190-493: After Dark Horrorfest (also known as "8 Films to Die For") was an annual horror film festival featuring eight independent horror movies, sometimes with "secret" bonus films, all distributed by After Dark Films in the USA. The first HorrorFest was held in 2006. In 2011, Horrorfest was replaced with After Dark Originals , composed of original films from After Dark and not previously acquired ones. After Dark's HorrorFest for 2006
380-579: A "concerto of shock" noting its memorable music theme and its monster not being product of society like Norman Bates in Psycho or family like in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). These elements were carried over into Carpenter's Halloween (1978) Newman described that along that high grossing films like Alien , Jaws and Halloween were hits based on "relentless suspense machines with high visual sophistication." Along with
570-510: A "modest revival" of British horror films in the 2000s, with a small trend of War film related horror films with The Bunker (2001), Dog Soldiers (2002) and the Hollywood produced Below (2002). Outside of several independent films and films attempting a style of horror that Dimension Films was making in the 1990s, Newman felt the breakouts of the new British horror were My Little Eye (2002), 28 Days Later (2002), Shaun of
760-474: A 1936 overview that Dracula and the arrival of sound film began the "real triumph of these spectral thrillers". Other studios began developing their own horror projects with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer making Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) and Mad Love (1935) and Paramount Pictures with Island of Lost Souls (1932) and Murders in the Zoo (1933), and Warner Bros. with Doctor X (1932) and Mystery of
950-537: A 2006 article, as a label for films described, often retroactively, to over 40 films since 2003. Edelstein lumped in films such as Saw (2004), The Devil's Rejects (2005), and Wolf Creek (2005) under this banner suggesting audience a "titillating and shocking" push audiences to the margins of depravity in order to "feel something". The label was described as "intense bodily acts and visible bodily representations" to produce uneasy reactions. Kevin Wetmore, using
1140-801: A British erotic horror film series is Hellraiser . Alien features heavy erotic imagery, with the design of the Xenomorph by H. R. Giger featuring both phallic and vaginal imagery, intended to symbolize patriarchal guilt as well as sex, rape, and pregnancy. Folk horror uses elements of folklore or other religious and cultural beliefs to instil fear in audiences. Folk horror films have featured rural settings and themes of isolation, religion and nature. Frequently cited examples are Witchfinder General (1968), The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971), The Wicker Man (1973), The Witch (2015), and Midsommar (2019). Local folklore and beliefs have been noted as being prevalent in horror films from
1330-516: A British version of the story ( The Duality of Man (1910)), a Danish production ( Den skæbnesvangre Opfindelse (1910)), and another American film in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1912. In 1920, three versions were made: J. Charles Haydon 's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , John S. Robertson 's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , and F. W. Murnau 's Der Januskopf . A film movement that appeared in Germany in
1520-734: A century . Early inspirations from before the development of film include folklore , religious beliefs and superstitions of different cultures, and the Gothic and horror literature of authors such as Edgar Allan Poe , Bram Stoker , and Mary Shelley . From origins in silent films and German Expressionism , horror only became a codified genre after the release of Dracula (1931). Many sub-genres emerged in subsequent decades, including body horror , comedy horror , erotic horror , slasher films , splatter films , supernatural horror and psychological horror . The genre has been produced worldwide, varying in content and style between regions. Horror
1710-443: A co-production with Australia and Death Warmed Up (1984) a single production. Early features such as Melanie Read 's Trial Run (1984) where a mother is sent to remote cottage to photograph penguins and finds it habitat to haunted spirits, and Gaylene Preston's Mr. Wrong (1984) purchases a car that is haunted by its previous owner. Other films imitate American slasher and splatter films with Bridge to Nowhere (1986), and
1900-423: A crime from the past committed (an accidental drowning, infidelity, a scorned lover) and a ready made group of victims (camp counselors, students, wedding parties). The genre was derided by several contemporary film critics of the era such as Ebert, and often were highly profitable in the box office. The release of Scream (1996), led to a brief revival of the slasher films for the 1990s. Other countries imitated
2090-434: A dislike for dissonance. Skin conductance responses (SCRs), heart rate (HR), and electromyographic (EMG) responses vary in response to emotional stimuli, showing higher for negative emotions in what is known as the "negative bias." When applied to dissonant music, HR decreases (as a bodily form of adaptation to harsh stimulation), SCR increases, and EMG responses in the face are higher. The typical reactions go through
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#17327987358382280-689: A few foreign films such as The Girl and the Devil (1944) and Dead of Night (1945) under the term. In 1946, Curt Siodmak , the screenwriter of films like The Wolf Man (1941) stated that "When horror enters the gilded gate of top production, it is glorified as a ' psychological thriller .' But a rose by any other name. . . " Between 1947 and 1951, Hollywood made almost no new horror films. Between this period, American studios were re-releasing their back catalog of horror film productions by studios such as Universal and Monogram. Box-office receipts had fallen sharply due to decling theatre attendance leading to
2470-428: A good film." Shelley called these films derivative of "American films and presenting generic American material". These films included the horror film productions of Antony I. Ginnane . While Australia would have success with international films between the mid-1980s and the 2000s, less than five horror films were produced in the country between 1993 and 2000. It was only after the success of Wolf Creek (2005) that
2660-519: A hit for Universal which led to both Dracula and Frankenstein making film stars of Lugosi and Karloff respectively. While Karloff did not have any dialogue in Frankenstein , he was allowed to speak in Universal's The Mummy (1932), a film Newman described as the studio knowing "what they were getting" patterning the film close to the plot of Dracula while historian Gregory W. Mank called
2850-506: A jump scare in a mirror can further build tension. Tight framing and close-ups are also commonly used; these can build tension and induce anxiety by not allowing the viewer to see beyond what is around the protagonist . The interaction between horror films and their audiences is another significant aspect discussed by Rhodes. He notes that horror films often serve as a safe space for viewers to confront and process their fears. This cathartic experience can provide psychological relief and
3040-398: A linear historical path, with the genre changing throughout the decades, based on the state of cinema , audience tastes and contemporary world events . Films prior to the 1930s , such as early German expressionist cinema and trick films , have been retrospectively described as horror films as the genre did not become a codified genre until the release of Dracula (1931). Dracula
3230-409: A linear historical path. Historians and critics like Carlos Clarens noted that while some film audiences at the time took films made by Tod Browning that starred Bela Lugosi with utmost seriousness, other productions from other countries saw the material set for parody, as children's entertainment or nostalgic recollection. John Kenneth Muir in his books covering the history of horror films through
3420-422: A lower phonation frequency range). Another study by Baliatsas et al. observed that there is a correlation between exposure to infrasound and low-frequency noises and sleep-related problems. Though most horror films keep the audio around 20–30 Hz, the noise can still be unsettling in long durations. Another technique used in horror films to provoke a response from the audience is cognitive dissonance , which
3610-410: A modern setting and made other horror material which pushed the erotic content of their vampire films that was initiated by Black Sunday . In the 1980s, the older horror characters of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster rarely appeared, with vampire themed films continued often in the tradition of authors like Anne Rice where vampirism becomes a lifestyle choice rather than plague or curse. Following
3800-520: A new generation of filmmakers would continuously make horror genre films in Australia that continued into the 2010s. By 2005, New Zealand has produced around 190 feature films, with about 88% of them being made after 1976. New Zealand horror film history was described by Philip Matthews of Stuff as making "po-faced gothic and now we do horror for laughs." Among the earliest known New Zealand horror films productions are Strange Behavior (1981),
3990-475: A new genre nature taking revenge on humanity with The Birds (1963) that was expanded into a trend into the 1970s. Following the success of Willard (1971), a film about killer rats, 1972 had similar films with Stanley (1972) and an official sequel Ben (1972). Other films followed in suit such as Night of the Lepus (1972), Frogs (1972), Bug (1975), Squirm (1976) and what Muir described as
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#17327987358384180-483: A person relates to that specific cultural from then on in their life. The history of horror films was described by author Siegbert Solomon Prawer as difficult to read as a linear historical path, with the genre changing throughout the decades, based on the state of cinema , audience tastes and contemporary world events . Films prior to the 1930s , such as early German expressionist cinema and trick films , have been retrospectively described as horror films as
4370-626: A reference to US Senator Thomas Gore 's bill that would have prohibit interstate transportation of films that showcased "activities of ex-convicts, bandits, train robbers or other outlaws." In 1928, the Warren Tribune of Pennsylvania reviewed the film Something Always Happens (1928) and compared it The Bat (1926) and The Wizard (1927) and "other films of the same type" in an article titled "Horror Film Thrills Audience at Columbia." Rhodes noted that different descriptions were used for films like The Bat , The Wizard , and The Cat and
