Every year, an array of horror films premiere in local theaters in hopes of frightening audiences, scaring them to the point of unrest and making them want to come back for more. But where did this facination come from?
The booming horror movie industry has been at work since the late 19th century with one of the first horror movies, George Melies’ Le Manoir du Diable, which featured the typical horror story characters: witches, bats, devils, and trolls. Inspired by the Expressionist painters and spirit photographers of the 1860’s, people enjoyed discovering “ghosts” in double exposure photos, which allowed them to finally illustrate the legends and myths of the past.
Following Melie’s film, the Lumiere brothers produced short films like Le Squelette Joyeux that shocked crowds around the world. Although films by the Lumiere brothers and Melies were groundbreaking for the time, nothing could prepare audiences for what was to come. By the time of the Silent Era in the 1920’s, the so-called “spook tales” of the time were transforming into genuine full-length films that never failed to frighten.
Frequently referred to as the “granddaddy of all horror films,” Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Galigari follows the story of a maniac in an insane asylum. In the same year, the first ever “monster movie,” The Golem, came from German producer Carl Boese, and featured odd sets that twisted the norms of previous horror films. The revolutionary films were inspiration to two of the most universally known horrors, Frankenstein and Dracula, both released in 1931.
With the release of these two films in the early ‘30’s, also came the introduction of sound in movies, magnifying the terror for its viewers with the ability to add menacing steps through hallways and chilling screams.
As events like the Manson murders and the threat of nuclear war shaped society’s views, they also transformed the horror movie industry. The sixties shifted focus from trolls and monsters to psychological thrillers, like Psycho, showcasing how humans can be truly monstrous. Even with the new additions of sound and color, nothing could compare to the advancement of special effects in a field that depends so heavily on fiction.
Movies like The Howling featured a chilling transformation of a man into a menacing wolf and A Nightmare on Elm Street released in the ‘80’s set the stage for special effects in movies. The 2000’s were an age filled with remakes of classics like Friday the 13th and Dawn of the Dead that were really brought to life with the advent of special effects.
Most audiences today would not think much of Wiene’s or Lumiere’s films,and some might even find them comical compared to modern day classics like The Grudge or The Exorcist, but it must be noted that the horror films of the 1920’s and on set the foundations for the horror movie industry to reach its popularity and size today.
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