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129-462: Living Dead , also informally known as Of The Dead is a blanket term for the loosely connected horror franchise that originated from the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead . The film, written by George A. Romero and John A. Russo , primarily focuses on a group of people gathering at a farmhouse to survive from an onslaught of zombies in rural Pennsylvania. It is known to have inspired

258-625: A "real-life" version of the 1968 film. British director James Plumb made this remake set in Wales. This film is a prequel to Night of the Living Dead 3D and is not the same as Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated (2009) [1] , which is an animated film using various techniques to retell the story of the original film. Shattered Images Films and Cullen Park Productions released a remake with new twists and characters, written and directed by Chad Zuver. 3D animated film presenting

387-801: 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

516-734: 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

645-427: A chance for a more significant reward later. In O'Bannon's universe, if bodies are still in good condition when they are reanimated, then the resulting zombies really are capable of the same things as normal living humans. Basically, they are like normal humans but with an uncontrollable need to eat brains, which ease the great and constant pain felt from their own decomposition. Depending on their own intelligence, from

774-443: 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

903-423: 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

1032-434: 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

1161-484: A familiar artifact such as a telephone or car. With stimulus, it is possible for some specimens to begin to remember more of the common activities they performed while alive and achieve a basic functioning intelligence. In Day of the Dead, the zombie nicknamed Bub was "educated" into docility by Dr. Logan, learned (or remembered) how to operate a handgun and even developed a childlike affection for its instructor. In Land of

1290-428: 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

1419-506: 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

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1548-402: A living human. There are only two known ways to permanently kill a zombie. One is completely burning the body (as seen in the cremation scene from The Return of the Living Dead ), though burning the body releases Trioxin-laced smoke into the air, which can combine with clouds to create Trioxin-laced rain. Another way is electrocuting the zombie until they cease to move or squirm (see Return of

1677-533: A loaded pistol. In Land of the Dead , the undead retained some memory of their past lives, allowing them to use tools they remember operating, and even display emotion, giving some of Bub's intelligence to other zombies. The zombies in the Return of the Living Dead series retain their full memories as of their time of death, whether or not they were reanimated immediately or after long interment. Romero's zombies initially lack full cognitive function and act only on

1806-422: 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

1935-410: 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

2064-427: A movie that was based on real events. Russo and producer Tom Fox planned to bring Return of the Living Dead to the screen offering O'Bannon the director's seat, he accepted on the condition he could rewrite the film radically so as to differentiate it from Romero's films. O'Bannon discarded Russo's script in its entirety and rewrote it, retaining only the title and changing the "rules" significantly. His alterations to

2193-478: A nearby mall where they are confronted by three living guards – C.J., Bart and Terry – who make them surrender their weapons in exchange for refuge. The group secures the mall, then heads to the roof where they see another survivor, Andy, who is stranded alone in his gun store, across the zombie-infested parking lot. The next day more survivors arrive at the mall and are let in. After some of the survivors start dying from zombie attacks and any hope of being rescued gone,

2322-520: 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),

2451-475: 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

2580-488: A normal living human (like a cop signaling cars to stop on the side) or calling friends or other people and asking them for help, basically anything to attract and trap new living fresh brains when they get close enough. It is also worth noting that, as seen in Return of the Living Dead Part 2 , these zombies will act communally; for example, waiting to open a gate for all the other zombies rather than simply taking

2709-483: 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

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2838-488: A praiseworthy effort to say "Hello Aunt Alicia," but the result is largely incomprehensible. Big Daddy in Land of the Dead was able to crudely laugh after finding a jackhammer. In the Return of the Living Dead series, a zombie can speak normally (even if its lungs, trachea, and facial muscles are largely missing) but it tends to only be one word ("brains!") or any real conversation will tend to lean towards their attraction to

2967-522: 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

3096-513: A sequel, with a working title-turned-official title, Day of the Dead: Epidemic , which is set to be the third installment of the series. Directed by Jeff Broadstreet . The film is a remake/reimagining of the original film made in a 3D format. The original's status as public domain made it possible to produce this film without the involvement of either Romero or Russo. Relates the story of a group of horror film fans who become involved in

3225-462: A single drive: the need to seek and consume living flesh. Night of the Living Dead depicted zombies eating animals as well as humans. The zombies have no true physiological need for flesh, nor can their expired digestive organs derive sustenance from it at all. This was discovered by Dr. Logan (nicknamed "Frankenstein") during his many experiments on "living" zombie specimens and reported to Sarah in Day of

