The history of horror

The History Of Horror Introduction Horror has been known to all people throughout many years, but where did the classic franchise start from, where did it finds its roots and most of all, when did the world of cinema become so addicted to it. Throughout the entirety of this presentation I will be discussing the origins of the horror franchise, I will be talking about the different directions it took and the highlights and lowlights its life. I will also be discussing some of the major break throughs it had and the earliest films the ever be seen within horrors and the impact they had throughout the history of it.

I myself, have grown to love the thrills of watching something so intense so heart raising and so terrifying that you cant bare to look That’s why it is my pleasure to show the wonders and the hidden history that many people haven’t yet stumbled upon which indeed built up the bone crunching films we know and love today.

Within this presentation I will be talking you through some of the earliest production teams to ever start producing horrors which we take for granted today, I will be showing the craftsmanship behind the set and what really wen ton with some of the actors. Also, there will be some discussion on the controversies that the beginning films caused as well as the cycles that imbedded themselves into the genre itself. The only place to really begin now is with the start of horror itself, so the starting point for the presentation will of course be “Gothic Horror”.

The History Of Horror Page One: Gothic Horror

Horror has been around humanity since the earliest we can remember. It has spread across the species globally and yet, people are almost oblivious to where it all began. Its quite bizarre to think that all of the stories and films that we adore today started from, literature however, what I find even more unusual is what goes on inside the heads of the people who wrote these stories.

People from the likes of Egdar Allen Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and of course Horace Walpole. Horace Walpole is almost seen as the origins for Gothic Fiction. He is known by any literature enthusiast.

He is quite literally a genius and has certainly had an impact on what we see in the cinemas today. His original tale was called The Castle of Ortranto. This tale pursued romance and terror and become well known within the 19th century. Shorty after Egdar Allen Poe and Mary Shelleys tales become noticeable. Dracula and Frankenstein was born and both tales have lived a long and successful career, despite their dry points these two will go down in history as one of the greatest to be ever known.

This short spark is what created a whole world of terrifying creatures that will always be sure to giver their audience a freight when put to a test. Without the likes of these tales coming together, who knows what the genre would be like to this day an age. Despite this though, this personally I believe was one of the greatest things to happen to horror and the work of these writers is what allowed the franchise to progress itself and become as well known as it is today.

The History Of Horror Page Two: The Silent Era

The word “Horror” didn’t actually come into use until the 1930’s so the silent era was the creations that developed in the silent era where often referred to as “Spook Tales”. This is where some might say horror finally started to find its feet. Throughout Europe people were fascinated by the performances of the silent era. Horror had really started ti grow as a culture and people where wanting more as they enjoined the thrill that this artists portrayed.

People like the Lumiere brothers created what is one earliest spook tales ever recorded. This was yet a short but sweet start, as audiences where fascinated by what was played. The clip here shows a skeleton dancing and prancing around a stage whilst numerous bones fall off, yet they manage to regain themselves as they retract themselves back onto the skeleton. Now considering like this has ever been seen or thought of before, this might have come to a shock to any body back then. We as a society now might just see it as a laughing stock, but for those who have a true passion for history, they would be able to tell that this is original talent and by this minor step, horror was just creeping into our life's.

Next we have “ The Manor Of The Devil” or better known as the“ Le Manoir Du Diable”. This is known as the first ever horror film created and was produced in 1986. Unlike the Lumiere brothers film this has a total running time of over three minuets, which may not see like a lot now yet, back then it would have been astonishing. The film wasn’t much however, it managed to fill the role as it consisted of numerous different beast appearing on and of screen with vast amount of smoke as its cover. Now this might have appeared terrifying for some during its time period, especially for younger viewers but to use now it appears harmless. This just goes to show the difference between the generations, we as a society have grown, and our thirst for something more thrilling has developed with us, this fascinates me as something so simple would have giving people nightmares back in the 1890’s. However this only lead to the next step for the horror franchise.

The History Of Horror Page Three

https://youtu.be/uNReoA8BV_Y

https://youtu.be/mw8bzC33CGY

These links will take you to the original clip that I was discussing in the previous slide. Here you will see exactly what I was talking about, the image to the left is a screen shot of the short spook tale that the Lumiere brothers created. The image to the right of that is again another screen shot, however this is from the “first ever� horror film to be created.

The History Of Horror

Page Four: German Expressionism.

By the end of the first world war Germany had lost, and with that, times where desperate. An group had been created and come together to create the UFA (Aktiengesellschaft). However, due to the shortage of electricity in the country the film industry had to think quick, and so, German Expressionism was born.