4560-495: A resurgence of the horror film that would continue into the mid-1940s. After the success of Son of Frankenstein (1939), Universal's horror films received what author Rick Worland of The Horror Film called "a second wind" and horror films continued to be produced at a feverish pace into the mid-1940s. Universal looked into their 1930s horror properties to develop new follow-ups such as The Invisible Man Returns (1940) and The Mummy's Hand (1941). Man Made Monster (1941)
4750-522: A sense of empowerment as viewers face and overcome their anxieties in a controlled environment. The communal experience of watching horror films in theaters or discussing them in fan communities also plays a crucial role in the genre's impact and popularity.[6] Music is a key component of horror films. In Music in the Horror Film (2010), Lerner writes "music in horror film frequently makes us feel threatened and uncomfortable" and intends to intensify
4940-578: A trend that other European horror filmmakers like the French Jean Rollin and Spanish Jesús Franco would follow. Franco would make several horror films from the 1960s on, borrowing the plot of Eyes Without a Face (1960) for The Awful Dr. Orloff (1962) while screenwriter and actor Jacinto Molina under the name Paul Naschy began developing Spanish horror films by borrowing characters from Universal properties such as La Marca del Hombre Lobo (1968). Historian John Kenneth Muir described
5130-566: A two-step process of first orienting to the problem (the slowing of HR), then a defensive process (a stronger increase in SCR and an increase in HR). This initial response can sometimes result in a fight-or-flight response , which is the characteristic of dissonance that horror films rely on to frighten and unsettle viewers. History of horror films The history of horror films was described by author Siegbert Solomon Prawer as difficult to read as
5320-814: A whole was a style like film noir and not bound to certain cinematic elements like the Western or science fiction film . The term "gothic" is frequently used to describe a stylized approach to showcasing location, desire, and action in film. Contemporary views of the genre associate it with imagery of castles at hilltops and labyrinth like ancestral mansions that are in various states of disrepair. Narratives in these films often focus on an audience's fear and attraction to social change and rebellion. The genre can be applied to films as early as The Haunted Castle (1896), Frankenstein (1910) as well as to more complex iterations such as Park Chan-wook 's Stoker (2013) and Jordan Peele 's Get Out (2017). The gothic style
5510-523: A young audience featuring teenage monsters grew popular in the 1950s with several productions from American International Pictures (AIP) and productions of Herman Cohen with I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957). This led to later productions like Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957) and Frankenstein's Daughter (1958). Teen horror cycle in the 1980s often showcased explicit gore and nudity, with John Kenneth Muir described as cautionary conservative tales where most of
5700-497: Is a "widespread and engrained acceptance of supernatural forces" in many Asian cultures, and suggests this is related to animist , pantheist and karmic religious traditions, as in Buddhism and Shintoism . Although Chinese , Japanese , Thai and Korean horror has arguably received the most international attention, horror also makes up a considerable proportion of Cambodian and Malaysian cinema. Ian Olney described
5890-597: Is a "widespread and engrained acceptance of supernatural forces" in many Asian cultures, and suggests this is related to animist , pantheist and karmic religious traditions, as in Buddhism and Shintoism ; these would go on to strongly influence horror cinema from the region. Classical dramas also include elements later expanded upon by horror films, such as Hamlet , which includes vengeful spectres, exhumed skulls, multiple stabbings and characters succumbing to madness. Early Gothic fiction such as The Castle of Otranto (1764) and works of Ann Radcliffe dealt with
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6080-521: Is a film subgenre that emerged in the 1970s with films such as Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1971) and Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972), which were soon followed by the influential Black Christmas (1974). Defining the Christmas horror genre has been described as challenging, as it has generally been regarded as a sub-genre of the slasher film . Adam Rockoff, in Rue Morgue , noted that
6270-499: Is a horror film trope , where an abrupt change in image accompanied with a loud sound intends to surprise the viewer. This can also be subverted to create tension, where an audience may feel more unease and discomfort by anticipating a jump scare. Mirrors are often used in horror films to create visual depth and build tension. Shelton argues mirrors have been used so frequently in horror films that audiences have been conditioned to fear them, and subverting audience expectations of
6460-483: Is a subgenre of horror fiction that blends sensual and sexual imagery with horrific themes for the sake of sexual arousal . Erotic horror has had influences on French and American horror cinema. The works of Jean Rollin , such as Le Viol du Vampire and Fascination , are considered quintessential erotic horror films, blending deeply sexual imagery with gore. American cinema has also featured notable erotic horror film franchises, such as Candyman . An example of
6650-463: Is a subgenre of horror film whose common themes are based on religion and focus heavily on supernatural beings, often with demons as the main antagonists that bring a sense of threat. Such films commonly use religious elements, including the crucifix or cross, holy water, the Bible, the rosary, the sign of the cross, the church, and prayer, which are forms of religious symbols and rituals used to depict
6840-428: Is applied to several films throughout the history of the horror film. This includes Universal Pictures' horror films of the 1930s, the revival of gothic horror in the 1950s and 1960s with films from Hammer, Roger Corman 's Poe-cycle, and several Italian productions. By the 1970s American and British productions often had vampire films set in a contemporary setting, such as Hammer Films had their Dracula stories set in
7030-403: Is easier to view films as cycles opposed to genres, suggesting the slasher film viewed as a cycle would place it in terms of how the film industry was economically and production wise, the personnel involved in their respective eras, and how the films were marketed exhibited and distributed. Mark Jancovich in an essay, declared that "there is no simple 'collective belief' as to what constitutes
7220-562: Is particularly prominent in the cinema of Japan , Korea , and Thailand , among other countries. Despite being the subject of social and legal controversy due to their subject matter, some horror films and franchises have seen major commercial success , influenced society and spawned several popular culture icons . The Dictionary of Film Studies defines the horror film as representing "disturbing and dark subject matter, seeking to elicit responses of fear , terror , disgust , shock, suspense , and, of course, horror from their viewers." In
7410-466: Is when someone experiences tension in themselves and is urged to relieve that tension. Dissonance is the clashing of unpleasant or harsh sounds. A study by Prete et al. identified that the ability to recognize dissonance relied on the left hemisphere of the brain, while consonance relied on the right half. There is a stronger preference for consonance; this difference is noticeable even in early stages of life. Previous musical experience also can influence
7600-608: The A Nightmare on Elm Street series, while others disassociate themselves from characters and series and focusing on genre auteur directors like Dario Argento , while others fans would deem Argento's films as too mainstream, having preferences more underground films . Andrew Tudor wrote in Monsters and Mad Scientists: A Cultural History of the Horror Movie suggested that "Genre is what we collectively believe it to be" In addition to these perspectives, Rhodes emphasizes
7790-486: The Motion Picture Herald reporting that seven of the eleven major producer-distributors companies including MGM, Paramount, RKO, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Warner Bros. and PRC would re-release their previous seasons films. In the period between 1947 and 1951 at least 25 Bela Lugosi horror films were re-released theatrically. While studies suggest that gothic horror had fallen out of fashion between
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7980-575: The Saw film series suggested these film suggested reflected a post Post-9/11 attitude towards increasing pessimism, specifically one of "no redemption, no hope, no expectations that 'we're going to be OK'" Newman also noted a post-9/11 trend of stories that tend to re-work or re-do a reality that was to difficult to handle, similar to films like The Sixth Sense or The Matrix . Horror films that followed this trend included ghost stories with films like The Others (2001) and The Orphanage (2007). After
8170-547: The Scary Movie film series and Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th (2000). Other teen oriented series began in the era with Final Destination while the success of the 1999 remake of William Castle's House on Haunted Hill led to a series of remakes in the decade: Thi13en Ghosts (2001), Willard (2003), Dawn of the Dead (2004), The Fog (2005), Prom Night (2008) and The Last House on
8360-500: The Australian Film Commission to change its focus to being a more commercial operation. This closed in 1980 as its funding was abused by investors using them as tax avoiding measures. A new development known as the 10BA tax shelter scheme was developed ushering a slew of productions, leading to what Peter Shelley, author of Australian Horror Films , suggested meant "making a profit was more important than making
8550-706: The Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards . Newman described Roman Polanski 's Rosemary's Baby (1968) the other "event" horror film of the 1960s after Psycho . The influence of Rosemary's Baby ' story involving satanic themes would not be felt until the 1970s with films like The Exorcist (1973) and The Omen (1976). Roger Corman convinced AIP to develop two cheap black-and-white horror films, and used
8740-491: The Hollywood Reporter announced that horror films were earning "heavier adult patronage" and were receiving "universal appeal" due to higher budgets and higher standards. Rhodes and Kaffenberger noted the elasticity of the term horror in the article, specifically mentioning films like The Spiral Staircase and Bedlam (1946). The magazine also referred to films such as Alfred Hitchcock 's Spellbound and
8930-488: The Kinetograph in the late 1890s. Genres, such as adventure, detective stories, and Westerns were developed as written fiction while musical was a staple to theatre. Author and critic Kim Newman stated that if something was referred to as a horror film in 1890, no one would have understood what it meant as a specific genre, while following up that these types of films were being made but were not categorized as such at
