Horror History of the Horror film Through the

Horror

History of the Horror film Through the history of the horror genre in films themes, sub-genres and antagonists have changed according to the current cycle and what is currently viewed as “scary”. During the 1920 s these films were silent as sound was yet to have been widely adopted, they mostly contained stories/narratives based around supernatural evil. The 1930’s then saw the rise of the monster sub-genre with the utilization of sound, commonly using well known fictional creatures as the antagonists. The 1940’s however saw the horror genre curbed due to the wartime society of Britain, wartime films were due to this fact an almost only American made product. These films were mostly about transformations into primal forms (bearing resemblance to the story of doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde). The 50 s revealed an obsession with creatures and monsters. While the 60 s saw the rise of the Thriller and Slasher. 70 s horrors were more grim (fitting the decades mood). This era was obsessed with children and innocent turned horrific. The 80 s went with body horror and ran with it whereas the 90 s saw the dramatic return of slashers. The year 2000 brought contemporary horror and currently we are victim to the blumhouse strategy.

Sub-Genres of the Horror film �Gore �Psychological �Slasher �Body �Monster �Paranormal �Redneck �Survival �Virus/Zombie �Apocalyptic

Iconography of the Horror film �Isolated Figures �Monsters �Silhouettes �Masks �Bodies �Blood �Demonic imagery �Melee Weapons

Actors/Directors associated with Horror films �John Carpenter �Alfred Hitchcock �Wes Craven �George A. Romero �Stanley Kubrick �Sam Raimi �James Wan �Tobe Hooper �David Cronenberg �Guillermo del Toro

US Box Office – Top 10 films of the Genre 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. IT (2017) $327. 48 M I am Legend (2007) $256. 39 M The Exorcist (1973) $232. 91 M World War Z (2013) $202. 36 M A Quiet Place (2018) $188. 02 M Get Out (2017) $176. 04 M What Lies Beneath (2000) $155. 46 M Gremlins (1984) $148. 17 M The Meg (2018) $142. 04 M The Blair Witch Project (1999) $140. 54 M

Nominal Budgets – Top 10 films of the Genre 1. The Mummy (2017) $195 million 2. World War Z (2013) $190 million 3. Van Helsing (2004) $160 million 4. I Am Legend (2007) $150 million 5. The Wolfman (2010) $150 million 6. Prometheus (2012) $130 million 7. End of Days (1999) $100 million 8. What Lies Beneath (2000) $100 million 9. Hollow Man (2000) $95 million 10. Hannible (2001) $87 million

Critically acclaimed examples �I Am Legend (2007) �It (2017) �The Exorcist �Get Out �Split �The Conjuring �Hereditary �The Ring �A Quiet Place �Alien �Poltergeist � 10 Cloverfield Lane

Stretch and Challenge: Ideologies/Contexts