3354-490: A subplot, alternate opening, and new score. Russo followed this with another Living Dead film, Children of the Living Dead . While the two kinds are similar in appearance, there are certain distinguishing details: Romero's original Night of the Living Dead explains that an unknown phenomenon causes re-animation of the brain. Instead of being spread from person to person, the phenomenon presents itself in any human that has recently died from any cause (except those that destroy

3483-565: 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. Steve Miner Miner was born in Chicago , Illinois . He began work in

3612-814: 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

3741-547: A world that has gotten worse since the last time we saw it, the number of zombies ever increasing and the fate of the living remnant always in the balance. Romero tried to make each movie unique from the previous, but this led to some of his more serious works, like Day of the Dead , receiving a worse reception compared to his spoof-like film Dawn of the Dead . He explained this in an interview with Telegraph film reviewer Tim Robey saying, "You know, I've made six zombie films, I've tried consciously to make each one different from

3870-523: 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

3999-535: A zombie serial killer and rapist named Abbott Hayes. Directed by Ana Clavell and James Dudelson . While billed as a sequel to Day of the Dead , as Taurus Entertainment Company holds the original's copyright, it has no actual ties to the original Day of the Dead or the series (although the prologue is set in Pittsburgh 1968). Taurus Entertainment Company eventually announced plans in August 2009 to produce

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4128-497: 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

4257-521: 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

4386-499: 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

4515-483: 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

4644-463: 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

4773-428: 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

4902-403: 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

5031-562: 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

5160-466: 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

5289-608: 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

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5418-500: 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

5547-458: The Living Dead moniker. The first was Return of the Living Dead , which originated as a novel written in 1978 by John A. Russo . It was later adapted to a film by Dan O'Bannon , which spawned its own series of movies, with a total of four sequels. This could be seen more as a spinoff of Night of the Living Dead rather than sequels, as the first movie treats Night of the Living Dead as

5676-472: The Return of the Living Dead series is that, in the fourth film, the zombies do not seem to be capable of running, and tend to move as slow as the zombies in the Romero series. There are also some other films that have been released as sequels to various films in Romero's Dead series, most likely to ride on the name recognition that Romero's films enjoy. They have been produced due to the various mix-ups with

5805-503: 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

5934-493: The film industry as a recurring collaborator of producer-director Sean S. Cunningham , filling in for various behind the scenes roles on films such as The Last House on the Left and Friday the 13th . His directorial debut was the latter film's first sequel , and he directed the third entry less than a year later. In 1983, Miner acquired the rights from Toho to develop an American Godzilla film titled Godzilla: King of

6063-511: 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

6192-462: 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

6321-512: The "life force" driving the body. Body parts severed from an undead brain will become inanimate. Simply removing the head does not kill the zombie; the head would remain alive, as shown in Day of the Dead . In contrast, a typical O'Bannon zombie simply cannot be deactivated short of complete destruction. Any severed body parts will still remain animate, resulting in two or more moving parts. Therefore, decapitation produces both an animate head and an animate body wandering around still trying to catch

6450-413: 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

6579-527: 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

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6708-626: 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

6837-484: 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

6966-479: 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

7095-610: 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

7224-514: The Dead (1978) are the only running zombies in the series. O'Bannon's Trioxin-contaminated zombies can run if not physically injured and display quite normal mobility if not too decomposed. They have the added advantage of remaining mobile even if significant body mass is lost. Several times, zombies who have lost their legs remain agile and quick through the use of their arms. In Romero's series, zombies never get much beyond basic grunts and groans or even screams. The aforementioned zombie Bub makes

7353-413: The Dead until Land of the Dead , each film is laden with social commentary on topics ranging from racism to consumerism. The films are not produced as direct follow-ups from one another, and the only continuation is the epidemic of the living dead. This situation advances with each film, but with different characters, and the time moves ahead to the time when they were filmed, making the world's progression

7482-430: The Dead , the zombies are in the mall since it was "an important place in their lives". They also kept the instinct of eating and biting. In Day of the Dead , the zombie dubbed 'Bub' is experimented on and trained by the scientist Logan and recalls how to use a razor, a telephone, and a book. When Capt. Rhodes walks in the room, Bub salutes him, fires an unloaded pistol at him, and later in the movie shoots Capt. Rhodes with

