The History of Horror

Horror movies change over time, as they reflect the fears that society holds. As society changes, people's fears change with it. Peter Hutchings states that "(horror) exists in process, in incessant change..". However there are some 'timeless' fears, such as ghosts and the unknown. Early creation myths in cultures are surrounded by demons and darkness. A lot of cultures through-out history have a set of stories that revolve around the unknown and deal with unexplained events.In the past, people who lived in isolated areas, that had no or little access to more modern societies genuinely believed in some of the creatures that were created by fiction.

The first horror movies emerged in the 1920s, these were dark, gothic and colourless (black and white). These often involved dark lighting, mystical monsters found in literature and had a female in distress, a protagonists ( a hero ) and an antagonist ( a villain ). Costumes were as extravagant as possible at the time and the make-up was also un-seen and added further fear to the novice audience. An example of a 1920's horror movie is Nosferatu- one of the first vampire movies, which originated from the story of Dracula. The director demonstrated a new and then complex way of using lighting and shadow to add to the fear factor. Today's audience would find the editing very old-fashioned and slow- however for audiences in the 1920's this was the first time they had ever seen or experienced watching a movie. Of course there was no sound during the 1920's which added to the adrenaline, as the audience would be  unaware of footsteps or a wolf howling for example unless it was added to sub-titles which not all movies had. Despite differences in today's horror, some of the key conventions that were set in stone in the 1920's still feature today e.g. dark lighting, shadows, isolated settings, scary costumes and make-up, and misty and bad weather used to create mood.

By the 1930's horror movies were heavily inspired by the gothic style and were set in far-away or fictional settings. The 'monsters' were still influenced by 19th century novels. Sound was first introduced in the Dracula movie (1931), the terrifying masks were replaced with groans and howls, and could warn the audience of any threats -as previously mentioned footsteps. This would add more of an excitement element to the movies as audiences could feel more involved in the movie and believe that the scenes on screens were real. With the economy in turmoil and the beginning or rapid social change, audiences turned to the cinema as an escape. This led to horror movies becoming increasingly popular, especially with the supernatural elements making some appearances. Actors and directors had more freedom to create and shape the character and often employed exotic accents to add to the 'excitement' and novelty and make the audience enjoy the movie more. Dracula's concept is taken from the stage play as apposed to the novel, and as a result we find the character 'Lugosi' laughing evilly throughout the move- thus showing more personality of his character- which would not have been possible without sound.

Another iconic horror movie produced in the 1930's was The Bride of Frankenstein. It is seen as one of the greatest horror movies ever, and was the first to feature a female monster. However she was not really monstrous, but quite pretty and disgusted by Frankenstein's monster when she is presented with him. She is not scary or a threat, so the usual representation of women is not threatened. The movie focuses on the wild experiments 'Dr. Pretorius' carried out which would play on the audiences fears as times were changing they were unsure of what the future would hold.

Moving onto the horror movies in the 1940's, horror movies were banned in Britain because of World War II. The Americans controlled the horror movies, and played it safe, mainly recreating the style of horrors made in the 1930's. It appears that the Americans wanted to keep a sense of calm, and not allow film makers to be over creative and reflect the realities and fears of the harsh war. Horror movies started to feature humans changing into animals. Some suggest that the movie 'The Wolf Man' is a result of Hitler strongly identifying himself with the iconography and legends of the wolf. Propagandists presented him as the 'Big Bad Wolf' of fairy tales, this idea was reinforced when a cartoon named 'Blitz Wold' was published in 1942.

There had been a series of stories and myths about werewolf's however no one had established a main story. 'The Wolf Man', contains several different elements from different myths and legends, with added  elements such as the full moon- which today is still associated with werewolf's. It was set in Wales, where apparently no one had heard of the war, and follows the main character who returns to America- he becomes infected from a bite from a gypsy. So this movie can be said to have set the basic ideas about werewolf's as humans transforming into werewolf's is still popular in today's society's books and movies.

Following the trend of humans turning into animals, 'Cat People' focuses on a female character who thought she would turn into a large dangerous cat if she consummated her marriage. The 'beautiful' monster prowled the streets cat form, terrorising and killing innocent people. This is one of the first horror movies to focus primarily on the psychological aspects. Various camera angle were employed in this movie that had not commonly been used before making it appear modern and interesting- however as it involved new aspects this would keep the audience from being comfortable and ensure they would never be bored. The success of this movie led to other similar movies being made such as 'The Curse of the Cat People' and 'I walked With a Zombie'. 'Cat People' was one of the first horros to use subtlety and suggestion, building up anticipation to scare- this trend is still popular today.

