Horror film

A horror film is a movie that seeks to elicit a

physiological reaction, such as an elevated
heartbeat, through the use of fear and shocking
ones audiences. Inspired by literature from
authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker and
Mary Shelley, the horror genre has existed for
more than a century. The macabre and the
supernatural are frequent themes. Horror may also
overlap with the fantasy, supernatural fiction and
thriller genres.

Horror films often deal with viewers' nightmares,

fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Plots
within the horror genre often involve the intrusion
of an evil force, event, or personage into the
A famous scene from the 1922 German horror filmNosferatu
everyday world. Prevalent elements include
ghosts, aliens, vampires, werewolves, demons,
satanism, gore, torture, vicious animals, evil witches, monsters, zombies, cannibals, psychopaths, natural or man-made disasters, and
serial killers.[1]

Some subgenres of horror include action horror, comedy horror, body horror, disaster horror, holiday horror, horror drama,
psychological horror, science fiction horror, slasher horror, supernatural horror, gothic horror, natural horror, zombie horror, first-
person horror and teen horror.

Contents
1 History
1.1 18891900s
1.2 1910s1920s
1.3 1930s1940s
1.4 1950s1960s
1.5 1970s1980s
1.6 1990s
1.7 2000s
1.8 2010s
2 Subgenres
3 Influences
3.1 Influences on society
3.2 Influences internationally
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links
History

18891900s
The first depictions of supernatural events appear in several of the silent shorts created by the film pioneer Georges Mlis in the late
[2] Another of his horror
1890s, the best known beingLe Manoir du Diable, which is sometimes credited as being the first horror film.
projects was La Caverne maudite (1898) (a.k.a. The Cave of the Demons, literally "the accursed cave").[2] Japan made early forays
into the horror genre with Bake Jizo (Jizo the Spook) and Shinin no Sosei (Resurrection of a Corpse), both made in 1898.[3] The era
featured a slew of literary adaptations, adapting the works of Poe and Dante, among others. In 1908, Selig Polyscope Company
produced Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

1910s1920s
In 1910, Edison Studios produced the first filmed version of Frankenstein.[4] The macabre
nature of the source materials used made the films synonymous with the horror film
genre.[5]

Before and during the Weimar Republic era, German Expressionist filmmakers would
significantly influence later productions. Paul Wegener's The Student of Prague (1913) and
The Golem trilogy (191520), as well asRobert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920),
Arthur Robison's Warning Shadows (1923), and Paul Leni's Waxworks (1924), were
influential films at the time. The first vampire-themed movie, Nosferatu (1922), was made
during this period, though it was an unauthorized adaptation ofBram Stoker's Dracula.

In 1910, Edison Studios
produced the first motion
picture adaptation of Mary
Shelley's Frankenstein.
Other European countries also, contributed to the genre during this period. Victor Sjstrm's
The Phantom Carriage (Sweden, 1920) is a cautionary tale about a supernatural legend,
Benjamin Christensen's Hxan (Denmark/Sweden, 1922) is a documentary-style, horror
film, about witchcraft and superstition, and in 1928, Frenchman, Jean Epstein produced an
influential film, The Fall of the House of Usher, based on the Poe tale.

Though the word "horror" to describe the film genre would not be used until the 1930s (when
Universal Pictures released their initial monster films), earlier American productions often
relied on horror themes. Some notable examples include The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923),
The Phantom of the Opera (1925), The Cat and the Canary (1927), The Unknown (1927), and
The Man Who Laughs (1928). Many of these early films were considered dark melodramas
because of their stock characters and emotion-heavy plots that focused on romance, violence,
suspense, and sentimentality.[6]

The trend of inserting an element of macabre into American pre-horror melodramas continued
into the 1920s. Directors known for relying on macabre in their films during the 1920s were
Maurice Tourneur, Rex Ingram, and Tod Browning. Ingram's The Magician (1926) contains one
of the first examples of a "mad doctor" and is said to have had a large influence on James
Lon Chaney, Sr. in the
Whale's version of Frankenstein.[7] The Unholy Three (1925) is an example of Browning's use
1925 film The Phantom of
of macabre and unique style of morbidity; he remade the film in 1930 as a talkie, though The the Opera.
Terror (1928) was the first horror film withsound.

