History of the Types of Sub-Genre
(All reference on Wikipedia)
There are many types of sub-genres in horror. The first horror films, such as French film ''Le Manoir du Diable" (The House of the Devil, 1896) and Thomas Edison produced "The Execution of Mary Stuart" (1895) were both silent films, lasting three minutes and eighteen seconds respectively. Many horrors in the 1920's have been very influential, not only in horror but expanding into other genres. Films such as Paul Wengener's "The Golem" (1920) and Robert Weine's "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (also 1920) were considered the most important. The majority of horrors from the 1890's to the 1920's were silent, as producing films was a vey basic thing back then, because of the lack of technology we take for granted today.
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In the early 1930's Horror expanded into Gothic horror, most famously in James Whale's "Frankenstein" (1931), and Dracula (1931) is also another famous example of gothic horror. Gothic horror incorporates horror with romance and, in the case of "Frankenstein", science-fiction. Both films are two of the most iconic horror films as they both have memorable characters and have influenced films to have monsters as the main feature of the film. Whale would use this stance in his 1933 film "The Invisible Man", which has also been acknowledged as one of the best films ever made. In 1932, controversial film "Freaks", directed by Tod Browning, is a pre-code film about deformed circus sideshows and a woman, Cleopatra who marries one of them. The film came under fire for the many scenes; Cleopatra is attacked by the freaks and eventually is turned into a grotesque human duck as the flesh of her hands are melted and deformed to look like duck feet and her lower body has been permanently tarred and feathered, one of the freaks, Hercules being castrated and for the original screening actually making a woman to suffer a miscarriage. However "Freaks" is a classic example of pre-code horror, as it includes sexual desire and romance and social problems, as the 'freaks' are portrayed as honourable and trusting people whereas the two humans in the circus, are the 'villains' as they conspire to murder for a large inheritance.
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Other than goth and pre-code, the 1940's was the beginning point of the birth of other sub-genres of horror such as "I Walked With a Zombie" (1943). This marked the expansion into zombie films and is widely considered the first zombie film to be produced.
In the 1950's to the 1960's, with advances in technology, the tone of horror films shifted from the Gothic towards contemporary concerns. Two sub-genres began to emerge: the horror-of-armageddon film and the horror-of-the-demonic film. A stream of (usually low-budget) productions featured humanity overcoming threats from "outside": alien invasions and deadly mutations to people, plants, and insects. In the case of some horror films from Japan, such as Godzilla (1954) and its sequels, mutation from the effects of nuclear radiation were featured.
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At the start of the 50’s, Hollywood directors and producers sometimes found an opportunity for audience exploitation, experimenting with 3-D and "Percepto" (producer William Castle's pseudo-electric-shock technique used for “The Tingler”, 1959). Some horror films during this period, such as “The Thing from Another World” (1951) and Don Siegel's “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1956). Filmmakers continued to merge elements of science fiction and horror over the following decades. Considered a classic of the era was “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957). While more of a science-fiction story, the film conveyed the fears of living in the Atomic Age and the terror of social alienation.
During the later 1950s, Great Britain emerged as a producer of horror films, with The Hammer Company focused on the genre for the first time, enjoying huge international success from films involving classic horror characters which were shown in colour for the first time. Often starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, and drawing on Universal's precedent, these films include “The Curse of Frankenstein” (1957), and “Dracula” (1958), both followed by many sequels, with director Terence Fisher being responsible for many of the best films.
British companies continued to a boom in horror film production during the 1960s and 1970s, including Tigon-British and Amicus, the latter best known for their anthology films such as “Dr. Terror's House of Horrors” (1965). British director Michael Powell's “Peeping Tom” (1960) was the considered to be the genre’s first slasher. It concerns a serial killer who combines his profession as a photographer with the moments before murdering his victims. Next came Alfred Hitchcock's classic film “Psycho” (1960) and “The Birds” (1963), an example of natural horror in which the menace stems from nature having gone mad. With these two films being incredibly influential, Alfred Hitchcock opened the door for a global run of slasher films. In France, “Eyes Without a Face” (1960) continued the mad scientist theme, while Italian director Mario Bava began his own series of horror films such as gruesome “Black Sunday” (1960) and “The Girl Who Knew Too Much” (1963). Both were described as being the centre of Italy’s horror film ‘Golden Age’.