Horror movies would change dramatically in the 1950's as the war was now over, many of the past horror movies would not be as effective as they were prior to the wars. As societies fears changed, horror movies mimicked these changes as well. Audiences were more educated and aware of dangers other than mythical creatures from fictional novels and knew the harsh realities of life. Audiences now feared the effects of radiation, nuclear war, technological change and scientific experimentation. Also the main audiences for horror movies now were teenagers, this was possibly due to the changes within the household- both mothers and fathers worked now and didn't have as much free time as previously.

Surprisingly the ideas of horror movies had not evolved as much as assumed, 'The Wasp Woman' evolves around a half human half animal/creature as a lot of horror movies did prior to the end of the war. 'The Fly' is said to have a more 'intelligent script' which would support the idea that audiences were more educated and knew the realities, however the character is still slightly unbelievable to some. But the film makers played on the fears of nuclear effects and radiation, so the audiences would have found it more frightening, if the character had been affected by radiation or nuclear substances.

'The Blob' was a giant amoeba-like creature that terrorised a town, it was a clear indicator that audiences still feared the effects of nuclear explosions and radiation on the universe.

Andrew Tudor discusses how horror changed before and after the 1960's. Before the 1960's horrors had 'closed narratives' where the monster was destroyed. However post 1960's they were 'open narratives' where the monster was not necessarily destroyed. This reinforces the idea that audiences were more educated and were now allowed to be more creative and have more open minded ideas. Post sixties, the monster became human, which is why it became more difficult to get rid of it. Animals and mosters like that created by Frankenstein, were easier to deal with. Post 1960- society became more loose and morally free, people began to fear the effects on the human mind and the human spirit and as a result, the moster became a normal human being. but with a twisted mind. Unlike pre 1960s monsters though, it could not be identified or defeated so easily.

During the 1950's there were no nuclear explosions or destruction caused by radiation as previously feared. The 1960's was another period of social change, there was more freedom, people experimented with drugs, sex and new fashions. Audiences were no longer expected to just accept what they had watched they were interested and challenged ideas they did not agree with. Monsters of the 1960's were now in human form- as the older audiences feared what the rapid social change would bring. Audiences saw the monstrous potential of man and knew more about psychological issues affecting characters.

'Psycho' was one of Hitchcock's classic horror movies, it featured a 'monster' that was as close to a man as you could get. The character of Norman appeared to be 'normal', he looked normal but under the surface he was in fact a 'psycho'. As society was embracing new ideas and less constricted by norms and values, the shower scene was new to cinema screens. Audiences were not used to seeing 'naked' actors on screen, so the shock and terror would be even greater than previously. Roger Corman made 'B' movies in the 1960's with the sole intention of making a profit. They involved a lot of gore and women, they were the opposite of the intelligent horrors being made by the like of Hitchcock.

During the 1970's the optimism previously held was now diminished, as the economy hit another testing time. The introduction of the contraceptive pill and birth defects cause by Thallidomide led to a fear of children and childbirth. There was an upsurge of films featuring demonic children as well as 'The Exorcist'. The idyllic family of the 1950's vanished, and the idea that the enemy could be found in your own family was reflected in 1970's horror movies. As horror's grew in quality, it still tackled societies fears. The slasher effects and the final girl were created. Some horror critics have come to view the 1970's as a 'golden age' of horror production, as the genre acquired some maturity and artistic integrity. Paranoia and the fear of the moral shift in the 1960s had created a culture of monsters IN HUMAN FORM in these horror movies. Tina is lashed to pieces FOR having sex-this is a convention of horror movies. This convention was set up in the 1970's as a response to the fact that more liberal views and attitudes in relation to sex were now emerging. This reflected the panic and fear in society felt because of this, but also suggest that unmarried copulating couple might be punished for their 'crimes'. In 'Scream' the characters make fun of and know the rules of horror just like the audience allowing them to relate to the characters more- however they still die.

