1. By: Miriana Younan

2.  The first horror ever released
was Nosferatu, it was released
in 1922.
 The earliest horrors were eerie,
dark and featured scenes of
mutilation. They reflected the
fact that audiences were
terrified by mystical monsters
found in literature. Costume,
setting and darkness were used
to create a scary effect.

3.  The style of the horrors in the 30’s were gothic and
were set in far off lands.
 They were inspired by 19th century novels and they
featured monsters.
 The first time they used sound was in the 30’s.
 One of the first horror movies to feature talking horror
was Dracula (1931).
 Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi were the horror stars of
this decade.

4.  Dracula starred Lugosi, as
a very traditional Dracula
with cape, fangs, blood-
sucking, etc. The style of
film was very gothic for it
featured howling wolves,
mists, eerie castles.

5.  The Bride of
Frankenstein (1935) was
seen as one of the
greatest horrors ever
and the first to feature a
female monster.

6.  At this time horror films were banned in Britain
because of the WWII.
 The Americas took over the horror films and they
played it safe, with many films being recreated,
making them into the style of the horrors made in the
1930’s.
 The horrors featured characters that turned into
animals or were half man/half beast did become
popular, e.g. ‘The Wolf Man’.

7.  Cat People (1942) this film
featured a female character to
be feared. Though beautiful,
the monster Irena prowled
the streets in art form,
terrorising and killing. The
film was one of the first to use
film methods popular today.

8.  After WWII, 40 million lives lost, on-screen horrors of
the past decades were no longer scary in comparison to
real life horror.
 However, audiences did fear the effects of radiation,
nuclear war, technological change and scientific
experimentation.
 Teenagers were the main audience for the horror films.

9.  The Fly (1958) this film is
typical of the era with
mutated creatures affected by
radiation. Audiences feared
what effects scientific
experiments and radiation
could have on the world.

10.  The Blob (1958) a giant
amoeba like creature
terrorised a town in this
movie. Again this is a sing
that audiences feared the
effects of nuclear
explosions and radiation
on the universe.

11.  In the 60’s it was the period of massive
social changes, drugs, sex, new fashions
and freedom.
 Monsters of the 60’s were in human
form. Audience saw the monstrous
potential of man the murky darkness of
human mind.

12.  Psycho (1960) the Hitchcock
classic featured a monster that in
fact a man. Hitchcock chose the
name Norman because it sounds
like ‘normal’. Norman Bates
looked normal but under the
surface he was a psycho.

13.  Roger Corman made ‘B’ movies in
the 60’s with sole intention of
making profit. With lots of gore and
buxom women, they were the
opposite of the intelligent horrors
being made by the like of
Hitchcock.

14.  1970s - depression, an end to the optimism of the
1960s.
 Horrors grew in quality, while tackling society’s
fears.
 The introduction of ‘the Pill’ and the birth defects
caused by Thalidomide led to a fear of children
and childbirth.
 The idyllic family of the 1950s crumbled away. The
idea that the enemy could be found in your own
family was reflected in 70s horror.
 In the 70’s, the slasher and the Final Girl were
born.

15.  The Shining featured a
murderous, violent father who
controlled by a supernatural
presence, tried to kill his wife
and son.

16.  Exorcist featured a child
possessed by evil,
reflecting the fear society
had of disturbed
children in the 1970’s.

17.  There was technological changes, there was increased
use of SFX.
 Materialistic society, with the belief that the bigger
and showier the better. Horrors of the 80’s were al
about show lots of colour and SFX used more and the
killers were in full view. Horror films were also more
gruesome and brighter lighting.
 Monsters remained human, society still eared the evil
of fellow men.
 VCRs were made so horrors could be watched at home.

18.  A Nightmare on Elmstreet
(1984) typically 1980’s with
excessive gore and brightly
lit sets. The first victim,
Tina is slashed to pieces for
having sex. This is a
convention of horror.

19.  The audience were becoming sick of guts
and gore in horror movies and wanted to
watch something more intelligent. Which
introduced ...
 Silence of the Lambs a disturbing horror
featuring serial killer and cannibal Hannibal
Lecter.
 But audiences were also too clued up on
horror conventions and found them too
predictable.

20.  Scream (1996) Wes Craven
acknowledged how genre-
savvy audience wee by
having character who were
aware of and mocked horror
conventions. They still died
though.

21.  The tragedy of 9/11 changed our view on what is
scary. Audiences feared the evil that lurks in our
world, especially terrorists.
 Modern horrors often feature a game, race against
time or a killing force that cannot be seen.
 Remakes and spoofs have become popular.
 Audiences are enjoying different kinds of horror
more than ever; psychological, supernatural,
zombie...

22.  Horror films shot in a ‘found footage’ style have
become popular, e.g.‘Paranormal Activity’ and
‘Grave Encounters’. This makes the material on
screen seem more ‘real’ for audiences and
therefore more scary.
 Possession and Exorcism films, such as ‘The Devil
Inside’ and ‘The Last Exorcism’ have enjoyed a
surge in popularity. These can use a ‘found footage’
style also.
 Horror films have become more transportable and
accessible for audiences thanks to new and e-
media.

23.  One missed call (2008) featured
a murderous force that can’t be
seen. It also featured mobile
phones as the channel through
which evil communicates this
reflects on the rise of
technology in our world.

24.  The ‘Saw’ franchise where
killing became a murderous
twisted game the victims forced
to take part in the game in
order to survive.

25.  Grave Encounters shot in a
found footage style to create a
new level of realism and fear
for audiences.

26.  Scary possession and
exorcism films are more
popular now than ever,
particularly with younger
audiences and have
proven to be box office
hit.

27.  Horrors are designed to
scare. Any horror that
fails to do so would be
unlikely to succeed.
 The horror genre
responds to and adapts
according to what society
finds frightening. It is a
genre that shifts and
changes as our fears do
the same.

28.  The fears that will be address in my own horror
movie, is the fear of religion and how evil can take
control over good. Another fear presented in my
horror movie, is the innocence's being evil, the
child being sinister and trying to kill and terrorise
his family. The audience fear that the vulnerable
can be taken control off and that this could
happen to the audience themselves.