1930s1940s
 During the early period of talking pictures, Universal Pictures began a successful Gothic
horror film series. Tod Browning's Dracula (1931) was quickly followed by James Whale's
Frankenstein (1931) and The Old Dark House (1932), both featuring monstrous mute
antagonists. Some of these films blended science fiction with Gothic horror, such as Whale's
The Invisible Man (1933) and featured a mad scientist, mirroring earlier German films.
Frankenstein was the first in a series of remakes which lasted for years. The Mummy (1932)
introduced Egyptology as a theme; Make-up artist Jack Pierce was responsible for the iconic
image of the monster, and others in the series. Universal's horror cycle continued into the
1940s with B movies including The Wolf Man (1941), as well as a number of films uniting
several of the most common monsters.[8]

Boris Karloff as Other studios followed Universal's lead. The once controversial Freaks (1932), based on the
Frankenstein's monster short story "Spurs", was made by MGM, though the studio disowned the completed film, and
in the 1935 Bride of it remained banned, in the United Kingdom, for thirty years.[9] Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Frankenstein. (Paramount, 1931) is remembered for its innovative use of photographic filters to create
Jekyll's transformation before the camera.[10] With the progression of the genre, actors like
Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi were beginning to build entire careers in horror. Both appeared
in three of Val Lewton's atmospheric B movies forRKO in the mid-1940s, includingThe Body Snatcher (1945).

1950s1960s
With advances in technology, the tone of horror films shifted from the Gothic towards
contemporary concerns. Two subgenres began to emerge: the Doomsday film and the
Demonic film.[13] Low-budget productions featured humanity overcoming threats such
as alien invasions and deadly mutations to people, plants and insects. Japan's experience
with Hiroshima and Nagasaki bore the well-known Godzilla (1954) and its sequels,
featuring mutation from theeffects of nuclear radiation.
Christopher Lee starred in
Hollywood directors and producers found ample numerous British horror films of
the era, produced by Hammer
opportunity for audience exploitation through
Films. Shown here is the 1958
gimmicks. House of Wax (1953) used the advent of
color remake of Dracula. It was
3-D film to draw audiences, while The Tingler used Lee who fixed the image of the
electric seat buzzers in 1959. Filmmakers continued fanged vampire in popular
to merge elements of science fiction and horror over culture.[11][12]
the following decades. Considered a "pulp
masterpiece"[14] of the era was The Incredible
Shrinking Man (1957), based on Richard Matheson's existentialist novel. The film conveyed the
fears of living in the Atomic Age and the terror of social alienation.

During the later 1950s, the United Kingdom emerged as a major producer of horror films.[15] The
Theatrical release poster Hammer company focused on the genre for the first time, enjoying huge international success
of Psycho from films involving classic horror characters which were shown in color for the first time.
Drawing on Universal's precedent, many films produced were Frankenstein and Dracula remakes,
both followed by many sequels. Other British companies contributed to a boom in horror film
production in the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s.

Released in May 1960, the British psychological thriller Peeping Tom (1960) by Michael Powell is regarded as a contender for the
first "slasher film".[16] Alfred Hitchcock cemented the subgenre with Psycho released later that year. France continued the mad
scientist theme, while Italian horror films became internationally notable. American International Pictures (AIP) made a series of
Edgar Allan Poethemed films.
Films in the era used the supernatural premise to express the horror of the demonic. The
Innocents (1961) based on the Henry James novel The Turn of the Screw. Meanwhile,
ghosts were a dominant theme in Japanese horror, in such films as Kwaidan, Onibaba
(both 1964) and Kuroneko (1968).

Rosemary's Baby (1968) is an American psychological horror film written and directed
by Roman Polanski, based on the bestselling 1967 novel of the same name by Ira Levin.
Another influential American horror film of this period was George A. Romero's Night
of the Living Dead (1968). Produced and directed by Romero on a budget of $1
14,000, it Zombies in Romero's most
grossed $30 million internationally. An Armageddon film about zombies, it began to influential film, the
combine psychological insights with gore. Distancing the era from earlier gothic trends, groundbreaking 1968 Night of the
late 1960s films brought horror into everyday life. Low-budget splatter films from the Living Dead. This was the
template for all future zombie
likes of Herschell Gordon Lewisalso gained prominence.[17]
films.

1970s1980s
The financial successes of the low-budget gore films of the
ensuing years, and the critical and popular success of
Rosemary's Baby, led to the release of more films with occult
themes during the 1970s.The Exorcist (1973), the first of these
movies, was a significant commercial success and was
followed by scores of horror films in which a demon entity is
represented as the supernatural evil, often by impregnating
women or possessing children.

"Evil children" and reincarnation became popular subjects.

Theatrical release poster
of The Texas Chain Saw
Massacre
Robert Wise's film Audrey Rose (1977) for example, deals
with a man who claims that his daughter is the reincarnation of
another dead person. Alice, Sweet Alice (1977), is another Theatrical release poster
Catholic-themed horror slasher about a little girl's murder and of The Exorcist
her sister being the prime suspect. Another popular occult
horror movie was The Omen (1976), where a man realizes that
his five-year-old adopted son is the Antichrist. Invincible to
human intervention, Demons became villains in many horror
films with a postmodern style and a dystopian worldview.
Suzy (Jessica Harper,
Another example is The Sentinel (1977), in which a fashion right) and Sara (Stefania
model discovers that her new brownstone residence may Casini, left) in Suspiria, a
actually be a portal toHell. giallo horror film.