This is where one of the great's was created, The UFA had started to develop a film known as “The Cabinet Of DR. Caligari”. Now due to use of German expressionism, things began to grow interesting, instead of using lighting to form shadows and tones, instead they used paint. Now this may seem peculiar but instead people saw it as an art in the film industry, and grew to become its own style. Although, paints weren’t the only aspect that was applied to this unique style. Things such as cut outs of the setting, with sharp edges and exaggerated sizes created an atmosphere that added to the genre itself. Not only was the plot itself was something to fear but the use of the setting formed an unforgettable sight that was truly exceptional.

The style itself started to grow among people and eventually German producers noticed this and used the style again within other horror films. Films such as “The Golem” and “Nesferatu” used German Expressionism which really made the experience for the viewers something to remember as nothing else has stood out quite like this.

The German film industry eventually became so popular amongst people however, things started to go bust.

With troubling times came a solution and this was the begiing of the Dawes Plan. Now this is where the horror film industry begins to get interesting.

The History Of Horror

Page Five: German Expressionism Images

The History Of Horror

Page Six: Horror And Hollywood The Dawes plan was a big step for the film industry, the idea of this plan was to try settle the economy so that it was once again under control. However, the end result of this ended up leaving studios everywhere to shut down for good. Despite this tragedy, the UFA was hanging by a thread. Hollywood, then saw this as an opportunity, Two companies by the name of Paramount and MGM managed to create a deal with UFA and a deal with a that consisted of over four million ended up with the companions in cooperation .

This cooperation lead to what is known as the “Parufament Distribution Company”. To some this up in simpler terms, what was known as German expressionism, was now about to head over to Hollywood, where the world of horror would change forever.

After these events, the horror cinema got a major improvement which has been used for years now in horror, and is essentially what makes a great horror. Without sound a horror just isn’t scary, sure you'll get the odd “ goose bump” but without that extra scream, that high or low pitch before a jump, you're going to end up finding yourself bored and unsatisfied. This break through led the cinematic world of horror to where it is today, it was also the starting point of the genres first ever “cycle”.

Universal pictures started to experiment more and more and eventually came to a break through. With the help of Tod Browning as the director Universal pictures created a master piece which had never been seen before. They had turned the original gothic horror tale, Dracula and turned it into the first horror with sound thus, creating the “ Universal Gothic Horror Cycle”. This cycle carried on for many years to come bringing viewers films that would be remembered for decades to come.

For instance, the cycle brought the story of Frankenstein to life, as well as the mummy, the invisible man, werewolf of London and finally Dracula's Daughter. However, this was also the starting point of an everyday problem within the cinematic world today. The cycle fell short after it reached its peak and began to repeat itself time after time ad eventually like all the greats, they get stripped apart so much that they eventually become a joke. Films where created that paranoid the monsters and humoured the audience, sadly the cycle had lost its way and began to lose all sense of actually being a horror and instead people where just trying to make any valuable profit they can form what was once a masterpiece.

The History Of Horror Page Seven: RKO

Rko, was one of the smallest studios going at the star of the Horror season however, they was about to make a huge impact that has left its mark to this day. A former poet called Val Luton was put in charge of the story editing that goes on behind the films that where being produced. Since these where known as “low budget movies” the funding towards each film would be around £150,000.

Now this may seem like a lot but a larger sum of money is require to produce a high quality film, especially in the horror genre.

Never the less, this seemed inadequate to Van Luton as he managed to pull of something so magnificent even mentioning the idea to someone would seem observed. Although there was one catch to this deal, the studio itself had to provide the name of the film, then leaving Val Luton to work his story around the title. With Jacque Tourneur as the former director the horror “Cat People” was introduced to the genre and shocked everyone that laid eyes on it.

This film was one of the first to hit the phycological sub genre. As people where so used to seeing monsters in a film to even think about classing it as a horror Cat People did something different and turned the table. As people where so used to seeing actors covered in make up to alter their appearance to fit the character role, Cat People ignored that idea and chose to leave that idea behind. Instead the use of mind games came into to play. Mood and shadow where used heavily throughout this film, creating a intense and startling atmosphere. The director was forever putting the illusion in our heads that something was there, lurking beneath the shadows. This impact was brilliant as they had complete control of the audience, people where so engrossed into the film and plot that even the slightest jump could send a cold shiver down the spines of the audience.