American International Pictures (AIP) made a series of films influenced by American Gothic author Edgar Allen Poe directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price, which ended with “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Tomb of Ligeia” (both 1964). Some contend that these productions paved the way for more explicit violence in both horror and mainstream films.
Ghosts and monsters still remained a frequent feature of horror, but many films used the supernatural premise to express the horror of the demonic. “The Innocents” (1961) was based on the Henry James novel “The Turn of the Screw” and “The Haunting” (1963) are two such horror-of-the-demonic films from the early 1960s, both made in the UK by American studios. Director Roman Polanski started making a name for himself in horror by directing “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968). Set in New York, the devil is made flesh. Meanwhile, ghosts were a dominant theme in Japanese horror, or 'J-horror', in such films as” Kwaidan”, “Onibaba” (both 1964) and “Kuroneko” (1968).
An influential American horror film of this period was George A. Romero's “Night of the Living Dead” (1968). This horror-of-Armageddon film about zombies blends psychological insights with gore, it moved the genre even further away from the gothic horror trends of earlier eras and brought horror into everyday life. It was hugely successful, grossing $12,000,000 at the box office.
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During the later 1950s, Great Britain emerged as a producer of horror films, with The Hammer Company focused on the genre for the first time, enjoying huge international success from films involving classic horror characters which were shown in colour for the first time. Often starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, and drawing on Universal's precedent, these films include “The Curse of Frankenstein” (1957), and “Dracula” (1958), both followed by many sequels, with director Terence Fisher being responsible for many of the best films.
British companies continued to a boom in horror film production during the 1960s and 1970s, including Tigon-British and Amicus, the latter best known for their anthology films such as “Dr. Terror's House of Horrors” (1965). British director Michael Powell's “Peeping Tom” (1960) was the considered to be the genre’s first slasher. It concerns a serial killer who combines his profession as a photographer with the moments before murdering his victims. Next came Alfred Hitchcock's classic film “Psycho” (1960) and “The Birds” (1963), an example of natural horror in which the menace stems from nature having gone mad. With these two films being incredibly influential, Alfred Hitchcock opened the door for a global run of slasher films. In France, “Eyes Without a Face” (1960) continued the mad scientist theme, while Italian director Mario Bava began his own series of horror films such as gruesome “Black Sunday” (1960) and “The Girl Who Knew Too Much” (1963). Both were described as being the centre of Italy’s horror film ‘Golden Age’.
American International Pictures (AIP) made a series of films influenced by American Gothic author Edgar Allen Poe directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price, which ended with “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Tomb of Ligeia” (both 1964). Some contend that these productions paved the way for more explicit violence in both horror and mainstream films.
Ghosts and monsters still remained a frequent feature of horror, but many films used the supernatural premise to express the horror of the demonic. “The Innocents” (1961) was based on the Henry James novel “The Turn of the Screw” and “The Haunting” (1963) are two such horror-of-the-demonic films from the early 1960s, both made in the UK by American studios. Director Roman Polanski started making a name for himself in horror by directing “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968). Set in New York, the devil is made flesh. Meanwhile, ghosts were a dominant theme in Japanese horror, or 'J-horror', in such films as” Kwaidan”, “Onibaba” (both 1964) and “Kuroneko” (1968).
An influential American horror film of this period was George A. Romero's “Night of the Living Dead” (1968). This horror-of-Armageddon film about zombies blends psychological insights with gore, it moved the genre even further away from the gothic horror trends of earlier eras and brought horror into everyday life. It was hugely successful, grossing $12,000,000 at the box office.