During the 1970s, Italian filmmakers Mario Bava, Riccardo

Freda, Antonio Margheriti and Dario Argento developed giallo horror films that became classics
and influenced the genre in other countries. Representative films include: Black Sunday, Blood
and Black Lace, Castle of Blood, Twitch of the Death Nerve, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage,
Jack Nicholson in the
famous "Heres Johnny" Deep Red and Suspiria.
scene in The Shining
Don't Look Now (1973), a independent British-Italian film directed by Nicolas Roeg, was also
notable. Its focus on the psychology of grief was unusually strong for a film featuring a
supernatural horror plot. Another notable film is The Wicker Man (1973), a British mystery horror film dealing with the practice of
ancient pagan rituals in the modern era. It was written byAnthony Shaffer and directed by Robin Hardy.
The ideas of the 1960s began to influence horror films, as the youth involved in the counterculture began exploring the medium. Wes
Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (1977) and The Last House on the Left (1972) along with Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw
Massacre (1974)[18] (based on the Ed Gein case) recalled the Vietnam War; while George A. Romero satirized the consumer society
in his zombie sequel, Dawn of the Dead (1978). Meanwhile, the subgenre of comedy horror re-emerged in the cinema with The
Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), Young Frankenstein (1974), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and An American Werewolf in
London (1981) among others.

Also in the 1970s, the works of the horror author Stephen King began to be adapted for the screen, beginning with Brian De Palma's
adaptation of Carrie (1976), King's first published novel, for which the two female leads (Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie) gained
Oscar nominations. Next, was his third published novel, The Shining (1980), directed by Stanley Kubrick, which was a sleeper at the
box office. At first, many critics and viewers had negative feedback toward The Shining. However, the film is now known as one of
Hollywood's most classic horror films.

This psychological horror film has a variety of themes; "evil children", alcoholism, telepathy and insanity. This type of film is an
example of how Hollywood's idea of horror started to evolve. Murder and violence were no longer the main themes of horror films.
During the 1970s and 1980s, psychological and supernatural horror started to take over cinema. Another classic Hollywood horror
film is Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist (1982). Poltergeist is ranked the 20th scariest movie ever made by the Chicago Film Critics
Association. Both The Shining and Poltergeist involve horror being based on real-estate values. The evil and horror throughout the
[19][20]
films come from where the movies are taking place.

The Amityville Horror is a 1979 supernatural horror film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, based on Jay Anson's 1977 book of the same
name. It stars James Brolin and Margot Kidder as a young couple who purchase a home they come to find haunted by combative
supernatural forces. The Changeling is a 1980 Canadian psychological horror film directed byPeter Medak.

A cycle of slasher films was made during the 1970s and 1980s.John Carpenter created Halloween (1978), Sean S. Cunningham made
Friday the 13th (1980), Wes Craven directed A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), and Clive Barker made Hellraiser (1987). This
subgenre would be mined by dozens of increasingly violent movies throughout the subsequent decades, and Halloween became a
successful independent film. Another notable 1970s slasher film is Bob Clark's Black Christmas (1974). Sleepaway Camp (1983) is
known for its twist ending, which is considered by some to be one of the most shocking endings among horror films. My Bloody
Valentine (1981) is a slasher film dealing with Valentine's Day fiction. The boom in slasher films provided enough material for
numerous comedic spoofs of the genre including Saturday the 14th (1981), Student Bodies (1981), National Lampoon's Class
Reunion (1983), and Hysterical (1983).

Some films explored urban legends such as "The babysitter and the man upstairs". A notable example is When a Stranger Calls
(1979), an American psychological horror film directed byFred Walton starring Carol Kane and Charles Durning.

Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975) began a new wave of killer animal stories, such as Orca (1977) and Up from the Depths (1979). Jaws
is often credited as being one of the first films to use traditionally B movie elements such as horror and mild gore in a big-budget
Hollywood film. In 1979,Don Coscarelli's Phantasm was the first of the Phantasm franchise.

Alien (1979), a British-American science-fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott was very successful, receiving both critical
acclaim and being a box office success. John Carpenter's movie The Thing (1982) was also a mix of horror and sci-fi, but it was
neither a box-office nor critical hit, but soon became a cult classic. However, nearly 20 years after its release, it was praised for using
ahead-of-its-time special effects and paranoia.

The 1980s saw a wave of gory "B movie" horror films although most of them were poorly reviewed by critics, many became cult
classics and later saw success with critics. A significant example is Sam Raimi's Evil Dead movies, which were low-budget gorefests
but had a very original plotline which was later praised by critics.

