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The History of Horror Movies

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Related Tags: horror | movies | werewolf | films | siodmak

Instructions

Appeal

Step 1:
The long-lasting appeal of horror movies is often traced to the fact that they allow people to confront their most primal fears within the safe confines of a movie theater. The horror that is unleashed in these films is a representation of unleashed repression rising to the surface and becoming personified. The successful horror film, therefore, works not only because audiences can face down and defeat their fears without actual fear, but it also works by confirming our belief in the need for authority to suppress unrepressed desires bubbling to the surface and tossing society into a state of chaos.

German Expressionism

Step 1:
German silent cinema was the first national cinema to fully exploit the medium of film for the purpose of horror. Expressionist movies captured the disturbed state of mind of the characters through the use of highly stylized sets that reflect the disorientation of the both those in the movie and those in the audience. Examples include such masterpieces as "Nosferatu," "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," "The Golem," and "Vampyr." These films differ substantially from the bulk of horror films by rejecting the necessity of creating a realistic milieu into which the Other would emerge and create destability.

Universal Studios

Step 1:
Universal Studios became the Hollywood king of horror movies during the 1930s. Universal Studios almost single-handedly is responsible for the continuing popularity of Frankenstein movies, vampire movies, mummy movies and werewolf movies. This was a period when many studios were just beginning to define themselves by the genres they specialized in. Just as Warner Brothers was claiming the gangster genre as their own, Universal laid almost exclusive claim to horror films with a series of iconic movies made in the first few years of the talkie era: "Frankenstein," "Dracula," "The Mummy" and "The Wolf Man."

Creating Myth

Step 1:
Many horror movies were inspired by ancient folk tales and myths about vampires and mummies. One Universal horror movie, however, actually created a myth that is still often thought to trace back through the centuries. Screenwriter Curt Siodmak was hired to write "The Wolf Man," and his research revealed precious little information about how one supposedly becomes a werewolf. Among the items that Siodmak invented were the curse of the werewolf, the effect of a full moon, and that a werewolf can only be killed by a silver bullet.

Val Lewton

Step 1:
Val Lewton turned RKO studios in horror central during the 1940s with a series of films he produced that revealed the power of imagination and atmosphere and revealed that sometimes it is more frightening to not show the monster. Films like "Cat People," "The Leopard Man," and especially "I Walked with a Zombie" also were transitional films that helped horror become much more critically respected.

Science Fiction

Step 1:
The splitting of the atom and other scientific breakthroughs of the 1940s were reflected in the horror films of the 1950s. The standard horror conventions during the Eisenhower era mostly did away with ancient inspirations and replaced them with a bit of science fiction. Atomic power was responsible for creating a host of new monsters from Godzilla to the giant ants in "Them!" as well as men and women who grew to monstrous size as well as incredibly shrinking men who disappeared altogether.

Psychos

Step 1:
Alfred Hitchcock's seminal film "Psycho" set the template for the introduction of a new horror subgenre: the psycho-horror film. Whereas in the past the monsters had mostly been foreigners with a strange way about them, the new psychos appeared like the boy next door until he revealed his lunacy. Following in the footsteps of Psycho's Norman Bates have been such now-iconic figures as Michael Myers in the "Halloween" series, Jason in the "Friday the 13th" series, and, according to some, even Hannibal Lecter. While "Silence of the Lambs" cannot officially be termed a horror movie, it is worth noting that many of the conventions of the horror film now routinely figure into other genres.