This then lead to what is known as one of the most iconic elements in any horror movie, “Lewton’s Bus” There's a specific scene within this movie that quickly spread across the franchise and wound up in nearly every horror you see on the big screens to this day. A young women, which I assume is the main protagonist is walking down the street at night. The area is isolated and we begin to here sound that gives us the assumption that some one is the creeping up behind her. With the use of sound, shadows and the setting the scene builds up quickly and we assume something terrible is about to happen. All seems quite, the atmosphere is tense, when suddenly a bus appears and gives of a loud screech which sounds like the antagonist. This brilliant idea made people feel scared even when there was no need to. This scene alone was an incredible highlight of the film and it along portrays the progression that the genre was making.

The History Of Horror Page Eight: Lewtons Bus

This then lead to what is known as one of the most iconic elements in any horror movie, “Lewton’s Bus” There's a specific scene within this movie that quickly spread across the franchise and wound up in nearly every horror you see on the big screens to this day. A young women, which I assume is the main protagonist is walking down the street at night. The area is isolated and we begin to here sound that gives us the assumption that some one is the creeping up behind her. With the use of sound, shadows and the setting the scene builds up quickly and we assume something terrible is about to happen. All seems quite, the atmosphere is tense, when suddenly a bus appears and gives of a loud screech which sounds like the antagonist. This brilliant idea made people feel scared even when there was no need to. This scene alone was an incredible highlight of the film and it along portrays the progression that the genre was making.

The History Of Horror

Page Nine: Pulp Science Fiction Horror Cycle Times effectively grew worse for film industries, which sadly, brought upon dark days for horror. The end came for many classic studios and horror films gradually lost their popularity and grew smaller. However, teenagers grew a thirst towards the freight and wanted more horrors. Granted the story lines where “cheap” they appeared almost cheesy but it seemed as though the target audience wasn’t bothered, they just wanted to be scared, this then lead to what is known as the Pulp Science Fiction Horror Cycle. This was the second cycle that had appeared now, and in my opinion it was particularly poor and half hearted. However, these films remain classics and the Pulp Science Fiction Cycle brought us many films to come. Yet, they all followed a similar style. It seemed we had stepped back and gone to re-developing the monsters that had out lived its time, yet these new style of creatures where rather different. They all had similar back grounds, whether the origin was from out of space, a monstrosity which created a mutated minster of even from the deepest sides of the ocean, each film followed a story of an invasion which in my opinion grew tedious within the shortest amount of time.

These films that can be found within this cycle • The Thing (1951) • The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) • Forbidden Planet (1956) • Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1953) • The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1955) • Creature From Lagoon (1954) • Godzilla (1954)

History of Horror

Page Ten: “Psychology, sex and gore” Eventually the pulp fiction cycle came to end, eventually all cycles lose life at some point, they gradually become cheap and people will try to grab any sort of ‘cash’ they can before the cycle is forgotten. Theatres started to make unusual choices to draw people into screenings, so much so that it got to the point that flying skeletons would swing from one end of the theatre to another in attempts to give of an extra ‘freight’ Horror then turned a new leaf as it discovered what is known as “Psychology, sex and gore” The ‘production code’ was left behind in 1964. this led to a massive uproar of films to be produced, new and initiative cycles where introduced to the genre and peoples eyes where once again opened up by the franchise.

This section of horrors life would have not been as successful if it wasn’t for Alfred Hitchcock. He created a masterpiece that was so gory back within its time period that people where stunned by what was displayed on screen. Physco was released to the public in 1964 and left a huge impact of viewers everywhere. There is a specific scene held within a chapter in this film and I feel as though it would be worth mentioning . We find our self with a young female character who is showering. The setting is very much ordinary, this idea is significant as it would come to play many years to come. The idea of a setting that people associate themselves with in their everyday life's is a powerful technique as it makes the audience feel as though the events that are happening can occur to anyone and everyone. However, what I really wanted to discuss is the violence. Never before has horror experienced something quite like this. The antagonist of the film turned up into the girls shower room, and repeatedly stabbed her, the use of music and camera methods made it appear as though the girl was brutally murdered, the use of fake blood dripping down the shower really portrays the actions taking place and this, this was a great step for the genre itself.

Again Alfred Hitchcock also took it upon himself to make excellent use of the phycological side of things. After his success with ‘Physco’ he followed up with ‘Birds’. This film is to remembered for years as it is a truly spectacular example of phycological horror.

Alfred Hitchcock 1899-1980

Shower scene from the film Phyco

History Of Horror

Page Eleven: Hammer Horror Hammer Horrors was shortly introduced straight after the “Psychology, sex and gore cycle”. This style of horror was extremely significant as it was the start of “rebooting”. What this is, is taking an old film that may have had follow ups or prequels and re-creating it from the ground up.

