The term ‘Horror’ means an intense feeling of
fear, shock or disgust. It is based on the Latin word “horrere” which means “to
shudder,” but that concept can have different meanings to each individual
person. Horror can be a variety of different things ranging from objects to
people or even events. Horror has been interpreted differently over the many
years it has been present and film is one of the main ways in which horror is
presented to us.
The horror genre started as
literature, and the term was first used in Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel ‘The
Castle of Otranto’ and this was full of mystery and supernatural beings. This
novel became somewhat of a craze and has been imitated and interpreted many
times since then and has now evolved into what we know as the gothic mode of
writing. Other writers such as Mary
Shelley ('Frankenstein') used this novel and introduction of horror, and
expanded on it to create thrills and suspense. Horror novels were the supreme
of the industry for about half a century. As the century went on gothic
literature started to wear out, and new writers began to further expand the
horror genre and write about ghost stories and the supernatural. The majority
of horror writers turned to short stories or novella to terrify their readers,
with the most famous of these being Edgar Allen Poe.
The first horror films to be created
have been described as surreal and disturbing such as Nosferatu and The
Golem. The storylines themselves draw upon the folklore and the legends of
Europe and bring monsters to life. Many of the monsters in early horror films
were ghosts made from spiritual photography, which is the use of double
exposures or superimpositions to create ghosts within a frame of film. This
method became popular from 1860 onwards and was extremely effective and
successful for its time.
Audiences of the 19th
century seemed to thoroughly enjoy seeing ghosts captured in still photography,
so it made sense to transfer the techniques of superimposition onto new
technology in order to tell different bizarre stories. Many of the first
‘moving pictures’ were typically action or comedy, however early filmmakers
used photographic trickery to explore darker tales with supernatural and
psychological themes which are known as the first ever horror films.
Many of these earliest horror films
have been lost forever due to the fragility of early film stock, however some
have survived. ‘Nosferatu’, released in 1922, is the very first Dracula movie
and has been described as the vampire movie that actually believes in
vampires. The vampire featured in this
movie shows no evidence of being even remotely human; instead he has a rat-like
appearance. This contrasts with modern day vampires such as those in ‘Twilight’
blend in with humans and are nowhere near as frightening as those in
‘Nosferatu’.
Horror movies continued to develop in
the mid-1930s, and the arrival of sound in movies had a huge impact on this
particular genre of film. The dreamlike imagery used in the 1920s and early
1930s in films like 'Vampyr' made a visual representation of horror
using ghosts flowing silently through the terror of mortals and their
outrageous deaths, which were replaced in the 1930s by monsters that grunted,
groaned and howled such as Dracula and Frankenstein. Sound helps
to add another dimension to terror, whether it is music used to build suspense
or magnified footsteps echoing down a corridor. Even now, modern horror films
use large amounts of sound for extra effect.
The horror films of the 1930s are
described as exotic fairy tales, set in far off lands such as Dracula, with
characters speaking in strange accents. Horror was all about looking backwards
and referring to the literary classics of the 19th century for their
source material. This has continued throughout the years and even now,
filmmakers are looking back on past events for inspiration. Horror in the 1930s
became so popular that in 1930, 80 million people attended the cinema on a weekly
basis.
‘Dracula’ was a very popular
horror film and by 1931, was a well-worn story and had been told many different
times. But this movie was the first time Dracula had ever been shown with
sound, and this added a new sense of terror to the character. This film was
highly theatrical and successful, and has inspired many films and novels since
its release.
Over the next few decades, horror
movies evolved and expanded, varying from more modernised versions of the old
school vampires and ghosts, to aliens, to mutants, and psychopath scientists
and serial killers wanting to torture their victims.
Films like ‘Final Destination’
really highlights how horror has changed over the years, because there is no
visual evil shown in the films as the evil in these films is death itself. This
is more of a gory horror and the horror of this film is the gruesome ways in
which they die, instead of the traditional horror of who does the killing.
In the modern day, horror is one of
the most wide ranging genres. So much can be done with horror films now because
everybody’s fears are unique and so pretty much anything will create fear if
the right setting, storyline and sound are used. It has reached the point now
when people find nursery rhymes frightening such as in Woman in Black.
This has been used in many horror films to show how innocence can be deceiving.
Many of the older techniques have been used in modern day horrors and have
evolved into something terrifying. Modern evil is frequently more human-like,
making it more realistic for some viewers. With most movie genres, people feel
like modern technology has helped to improve films and make them more appealing
to watch as a whole, but even the more modern horrors such as 'The Walking
Dead' still often rely on practical effects to continue the traditional of
realistic yet fantastical films that still make us shudder today.
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