9120-503: The Southeast Asia region, including Thailand and Indonesia . The found footage horror film "technique" gives the audience a first person view of the events on screen, and presents the footage as being discovered after. Horror films which are framed as being made up of "found-footage" merge the experiences of the audience and characters, which may induce suspense, shock, and bafflement. Alexandra Heller-Nicholas noted that
9310-548: The Spaghetti Western and the giallo , including Bava's own Blood and Black Lace (1964) and the gialli of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci . Other independent productions of the 1960s expanded on the gore shown in the films in a genre later described as the splatter film , with films by Herschell Gordon Lewis such as Blood Feast which led to similar minded independent directors making similar works like Andy Milligan and Ted V. Mikels . Newman found that
9500-511: The novel , play and the film's story relying on the supernatural . Newman discussed the genre in British Film Institute 's Companion to Horror where he noted that Horror films in the 1930s were easy to identify, but following that decade, "the more blurred distinctions become, and horror becomes less like a discrete genre than an effect which can be deployed within any number of narrative settings or narrative patterns". In
9690-462: The "Fear of the Demonic" features graphic accounts of satanic rites , witchcraft , exorcisms outside traditional forms of worship, as seen in films like The Exorcist (1973) or The Omen (1976). Some critics have suggested horror films can be a vessel for exploring contemporary cultural, political and social trends. Jeanne Hall, a film theorist, agrees with the use of horror films in easing
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#17327987358389880-459: The "one-two punch Boris Karloff needed after Frankenstein to boost his stardom. Lugosi and Karloff would star together in several Poe-adaptations in the 1930s, including The Black Cat (1934) and The Raven (1935) and other horror features like The Invisible Ray (1936). Following the release of Dracula , The Washington Post declared the film's box office success led to a cycle of similar films, while The New York Times stated in
10070-413: The "turning point" in the genre with Jaws (1975), which became the highest-grossing film at that point and moved the animal attacks genres "towards a less-fantastic route" with less giant animals and more real-life creatures such as Grizzly (1976) and Night Creature (1977), Orca (1977), and Jaws 2 (1978). The film is linked with the environmental movements that became more mainstream in
10260-469: The 13th ), Michael Myers ( Halloween ), and Freddy Kruger ( A Nightmare on Elm Street ). Unlike the characters of the past who were vampires or created by mad scientists, these characters were seemingly people with common sounding names who developed the slasher film genre of the era. In his book on the genre, author Adam Rockoff that these villains represented a "rogue genre" of films with "tough, problematic, and fiercely individualistic." Following
10450-664: The 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street . Muir commented that in the 1990s after the end of the Cold War , the United States did not really have a "serious enemy" internationally, leading to horror films adapting to fictional enemies predominantly within America, with the American government, large businesses, organized religion and the upper class as well as supernatural and occult items such as vampires or Satanists filling in
10640-414: The 1940s borrowed from Cat People , specifically feature a female character who fears that she has inherited the tendency to turn into a monster or attempt to replicate the shadowy visual style of the film with Jungle Woman (1944), The Soul of a Monster (1944), The Woman Who Came Back (1945), She-Wolf of London (1946), The Cat Creeps (1946), and The Creeper (1948). In April 1946,
10830-527: The 1940s, the horror film was viewed in different terms. Critic Siegfried Kracauer included The Lost Weekend among films described as "terror films" along with Shadow of a Doubt , The Dark Corner (1946), Gaslight (1944), Shock (1946), The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Stranger (1946) Spellbound (1945) while two years earlier, the New York Times described a new cycle of "horror" productions included Gaslight , The Woman in
11020-460: The 1950s horror material. In Italy, the Italian film industry would gradually move towards making films for television. The decade started with a high-budgeted production of Argento's Inferno (1980) and with the death of Mario Bava, Fulci became what historian Roberto Curti called "Italy's most prominent horror film director in the early 1980s". Several zombie films were made in the country in
11210-476: The 1950s reflected the filmmaking styles of the era. These included some horror films being shot in 3D, such as The Mad Magician (1954), Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954), and The Maze (1953). Director William Castle also attracted horror audiences with his gimmick-themed horror films such as The Tingler (1959) and House on Haunted Hill (1959) that involved props and effects happening within
11400-487: The 1950s such as Mexican production El vampiro (1957). In Italy, Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava developed early Italian horror films with I Vampiri (1957) and Caltiki – The Immortal Monster (1959). Productions also extended into the Philippines ( Terror Is a Man (1959)), Germany ( The Head (1959) and Horrors of Spider Island (1960)) and France ( Eyes Without a Face (1960)). Newman that
11590-800: The 1950s was The Thing From Another World (1951), with Newman stating that countless science fiction horror films of the 1950s would follow in its style, while the film, The Man from Planet X (1951) was still in debt to Universal horror style of filming with a bearded scientist and foggy sets. For five years following the release of The Thing From Another World , nearly every film involving aliens, dinosaurs or radioactive mutants would be dealt with matter-of-fact characters as seen in The Thing From Another World . Even films that adapted for older characters had science fiction leanings such as The Vampire (1957), The Werewolf (1956) and Frankenstein 1970 (1958) being influenced by
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#173279873583811780-626: The 1960s and 1970s for horror films from Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain, as well as co-productions between these countries. Several productions, such as those in Italy, were co-productions due to the lack of international stars within the country. European horror films began developing strong cult following since the late 1990s. It is unknown when Australia's cinema first horror title may have been, with thoughts ranging from The Strangler's Grip (1912) to The Face at
11970-484: The 1970s and early 1980s such vegetarianism , animal rights movements , and organizations such as Greenpeace . Following Jaws , sharks became the most popular animal of the genre, ranging from similar such as Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976) and Great White (1981) to the Sharknado film series. James Marriott found that the genre had "lost momentum" since the 1970s while the films would still be made towards
12160-611: The 1970s as a "truly eclectic time" for horror cinema, noting a mixture of fresh and more personal efforts on film while other were a resurrection of older characters that have appeared since the 1930s and 1940s. Night of the Living Dead had what Newman described as a "slow burning influence" on horror films of the era, some just adapted the zombie framework such as The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue (1974) while others became what Newman described as "the first of
12350-417: The 1970s as well as home video distributors such as Arrow Video , Shameless and Nucleus Films releasing restorations of the more outlandish and forgotten films of the original psychedelic era. The expansion of international streaming media services is thought to have boosted the popularity of horror. Several horror television series on Netflix such as The Haunting of Hill House became successes for
12540-468: The 1970s pushed the eroticism to the point of horror and Pornographic film hybrids. The rise of zombie films towards the end of the decade was triggered by Romero's follow-up to Night , with Dawn of the Dead (1978). Remakes of proved to be popular choices for horror films in the 1970s, with films like Invasion of the Bodysnatchers (1978) and tales based on Dracula which continued into
12730-475: The 1970s, Hammer Films pushed their films in different directions, such as their new series where vampires are implied to be lesbians in The Vampire Lovers (1970), Lust for a Vampire (1970) and Twins of Evil (1971). Hammer's Dracula series was updated to contemporary settings with Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and its sequel The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973), after which, Lee retired from
12920-479: The 1990s teen horror cycle, Alexandra West described the general trend of these films is often looked down upon by critics, journals, and fans as being too glossy, trendy, and sleek to be considered worthwhile horror films. Horror films in Asia have been noted as being inspired by national, cultural or religious folklore , particularly beliefs in ghosts or spirits. In Asian Horror , Andy Richards writes that there
13110-468: The 1990s with the internet and the fears of the Year 2000 problem causing the end of the world were reflected in plots of films like The Lawnmower Man (1992), Brainscan (1994) and End of Days (1999). Following the release of Francis Ford Coppola 's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), a small wave of high-budgeted gothic horror romance films were released in the 1990s.These included Interview with
13300-446: The 2000s, with I Am Legend (2007), Zombieland (2009), Dead Snow (2009) and Pontypool (2008). Several films came from Hong Kong, South Korea , Thailand , and Japan in the wake of the success of Ring (1998). These films predominantly involved female detectives using various forms of investigation to solve mysteries about malevolent female ghosts . These included The Eye (2002), Dark Water (2002), and Into
13490-442: The 2006 festival were released on DVD on March 27, 2007. The Abandoned was released on June 19, 2007, the delay having been caused by the theatrical re-release. Of the bonus films, Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror was released on September 11, 2007, and The Tripper was released by Fox Video on October 23, 2007. After Dark's HorrorFest for 2007 was scheduled for November 9 through November 18, 2007. The eight films shown during
13680-419: The 8 semifinalists were announced: X-Actra, Princess Agoniya, Shelly Martinez , Saffron Sinclaire, Dracula's Girls, Demon, Vic Tim, and Bella Vamp. Three weeks later, the 4 finalists were picked: Demon, Princess Agoniya, Vic Tim, and Saffron Sinclaire. On December 13, Vic Tim (aka Kelly Marchand) was announced as the third Miss Horrorfest. The DVDs were released March 31, 2009. After Dark's HorrorFest for 2010
