The History of Horror

Gothic horror and 19th century horror stories: Frankenstein - written in 1818 by Mary Shelley, responsible for scifi genre Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde - written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886 Dracula - produced in 1913 and directed by Todd Browning Monsters and Mad Scientists 1930s: Monsters and mad scientists trended as main character roles Universal studios began in this era and were responsible for Frankenstein and Dracula Depression of the war lead to 80million people visiting a cinema weekly Werewolves and Cat people 1940s: Due to the war there was a fear of humans being the scariest 'monsters' so this helped develop human hybrids (werewolves, cat people) Adolf means 'noble wolf' in old German, the media played on this by using werewolves to scare people in this era, as they could bite you and pass on their condition (similar to Nazi behaviour) Cat people's plot consisted of females dominating males by seducing and killing them. Females were seen as cats because they were both known as gracious and sly Mutant creatures and alien invaders 1950: The first alien invaders film was in the 1950's; a low budget film called 'Rocketship X-M' Monster movie films came from fears of the atom bomb Invasion of the Body snatchers was one of the popular 1950's films and focuses on the concept of communism Ghosts, Zombies, Satanism and your family 1960-70s: Low budget gore films increased as people were used to seeing news of the war War made films like this most relatable Hammer Horror: Hammer Horror is a British film production company which started in 1934 They were big in the 1950's yet decreased in popularity in the 60's It made eight Dracula films Director Terence Fisher created the first Dracula film Gore returns 2000's: Edelstein suggested we watch these films for the physical reaction rather than the emotional - like porn. The 2004 reports of the US Army being accused of torturing prisoners meant these films became a part of reality. In 2007, the film Captivity was criticised for going too far with its graphic images of a tortured woman. Gorenography could be viewed as 'fizzled out' by the end of this decade.