Horror movies has been around for almost as long as movies have been made. Before looking at the horror movie it may be best to look into horror in literature. Knowing this can help our understanding of horror films and where they come from.
Horror films would not have been as prominent if not for the horror literature. Horror literature is what made the horror film what it is today. It was in the 1764 book by Horace Walpole called The Castle of Otranto the term horror was first mentioned. Other great writers like Edgar Allan Poe helped this genre with timeless classics like The Raven. These old horror tales are what many iconic horror films are based on. Some of them will include the classics from the 1800's like Dracula and Frankenstein.
The supernatural were often the main theme of the early horror movie. At the beginning of movie making there were short silent films made including ones in the horror genre. Georges Melies, a French movie maker, is credited with the first horror film made in 1896 entitled Le Manior du diable. The Japanese also made some horror films at this time called Bake Jizo and Shinin no Sosei.
The full length horror film was first seen as a version of the hunchback of Notre-Dame. In the early 1900's the German expressionist film was at its peak meaning most of the first horror films were made by Germans. These German films have acted as influential works for many modern film makers like Tim Burton. The 1920's brought about the first Hollywood dabbling in the genre and the first American horror star in Lon Chaney Sr.
The Hollywood popularization of these movies came about in the 1930's. At this point movies like Dracula and Frankenstein were made as well as other gothic horror and supernatural mixture movies. The Wolf Man is an iconic movie about werewolves made in 1941 by Universal studios. You should keep in mind that this was by no means the first werewolf film but it is known as the most influential. The 1945 movie The Body Snatcher and other B pictures also came about at this time.
Technological innovations in film making changed the face of horror films in the 1950's. At this point horror films were classed into two categories. These two categories are demonic films and Armageddon films. Many of the social concerns and fears of the times were indirectly placed into the horror films of this era as well.
The 1960's were the time when many iconic movies came about. Hitchcock's movie The Birds was against a modern backdrop and was one of the first American Armageddon films. Perhaps one of the most influential films of this time was Night of the Living Dead. This movie brought zombies into the mainstream and it also moved these movies from the Gothic horror to what we know today.
Tracing the history of horror movies will take you back to the start of movie making. It is possible to see how movies changed from Gothic horror to what we see today.
Horror films would not have been as prominent if not for the horror literature. Horror literature is what made the horror film what it is today. It was in the 1764 book by Horace Walpole called The Castle of Otranto the term horror was first mentioned. Other great writers like Edgar Allan Poe helped this genre with timeless classics like The Raven. These old horror tales are what many iconic horror films are based on. Some of them will include the classics from the 1800's like Dracula and Frankenstein.
The supernatural were often the main theme of the early horror movie. At the beginning of movie making there were short silent films made including ones in the horror genre. Georges Melies, a French movie maker, is credited with the first horror film made in 1896 entitled Le Manior du diable. The Japanese also made some horror films at this time called Bake Jizo and Shinin no Sosei.
The full length horror film was first seen as a version of the hunchback of Notre-Dame. In the early 1900's the German expressionist film was at its peak meaning most of the first horror films were made by Germans. These German films have acted as influential works for many modern film makers like Tim Burton. The 1920's brought about the first Hollywood dabbling in the genre and the first American horror star in Lon Chaney Sr.
The Hollywood popularization of these movies came about in the 1930's. At this point movies like Dracula and Frankenstein were made as well as other gothic horror and supernatural mixture movies. The Wolf Man is an iconic movie about werewolves made in 1941 by Universal studios. You should keep in mind that this was by no means the first werewolf film but it is known as the most influential. The 1945 movie The Body Snatcher and other B pictures also came about at this time.
Technological innovations in film making changed the face of horror films in the 1950's. At this point horror films were classed into two categories. These two categories are demonic films and Armageddon films. Many of the social concerns and fears of the times were indirectly placed into the horror films of this era as well.
The 1960's were the time when many iconic movies came about. Hitchcock's movie The Birds was against a modern backdrop and was one of the first American Armageddon films. Perhaps one of the most influential films of this time was Night of the Living Dead. This movie brought zombies into the mainstream and it also moved these movies from the Gothic horror to what we know today.
Tracing the history of horror movies will take you back to the start of movie making. It is possible to see how movies changed from Gothic horror to what we see today.
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