13870-554: The American slasher film revival, such as South Korea's early 2000s cycle with Bloody Beach (2000), Nightmare (2000) and The Record (2000). Supernatural horror films integrate supernatural elements , such as the afterlife , spirit possession and religion into the horror genre. Teen horror is a horror subgenre that victimizes teenagers while usually promoting strong, anti-conformity teenage leads, appealing to young generations. This subgenre often depicts themes of sex, under-aged drinking, and gore. Horror films aimed
14060-597: The Canary (1927), but they were most commonly referred to as mystery films ." In 1924, British producer Hamilton Deane premiered a stage version of Dracula at the Grand Theatre in Derby, England . An American version had premiered on Broadway in 1927 and featuring actor Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula . Rhodes described the play as "taking America storm". In June 1930, Universal Studios officially purchased
14250-516: The Dead (2004), and The Descent (2005). At the turn of the millennium, a movement in French cinema known as New French Extremity was named by film by film programmer James Quandt , initially describing arthouse films that "determined to break every taboo, to wade in rivers of viscera and spumes of sperm, to fill each frame with flesh, nubile, or gnarled, and subject it to all manner of penetration mutilation and defilement" In her book Films of
14440-521: The Dracula role. Hammer ceased feature film production in the 1970s. Other small booms in the Italian film industry included Argento's The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) which created a trend in Italy for the giallo film. Other smaller trends permutated in Italy such as films involving cannibals , zombies , nazis which Newman described as "disreputable crazes". Some films of
14630-562: The Fuse/Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, the Fangoria Radio Show with Dee Snider and Debbie Rochon, PlayMania and a short series of reality-style movies featured on YouTube. The four finalists were chieko13, msblackbetty, darkspidernyc, and Ysabella Brave . Internet voting ended on November 9, 2006. Msblackbetty was named Miss HorrorFest 2006 on November 18, 2006. 7 of the original list of 8 films from
14820-541: The Hood (1995), and Village of the Damned (1995). The rise of other television shows such as Inside Edition , America's Most Wanted and The Jerry Springer Show , Geraldo and Donahue , horror films often featured anchorwomen and TV tabloid hosts as protagonists or supporting characters in films like Man's Best Friend (1993), Scream (1996) and The Night Flier (1997). The rapid growth of technology in
15010-563: The Latin-American market employing Mexican actors, Mexican horror films were produced throughout the 1930s and 1940s, often reflecting on the overarching theme of science vs. religion conflict . Ushered by the release of El vampiro , the Mexploitation horror film era started in 1957, with films characterised by their low production values and camp appeal, often featuring vampires, wrestlers, and Aztec mummies. A key figure in
15200-451: The Left (2009). Several film series long left dormant were resurrected in the 2000s as well with Jason X (2001), Beyond Re-Animator (2003), Exorcist: The Beginning (2004), and Land of the Dead (2005). The popularity and innovative approach to zombies seen in 28 Days Later (2002), Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Dawn of the Dead (2004) led to a revival zombie films in
15390-459: The Lepus (1972), Frogs (1972), Bug (1975), Squirm (1976) and what Muir described as the "turning point" in the genre with Jaws (1975), which became the highest-grossing film at that point and moved the animal attacks genres "towards a less-fantastic route" with less giant animals and more real-life creatures such as Grizzly (1976) and Night Creature (1977), Orca (1977), and Jaws 2 (1978). Newman's described Jaws as
15580-441: The Living Dead led to an increase of violence and erotic scenes within the genre. The 1970s would expand on these themes with films that would delve into gorier pictures, as well as films that were near or straight pornographic hybrids. Genre cycles in this era include the natural horror film , and the rise of slasher films which would expand in the early 1980s . Towards the 1990s, postmodernism entered horror, while some of
15770-441: The Living Dead led to an increase of violence and erotic scenes within the genre. The 1970s would expand on these themes with films that would delve into gorier pictures, as well as films that were near or straight pornographic hybrids. Genre cycles in this era include the natural horror film , and the rise of slasher films which would expand in the early 1980s . Towards the 1990s, postmodernism entered horror, while some of
15960-547: The Mexican horror scene (particularly in Germán Robles -starred vampire films) was producer Abel Salazar . The late 1960s saw the advent of the prominence of Carlos Enrique Taboada as an standout Mexican horror filmmaker, with films such as Hasta el viento tiene miedo (1967), El libro de piedra (1968), Más negro que la noche (1975) or Veneno para las hadas (1984). Mexican horror cinema has been noted for
16150-634: The Mirror (2003). This trend was echoed in the West with films like FeardotCom (2002), They (2002) and Gothika (2003). Hollywood also began remaking these Japanese films with The Ring (2002), Dark Water (2005). Outside the Japanese ghost stories, Asian film industries also began developing what Newman described as "bizarre" horror films with Uzumaki (2000), Stacy (2001) and several films by Takashi Miike . Newman declared there to be
16340-761: The Mummy three times in The Mummy series, Frankenstein's Monster in Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) and as Count Dracula in Son of Dracula (1943). Universal also created new horror series such as the three-picture feature about Paula the Ape-woman, starting with Captive Wild Woman (1943). Universal began crossing their horror franchises in what was colloquially called "monster rally" films. Beginning with Frankenstein Meets
16530-528: The New French Extremity , Alexandra West found that some of directors started making horror films that would still fit their art house standards such as Claire Denis 's Trouble Every Day (2001) and Marina de Van 's In My Skin (2002), which led to other directors to make more what West described as "outright horror films" such as Alexandre Aja 's High Tension (2003) and Xavier Gens ' Frontier(s) (2007). Some of these horror films of
16720-421: The New French Extremity movement would regularly place on "Best Of" genres lists, such as Martyrs (2008), Inside (2007) and High Tension . West described journalists and fans as seeing the more horror-oriented films of the movement as "an intellectual sibling" to the emerging trend of " Torture porn ". David Edelstein of The New York Times coined a term for a genre he described as "torture porn" in
16910-604: The Opera (1925) and a false vampire in London After Midnight (1927). While horror was provided as an occasional adjective to the films of Chaney such as The Unknown (1927) and West of Zanzibar (1928), the actor was mostly known for the melodramas he made with director Tod Browning . The term "horror film" was used with various interpretations during this period, such as Evening Star which told readers that " 'Horror' Films May Be Barred [in] Transit,"
17100-544: The Screw (1898), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), and The Phantom of the Opera (1911). As these and many similar novels and short stories were being made, early cinema began in the 1890s. Many of these stories were not specifically focused on the horrific, but lingered in popular culture for their horrific elements and set pieces that would become cinema staples. In
17290-867: The United Kingdom featuring their horror stars Cushing and Fisher. Hammer made several films in their Frankenstein series between 1958 and 1973, while still producing one-offs such as The Reptile (1966) and Plague of the Zombies (1966). Competition for Hammer appeared in the mid-1960s in the United Kingdom with Amicus Productions such as Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1964) and also featured actors Cushing and Lee. Unlike Hammer, Amicus drew from contemporary sources such as Bloch ( The Skull (1965) and Torture Garden (1967)) which led to Hammer adapting works by Dennis Wheatley ( The Devil Rides Out (1968)). Mario Bava's Black Sunday (1960) marked an increase in onscreen violence in film. Prior to Bava's film, Fisher's early Hammer films had attempted to push
17480-582: The United States, such as the Halperin Organization making White Zombie (1933) with Lugosi, whose success led to a series of voo doo related film such as Drums O' Voodoo (1934), Black Moon (1934) and Ouanga . A few productions outside of America were also made such as the British film The Ghoul (1933) starring Karloff and the films of Tod Slaughter . Many horror films of this era provoked public outcry and censors cut many of
17670-467: The Universal horror pictures." Universal was reportedly surprised at the strong box office and critical praise for the film, and forged ahead to make similar productions of Frankenstein (1931) and Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) which would also star Lugosi for their 1931–1932 season. British filmmaker James Whale directed Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff as the Monster also proved to be
17860-573: The Vampire (1994), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Wolf (1994) and Mary Reilly (1996). By the end of the 1990s, three films were released that Newman described as "cultural phenomenons." These included Hideo Nakata 's Ring (1998), which along with the South Korean film Whispering Corridors (1998), was the major hit across Asia leading to sequels and similar ghost stories from Asian countries. The film only crossed over into
18050-686: The Void (2009) and Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010). Since these films, a series of films that Sélavy described as being like "a calamitous trip or creepy dreams" were released such as Berberian Sound Studio (2011), Under the Skin (2013) and We Are the Flesh (2016), and Climax (2018). These films do not always share the consciousness-expanding spirit of 1960s and 1970s. The reasons for these trends tended to be from filmmakers who grew up in
18240-546: The Wax Museum (1933). Universal would also follow-up with Whale's The Old Dark House (1932) and The Invisible Man (1933), and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). RKO Pictures had also developed their own monster movie with King Kong (1933) which Newman felt owned more to Arthur Conan Doyle 's The Lost World than the Dracula-Frankenstein cycle. Other productions included independents in
18430-546: The Western world after the 1990s.The second major hit was The Sixth Sense , another ghost story which Newman described as making "an instant cliche" of twist endings . The final hit was the low-budget independent film The Blair Witch Project (1999) Newman described the first trend of horror films in the 2000s followed the success of The Blair Witch Project , but predominantly in a parody format: The Bogus Witch Project (2000), The Blair Underwood Project (2000) and