Vampire horror was also popular in the 1980s, including cult vampire classics such as Fright Night (1985), The Lost Boys (1987), and
Near Dark (also 1987). In 1984, Joe Dante's seminal monster comedy Gremlins became a box office hit with critics and audiences,
and inspired a trend of "little monster" films such asCritters and Ghoulies.
David Cronenberg's films such as Shivers (1975), Rabid (1977), The Brood (1979), The Dead Zone (1983), The Fly (1986) dealt with
"body horror" and "mad scientist" themes.[21]

Several science fiction action horror movies were released in the 1980s, notably Aliens (1986) and Predator (1987). Notable comedy
horror films of the 1980s includeRe-Animator (1985) and Night of the Creeps (1986).

Day of the Dead is a 1985 horror film written and directed by George A. Romero and the third film in Romero's Night of the Living
Dead series.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a 1986 psychological horror crime film directed and co-written by John McNaughton about the
random crime spree of aserial killer who seemingly operates with impunity.

Child's Play (1988), Night of the Demons (1988) and Pet Sematary (1989) are notable supernatural horror films of the late 1980s.

1990s
In the first half of the 1990s, the genre still contained many of
the themes from the 1980s. The slasher films A Nightmare on
Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Halloween and Child's Play all
saw sequels in the 1990s, most of which met with varied
amounts of success at the box office, but all were panned by
critics, with the exception of Wes Craven's New Nightmare
(1994) and the hugely successfulSilence of the Lambs (1991).

New Nightmare, with In the Mouth of Madness (1995), The

Dark Half (1993), and Candyman (1992), were part of a mini-
movement of self-reflexive or metafictional horror films. Each
Theatrical release poster film touched upon the relationship between fictional horror
Theatrical release poster
of Scream and real-world horror. Candyman, for example, examined the of The Silence of the
link between an invented urban legend and the realistic horror Lambs
of the racism that produced its villain. In the Mouth of
Madness took a more literal approach, as its protagonist actually hopped from the real world into
a novel created by the madman he was hired to track down. This reflective style became more overt and ironic with the arrival of
Scream (1996).

In Interview with the Vampire (1994), the "Theatre de Vampires" (and the film itself, to some degree) invoked the Grand Guignol
style, perhaps to further remove the undead performers from humanity, morality and class. The horror movie soon continued its
search for new and effective frights. In the 1985 novel The Vampire Lestat by the author Anne Rice (who penned Interview...'s
screenplay and the 1976 novel of the same name) suggests that its antihero Lestat inspired and nurtured the Grand Guignol style and
theatre.

Two main problems pushed horror backward during this period: firstly, the horror genre wore itself out with the proliferation of
nonstop slasher and gore films in the eighties. Secondly, the adolescent audience which feasted on the blood and morbidity of the
previous decade grew up, and the replacement audience for films of an imaginative nature were being captured instead by the
explosion of science-fiction and fantasy films, courtesy of the special effects possibilities with advances made in computer-generated
imagery.[22] Examples of these CGI include movies like Species (1995), Anaconda (1997), Mimic (1997), Blade (1998), Deep Rising
(1998), House on Haunted Hill(1999), Sleepy Hollow (1999), and The Haunting (1999).

To re-connect with its audience, horror became more self-mockingly ironic and outright parodic, especially in the latter half of the
1990s. Peter Jackson's Braindead (1992) (known as Dead Alive in the United States) took the splatter film to ridiculous excesses for
comic effect. Wes Craven's Scream (written by Kevin Williamson) movies, starting in 1996, featured teenagers who were fully aware
of, and often made reference to, the history of horror movies, and mixed ironic humour with the shocks (despite
Scream 2 and Scream
3 utilising less use of the humour of the original, until Scream 4 in 2011, and rather more references to horror film conventions).
Along with I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) (written by Kevin Williamson as well) and Urban Legend (1998), they re-
ignited the dormant slasher film genre.

Event Horizon (1997) is a British-American science fiction horror film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. The Sixth Sense (1999) is a
supernatural horror film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, which tells the story of Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a
troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe
(Bruce Willis) who tries to help him.

House on Haunted Hill is a 1999 horror film directed by William Malone which follows a group of strangers who are invited to a
party at an abandoned asylum, where they are offered $1 million each by an amusement park mogul if they are able to survive the
night. It is a remake of the1959 film of the same title.

The film The Last Broadcast (1998) served as inspiration for the highly successfulThe Blair Witch Project (1999), which popularized
the found footage horror subgenre. The theme of witchcraft was also addressed in The Craft (1996), a supernatural horror film
directed by Andrew Fleming.