The first film to be produced is “The Curse Of Frankenstein”. This film was completely re- shot from the ground up, with new setting, props, lighting and cast. It was also the first horror to introduce colour onto the theatres screens. This film took a different twist as it took influence from the previous cycle and implemented sex and gore. This film also made excessive use of blood being portrayed on screen, giving it that extra push to being ever more realistic.

Christopher Lee, played the monster within this re-boot. However, like most re-boots he didn’t quite feel the boots of the original actor Boris Karloff

This image is from of one of the most iconic hammer horror actors ever. Boris Karloff played is many horror films yet, he is most known for his role as the original Frankenstein

The History Of Horror

Page Twelve: Hammer Horror

Hammer horror was one of the most remarkable moments in all of horrors acknowledgment, it managed to create a staggering amount of films. Despite the quantity the feels did have a tendency to repeat themselves, hammer horrors managed to produce over seven Frankenstein films, six Dracula films, nine Vampire films as well as three Mummy films and two Jekyll and Hyde movies. This was all done within a time space of seventeen years, which now days, would be an astonishing amount just for one production company.

This rapid succession of film producing inspired many. It lead to people like Roger Carman to “ pump his films out as fast as he could, creating Little Shop Horrors In just three days�. This intense film making, ripped sets from previous films and had an extremely small budget, yet Roger Carman managed to do the impossible and supplied great horror films for audiences.

The History Of Horror

Page Thirteen: Different Cycles Due to Roger Carmen's success, he then started of what is known as the “Edgar Allan Poe Cycle” This had a life spam from 1959 up until 1964. The cycle consisted of The House Of Usher, Pit And Pendulum, Tales Of Terror and finally The Raven.

After this, horror cycles started to become more and more frequent, all of which creating many films, some well known and some not so known. The Occult cycle consisted of films that more to do with “Satan and the Supernatural”.

Films in this cycle where • Roman Polankiis Rosemaryis Baby – 1968 • The Exorcist – 1973 • The Omen – 1976 • Amerdy Vile Horror – 1979 Shortly after this cycle, sharks started to become particularly popular especially after the screening of Jaws which was released in 1975. This then created its own cycle and become massive in horror, up until the start of the “ Teen Horror Cycle”. These types of films are still popular to this day, they may be seen as cheap by some but they do not fail to send a shock to viewers as well as some comical moments.

After the release of these cycles and the films that it carried, other films where also released down the line however, what I will be talking about is the “Independent Horror as well as The Slaher” side of horror. Films like Texas Chainsaw was put into placed which inspired more and more “Teen” horrors to come into play which essentially gave the genre that extra boost.

The a man known as John Carpenters developed film which is a true classic called Halloween. A perfect setting for any horror movie this was known as “ one of the most successful independent horror films ever made” This hit landed to same response as Texas Chainsaw, leaving producers to follow in their footsteps and creating films in the same genre.

The History Of Horror

Page Fourteen: On Going Horror As soon as the “90’s” the horror game changed forever. Things began to progress and eventually technology started to take over. CGI took over the screens as creatures as well as monsters where no longer created from costume, instead they where computerised.

Cycles started to repeat themselves, making a return and producing more films. An example of this would be the “ Teen Cycle”. As mentioned before the Teen Cycle may be frowned upon by many horror enthusiasts, but despite what is said, the public cant seem to get enough of them. These films can be forever found and they will continue to be this way, within the “90’s” the cycle came back and formed films like final destination, this film is sure to make audiences cringe , putting them in the most uncomfortable positions as characters under go a series of events that a truly hard to look at. Scream would be another example of this, a ‘cheesy’ story with a rookie cast, scream undergoes blood and gore as a serial killer dressed in a very basic outfit set his way to murder group of young teens.

However, another set of cycles across from this era such as “Torture Porn”. Quote on quote this is a “reboot of the splatter films, going back to hammer horror”. This cycles mainly focuses upon extreme violence, as well as explicit gore and blood, with the occasional “ tortuous violence” “Splatter films” would be other cycle that was created, leaving us with films such as saw, which take violence to new levels, as selected people are held hostage and forced to par take in games that will eventually lead them to self harming or eventually their own death if one fails the game.