18620-580: The Window (1919) while stories featuring ghosts would appear in Guyra Ghost Mystery (1921). By 1913, the more prolific era of Australian cinema ended with production not returning with heavy input of government finance in the 1970s. It took until the 1970s for Australia to develop sound film with television films that eventually received theatrical release with Dead Easy (1970) and Night of Fear (1973). The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
18810-603: The Window (1944), Dark Waters (1944), Laura and Phantom Lady (1944). Mark Jancovich wrote in The Shifting Definitions of Genre: Essays on Labeling Films, Television Shows and Media (2008) that the term was virtually synonymous with mystery as a generic term, not being limited to films concerned with the strange, eerie and uncanny. Various writings on genre from Altman, Lawrence Alloway ( Violent America: The Movies 1946-1964 (1971)) and Peter Hutchings ( Approaches to Popular Film (1995)) implied it
19000-875: The Wolf Man (1943) which had Frankenstein's Monster meet The Wolf Man, further crossovers that included Count Dracula continued in the 1940s with House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945). B-Picture studios also developed films that imitated the style of Universal's horror output. Karloff worked with Columbia Pictures acting in various films as a " Mad doctor "-type characters starting with The Man They Could Not Hang (1939) while Lugosi worked between Universal and poverty row studios such as Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) for The Devil Bat (1941) and Monogram for nine features films. In March 1942, producer Val Lewton ended his working relationship with independent producer David O. Selznick to work for RKO Radio Pictures ' Charles Koerner , becoming
19190-427: The atmosphere created in imagery and themes. Dissonance , atonality and experiments with timbre are typical characteristics used by composers in horror film music. In the book Dark Dreams , author Charles Derry conceived horror films as focusing on three broad themes : the horror of personality , horror of Armageddon and the horror of the demonic . The horror of personality derives from monsters being at
19380-691: The atomic inspired monsters of the era. Films with a Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde theme also appeared with The Neanderthal Man (1953), The Fly (1958), Monster on the Campus (1958) and The Hideous Sun Demon (1958). Smaller trends also included the Universal-International produced the film Cult of the Cobra (1955) which created a brief wave of horror films featuring Pin-up model like mutants such as The Leech Woman (1960) and The Wasp Woman (1959). Films from
19570-572: The biblical account of the Massacre of the Innocents and more recently in works such as E. T. A. Hoffmann's " The Nutcracker and the Mouse King " (1816) and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843). Although ghosts have largely been replaced by serial killers, Christmas horror creates an outlet through which to explore "a modern reinvention of the Christmas ghost story". Erotic horror
19760-560: The biggest hits of the decade included films from Japan with the success of Ring (1998). Horror is a malleable genre and often can be altered to accommodate other genre types such as science fiction , making some films difficult to categorize. A genre that emerged in the 1970s, body horror films focus on the process of a bodily transformation. In these films, the body is either engulfed by some larger process or heading towards fragmentation and collapse. The focus can be on apocalyptic implication of an entire society being overtaken, but
19950-621: The biggest hits of the decade included films from Japan with the success of Ring (1998). In the 21st century, streaming media popularised horror trends, whilst trends included torture porn influenced by the success of Saw , films using a " found footage " technique, and independent productions such as Get Out , Hereditary and the Insidious series which were box office hits. In his book Caligari's Children: The Film as Tale of Terror (1980), author Siegbert Solomon Prawer stated that horror films cannot be interpreted as following
20140-458: The budget of these two films to make the colour film House of Usher (1960). The film created its own cycle of Poe-adaptations by Corman, including The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Tales of Terror (1962), and The Raven (1963) which provided roles for aging horror stars such as Karloff and Chaney Jr. These films were made to compete with the British colour horror films from Hammer in
20330-524: The centre of the plot, such Frankenstein's monster whose psychology makes them perform unspeakable horrific acts ranging from rapes , mutilations and sadistic killings. Other key works of this form are Alfred Hitchcock 's Psycho , which feature psychotic murderers without the make-up of a monster. The second 'Armageddon' group delves on the fear of large-scale destruction , which ranges from science fiction works but also of natural events , such as Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). The last group of
20520-502: The chapter "The American Nightmare: Horror in the 70s" from Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan (2002), film critic Robin Wood declared that the commonality between horror films is that "normality is threatened by the monster." This was further expanded upon by The Philosophy of Horror, or Parodoxes of the Heart by Noël Carroll who added that "repulsion must be pleasurable, as evidenced by
20710-471: The cinema. Horror films aimed a young audience featuring teenage monsters grew popular in the 1950s with several productions from American International Pictures (AIP) and productions of Herman Cohen with I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957). This led to later productions like Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957) and Frankenstein's Daughter (1958). Horror films also expanded further into international productions in
20900-436: The course of the festival were: graduation. While there, they run into a cult looking for human sacrifice and their weekend becomes a bloody test of survival. Mistress Malice (aka Melissa Jones) was chosen as Miss HorrorFest 2007. In 2008, she joined the cast of Butterfly Effect: Revelation , which was shown as part of Horrorfest III. DVDs of all eight films were released March 18, 2008. After Dark's HorrorFest for 2008
21090-512: The decade with Rec (2007), Diary of the Dead (2007), and Cloverfield (2008) and the particularly financially successful Paranormal Activity (2007). Following Paranormal Activity , the style was not known for the footages possible authenticity as it was with Blair Witch , but more of a specific film style. Post-modern horror films continued into the 2000s as well with Cherry Falls (2000) and Psycho Beach Party (2000) but soon drifted purely into comedy and parody territory with
21280-456: The devil . The film has no story, but a series of trick shots and vaudeville acts filmed. Méliès made over five hundred films between 1886 and 1914 ranging from historical recreation, religious films, dramas, literary adaptations and false newsreels. In the early 20th century as films became popular around the world films were production was so hectic that often told tales were made and then remade within months of each other. Adaptations of
21470-433: The early 1950s but later branched into horror with their colour films The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula (1958). These films would birth two horror film stars: Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing . Along with Hammer's more science fiction oriented series Quatermass , both the gothic and science fiction films of Hammer would develop many similar films within the years. Among the most influential horror films of
21660-565: The early 80s from Fulci and others while Argento would continue directing and producing films for others such as Lamberto Bava . As Fulci's health deteriorated towards the end of the decade, many directors turned to making horror films for Joe D'Amato 's Filmirage company, independent films or works for television and home video. In the 1980s, the older horror characters of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster rarely appeared in film outside nostalgic films like The Monster Squad (1987) and Waxwork (1988). Vampire themed films continued often in
21850-563: The early films of Peter Jackson who combined splatter films with comedy with Bad Taste (1988) and Braindead (1992) which has the largest following of the mentioned films. Film producer Ant Timpson had an influence curating New Zealand horror films, creating the Incredibly Strange Film Festival in the 1990s and producing his own horror films over the 2010s including The ABCs of Death (2012), Deathgasm (2015), and Housebound (2014). Timpson noted
22040-410: The emergence of sub-genres like splatter films and torture porn. In a study by Jacob Shelton, the many ways that audience members are manipulated through horror films was investigated in detail. Negative space is one such method that can play a part in inducing a reaction, causing one's eyes to remotely rest on anything in the frame – a wall, or the empty black void in the shadows. The jump scare
22230-475: The end of the film, while Romero's film and the films of other filmmakers would often suggest other horror still lingered after the credits. Horror films continued to be made around the world in the 1970s. In the United Kingdom, Amicus focused their production on humorous horror anthologies, such as Tales from the Crypt (1972). The studio stopped producing horror films by the mid-1970s and closed in 1977. By
22420-683: The envelope; The Curse of Frankenstein relied on make-up to depict the horror of the monster, Dracula had its gorier scenes cut by the British Board of Film Censors , and the violence in the backstory of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) was conveyed mostly through narration. The violence in Psycho (1960), which was released a week earlier than Black Sunday , was portrayed through suggestion, as its famous " shower scene " made use of fast cutting . Black Sunday , by contrast, depicted violence without suggestion. This level of violence would later be seen in other Italian genre films, such as
22610-433: The environment reminds them of particular scenes. A 2021 study suggested horror films that explore grief can provide psychological benefits to the bereaved, with the genre well suited to representing grief through its genre conventions. In a study by Medes et al., prolonged exposure to infrasound and low-frequency noise (<500 Hz) in long durations has an effect on vocal range (i.e. longer exposure tends to form
22800-497: The era such as Ebert, and often were highly profitable in the box office. Other more traditional styles continued into the 1980s, such as supernatural themed films involving haunted houses, ghosts, and demonic possession. Among the most popular films of the style included Stanley Kubrick 's The Shining (1980), Hooper's high-grossing Poltergeist (1982) and films in the Amityville Horror film franchise. After