2000s
Valentine (2001), notably starring David Boreanaz, had some
success at the box office, but was derided by critics for being
formulaic and relying on foregone horror film conventions.
Franchise films such as Jason X (2001) and Freddy vs. Jason
(2003) also made a stand in theaters. Final Destination (2000)
marked a successful revival of teen-centered horror and
spawned five installments. Jeepers Creepers series was also
successful. Films such as Hollow Man (2000), Orphan (2009),
Wrong Turn (2003), Cabin Fever (2002), House of 1000
Corpses (2003), and the previous mentions helped bring the
genre back to Restricted ratings in theaters. Comic book
Theatrical release poster adaptations like the Blade series, Constantine (2005), and Theatrical release poster
of The Ring Hellboy (2004) also became box office successes. Video game of Saw
adaptations like Doom (2005) and Silent Hill (2006) also had
moderate box office success while Van Helsing (2004) and
Underworld series had huge box office success. Ginger Snaps (2000) is a Canadian film dealing
with the tragic transformation of a teenage girl who is bitten by a werewolf. Signs (2002) revived
the science fiction alien theme. The Descent, a 2005 British adventure horror film written and
directed by Neil Marshall was also successful. Another notable film is Drag Me to Hell, a 2009
American supernatural horror film co-written and directed bySam Raimi.

Some pronounced trends have marked horror films. Films from non-English language countries Theatrical release poster
of The Descent
have become successful. The Devil's Backbone (2001) is such an example. It is a 2001 Spanish-
Mexican gothic horror film directed by Guillermo del Toro, and written by del Toro, David
Muoz, and Antonio Trashorras. A French horror film Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) became the second-highest-grossing French
language film in the United States in the last two decades. The Swedish film Let the Right One In (2008) was also successful.
Another notable film is The Orphanage (2007), a Spanish horror film and the debut feature of Spanish filmmaker J. A. Bayona.
Another trend is the emergence of psychology to scare audiences, rather than gore. The Others (2001) proved to be a successful
example of a psychological horror film. A minimalist approach which was equal parts Val Lewton's theory of "less is more" (usually
employing the low-budget techniques utilized on The Blair Witch Project, (1999) has been evident, particularly in the emergence of
Asian horror movies which have been remade into successful Americanized versions, such as The Ring (2002), The Grudge (2004),
[23]
Dark Water (2005), and Pulse (2006). In March 2008, China banned the movies from its market.
The Resident Evil video game franchise was adapted into a film released in March 2002, and several sequels followed. The films I
Am Legend (2007), Quarantine (2008), Zombieland (2009), and 28 Days Later (2002) featured an update of the apocalyptic and
aggressive zombie genre. The latter film spawned a sequel: 28 Weeks Later (2007). An updated remake of Dawn of the Dead (2004)
soon appeared as well as the zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Spanish -Cuban comedy zombie film Juan of the Dead
(2012). This resurgence led George A. Romero to return to his Living Dead series with Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead
(2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009).[24]

The Australian film Wolf Creek (2005) written, co-produced, and directed by Greg McLean revolves around three backpackers who
find themselves taken captive and after a brief escape, hunted down by Mick Taylor in the Australian outback. The film was
ambiguously marketed as being "based on true events"; the plot bore elements reminiscent of the real-life murders of tourists by Ivan
Milat in the 1990s, and Bradley Murdoch in 2001; and contained more extreme violence. An extension of this trend was the
emergence of a type of horror with emphasis on depictions of torture, suffering and violent deaths, (variously referred to as "horror
porn", "torture porn", "splatterporn" and "gore-nography") with films such as Ghost Ship (2002), Eight Legged Freaks (2002), The
Collector, Saw, Hostel, and their respective sequels, frequently singled out as examples of emergence of this subgenre.[25] The Saw
film series holds the Guinness World Record of the highest-grossing horror franchise in history.[26] Finally, with the arrival of
Paranormal Activity (2007), which was well received by critics and an excellent reception at the box office, minimalist horror
approach started by The Blair Witch Project was reaffirmed. The Mist (2007) is a science-fiction horror film based on the 1980
novella of the same name by Stephen King. Antichrist (2009) is an English-language Danish experimental horror film written and
directed by Lars von Trier, and starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Remakes of earlier horror movies became routine in the 2000s. In addition to the remake of Dawn of the Dead (2004), as well as the
remake of both Herschell Gordon Lewis' cult classic 2001 Maniacs (2003) and the remake of Tobe Hooper's classic The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre (2003), there was also the 2007 Rob Zombie-written and -directed remake of John Carpenter's Halloween.[27]
The film focused more on Michael's backstory than the original did, devoting the first half of the film to Michael's childhood. It was
critically panned by most,[28][29] but was a success in its theatrical run, spurring its own sequel. This film helped to start a
"reimagining" riot in horror filmmakers. Among the many remakes or "reimaginings" of other popular horror films and franchises are
films such as Thirteen Ghosts (2001), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Friday the 13th (2009),[30]
Children of the Corn (2009),[31] Prom Night (2008), Day of the Dead (2008), and My Bloody Valentine (2009).