7611-452: The Dead . It has a cult status in some regions and a sequel is in development. 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

7740-526: The Dead . The animated dead retain vague impulses derived from former living behavior. For instance, zombies often return to specific locations they frequented when alive (examples from the original Dawn of the Dead , hordes of zombies are compelled to congregate in a shopping mall, and one zombie knows where to find the secret hideout containing its still-living former companions). Lacking immediate victims to hunt, zombies will often fumble through crude motions reminiscent of life activities, often when prompted by

7869-553: The Dead, the zombie known as Big Daddy developed sophisticated cognitive function on his own, felt affection and empathy for his fellow zombies (even putting some of them out of their misery when they were injured), could teach other zombies how to use objects (including weapons) and devised crude strategies for bypassing the defenses of the living humans who had destroyed many of his fellows. The more intelligent zombies like Bub and Big Daddy retain their hunger for living human flesh, but can put off immediate gratification if doing so offers

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7998-563: 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

8127-441: 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

8256-432: The Living Dead even depicted a near-skeleton coming out of its grave). If a zombie corpse is stored for too long in a sealed container, the decomposition process will generate noxious gases containing trace amounts of Trioxin, so the drum can only be safely opened in a sealed lab environment. The requirement of Trioxin exposure makes containment to a specific area or group of people somewhat easier than Romero's plague (though

8385-494: The Living Dead Part II ) . In the third film, scientists invented an endothermic chemical dart that freezes the brain, incapacitating the zombie, but its effective duration is wildly unpredictable. This zombie endurance is nevertheless contradicted in both the fourth and fifth films in the series, where the zombies are easily destroyed by attack, including attacks that do not damage the brain. Another discontinuity in

8514-547: 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

8643-539: The Monsters in 3D , with Miner attached as the director. Miner hired Fred Dekker to write the script and William Stout for storyboards and concept art. Miner generated some interest in Hollywood but was unable to secure financing and let the rights revert to Toho. Miner went on to direct other horror films such as Warlock , Halloween H20: 20 Years Later , and Lake Placid . Miner first crossed over into

8772-580: 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)

8901-603: 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

9030-427: 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

9159-572: 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

9288-560: 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

9417-455: The brains for themselves. Romero's zombies are slow and shambling. In interviews, George Romero has attributed this quality to rigor mortis , and to the poor condition of their ankles. A sheriff in Night of the Living Dead sagely suggests that their limited mobility is due to the fact that "they're dead, they're...all messed up." In Diary of the Dead (2007, post Dawn of the Dead remake )

9546-429: The canon include the zombies' fixation on brains alone (whereas Romero/Russo zombies will devour any part of a living human), the ability to move rapidly and communicate (despite physical defects that would render such activity impossible), and the ability of 2–4–5 Trioxin to resurrect any deceased life form, regardless of how long the decedent has been interred. Although Russo and O'Bannon were only directly involved with

9675-524: 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

9804-502: 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

9933-401: The comedy genre with his 1985 cult horror-comedy House , and has since gone on to direct other films in the genre including Soul Man and Big Bully . Miner is the only director to have crossed over and directed more than one of the horror "Big 3" ( Halloween / Michael Myers , Friday the 13th / Jason Voorhees and Nightmare on Elm Street / Freddy Krueger ). Miner has since become

10062-399: The copyright and ownership of the movies, Romero himself owns only Dawn of the Dead from his first four films. Romero is often positive towards derivations of his work, stating that any new film in the horror genre is a step forward, whether completely original or a 'copycat'. Directed by Lucio Fulci . Also known as Zombie in the U.S. and as Zombie Flesh Eaters in the U.K. The film that

10191-457: The director of the student horror film tells his living dead actor (a mummy, in this case) not to move quickly because "if you run that fast your ankles are going to snap off." When that character later becomes an actual zombie and shambles after a victim the director says "See? I told you dead things move slow!" The cemetery zombie in Night of the Living Dead and the two zombie children in Dawn of

10320-563: 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

10449-410: 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

10578-433: 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

10707-546: The events of the original film in a more modern setting In December 2017, a second reimagining of Day of the Dead was released, titled Day of the Dead: Bloodline . Rising Pulse Productions planned an updated take on the classic film that brings to light present issues that impact modern society such as religious bigotry, homophobia, and the influence of social media. There have also been ultra-low budget parodies such as: Directed by Kevin S. O'Brien . A parody of