22990-422: The eroticism of their stories. Although not an official remake, the last high-grossing horror film of decade, Alien (1979) took b-movie elements from films like It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958). The Exorcist (1973) was a film that Newman described as getting Hollywood back into horror film production. Along with Rosemary's Baby , Newman described the film as having the "grit and realism" that
23180-481: The evolution of the horror genre through various cultural and historical contexts. He discusses the impact of socio-political factors on the genre , such as the influence of World War I and II, the Great Depression , and the Cold War , which shaped the themes and narratives of horror films. For instance, the anxieties of the post-war era manifested in horror films as fears of invasion , contamination, and
23370-856: The film screen in the future. These included " The Black Cat ", " The Murders in the Rue Morgue ", " The Pit and the Pendulum ", " The Fall of the House of Usher ", and " The Masque of the Red Death ". Poe's tales often presented women who were dead, dying or spectral and focus on the obsessions of their male protagonists. More key horror texts would be produced in the late 1800s and early 1900s than in all centuries preceding it, including: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), Trilby (1894), The King in Yellow (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), Dracula (1897), The Invisible Man (1897), The Turn of
23560-880: The film studio Blumhouse had success with Paranormal Activity (2007), the studio continued to films that grew to become hits in the 2010s with film series Insidious . This led to what Newman described as the companies policy on "commercial savvy with thematic risk that has often paid off", included Get Out (2017), The Invisible Man (2020), Happy Death Day (2017) and series like The Purge . Laura Bradley in her article for Vanity Fair noted that both large and small film studios began noticing Blumhouse's success, including A24 who did not specialize in horror or genre films, made their names grow popular with films like The Witch (2015), Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019). Bradley commented how some of these films were classified as " elevated horror ", declaring "horror aficionados and some critics pushed back against
23750-589: The films stated if you partook in such vices such as drugs or sex, your punishment of death would be handed out. Prior to Scream , there were no popular teen horror films in the early 1990s. After the financial success of Scream , teen horror films became increasingly reflexive and self-aware until the end of the 1990s with films like I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and non-slasher The Faculty (1998). The genre lost prominence as teen films dealt with threats with more realism in films like Donnie Darko (2001) and Crazy/Beautiful (2001). In her book on
23940-450: The financial success of Friday the 13th (1980), at least 20 other slasher films appeared in 1980 alone. These films usually revolved around five properties: unique social settings(campgrounds, schools, holidays) and a crime from the past committed (an accidental drowning, infidelity, a scorned lover) and a ready made group of victims (camp counselors, students, wedding parties). The genre was derided by several contemporary film critics of
24130-451: The first half of the 1920s labeled the German expressionist film closely resembled the horror film. The term is borrowed from art groups such as Der Blaue Reiter and Der Sturm . These films feature sensationalist titles such as Warning Shadows (1923), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Secrets of a Soul (1926). German film historian Thomas Elsaesser wrote that what
24320-625: The first time since the early 1960s of horror film fandom with far more loose organized community of fans rose with the increased publication of fanzines and magazines such as Cinefantastique , Fangoria and Starburst as horror film festivals like Shock Around the Clock and Dead by Dawn developing. In the appearance of home video, horror films came under attack in the United Kingdom as " video nasties " leading to people having their collection being seized by police and some people being jailed for selling or owning some horror films. Newman described
24510-613: The focus is generally upon an individual and their sense of identity, primarily them watching their own body change. The earliest appearance of the sub-genre was the work of director David Cronenberg , specifically with early films like Shivers (1975). Mark Jancovich of the University of Manchester declared that the transformation scenes in the genre provoke fear and repulsion, but also pleasure and excitement such as in The Thing (1982) and The Fly (1986). Christmas horror
24700-521: The genre among viewers (ahead of South Korea), according to a 2016 research. In a study done by Uri Hasson et al., brain waves were observed via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This study used the inter-subject correlation analysis (ISC) method of determining results. It was shown that audience members tend to focus on certain facets in a particular scene simultaneously and tend to sit as still as possible while watching horror films. In another study done by John Greene & Glenn Sparks, it
24890-735: The genre as it had in the 1960s or 1970s. Young independent filmmakers such as Kevin Smith , Richard Linklater , Michael Moore and Quentin Tarantino broke into cinema outside the genre at non-genre festivals like the Sundance Film Festival . Newman noted that the early 1990s was "not a good time for horror", noting excessive sequels such as The Exorcist III (1990), Amityville 1992: It's About Time (1992) and returns of sequels to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , Friday
25080-459: The genre auteurs", finding previous great genre directors such as Whale, Lewton and Terence Fisher had worked within studio settings. These included American directors such as John Carpenter , Tobe Hooper , Wes Craven and Brian De Palma as well as directors working outside America such as Bob Clark , David Cronenberg and Dario Argento . Prior to Night of the Living Dead , the monsters of horror films could easily be banished or defeated by
25270-431: The genre continuously evolves, incorporating elements from other genres and responding to contemporary societal fears and anxieties. This adaptability is evident in the various sub-genres that have emerged over the years, such as psychological horror, body horror, and found footage horror, each addressing different aspects of human fear and the unknown. Rhodes also explores the role of censorship and regulation in shaping
25460-597: The genre did not become a codified genre until the release of Dracula (1931). Dracula was a box office success, leading to Universal and several other American film studios to develop and popularise horror films well into the 1940s . By the 1950s , horror would often be made with science fiction themes, and towards the end of the decade horror was a more common genre of international productions. The 1960s saw further developments, with material based on contemporary works instead of classical literature. The release of films like Psycho , Black Sunday and Night of
25650-579: The genre's popularity." Prior to the release of Dracula (1931), historian Gary Don Rhodes explained that the idea and terminology of horror film did not exist yet as a codified genre , although critics used the term "horror" to describe films in reviews prior to Dracula ' s release. "Horror" was a term used to describe a variety of meanings. In 1913, Moving Picture World defined "horrors" as showcasing "striped convicts, murderous Indians, grinning 'black-handers', homicidal drunkards" Some titles that suggest horror such as The Hand of Horror (1914)
25840-457: The head of a new unit created to develop B-movie horror feature films. According to DeWitt Bodeen , the screenwriter of the Lewton's first horror production Cat People (1942), Bodeen watched British and American horror and suspense films that he felt were "typical of what we did not want to do" while director Jacques Tourneur recalled Lewton deciding to not make a "cheap horror movie that
26030-521: The horror film changed dramatically in 1960. Specifically, with Alfred Hitchcock 's film Psycho (1960) based on the novel by Robert Bloch . Newman declared that the film elevated the idea of a multiple-personality serial killer that set the tone future film that was only touched upon in earlier melodramas and film noirs such as Hangover Square (1945) and While the City Sleeps (1956). The release of Psycho led to similar pictures about
26220-500: The horror film have feelings similar to happiness or joy felt with friends, but intensified. Alternatively, audience members with negative feedback regarding the film would typically feel emotions they would normally associate with negative experiences in their life. Only about 10% of the American population enjoy the physiological rush felt immediately after watching horror films. The population that does not enjoy horror films could experience emotional fallout similar to that of PTSD if
26410-485: The horror films of Europe were often more erotic and "just plain stranger" than their British and American counter-parts. European horror films (generally referred to as Euro Horror) draw from distinctly European cultural sources, including surrealism , romanticism , decadent tradition , early 20th century pulp-literature , film serials , and erotic comics . In comparison to the narrative logic in American genre films, these films focused on imagery, excessiveness, and
26600-515: The horror genre" between both fans and critics of the genre. Jancovich found that disagreements existed from audiences who wanted to distinguish themselves. This ranged from fans of different genres who may view a film like Alien (1979) as belonging to science fiction , and horror fan bases dismissing it as being inauthentic to either genre. Further debates exist among fans of the genre with personal definitions of "true" horror films, such as fans who embrace cult figures like Freddy Kruger of
26790-521: The horror genre. The enforcement of the Hays Code in the 1930s and subsequent rating systems influenced the depiction of violence and sexuality in horror films. This regulation often pushed filmmakers to find creative ways to imply horror elements without explicit content, leading to a focus on atmosphere, suggestion, and psychological horror. The relaxation of censorship in the late 20th century allowed for more graphic and explicit horror, contributing to
26980-474: The horror villains of the 1990s. Muir described the 1990s, more than any decade before it blurred genres and transcended existing ones. This led to post-modern horror films such as Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) which examined horror films in an American society, In the Mouth of Madness (1995) which turns reality into a horror film, and Scream (1996) which made several references to horror films of