2010s
Remakes remain popular, with A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010),[32] The Crazies (2010), Child's Play seeing a sequel with Curse of
Chucky (2013), while Halloween, Friday the 13th and Hellraiser all have reboots in the works.[33][34][35] Serialized, found footage
style web videos featuring Slender Man became popular on YouTube in the beginning of the decade. Such series included
TribeTwelve, EverymanHybrid and Marble Hornets, the latter of which has been adapted into a feature film. The character as well as
the multiple series is credited with reinvigorating interest in found footage as well as urban folklore. Horror has become prominent on
television with The Walking Dead, American Horror Story and The Strain, also many popular horror films have had successful
television series made:Psycho spawned Bates Motel, The Silence of the Lambsspawned Hannibal, while Scream and Friday the 13th
both have television series in development.[36][37]

You're Next (2011) and The Cabin in the Woods (2012) led to a return to the slasher genre; the latter was intended also as a critical
satire of torture porn.[38] The Green Inferno (2015) pays homage to the controversial horror film Cannibal Holocaust (1980).
Australian psychological horror The Babadook (2014) was met with critical acclaim. It Follows (2014) subverted traditional horror
tropes of sexuality and slasher films and enjoyed commercial and critical success. The Conjuring deal with the paranormal. Sinister
(2012) is a British-American supernatural horror film directed by Scott Derrickson and written by Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill.
The Witch (2015) is a historical period supernatural horror film written and directed by Robert Eggers in his directorial debut, which
follows a Puritan family encountering forces of evil in the woods beyond their New England farm. Get Out (2017) received universal
acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Adapted from the Stephen King novel, It (2017) set a box office record for horror films by
.[39]
grossing $123.1 million on opening weekend in the United States and nearly $185 million globally
The success of non-English language films continued with the Swedish film Marianne (2011), while Let the Right One In (2008) was
the subject of a Hollywood remake,Let Me In (2010).

Subgenres
Horror films can be divided into the following subgenres, a single film may overlap into several
subgenres:

