Horror film

A horror film is just what it sounds like: a film dominated by elements of horror. The Film genre has itself a number of sub-genres within it such as slasher movies, vampire movies, etc. Some movies exhibit a substantial amount of cross-over with other genres, and this is particularly apparent in the field of science fiction, where many films including Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing, and Alien have both sets of defining characteristics.

Certain stories have proven popular and have inspired many sequels, remakes, and copycats. See Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, werewolves, and zombies.

A number of film directors tend to gravitate towards the horror film genre and these include:

• John Carpenter
• Wes Craven
• F. W. Murnau
• George Romero
• Leslie Stevens
• David Cronenberg
• Tobe Hooper

Certain film companies, notably American International Pictures (AIP), which made a series of Edgar Allan Poe themed films starring Vincent Price; and the British company Hammer Films, which became famous for their Hammer Horror line starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, are well known for making films in the genre.

Notable horror films include:

• Angel Heart
• The Blair Witch Project
• Carrie
• Cujo
• Dawn of the Dead
• Day of the Dead
• Dracula
• Evil Dead
• The Exorcist
• Frankenstein
• Friday the 13th
• From Dusk Till Dawn
• Halloween
• I Know What You Did Last Summer
• Incubus
• It
• Night of the Living Dead
• Nightmare on Elm Street
• Nosferatu
• The Omen
• Poltergeist
• Scream
• The Silence of the Lambs
• The Snake Pit
• The Thing
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• Vampires

see also horror fiction

Contemporary music sometimes dealing with horror themes: Death rock, Goth rock