27170-402: The human body in various forms transformation. Several other sequels took to the revival of 3D film in the 1980s following the surprise hit film Comin' at Ya! (1981). These included Friday the 13th Part III (1982), Parasite (1982), and Jaws 3-D (1983). Replacing Frankenstein's monster and Dracula were new popular characters with more general names like Jason Voorhees ( Friday
27360-419: The increase...I hope that the producers and renters will accept this word of warning, and discourage this type of subject as far as possible." As the United Kingdom was a significant market for Hollywood, American producers listened to Shortt's warning, and the number of Hollywood produced horror films decreased in 1936. A trade paper Variety reported that Universal Studios abandonment of horror films after
27550-490: The irrational. Between the mid-1950s and the mid-1980s, European horror films emerged from countries like Italy, Spain and France, and were shown in the United States predominantly at drive-in theatre and grindhouse theaters. As producers and distributors all over the world were interested in horror films, regardless of their origin, changes started occurring in European low-budget filmmaking that allowed for productions in
27740-420: The label "weird", with Frankenstein (1910) being advertised as "weird and wonderful" and Arturo Ambrosio 's La maschera tragica (1911) a "weird story". Newman described Georges Méliès Le Manoir du diable as the first horror film, with its imagery coming from centuries of books, legend and stage plays, featuring imagery of demons, ghosts, witches and a skeleton and a haunted castle which transforms into
27930-450: The last of the cycle to borrow from The Exorcist being Amityville II: The Possession (1982). In 1963, Hitchcock defined a new genre nature taking revenge on humanity with The Birds (1963) that was expanded into a trend into 1970s. Following the success of Willard (1971), a film about killer rats, 1972 had similar films with Stanley (1972) and an official sequel Ben (1972). Other films followed in suit such as Night of
28120-679: The late 1970s with John Badham 's Dracula (1979) and Werner Herzog 's Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979). Other American production also placed vampires in a contemporary settings with Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) and Blacula (1972). Blacula set off a cycle combining the blaxploitation and horror films with titles like Scream Blacula Scream (1973), Blackenstein (1973), and Ganja and Hess (1973). European production also continued to feature Dracula and Frankenstein such as Paul Morrissey 's Blood for Dracula (1974) and Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) which both delved into
28310-412: The later decades of the 20th century echoed this statement, stating that horror films mirror the anxieties of "their age and their audience" concluding that "if horror isn't relevant to everyday life... it isn't horrifying". Prior to the release of Dracula (1931), historian Gary Don Rhodes explained that the idea of the horror film did not exist yet as a codified genre and although critics have used
28500-494: The latter horror entries from New Zealand are all humorous films like What We Do in the Shadows (2014) with Jonathan King , director of Black Sheep (2006) and The Tattooist (2007) stating "I'd love to see a genuinely scary New Zealand film but I don't know if New Zealand audiences – or the funding bodies – are keen." After the 1931 release of a US-produced Spanish-language version of Dracula by George Melford for
28690-462: The mashup of classic gothic and romantic themes and characters with autochthonous features of the Mexican culture such as the Ranchería setting, the colonial past or the myth of La Llorona (shared with other Hispanic-American nations). Horror has proven to be a dependable genre at the Mexican box office in the 21st-century, with Mexico ranking as having the world's largest relative popularity of
28880-604: The more violent and gruesome scenes from such films as Frankenstein , Island of Lost Souls and The Black Cat . In 1933, the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) introduced an "H" rating for films labeled "Horrific" for "any films likely to frighten or horrify children under the age of 16 years" In 1935, the President of the BBFC Edward Shortt , wrote "although a separate category has been established for these [horrific] films, I am sorry to learn they are on
29070-545: The most popular of these films being The Craft (1996). Cultural conflicts of the 1990s became the backdrop for several horror films of the era. Ranging from issues involving abortion seen in films like The Unborn (1991) and Alien 3 (1992), political correctness ( Body Snatchers (1993)), to affirmative action , welfare and race related issues seen in The People Under the Stairs (1991), Tales from
29260-454: The nineteenth century, the word "horror" began to be used as a generic signation, albeit a rare one. In early cinema, trick films were sometimes described with various terms: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company sometimes called their films "fantastic", Selig Polyscope Company called such films "mythical and mysterious" while Vitagraph Studios both "mysterious" and "magical". During the era of Nickelodeon exhibits, exhibitors would use
29450-434: The notion that these films are doing something entirely new." noting their roots in films like Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Rosemary's Baby (1968). In the early 2010s, there became a wave of horror films that showed what Virginie Sélavy noted described as having psychedelic tendency that was inspired by experimentation of 1970s and its subgenres, specifically folk horror . The trend began with two films: Enter
29640-606: The only screen adaptation of Dracula to be primarily interested in horror, from the character's rat-like features and thin body, the film was, even more so than Caligari , "a template for the horror film." Hollywood would not fully develop horror film stars, but actor and make-up artist Lon Chaney would often portray the monsters in film, such as the ape-man in A Blind Bargain (1922), Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and Erik in The Phantom of
29830-487: The other mainstream hit film De Palma's Carrie (1976), Halloween began the trend of teenagers becoming ever-present lead characters in horror films while Carrie itself was a film Newman described as having a "dream-logic" to its supernatural plot, which was extended to the plot of Argento's films like Suspiria (1977) and Inferno (1980), whose narrative logic was pushed to the point that Newman described their plots as "making no narrative sense". The 1980s marked
30020-547: The past. The release of Scream , scripted by Kevin Williamson led to a brief revival of the slasher films including the Williamson-scripted I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). Other styles of teen-oriented horror that were popular in the 1990s, but with less visibility than the post- Scream films were films about supernatural youth such as Mirror, MIrror (1990) and Shrunken Heads (1994) with
30210-427: The popularity of sites like YouTube in 2006 sparked a taste for amateur media, leading to the production of further films in the found footage horror genre later in the 2000s including the particularly financially successful Paranormal Activity (2007). In their book Gothic film , Richard J. McRoy and Richard J. Hand stated that "Gothic" can be argued as a very loose subgenre of horror, but argued that "Gothic" as
30400-408: The pornographic The Erotic Witch Project (2000). Other films included similar low-budget imitators like The St. Francisville Experiment (2000) with a similar plot to The Blair Witch Project . Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, noted that the popularity of sites like YouTube in 2006 sparked a taste for amateur media, leading to the production of further films in the found footage horror genre later in
30590-554: The process of understanding issues by making use of their optical elements. The use of horror films can help audiences understand international prior historical events occurs, for example, to depict the horrors of the Vietnam War , the Holocaust , the worldwide AIDS epidemic or post-9/11 pessimism. In many occurrences, the manipulation of horror presents cultural definitions that are not accurate, yet set an example to which
30780-767: The psychosis of characters, including What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and the Bloch-scripted Strait-Jacket (1964) by William Castle . The influence of Psycho continued into the 1970s with films ranging from Taste of Fear (1961), Paranoiac (1962), and Pretty Poison (1968). Following Psycho , there was a brief reappearance of what Newman described as "stately, tasteful" horror films such as Jack Clayton 's The Innocents (1961) and Robert Wise 's The Haunting (1963). Outside America, Japan released films to critical acclaim such as Masaki Kobayashi 's Kwaidan (1965) which won international awards including Special Jury Prize at
30970-480: The release of Dracula's Daughter (1936) was that "European countries, especially England are prejudiced against this type product [ sic ]." The latter half of the decade had Karloff making low budget films for Monogram Pictures and Lugosi being on welfare . At the end of the decade, a profitable re-release of Dracula and Frankenstein would encourage Universal to produce Son of Frankenstein (1939) featuring both Lugosi and Karloff, starting off
31160-430: The release of Francis Ford Coppola 's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), a small wave of high-budgeted gothic horror romance films were released in the 1990s. Also described as "eco-horror", the natural horror film is a subgenre "featuring nature running amok in the form of mutated beasts, carnivorous insects, and normally harmless animals or plants turned into cold-blooded killers." In 1963, Alfred Hitchcock defined
31350-647: The release of House of Dracula (1945) and The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), small glimpses of the genre appeared in films such as The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951), The Strange Door (1951), The Black Castle (1952) and House of Wax (1953). Prior to the release of Hammer Film Productions 's gothic films, the last gothic horror films of the 1950s often featured aged stars like Bela Lugosi , Lon Chaney Jr. , and Boris Karloff in films made by low budget indie film directors like Ed Wood or Reginald LeBorg or producers like Howard W. Koch . Hammer originally began developing American-styled science fiction films in
31540-476: The release of films based on Stephen King 's books like The Shining and Carrie led to further film adaptations of his novels such as Cujo (1983), Christine (1983), The Dead Zone (1983) and Firestarter (1984), and Children of the Corn (1984). King would even direct his own film with Maximum Overdrive in 1986. Horror films of the 1990s also failed to develop as many major new directors of