Action horror A subgenre combining the intrusion of anevil force, event, or

personage of horror movies with the weapon fights and frenetic chases of the action
genre. Themes or elements often prevalent in typical action-horror films include
gore, demons, aliens, vicious animals, vampires and, most commonly, zombies. This
category also fuses thefantasy genre. Examples include:Aliens, Snakes on a
Plane, Predator, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, I Saw the Devil, Priest, Feast and
Train to Busan.
Horror adventure - A film that blends expeditions, exploration, exotic places and
other adventure elements in a horror setting. Examples include:The Descent, Silent
Hill, Jaws.
Comedy horror Combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. The comedy
horror genre often crosses over with theblack comedy genre and are occasionally The 1960 film Peeping
also horror films with a lower rating aimed at a family audience. The short story The Tom is regarded as a
Legend of Sleepy Hollowby Washington Irving is cited as "the first great comedy- contender for the first
horror story".[40] Examples of comedy horror films include:Beetlejuice, Jennifer's modern slasher film
Body, Teeth, Nina Forever, Slither, Army of Darkness, Zombieland, Scary Movie and
Idle Hands. Gremlins and Ghostbusters were examples of comedy horror films
aimed at a family audience.
Body horror In which the horror is principally derived from the graphic destruction
or degeneration of the body. Other types of body horror include unnatural
movements, or the anatomically incorrect placement of limbs to create 'monsters' out
of human body parts. David Cronenberg is one of the notable directors of the genre.
Body horror films include:Starry Eyes, Videodrome, Dead Ringers, Contracted, The
Thing, The Fly and American Mary.
Horror drama A film that focuses on imperiled characters dealing with realistic
emotional struggles, often involving dysfunctional family relations, in a horror setting.
The film's horror elements often serve as a backdrop to an unraveling dramatic plot.
Examples include: Dark Water, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Lights Out, The
Babadook, It, Let the Right One In, Antichrist, Excision, Thirteen Ghosts, Mirrors and
Audition.
Holiday horror Involves a psychopathic killer stalking a sequence of victims in a
violent manner during Christmas. The murders are often committed by someone
dressed as Santa Claus, a snowman, an elf, or other Christmas character . Examples
include: Silent Night, Deadly Night, Jack Frost, The Gingerdead Man, Black The Omen is a 1976
Christmas, Krampus and All Through the House. influential supernatural
Psychological horror Relies on characters' fears, guilt, beliefs, eerie sound horror film
effects, relevant music, emotional instability and at times, the supernatural and
ghosts, to build tension, scare and further the plot. Notable psychological horror
films include: Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby, The Shining, May, I Know Who Killed Me, The Changeling, The
Uninvited and Get Out.
Science fiction horror Often revolves around subjects that include but are not limited to killer aliens, mad
scientists, and/or experiments gone wrong. Examples include:Frankenstein, Species, Mimic, Alien, The Thing, The
Blob, Apollo 18, The Faculty and Resident Evil.
Slasher film Often revolves around a serial killer who systematically murders people through violent means.
Examples include: Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Black Christmas, A
Nightmare on Elm Street, You're Next and Scream.
Splatter film These films deliberately focus on graphic portrayals of gore andgraphic violence. Through the use of
special effects and excessive blood and guts, they tend to display an overt interest in the vulnerability of the human
body and the theatricality of its mutilation. Examples of splatter horror films include:
Inside, Train, The Human
Centipede, Hostel, Saw, Blood Feast, Storm Warning and Maniac.
Supernatural horror Includes menacing ghosts, demons, or other depictions of supernatural occurrences.
Supernatural horror films often combine elements of religion into the plot. Common themes include vengeful ghosts,
witches, the devil, and demonic possession. Examples include:The Ring, The Grudge, The Amityville Horror, It, The
Omen, The Exorcist, Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project and When the Lights Went Out
Gothic horror Gothic horror is a type of story that contains elements of goth and horror . At times it may have
romance that unfolds in the setting of a horror tale, usually suspenseful. Some of the earliest horror movies were of
 romance that unfolds in the setting of a horror tale, usually suspenseful. Some of the earliest horror movies were of
this subgenre. Examples include:Dracula, Sleepy Hollow, The Others, The Phantom of the Opera, Kill, Baby, Kill,
Nosferatu, and Crimson Peak.
Natural horror A subgenre of horror films "featuring nature running amok in the form of mutated beasts,
carnivorous insects, and normally harmless animals or plants turned into cold-blooded killers." [41] This genre may
sometimes overlap with the science fiction and action andadventure genres. Examples include:Piranha 3D, Bats,
Lake Placid, Rogue, Alligator, Eaten Alive, Eight Legged Freaks and Jaws.
Zombie film Zombie films feature creatures who are usually portrayed as either reanimated corpses or mindless
human beings. Distinct subgenres have evolved, such as thezombie comedy, which may or may not retain a
significant horror theme, and often crosses intoblack comedy. Examples include: White Zombie, Night of the Living
Dead, Dawn of the Dead, REC, 28 Days Later, Deadgirl, Dead Snow, Night of the Creeps and Messiah of Evil.
Found footage horror: A film "technique" sometimes referred to as a subgenre which involves giving the audience
a first person view of the story that is discovered from an original recording source within the plot. Recording film in
this way merges the audience with the characters experiences inducing suspense, shock, and baf flement.[42]
Examples of first-person horror includeThe Blair Witch Project (1999), Paranormal Activity (2007), Cloverfield
(2008), and Devil's Due (2014) [43]
Teen horror A horror subgenre that victimizes teenagers while usually promoting strong, anti-conformity teenage
leads, appealing to young generations. This subgenre often depicts themes of sex, under-aged drinking, and gore. It
was most popular in 1964-1965.[44]

Influences

Influences on society
Horror films' evolution throughout the years has given society a new approach to resourcefully utilize their benefits. The horror film
style has changed over time, but in 1996 Scream set off a "chain of copycats", leading to a new variety of teenage, horror movies.[45]
This new approach to horror films began to gradually earn more and more revenue as seen in the progress of Scream movies; the first
movie earned $6 million and the third movie earned $101 million.[45] The importance that horror films have gained in the public and
producers eyes is one obvious effect on our society.

Horror films' income expansion is only the first sign of the influences of horror flicks. The role of women and how women see
themselves in the movie industry has been altered by the horror genre. Early horror films such as My Bloody Valentine (1981),
Halloween (1978), and Friday the 13th (1980) were produced mostly for male audiences in order to "feed the fantasies of young
men".[46] This idea is no longer prevalent in horror films, as women have become not only the main audience and fans of horror films
but also the main protagonists of contemporary horror films.[47] Movie makers have also begun to integrate topics more broadly
[46]
associated with other genres into their films in order to grow audience appeal.

