History of horror By Madeline Washington
1920’s & 1930’s The 1920’s & 30’s were the first decades to really show that films intended to scare audiences. Sound adds an extra dimension to terror, whether it be music used to build suspense or signal the presence of a threat, or magnified footsteps echoing down a corridor. Horror, with its strong elements of the fantastic and the supernatural, provided an effective escape to audiences tiring of their Great Depression reality, and, despite the money spent on painstaking special effects, often provided a good return for their studio. Horror movies were reborn. These decades saw remakes of classic stories such as Frankenstein, Dracula and the mummy.
Budget $291,000 (estimated) Gross $12,000,000 (USA)
Budget $355,000 (estimated)
Budget $196,000 (estimated)
Audiences seemed even more enthusiastic about the horror genre than in the 1920s, and flocked into cinemas to be scared by largely supernatural monsters wreaking havoc on largely fantastical worlds, events far removed from the everyday realities of Depression and approaching war. Horror, then as now, represented the best escapism available for that precious few cents it took to buy a ticket. And cinema was a national obsession — 80 million people attended the cinema on a weekly basis in 1930, some 65% of the total US population.
1940’s The 40’s saw a decline in the horror film industry, mainly due to the fact of WW2 taking place at the time. This being said, we did see a few classics horror films make it out of this decade, Such as; Budget $134,000 (estimated) Budget $180,000 (estimated)
Gross $4,000,000 (USA) Rentals $4,000,000 (Worldwide)
Budget $195,000 (estimated)
1950’s With the war over people returned to the luxuries in life such as the cinema. The 50’s was the decade that brought ‘mutants’, oversized creatures would reek havoc across cities, rather than the gothic classic horror.
Budget ¥100,000,000 (estimated)
Budget $50,000 (estimated)
Godzilla (1954) The Japanese original
Budget $210,000 (estimated) Gross $5,000,000 (USA)
1960’s The 60’s brought a new aspect to horror films and it was the 60’s the word ‘thriller’ was first properly seen. This mainly came about from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, other films including The Birds and Night of the living dead. Budget Budget $114,000 Budget $2,500,000 (estimated) $806,947 (estimated) (estimated) Gross Gross $12,000,000 Gross $11,403,529 (USA) ( January $32,000,000 (USA) 2000) (USA) $30,000,000 $50,000,000 Rentals (Worldwide) (Worldwide) $5,090,371 ( January 2004) (USA) Rentals $1,600,000 (USA)
1970’s Horror films of the 1970’s reflect the grim mood of the decade, especially compared to the optimism of the 60’s with its sexual and cultural revolutions, and moon landings the seventies were something of a disappointment. The 70’s marked the return of the big budget, respectable horror film, dealing with contemporary societal issues, addressing genuine psychological fears. Budget $8,000,000 (estimated)
Budget $8,000,000 (estimated)
Budget $83,532 (estimated)
Opening Weekend $8,157,666 (USA)
Opening Weekend $7,061,513 (USA)
Gross $30,859,000 (USA)
Gross $204,565,000 (USA)
Gross $26,860,259 (USA)
Rentals $14,221,000 (USA)
1980’s The 80’s brought many new aspects to horror movies especially as the technology in filming increased dramatically. The new technology enabled films better costumes and better graphics to produce films such as, Nightmare On Elm Street, Child’s play and The Shining. Budget $1,800,000 (estimated)
Budget $9,000,000 (estimated)
Budget $19,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend $1,271,000 (USA)
Opening Weekend $6,583,000 (USA)
Opening Weekend $622,337 (USA)
Gross $10,777,659 (USA)
Gross $32,842,703 (USA)
Gross $44,017,374 (USA)
1990’s By the end of the 80’s and early 90’s the monster cliché had gotten old and many people were no longer scared of ‘vampires’ or ‘zombies’. The new craze of ‘psychopaths’ swept across the horror genre. Films would follow brutal murders of ordinary humans, twisted on killing others, adding a more believable twist to the films. Budget $33,000,000 (estimated)
Budget $15,000,000 (estimated)
Budget $19,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend £11,434,343 (UK)
Opening Weekend $6,354,586 (USA)
Opening Weekend $13,766,814 (USA)
Gross $100,125,340 (USA)
Gross $103,001,286 (USA)
Gross $130,742,922 (USA)
2000’s Finally we enter the 00’s where we are introduced to the ‘teen horror’ or sometimes closely linked to ‘slasher’ movies. These would follow a group of adolescents being picked off one by one by either monsters, killers or even on occasion ‘fate’.
Budget: $23,000,000 (estimated)
Budget $1,200,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend: £1,498,519 (UK)
Opening Weekend $18,276,468 (USA)
Gross: £10,218,118 (UK)
Gross $55,153,403 (USA)
Budget $48,000,000 (estimated) Opening Weekend $15,015,393 (USA) Gross $128,579,698 (USA)