31730-430: The response to the video nasty issue led to horror films becoming "dumber than the previous decade" and although films were not less gory, they were "more lightweight [...] becoming more disposable, less personal works." Newman noted that these directors who created original material in the 1970s such as Carpenter, Cronenberg, and Hooper would all at least briefly "play it safe" with Stephen King adaptations or remakes of
31920-535: The rights to both the play and the novel Dracula . Dracula premiered on February 12, 1931, at the Roxy Theatre in New York again with Lugosi in the title role. Contemporary critical response to Dracula was described by Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas and John Brunas, the authors of the book Universal Horrors , as "uniformly positive, some even laudatory" and as "one of the best received critically of any of
32110-399: The stories involving seemingly supernatural doings and magnetic yet repulsive villains set in castles, but with their supernatural pretenses often explained in the end. The most famous of these gothic novels was Frankenstein (1818) which would be adapted into several film adaptations. American writer Edgar Allan Poe wrote several stories in the 1830s and 1840s that would be translated to
32300-400: The studio expected but something intelligent and in good taste". Newman later described Cat People and the other horror productions by Lewton such as I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and The Seventh Victim (1943) as "polished, doom-haunted, poetic" while film critic Roger Ebert the films Lewton produced in the 1940s were "landmark[s] in American movie history". Several horror films of
32490-549: The sub-genre sits within a trend of holiday-themed slasher films, alongside films such as My Bloody Valentine (1981) and April Fool's Day (1986). Others take a broader view that Christmas horror is not limited to the slasher genre, noting how it evolved from the English Christmas tradition of telling ghost stories. Christmas in literature has historically included elements of "darkness"—fright, misery, death and decay—tracing its literary antecedents as far back as
32680-455: The term "horror" to describe films in reviews prior to Dracula ' s release, the term has not truly developed by this time as the genre's name. The mystery film genre was in vogue and early information on Dracula being promoted as mystery film was common, despite the novel, play and film's story relying on the supernatural. Forms of filmmaking that would become film genres were mostly defined in other media before Thomas Edison devised
32870-633: The time. Early sources of material that would influence horror films included gruesome or fantastical elements in the Epic of Gilgamesh , where heroes fight monsters, and the Bible , where plagues and apocalypses are discussed. Beliefs in ghosts , demons and the supernatural have long existed in folklore of many cultures and religions , that would go on to be integral elements of horror films. Zombies , for example, originated from Haitian folklore . In Asian Horror , Andy Richards suggests that there
33060-726: The tradition of authors like Anne Rice where vampirism becomes a lifestyle choice rather than plague or curse. This was reflected in such films as The Hunger (1983), The Lost Boys (1986), and Near Dark (1986). The 1980s highlighted several films about body transformation and men becoming wolves. Special effects and make-up artists like Rob Bottin and Rick Baker allowed for more detailed and graphic transformation scenes for creatures such as werewolves in films like An American Werewolf in London and The Howling while films like Altered States (1980) and The Thing (1982), Videodrome (1983) and The Fly (1986) would show
33250-400: The true breakthrough of these independent films was George A. Romero 's Night of the Living Dead (1968) which set a new attitudes for the horror film, one that was suspicious of authority figures, broke taboos of society and was satirical between its more suspenseful set pieces. Black Sunday ' s focus on combining eroticism and horror, specifically the eroticism of a tortured body —
33440-424: The turn of the millennium. Bill Gibron of PopMatters declared a mixed definition of the psychological horror film, ranging from definitions of anything that created a sense of disquiet or apprehension to a film where an audience's mind makes up what was not directly displayed visually. Gibron concluded it as a "clouded gray area between all out splatter and a trip through a cinematic dark ride." Religious horror
33630-402: The unknown, reflecting the collective psyche of the time. Rhodes also highlights the significance of technological advancements, such as the advent of sound in cinema, which revolutionized the horror genre by enhancing its ability to evoke fear and suspense through auditory effects. Moreover, the horror genre's flexibility and adaptability are crucial to its enduring popularity. As Rhodes notes,
33820-584: The use of faith to defeat evil. The slasher film is a horror subgenre which involves a killer murdering a group of people (often teenagers), usually by use of bladed tools. In his book on the genre, author Adam Rockoff wrote that these villains represented a "rogue genre" of films that are "tough, problematic, and fiercely individualistic." Following the financial success of Friday the 13th (1980), at least 20 other slasher films appeared in 1980 alone. These films usually revolved around three properties: unique social settings (campgrounds, schools, holidays) and
34010-566: The work with Poe were often adopted in France such as Le Puits dett le Pendule (1909) and America with The Sealed Room (1909) The Raven (1912) and The Pit and the Pendulum (1913). Other famous horror characters made their film debut in the era including Frankenstein's monster with Edison's Frankenstein (1910), Life Without Soul (1915), and the Italian production Il mostro di Frankenstein (1921). Several adaptations of other novels like The Picture of Dorian Gray were adapted around
34200-403: The world, including Denmark ( Dorian Gray's Portaet (1910)), Russia ( Portret Doryana Greya (1915)), Germany ( Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray ) and Hungary ( Az élet királya (1918)). The most adapted horror story was Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , which included early adaptations like William Selig 's Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1908). This was followed by several versions, including
34390-504: Was a box office success, leading to Universal and several other American film studios to develop and popularise horror films well into the 1940s . By the 1950s , horror would often be made with science fiction themes, and towards the end of the decade horror was a more common genre of international productions. The 1960s saw further developments, with material based on contemporary works instead of classical literature. The release of films like Psycho , Black Sunday and Night of
34580-418: Was a melodrama about a thief who steals from his own sister. During the silent era, the term horror was used to describe everything from "battle scenes" in war films to tales of drug addiction. Rhodes concluded that the term "horror film" or "horror movie" was not used in early cinema. The mystery film genre was in vogue and early information on Dracula being promoted as a mystery film was common, despite
34770-548: Was a pivotal release for Universal's horror output, introducing actor Lon Chaney Jr. Chaney Jr. had received attention for his performance as Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men (1939). Universal saw potential in making Chaney a new star to replace Karloff as he had not distinguished himself in either A or B pictures. Chaney Jr. would become a horror star for the decade showing in the films in The Wolf Man series, portraying
34960-445: Was found that the audience tends to experience the excitation transfer process (ETP) which causes a physiological arousal in audience members. The ETP refers to the feelings experienced immediately after an emotion-arousing experience, such as watching a horror film. In this case, audience members' heart rate, blood pressure and respiration all increased while watching films with violence. Audience members with positive feedback regarding
35150-457: Was part of the New Hollywood movement of the period with "nuanced performances" and non-star actors. Several films with the religious motifs of The Exorcist followed in the seventies in America with films like Abby (1974) and The Omen (1976) as well as Italy with films like A Black Ribbon for Deborah (1974). In 1988, Newman later described the cycle as being "burned out instantly" with films mostly borrowing from Rosemary's Baby and
35340-454: Was retained in popular film memory of these films were the characters who resembled bogeymen from children's fairy tales and folk legends. These included characters like the mad Dr. Caligari, Jack the Ripper from Waxworks (1924) and Nosferatu as well as actors like Conrad Veidt , Emil Jannings and Peter Lorre . Director F.W. Murnau , made an adaptation of Dracula with Nosferatu (1922). Newman wrote that this adaptation "stands as
35530-707: Was scheduled for January 29 through February 4, 2010. The eight films shown during the course of the festival were: Horrorfest IV DVDs were released on March 23, 2010 and went out to retailers March 12, 2010. After Dark Films' 8 Films to Die For debuted on October 16, 2015. The eight films showing during this festival were: Horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes . Broad elements include monsters , apocalyptic events , and religious or folk beliefs. Horror films have existed for more than
35720-527: Was scheduled for January 9 through January 15, 2009. The eight films shown during the course of the festival were: After Dark Films produced and distributed both Slaughter and Perkins' 14 , making these the first films that the company has produced and then released as part of the 8 Films to Die For. The auditions for Miss Horrorfest 2008 were open from September 15 to October 17. There were online auditions via YouTube, as well as on-site auditions on October 6, 2008 in Sherman Oaks California. On October 31,
35910-555: Was scheduled for November 17 through November 21, 2006. The films shown during the course of the festival were: On Thursday, November 16, 2006, Dark Delicacies, a horror-themed bookstore in Burbank, CA hosted a signing event with about 30 filmmakers and talents from the movies. A contest for the 'official spokeswoman' of the film series and for After Dark Films, was announced September 2006 on YouTube . Participants auditioned both online and in person at Los Angeles and New York locations, and were later flown to those cities to appear at
36100-424: Was the first Australian horror production made for theatrical release. 1970s Australian art cinema was funded by state film corporations, who considered them more culturally acceptable than local exploitation films ( Ozploitation ), which was part of the Australian phenomenon called the cultural cringe . The greater success of genre films like Mad Max (1979), The Last Wave (1977) and Patrick (1978) led to
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