The

Development of the Horror Genre

The horror genre has developed significantly since it first arose in the 18th century. The
styles and stereotypes of the genre first started in the form of print in literature known as
the gothic era, from inspirational and famous authors such as Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker
and Charles Dickens. These authors helped to define the horror genre with the use of
creatures and monsters within the works of Frankenstein and Dracula. The authors used
literary styles and techniques to create fear and mystery within their audiences using
characters and settings.

Frankenstein was released in 1818and is set around the story of a monster named
Frankenstein. This fear of monsters and creatures was later carried into the book Dracula
which was released nearly 80 years later. Both used literary techniques such as pathetic
fallacy to reflect the mood. Within Dracula it is written masses of sea-fog came drifting
inlandwhite, wet clouds, which swept by in ghostly fashion, so dank and cold. This
provides the reader with a sense of foreboding and fear. Many of these novels used
thunder, lightning, fog and the innate human
fear of the dark to build tension in the
audience. These themes continued in
literature, but also became stereotypes of the
genre.

As technology developed, so did the horror
genre. Whereas authors could only use
language and words to create fear and horror
in their audience, the development of silent
films allowed people the chance to see the
characters and monsters in physical form
rather than in their imagination. The first such
horror movie is thought to be a short film
created by the Lumire brothers in 1895
showing a dancing skeleton.

The film industry further developed with the
advent of sound. This meant that companies
had a chance to develop and add to the
historic works of gothic literature. The first
films were Dracula and Frankenstein which
were recreated and aired in 1931. These films were retellings of the literature novels and
used some of the same literary techniques within their films such as pathetic fallacy.

These titles started the trends and styles of 1930s horror films. Whereas the films in 1920s
were images of people haunted by ghostly wraiths floating using long exposures to create a
style called spirit photography, the 1930s replaced these notions with the ideas of
humanoid creatures such as the vampires Dracula, the monster Frankenstein, and the
beast King Kong. These films were based around the fantastical and the supernatural
elements and provided an effective escape for audiences tiring of their reality which at the
time was the Great Depression.
These themes continued into the 1940s and although this was no decade of innovation,
Hollywood produced many horror films within the decade, even though Wartime horror
movies were banned in Britain. Movies such as Wolfman were produced that continued on
the themes displayed in the 1935 film Werewolf of London.

The change between the 1940s and 1950s was more noticeable. Due to the low level of
sophistication in prosthetics and special effects in the 30s and 40s, the creatures that were
the feature of the films were distinctively human in nature. Yet the meaning of a monster
changed in the 1950s films. Prosthetics and special effects had developed, meaning that
production companies could create high quality, more frightening creatures such as those in
Godzilla (1954) and The Fly (1958). Existing life-forms made perfect monsters as they
could be easily photographed using blue-screen techniques or recreated in model form,
and brought to life using stop-motion animation such as that of King Kong.

Not only did the 1950s develop in technology but whereas the previous decades had been
based around monstrous creatures of the night, the 1950s brought in the mad scientist
stereotype. These monsters were more noticeably human: the faces who had fought on
both sides in World War two, the
developers of the atom bomb and the
death camp. The use of science
combined with the fear of monsters
became prominent, with scientific
techniques such as radiation, whether it
be to shrink (The Fly) or to enlarge
(Godzilla).

Not only did this aspect of science
become more popular but so did the
science of the unknown, otherwise
th
known as aliens. On the 24 June 1947, a man named Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine
strange, reflective objects which were soon broadcasted. With flying saucers firmly
established on newspaper front pages and radio talk shows, aliens soon became the new
villains. The first horror movie was Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which was released
about a small-town slowly having its citizens replaced by alien duplicates.

These ideas soon faded as no alien life was known and the monsters from the 50s became
outdated. The 1960s horror movies brought the change of realism. These horror movies
were more rooted in reality, more believable, and dealt with issues from everyday life, with
films such as Psycho that revolved around a murderer. The film Psycho is famous not only
for its narrative and villain but also for its use of montage. Although the films villain is a
murderer, the film is famous for the killing scene in which no actual gory images are used,
only implied using montage clips and movements. The movie did this due to the low quality
of special effects and meant that the message of the murder could be implied without
physically showing it. The production company not only used montage to keep the special
effects costs low but also as a way of lowering the rating, and even though the film is
famous for its violence, it was approved when released.
The reaction to violence in horror films changed drastically from the late 60s to the 70s. In
1968 the film Rosemarys Baby was released and was based around a young couple who
moved into an apartment building when the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant. It is later
found out that her husband and the other building neighbors are devil worshipers, and
Rosemary is pregnant with a devil child. No severe violence is shown within the film and it
was rated 4/10 for violence and gore by IMDB.