“Found Footage” is a cycle that is recently be found, these films consist of characters that are never the less victims in the movie, filming their own findings as the story progresses. I personally find these films amazing as we as an audience feel as though we are truly experiences what that character sees. This is a good technique as we know as a little as the character., we aren’t filled In, there is no dramatic irony, as we cant see any other camera shots that depict anything the character doesn’t know. We essentially get” tunnel vision” as our view is limited, we feel vulnerable and are exposed easier to any sort of ‘jump scare‘ that is about to take place.

And most recently, we have the zombie franchise. This cycle recently grew increasingly popular amongst all audiences, rich stories of thoughts and feelings of those surviving really is something to thrive for. However, the scares that are held within this genre are truly something to fear. With the make up that takes place within these films the zombies in which the audience sees is really something from nightmares. Sadly, this cycle is coming t end, with comical approaches to the cycle, people become less and less scared of the monstrosities that the films are based on, they eventually become a laughing stock, and thus we are yet to know what new cycles will arrive in our theatres, or what might even be re-booted; yet horror will always remain as something will rely on for a good freight.

The History Of Horror

Page Fifteen: On Going Horror Images

The History of Horror

Page Sixteen: My Sub Genre: Phycological Horror

This last section of my presentation is going to roughly be about my own sub genre that I chose. Within our set lessons our group has been given the task of creating a film, based upon a meeting. Before hand, we have also had practise films and later on in the future we will be creating our final piece in which will hopefully either be a follow up of our current film, or something different entirely. To start with I feel as though a brief over view would be best for this section. The sub genre that we have chosen for our current and previous film has been phycological horror. I personally am happy with this choice due to the fact that we have more freedom with the camera work, and it doesn’t get to technical with costumes and special effects (I will go into more detail with this later on) However, I where we got these ideas and what influenced them is the films that lie within the genre itself, years upon years of work has been developed on, ridiculed and criticized to get where the film industry is today. I feel as though given some extra history on this cycle in particular would be useful as it would help to get a better understanding on where ideas and thoughts come from and how they progressed within our own idea, and within the minds of directors themselves. Of course some parts may be repeated due to the fact that they have already been covered in this presentation although, a quick reminder is never something to looked down on.

The History Of Horror

Page Seventeen: My Sub: Phycological Horror Genre Part Two Age ratings had a massive effect on phycological horrors. Even though companies like BBFC has been around for years on end they did have a n impact on phycological films. For instance, limitations where introduced, violence had to be reduced and gore was limited. If a film had increased the amount of violence, gore, sex, and foul language it would be rated to an 18. This lead to something that is quite common within horror, 18 rated movies had a tendency to abuse these privileges so their films mainly become a gore invested movie.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but everything was very in your face and there wasn’t a need to make the audience believe something without seeing it, instead they are just shown. This had an impact on phycological horrors as they can now be found mostly In the 15 rated side of films. You see, since directors had been limited to what they can or cannot do they had to imply what was going to happen or what is around that corner. This technique has had a great impact on film industries, and people can get away with a lot more even without showing, you can even go to a debate that this was better for horrors if you are a fan of believing instead of seeing. However, more detail on this can be found in my ‘BBFC’ presentation that is posted on my blog.

As horrors progressed in time more and more techniques started to develop. We always had shadows in horrors, or any films in that case however the way they were manipulated to create an atmosphere that fitted the film. From German expressionism to block buster hits, shadows have been a key part of horrors. At first they where always going to be there due to the lack of coloured television however, long after coloured TV’s has shadows stuck around. At first Horror was more about the monsters and the diabolical creations that had been formed in ones mind, yet directors started to progress and understand that a monster is not always needed. As I mentioned before, “Cat People” was an excellent example of this. Instead of using blood and gore and monsters to scare the audience they created a specific mood that always had audiences on edge due to shadow. Same goes for tension, in almost all phycological horrors nowadays you will without a doubt see a “Luton’s Bus”. This is done by using tensions, a increase in shadow, and music will build up tension and depending on how well it is executed it will have tricked viewers into thinking that something bad is going to happen, when in reality its being use to play with the audiences mind and make them feel more paranoid Location was something that changed over time as well, this especially has effected our own film as a group due to what we have experienced within the cycle. Instead of having a truly outgoing location, with settings such as a castle, or a evil dungeon filled with evil spirits, things started to develop throughout the years. You may notice that when you are watching a phycological horror, the location of the films is usually fairly simple. An ordinary location can form a diversion as we believe that nothing is going to happen due to the location being rather calming and harmless. Then suddenly, a sudden act will take place which will leave audiences terrified a they're subconscious begins to grow sceptical to everyday surroundings, people begin to think that the acts they have just witnessed can happen to them so the thoughts bury themselves into their mind.