'The Shining' featured a murderous, violent father who is controlled buy a supernatural presence, attempts to kill his wife and son. Thus reflecting the fears that the 'normal' people in the audiences lives could in fact be evil. Paranoia and the fear of the moral shift in the 1960's had created a culture of monsters in these horror movies. The 'Exorcist' revolves around a child possessed by evil, reflecting the fear society had of disturbed children. It has been voted 'the scariest movie of all time' by the Total Film magazine in October 1999 and is very influential to the genre. The new special effects combined with an excellent use of sound are believed to be responsible for its great success. It was banned from video release in the UK until 1999. The screenwriter William Peter Blatty wrote the novel to shock and provoke people into questioning their faith or lack of it.

'Jaws' is an iconic movie and is rather a suspense/thriller movie than a traditional horror movie. Spielburg creates tension by never letting the audience see who is driving the truck- a convention still used in today's horror movies. As the audience do not know what they should be fearful of, this makes them even more frightened as anyone could be their 'enemy'. 'Jaws' was based on a bestselling novel of the same name written by Peter Benchley- this is a technique that was employed a lot earlier in the 1920's however proved to be hugely successful. 'The Exorcist' had a less realistic plot, 'Jaws' however presented a 'monster' that was not half human half creature but an animal, naturally found in the wild and was not the result of mutation due to radiation. This was a real animal, that people could find while on holiday, thus making it more believable and more scary.

Technological advances and increased use of SFX, saw another change in horror movies during the 1980's. Society had become more materialistic, and believed that the bigger and showier the better. Horrors of this era had a lot of colour,SFX, killers i null view, gruesome killings, brighter lighting and generally most aspects were better. Monsters still remained human as society still feared the evil of fellow citizens. VCRs were now available, so horror movies could be watched at home.

'A Nightmare on Elmstreet' employed unusually bright sets and excessive gore. The first victim, Tina is slashed to pieces for having sex- this is a convention of horror movies. The character of Freddy exclusively attacks teenagers, as teenagers are a main target audience, this obviously appealed to them. The killer was not masked as previously which added an element of disgust at the elaborate facial make-up. Now that videos were available to watch at home, teenagers would invite friends over and watch horror movies together. Critics have praised the films ability to blur the boundaries between the imaginary and the real. Freddy Krueger was named the 40th greatest film villain on 'American Film Institute's 100 years... 100 Heroes and Villains.'

Audiences were now becoming tired of its and gore and wanted more intelligent horror during the 1990's. 'Silence of the Lambs' was a disturbing horror featuring serial killer and cannibal Hannibal Lecter. An FBI agent tries to track down a serial killer with assistance from a jailed psychopath. Audeinces were now aware of the horror conventions and found them very predictable so wanted something new.

Wes Craven acknowledged how genre-wise audiences were by having characters who were aware of and mocked horror conventions in 'Scream'. The movie involves a group of teenage high school students who fall prey to a serial killer. The character was masked, wearing an elongated 'ghostly' face, which was used by children when trick or treating. The movie allows the audience to feel that they know more about the horror genre then they may actually know. Two sequels were produced after the success of the original. However it also led to 'copy-cat' killings or attempted killings, some even while wearing replicas of the mask. Although people may have been influenced by the style of killings, there is no evidence that the movie provoked people to commit or attempt to commit murder.

The tragedy of 9/11 terrorist attacks changed societies view of what is scary. Audiences feared the evil that lurks in our world, especially terrorists. Modern horrors often feature a game, a race against time or killing a force that cannot be seen. Also remakes and spoofs have become popular. Audiences are enjoying different kinds of horror more than ever, ranging from psychological, supernatural and zombies. In modern horror movies there are 'obvious groups to be found.. and testify to the broadness of the genre..' -Peter Hutchings.

Found footage style horror movies were becoming increasingly popular after the release of the 'Blair Witch Project' in 1999 and more recent examples include 'paranormal Activity' and 'Grave Encounters'. This makes the material on scree seem more real for audiences and therefore more scary. Horror movies have become even more transportable and accessible for audiences thanks to new and e-media.

'One Missed Call' in 2008 featured a murderous force that cannot be seen. In addition it featured mobile phones as the channel through which evil communicates, a reflection of the rapid technological advances that were available to everyone. The 'Saw' franchise where killing became a murderous, twisted game, the victims were forced to take part in. 'Grave Encounters' was shot in a 'found footage' style to create a new level of realism and fear for all audiences.

As it can be seen horror movies have changed dramatically primarily through the technological advances, new lighting and filming techniques and more realistic costumes, make-up and story-lines. However some of the conventions still remain in today's horror movies. Audiences around the world previously enjoyed horror movies and still do today, thanks to its ever changing and improving conventions and new and exciting sub-genres being explored further.