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Low-budget gore-shock films from the likes of Herschell Gordon Lewis also appeared. Examples include “Blood Feast” (1963), a devil-cult story, and “Two Thousand Maniacs!” (1964), a ghost town inhabited by psychotic cannibals, which featured splattering blood and body dismemberment.
The end of the Production Code of America in 1964, the financial successes of the low-budget gore films of the ensuing years, and the critical and popular success of Rosemary's Baby, led to the release of more films with occult themes during the 1970s. The Exorcist (1973), the first of these movies, was a significant commercial success, and was followed by scores of horror films in which the Devil represented the supernatural evil, often by impregnating women or possessing children. The genre also included gory horror movies with sexual overtones, made as "A-movies" (as opposed to "B movies"). "Evil children" and reincarnation became popular subjects. Robert Wise's film Audrey Rose (1977) for example, deals with a man who claims that his daughter is the reincarnation of another dead person. Alice, Sweet Alice (1977), is another Catholic-themed horror slasher about a little girl's murder and her sister being the prime suspect. Another popular Satanic horror movie was The Omen (1976), where a man realizes that his five-year-old adopted son is the Antichrist. Invincible to human intervention, Satan became the villain in many horror films with a postmodern style and a dystopian worldview. Another example is The Sentinel (1977 film), in which a fashion model discovers that her new brownstone residence may actually be a portal to Hell. The movie includes seasoned actors such as Ava Gardner, Burgess Meredith and Eli Wallach and such future stars as Christopher Walken and Jeff Goldblum. The ideas of the 1960s began to influence horror films, as the youth involved in the counterculture began exploring the medium. Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (1977) and Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) recalled the Vietnam war; George A. Romero satirized the consumer society in his zombie sequel, Dawn of the Dead (1978); Canadian director David Cronenberg featured the "mad scientist" movie sub-genre by exploring contemporary fears about technology and society, and reinventing "body horror", starting with Shivers (1975). Meanwhile, the sub-genre of comedy horror re-emerged in the cinema with Young Frankenstein (1974), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and An American Werewolf in London (1981) among other films. Also in the 1970s, the works of the horror author Stephen King began to be adapted for the screen, beginning with Brian De Palma's adaptation of Carrie (1976), King's first published novel, for which the two female leads (Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie) gained Oscar nominations. Next, was his third published novel, The Shining (1980), directed by Stanley Kubrick, which was a sleeper at the box office, receiving mixed reviews on release, but eventually began to be considered a classic. Carrie became the 9th highest-grossing film of 1976. King himself did not like The Shining, because it was barely faithful to the 1977 best-seller novel. A cycle of slasher films was made during the 1970s and early 1980s. John Carpenter created Halloween (1978), Sean Cunningham made Friday the 13th (1980) and Wes Craven directed A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984). This sub-genre would be mined by dozens of increasingly violent movies throughout the subsequent decades, and Halloween became a successful independent film. Another notable '70s slasher film is Bob Clark's Black Christmas (1974). The boom in slasher films provided enough material for numerous comedic spoofs of the genre including Saturday the 14th (1981), Student Bodies (1981), National Lampoon's Class Reunion (1983), and Hysterical (1983). Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975) began a new wave of killer animal stories such as Orca (1977), and Up from the Depths. Jaws is often credited as being one of the first films to use traditionally B movie elements such as horror and mild gore in a big-budget Hollywood film. John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) was also a mix of horror and sci fi, but it was neither a box-office nor critical hit. However, nearly 20 years after its release it was praised for using ahead-of-its-time special effects and paranoia. The 1980s saw a wave of gory "B movie" horror films – although most of them were panned by critics, many became cult classics and later saw success with critics. A significant example is Sam Raimi's Evil Dead movies, which were low-budget gorefests but had a very original plotline which was later praised by critics. Other horror film examples include cult vampire classic Fright Night (1985), The Lost Boys (1987), Gremlins, the Critters, and the Poltergeist series.
In the beginning of the 90's, horror did not change too drastically.
All information came from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_film