10836-536: 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

10965-427: The extreme tenacity of the zombies may mitigate this advantage). Romero's zombies have very limited to no memory of their previous life. But they all remember how to walk, and how to use their hands for several tasks (such as striking or holding something or someone). They recognize many objects such as cars, houses and other structures, and they recognize the doors in order to enter them. As characters state in Dawn of

11094-468: The film in the series, Trioxin zombies may or may not be able to contaminate living humans with Trioxin via bite. Very small amounts of Trioxin are sufficient to have full effect, and bodies need not be fresh to be re-animated. Both factors were illustrated in the first two films, wherein Trioxin seeped through several feet of earth to reach graves several decades old and animate the occupants ( The Return of

11223-529: The film's release that they sought George A. Romero's blessing and acknowledgement or the film would not have been released. Simon Pegg comments that "George in fact loved it so much, we [Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright] were asked to be in the film Land of the Dead as leading characters, but we said no, no way, definitely got to be zombies!" Shaun of the Dead features numerous references to not only Romero films, but several other horror/science fiction movies too. Directed by Andrew Currie . The film takes place after

11352-589: 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

11481-480: The first film in the series, the rest of the films, to varying degrees, stick to their outline and "rules" established in the first film. Dan O'Bannon's Return of the Living Dead series includes: Then, in 1998, Russo went back to the original Night of the Living Dead to reshoot extra sequences into the film. This version, which was officially named Night of the Living Dead: 30th Anniversary Edition , added

11610-613: 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

11739-521: 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

11868-431: 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

11997-597: 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

12126-579: 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)

12255-579: The group decides to fight their way to the Milwaukee marina and travel on Steve's yacht to an island on Lake Michigan. Directed by Steve Miner , the story is located in Leadville, Colorado , where the couple of Trevor and Nina find themselves in a town suddenly sealed off by military forces. People begin acting strangely and the dead come back to life, with the couple and the soldiers trying to escape. There are currently two distinct franchises utilizing

12384-500: 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

12513-485: 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

12642-515: 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

12771-521: 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

12900-553: 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

13029-494: 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

13158-469: The listener's brain, how good it must taste and the speaker's overwhelming desire to consume it. There is a glaring exception to this in Return of the Living Dead 3 , involving a very fresh corpse that had not even been buried yet. The only way a Romero zombie can die is if its brain is destroyed. Zombies can also be burned as shown in Night of the Living Dead . A zombie's mobility may be hampered by structural damage, but such damage will do nothing to reduce

13287-455: The main characters, is a main character in Survival of the Dead as well. George A. Romero 's Dead series includes: Remakes have been made for three of the original films with the involvement of some of the original cast and crew members: Directed by Tom Savini , former special make-up effects artist, who worked on Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead while George A. Romero rewrote

13416-462: 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

13545-507: The modern interpretation of zombies as reanimated human corpses that feast on the flesh and/or brains of the living. Due to a copyright error during its release, Night of the Living Dead ' s status in the public domain has resulted in numerous works claiming to expand upon or spin off from the plot points and characters of the film, sometimes without the involvement of the original cast and crew members. They consist of various films, literature, and other forms of media that explore

13674-924: The movie is: Night of the Day of the Dawn of the Son of the Bride of the Return of the Revenge of the Terror of the Attack of the Evil, Mutant, Alien, Flesh Eating, Hellbound, Zombified Living Dead Part 2 . Directed by Lloyd Kaufman . After a fictional fried chicken franchise opens a restaurant on the location of an Indian burial ground, the chicken corpses come to life, wreaking havoc on the site. Directed by J.F. Kinyon . A short-film parody of

13803-432: The next. But that's not what people want these days. They want the same thing! I don't know if that's part of this television mentality, where people tune in every week to see the same thing." Romero does not consider any of his Dead films sequels since none of the major characters or story continue from one film to the next. The one exception is that the military officer from Diary of the Dead ( Alan van Sprang ), who robs

13932-401: The only interlocking aspect of the series. The fifth film does not continue the depiction of the progress of the world; acting as a reboot, it is nonetheless contemporary just as the sequels are. The films deal with how different people react to the same phenomenon ranging from citizens to police to army officials and back again. There are no real happy endings to the films, as each takes place in