However, in 1973 the film The Exorcist was released, whose story has similar narrative
elements of a girl who is possessed by the devil as well as being pregnant. Except, this film
was originally rated X and has a violence scale of 7/10 on IMDB. This shows the rise in
violence in the horror films, as not only was The Exorcist rated X which means it was
raised from 16 to 18 years, but was also banned by a some of the local authorities within
their area, adding to the films reputation. These themes were very popular, and continued
in theme with movies such as Carrie and The Omen.

In the late 1970s came the slasher movie
Halloween. This movie was one of the
most famous films and was so popular that
it produced a sequel. But not only was it
one of the most popular, it was also one of
the most influential films for the female
gender. The earlier horror films were
known for their female victims and the
damsel in distress, with a common
stereotype of the being the female scream.
Associated with multiple horror films such
as Psycho, the female victim has become a stereotype, with multiple movies that show the
female protagonist weak and often needing to be saved by the male characters.

Halloween is one of the first horror films with a female protagonist that fights back. This
theme continued into the films within the 1980s such as Friday 13th and was released in
1980. Whereas the protagonist in Halloween was saved by a male character in the end of
the movie, the female character in Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the first female
protagonists to survive a movie. In the 1984 film, the main character Nancy sets traps for
the killer Freddy Kruger to fight and kills him once and for all. These films changed the
female role within horror films, reflecting the changing roles of reality.

The 1990s horror films continued on the idea of the 1970 slasher films, with the
prominent villain being serial killers such as The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en. These
films incorporated some of the visual techniques of movies such as those from Psycho. The
shower scene within the movie means that the physical appearance of the villain is never
seen. This technique has become a part of multiple movies and was used throughout movies
in the 90s, especially Scream. These images relied on the imagination of the audience,
similar to the literature novels.
 Not only was the 90s famous for its
slasher movies, but the decade is
also that of the first found footage
movie. Although the technique had
been used before, found footage
became a major part of The Blair
Witch Project. This form of filming put
the audience into a first person,
realistic account of the narrative. Not
only this, it meant that the production
costs of the movies were incredibly
low. The film was produced for $60,000 but made an incredible $248.6 million at the box
office. This remarkable profit encouraged this style of filming in future productions such as
Paranormal Activity which was released in 2007, and has become a stereotype of the
modern horror movie genre.

The modern twenty-first-century films all seemed to follow the trends of the 90s. The
monsters changed from the lone serial killers to the large terrorist groups. Although the
themes of the devil and slasher films continued, the production companies tried to find
the line between offensive and entertaining, creating movies such as Final Destination. The
other most influential horror movie of the decade, was 28 Days Later. Although the notion
of the zombie existed, this film encouraged the rise of this villain.
The themes, villains and fears of horror films have changed significantly since their
institution in the gothic era. From monsters to mad scientists to serial killers, modern
horror films are varied and most are a combination of all the aspects over the century.

However, one thing that has definitely increased is the level of violence. Although the gothic
ideas of monsters and vampires became outdated in the 60s, these themes that were once
considered the height of fear resurfaced at the end of the decade in 2009 in the form of the
novel 'Twilight. This book included many of the popular ideas and creatures from the early
horror films. This in turn sparked a new interest but mainly for children and teenagers,. with
movies such as The Twilight Saga and TV shows such as The Vampire Diaries and True
Blood.

The modern rating of
Dracula is categorized as PG,
but in 2011 a film and TV
show was created called My
Babysitters a Vampire. This
film became a TV show and
was aired on The Disney
Channel. This channel is
targeted at young children
but still shows violent imagery
that was once considered the
topic of horror movies before the watershed. The movie and TV show, provide distinct and
graphic images of teenagers being bitten, and show how the original ideas of horror are
now socially acceptable for children to watch. This is not the only example of the
normalization to violence and horror aspects.

As previously said, the idea of the idea of monsters had returned in the form of the
zombie. This includes TV shows such as The Walking Dead that are based around an
apocalyptic world. For example, one of the first major video games within this century that
featured zombies was the Call of Duty: Black Ops game that featured a zombie mode.
This game was raged as an 18 by PEGI, yet there are modern games that feature these
creatures for those 10 or above.

The many examples within the essay show only a part of the development of media,
whether it be film, television, literature or video games, or the horror genre itself. Yet in the
21st century, the horror genre - especially films - are a combination of all these stereotypes
and elements through the decades. But the horror genre, will continue to develop, change
and progress as the film media industry progresses further.

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