they are perceived to the audience. 

To conclude my history of the horror film genre, since the first ever horror film ‘Frankenstein’ was made in 1930s, there have been so many changes to the original rules and guidelines to how to create the perfect horror film, and the theories and suggestions that have changed how we see a horror film altogether. Having several categories shows the audience, that the horror film genre has became bigger and better than 50 years ago.