History of horror films

Gothic horror was the first type of horror genre to be recognised during the 1700's. Many writers such as Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and Edgar Allan Poe explored this genre by using stories which use a setting of old castles, forests and dungeons.

Silent Era
In 1895 Auguste and Louis Lumière produced a silent film 'Spook Tale' which shows a puppet skeleton in a dark room dancing in an inhumanly manner.This was then later followed by the first horror film in 1896 called 'The Haunted castle'

Germany

During World War 1 the Germans started a style of cinema called German Expressionism. As Germany was a very internal country they did not have the influence of Hollywood which meant that this cinema style was hugely popular. Film was also seen as a highly important thing during this time so the Military introduced a film unit called the Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (UFA) and this later began to produce film in order to make a profit.

F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu 1922

World War II

In the 1940's there was a steep decline in horror movies and the industry, mainly down to the fact that World War II was in action. However, films such as Wolf Man, Cat People, House of Dracula and House of Frankenstein were released.

 

Thriller

In the 1960's a new sub-genre of horror was introduced by the word 'thriller'. This was mainly introduced by Alfred Hitchccock's Psycho that shocked and scared many. Below is the iconic shower scene

The word 'Thriller' originated by the way that the films give the audience feelings of suspense and excitement along with anxiety.

 "In an Anglo-Saxon thriller, the villain is generally punished, and the strong silent man generally wins the weak babbling girl, but there is no governmental law in Western countries to ban a story that does not comply with a fond tradition, so that we always hope that the wicked but romantic fellow will escape scot-free and the good but dull chap will be finally snubbed by the moody heroine." -Vladimir Nabokov (lecturer)

There are many recurring themes in Thrillers which includes serial killers, stalking, death-traps etc.