2. 1890s-1920s
• The first uses of supernatural events were in
shorts created by Georges Méliès in the late
1890s. The most well known film is ‘Le Manoir du
diable’ (1896)
• Japan made two horror films in 1898, ‘Bake Jizo’
and ’Shinin no Sosei’.
• In the early 20th century Quasimodo the
hunchback of Notre-Dame was the first monster
to appear in a horror film.
• ‘Nosferatu’ the first vampire movie was made in
1922.
3. 1930s-1940s
• Universal Pictures began a successful line of
Horror films starting with Tom Browning’s
‘Dracula’ (1931) starring Bela Lugosi.
• James Whale then made ‘Frankenstein’ in the
same year and continued making a series of
‘Frankenstein films.
• In 1932 Tom Browning made the controversial
film ‘Freaks’ about a group of circus freaks.
• The genre progressed and actors were starting to
make careers only starring in Horrors films.
4. 1950s-1960s
• Technology advanced and the genre started to split
into two sub-genres, Armageddon films and Demonic
films. Lots of films featuring humanity battling ‘outside’
threats like aliens, mutations and bugs were made.
• During the late 1950s Great Britain became a main
producer of horror films. Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’
(1960) was the first ‘slasher’ film. ‘The Birds’ (1963)
was also made by Alfred Hitchcock and shows the
horror of nature going mad.
• ‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968) Directed and
produced by George A. Romero was released and
brought horror into the real life.
5. 1970s-1980s
• More films with the Occult theme were
released, starting with The Exorcist (1973) and
followed by a series of films involving the Devil.
• ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ and ‘The Hills
Have Eyes’ were released.
• John Carpenter created ‘Halloween’ in 1978 and
Wes Craven directed ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’
in 1980. They were followed by more violent
‘slasher’ films over the following decades.
• The 1980s saw a wave of gory films like Sam
Raimi’s ‘Evil Dead’.
6. 1990s
• Due to number of ‘slasher’ films being released in
the 1980s the Horror genre was in decline.
• To reconnect with the audience the horror genre
became parodic and self- mocking.
• Wes Craven’s ‘Scream’ films started in the 90s
and made fun of the typical conventions of
‘slasher’ films.
• Along with the films ‘I Know What You Did Last
Summer’ and ‘Urban Legend’, the ‘Scream’ films
made the ‘slasher’ genre popular again.
7. • The early 2000s were quiet for the genre and
mainly consisted of remakes of classic horror
films.
• Zombie films made a return, with films like
‘Resident Evil’ and ‘28 Days Later’ playing a big
part in the return.
• Torture films like ‘Saw’ have also become very
popular because of the massive amount of
gore involved.
8. I have researched the history of the Horror
genre to learn how it evolved and what the
conventions of it were in each period of it’s
change. This will help me when I plan my film
opening as I will know what to conventions to
use as it is a modern horror film.