14061-559: The original George Romero film, a zombie attacks a couple in an old graveyard to impress his zombie girlfriend. There have also been films that pay homage to the genre: Directed by Edgar Wright . The film is about an unmotivated slacker who must cope with a zombie uprising, in London, while trying to sort his life out. Simon Pegg notes in the interview on the DVD Release of Shaun of the Dead and in an interview on BBC Radio 1 prior to

14190-425: The original film, where a satellite crashes to Earth bringing radiation that promptly animates – as opposed to re -animating – all manner of homicidal bread, from buns to biscuits to Communion wafers . Night of the Day of the Dawn is the shortened title of a parody created by James Riffel , which is the classic Night of the Living Dead film with redubbed comedic dialogue and some new clips. The complete title of

14319-432: The outbreak and evolution of a zombie apocalypse and society's reaction to it. The two most notable are Romero's Dead series, consisting of five additional films, and the Return of the Living Dead series, which was loosely based on Russo's novel of the same name. As of its latest installment, Survival of the Dead , Romero's Dead series includes six films all written and directed by Romero himself. Labeled Trilogy of

14448-536: The physical structure of the brain). The first animated corpses appear in many locations simultaneously, quickly reaching pandemic levels. Characters speculate about the cause of the phenomenon; suggestions at various times include a spaceborne virus, divine punishment, radiation from a satellite returning from Venus , or that "there's no more room in Hell". While bites from these reanimated creatures are uniformly lethal, by mechanics unknown, death by other means would have

14577-427: 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

14706-453: The previous life, they can actually resist their need for eating brains to the benefit of survival and to elaborate some "brain-hunting" tactics. For instance, a rotten, half-melted zombie dubbed "Tarman" desperately tries to pull down a closet door with a winch in order to catch one of the protagonists: Tina, his intended victim. He fails to get Tina, but manages to eat one of her friends who comes to her rescue. This also goes as far as posing as

14835-554: 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

14964-456: The rare instance of a living person biting the undead, that person will become infected. Many characters in films (including George Romero himself) have referred to the bitten area as the "infected area" or an "infection". The state of zombification seen in O'Bannon's Return of the Living Dead series is induced by the chemical compound Trioxin, an extremely toxic substance found in a gaseous state at standard temperature and pressure. Depending on

15093-430: 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

15222-463: The same result, so a bite is not necessary. It is suggested in Day of the Dead that the immediate amputation of bitten limbs may prevent victims from dying, but while the treatment is attempted, its success is never conclusively demonstrated. In George Romero's original Day of the Dead idea, a person was to have his bitten arm amputated, but still return as a zombie. Survival of the Dead shows that, in

15351-589: The screenplay. The plot of the film follows closely the 1968 original, where Barbara, Ben, the Cooper family and Tom Landry and his girlfriend Judy Rose Larson are trapped in a rural farmhouse in Pennsylvania trying to survive the night while the house is being attacked by mysteriously reanimated ghouls, otherwise known as zombies. Directed by Zack Snyder . A group of strangers: Ana, Police Sergeant Kenneth Hall, Michael, Andre and his pregnant wife, Luda, break into

15480-549: 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

15609-424: 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

15738-402: 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,

15867-584: 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

15996-501: The zombie apocalypse, in a small, safe, idyllic 1950s-style town. In this film zombies are kept as slaves or pets, until something inevitably goes wrong. Directed by Gregg Bishop . The film is about a high school prom in Georgia which is unexpectedly interrupted when a graveyard, next to a power plant, becomes the sudden source of reanimated cadavers. As zombies march on the high school, a motley group of dateless teenage outcasts take on

16125-524: The zombies and save the day. Directed by Milan Konjević and Milan Todorović . Also known as Apocalypse of the Dead in the U.K. and the U.S., Zone of the Dead is a Serbian zombie horror film starring Ken Foree from the original Dawn of the Dead and its remake . The movie is in English and it has been released by Epic Pictures Releasing in America on September 1, 2012 under the title Apocalypse of

16254-418: 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

16383-513: Was already in production when Dawn of the Dead was released, but was renamed to be a sequel upon its release ( Dawn of the Dead was titled Zombi in Italy). This movie has a history of official and unofficial sequels itself (see Zombi (film series) ). Directed by Tor Ramsey, the film is loosely connected to the original Night of the Living Dead , with the first film's events being referenced to. The film deals with several zombie outbreaks led by

16512-445: 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

16641-483: 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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