GRAPHIC BY ZUYUAN ZHOU

Origin, Evolution of Horror Movies

GRAPHIC BY ZUYUAN ZHOU

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Every once in a while, people enjoy a good scare. While some spend the spooky season outside, others choose to stay indoors doing something that could be considered a routine: watching horror movies. However, films depicting horror today – while carrying the ability to scare their audience – are much different than the films from the past. 

The predecessors to modern horror were more akin to folklore; the stories were told and not written. The Castle of Otranto, Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel, is believed to have been one of the first literary horror stories, marking the beginning of the Gothic era — a time when works focused on despairingly vivid scenery and intense emotions: fear and love. In less than two decades, another writer, Ann Radcliffe, would change horror by introducing the many cliche tropes that fans see today and helping distinguish the difference between terror and horror. In America, writers like Edgar Allan Poe harbored dark romanticism in the states; contrary to terror, dark romanticism is a sub-genre, focusing on dark mystery, evil, and sin.

In 1896, the first movie to depict horror was Le Manoir Du Diable, also known as The Haunted Castle or The House of the Devil. However, its creator, French illusionist Georges Méliès, had no intention for the movie to be interpreted as horror; it was supposed amusing to the audience, but its use of special effects placed it under the horror category. One of these effects was the transformation from a human to bat.

In 1910 Edison Studios produced the first filmed version of Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel: Frankenstein. Throughout this period more supernaturally-themed films inspired by literary classics were made. From the ‘20s to ‘30s, the first “golden age of movies” produced both silent and talking works: Phantom of the Opera, Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Frankenstein, and The Mummy

As the ‘40s and ‘50s approached, sci-fi horror became more in vogue following the aftermath of World War II. The dangers of the atomic bomb spawned many films around themes like atomic insects, aliens, and experiments gone wrong.

A production company named Hammer Horror released The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957, placing the company’s films in the spotlight. Other well-known works from Hammer Horror include The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, Dracula, and many more adaptations. Hammer Horror films were known for their unique sets, colors, violence, and sexual imagery. 

The years during and after the ‘70s were when horror films started to hit off. Black Christmas, released in 1974, is critically important to the slasher genre. It is known for originating one of the most iconic tropes: the babysitter not going upstairs to deal with horror and murder. This period was also when works like A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist, and The Omen were made. Fans have noticed a trend in occult movies during these years. 

Many film producers still use literature as inspiration for their films. Only this time, these stories were not from the past; they were from more recent authors whose works will change the future of horror movies. One author was Stephen King — author of The Shining and Carrie; both of which would eventually be turned into iconic horror movies. 

There is no doubt that horror films will continue to be released. Until then, continue to get comfortable on the couch, waiting for the terror to come alive.

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