HISTORY OF HORROR

The earliest horror fi lms were Gothic, - meaning that they were usually set in spooky old mansions or castles. Their main characters have included "unknown," human, supernatural or grotesque creatures, ranging from vampires, ghost ect.

Horror fi lms developed out of a number of sources: folktales with devil characters, witchcraft, fables, myths, ghost stories, Gothic or Victorian novels from Europe such as of Mary Shelley, Victor Hugo or Irish writer Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde's 1890 tale The Picture of Dorian Gray were adapted into early fi lm versions.

Hammer Film Productions where the fi rst UK horror production company to set off the paste for horror genre.

INTRODUCTION

Nosferatu (1922) is not simply a tale of vampirism, but off ers heart-rending images of a town beleaguered by premature and random deaths, echoes of the Great War and the Great Flu Epidemic fatalities.

 At the other end of the century Blade (1998) is not just a tale of vampirism either, but reflects a fear of the powerful yet irresponsible elements in society, echoes down the corridor indeed of the seemingly the behaviour of those at the top.

INFLUENCES OF HORROR FILMS

The fi rst horror fi lm was written in the 19th century

1896: The House of the Devil1910: Frankenstein

1913: The Student of Prague1920: Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

1920: The Golem: Or How He Came into the World1920: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1922: Haxan1922: Nosfertu

1923: The Hunchback of Notre Dame1924: The Hands of Orlac

1924: Waxworks1925: The Monster

1925: The Phantom of the Opera1926: Faust

1927: The Cat and the Canary

FIRST HORROR FILMS

Technology advances in the 1950s saw monster-movies going 3D with fi lms like House of Wax (1953) and The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).

John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) gives birth to the ‘slasher.’

Late 90s technology enabled Blair Witch (1999) to re-invent horror by blurring the boundaries between fi lm and reality. This was the host of ‘found footage’ horror fi lms like Cloverfi eld (2008) and Paranormal Activity (2010).

Zombie genre begins kicking in, in the noughties/teenies with 28 Days later (2002), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Colin (2008) and World War Z (2013).

MORE INFORMATION

First ever horror fi lm premiered in Paris in 1896.The fi lm contains many

traditional pantomime elements and is intended to amuse people, rather than frighten them. Nonetheless, it is considered by many to be the fi rst horror fi lm, as well as the fi rst vampire fi lm

The fi lm is a short horror lasting no more than 4 minutes.

HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (1896) BY GEORGES MELIES

Bat fl ying Cauldron – magic

Smoke then a evil minion appears Spirits, ghost

Disappearance, more tricks Clock Cape

2 ordinary people Pitch fork Skeleton

Lighting got brighter ( emphasis on a ghost) The devil

Broom sticks Beak nose on witches – symbolic – sign of the devil

CONVENTIONS OF HORROR IN THE FILM

Cinematography- Dark scenes are key. The use of specifi c l ighting and shadows.

Location- Isolation is key, making the audience feel l ike the character(s) are alone. I .e. Al ley ways, run down houses, hotels, mansions, abandon houses.

Sound- Exaggerated diegetic sound wil l al low tension to bui ld within the fi lm world. Fast and loud non diegetic sound can add to making the audience jump or feel scared I .e. the music in the shower scene in Psycho.

Mise-en scene- Pathetic Fal lacy such as thunder and rain can add to the isolation of the scene as people associate these types of weather with negativity. Props can be used well as people don’t associate things such as fl owers and rainbows with fi lms of this genre. I tems such as weapons, antiques and other aged objects help bui ld the scene.

Colour Themes such as the use of red or black often tend to be aff ective as they are associated with things such as blood, death and danger.

CONVENTIONS IN HORROR GENRE

Slasher- ‘My Bloody Valentine’ (1981)Thriller- ‘Wrong Turn’ (2003)

Zombies- ‘Colin’ (2008)Psycho- ‘Psycho’ (1960)

Psychological- ‘Fatal Attraction’ (1987)Vampire- ‘Twilight’ (2008)

Monster- ‘The Invisible man’ (1933)Torture Porn (genre created mostly by the Saw

series)Sproof- ‘Scary Movie’Found Footage- ‘Blair Witch

Project’ (1999)Werewolf- ‘Underworld’ (2003)

Splatter- ‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968)

SUB-GENRES