Influences internationally
While horror is only one genre of film, the influence it presents to the international community is large. Horror movies tend to be a
vessel for showing eras of audiences issues across the globe visually and in the most effective manner. Jeanne Hall, a film theorist,
agrees with the use of horror films in easing the process of understanding issues by making use of their optical elements.[48] The use
of horror films to help audiences understand international prior historical events occurs, for example, to show the horridness of the
Vietnam War, the Holocaust and the worldwide AIDS epidemic.[49] However, horror movies do not always present positive endings.
In fact, in many occurrences the manipulation of horror presents cultural definitions that are not accurate, yet set an example to which
[50]
a person relates to that specific cultural from then on in their life.

The visual interpretations of films can be lost in the translation of their elements from one culture to another like in the adaptation of
the Japanese film Ju on into the American film The Grudge. The cultural components from Japan were slowly "siphoned away" to
make the film more relatable to a western audience.[51] This deterioration that can occur in an international remake happens by over-
presenting negative cultural assumptions that, as time passes, sets a common ideal about that particular culture in each individual.[50]
Holm's discussion of The Grudge remakes presents this idea by stating, "It is, instead, to note that The Grudge films make use of an
untheorized notion of Japan... that seek to directly represent the country
.
See also
Lists of horror films
Bollywood horror films List of natural horror films
Cannibalism in popular culture Misogyny in horror films
Chinese horror Monsters in fiction
List of disaster films Monster movie
Fangoria Racism in horror films
German underground horror Social thriller
Japanese horror Survival horror games
Horror and terror Universal Monsters
Horror fiction Urban Gothic
List of ghost films Vampire film
List of horror film villains Werewolf fiction

References
Notes

1. Steve Bennett. "Definition Horror Fiction Genre"(http://www.findmeanauthor.com/definition_horror_fiction_genre.ht

m). Find me an author. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
2. "The True Origin of the Horror Film"(http://pages.emerson.edu/organizations/fas/latent_image/issues/1990-05/horro
r.htm). Pages.emerson.edu. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
3. "J-Horror: An Alternative Guide"(http://www.japanzine.jp/article/jz/955/jhorror-an-alternative-guide). Japanzine. 29
September 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
4. "Edison's Frankenstein"(http://www.filmbuffonline.com/Features/EdisonsFrankenstein1.htm)
. Filmbuffonline.com. 15
March 1910. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
5. Clarens, Carlos (1997) [1967, Capricorn Books, pp. 37-41].An Illustrated History of The Horror Film. Da Capo Press.
ISBN 978-0306808005.
6. Worland, Rick. The Horror Film: An Introduction. Blackwell Publisher. pp. 144 pg.146. ISBN 1-4051-3902-1.
7. Kinnard, Roy (1999). Horror in Silent Films: A Filmography, 1896-1929. North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 189190.
ISBN 978-0786407514.
8. The American Horror Film by Reynold Humpries
9. Derek Malcolm "Tod Browning: Freaks" (https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/apr/15/derekmalcolmscenturyoffilm.
derekmalcolm), The Guardian, 15 April 1999; A Century of Films, London: IB Tauris, 2000, p.66-67.
10. David J. Skal, The Monster Show: a Cultural History of Horror
, New York: Faber, p.142.
11. J Gordon Melton (2010). "The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead". p. 247. V
isible Ink Press
12. "Fangs for the memories: The A-Z of vampires"(http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/fangs-for-the-me
mories-the-a-z-of-vampires-1810987.html)(October 31, 2009). The Independent.
13. Charles Derry, Dark Dreams: A Psychological History of the Modern Horror Film
; A S Barnes & Co, 1977.
14. Geoff Andrew, "The Incredible Shrinking Man", in John Pym (ed.) Time Out Film Guide 2009, London: Penguin,
2008, p.506.
15. "A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss - Q&A with Mark Gatiss"(http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vcwm7). BBC
Four. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
16. Mark D. Eckel (2014). "When the Lights Go Down". p. 167. W
estBow Press.
17. Wilson, Karina. "Horror Movies In The 1960s: Bad Girls And Blood Freaks"(http://www.horrorfilmhistory.com/index.p
hp?pageID=1960s). Horror Film History. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
18. "Cannibalistic Capitalism and other American Delicacies"(http://www.film-philosophy.com/index.php/f-p/article/view/1
90). Naomi Merritt.
19. The American Horror Filmby Reynold Humphries
20. American Horror Film edited by Stefen Hantke
21. "The Horror: It just won't die"(http://www.acmi.net.au/1F6B9E88D95C48FCA5239678F1BBC8C6.htm). Acmi.net.au.
17 September 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
22. "Horror Films in the 1980s"(http://www.mediaknowall.com/Horror/eighties.html). Mediaknowall.com. Retrieved
24 April 2012.
23. China Bans Horror Movies(http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/shdaily_opinion.asp?id=353593&type=Opinion)
Shanghai Daily, March 2008.
24. George A. Romero's Survival of The Dead (http://www.morehorror.com/New-Survival-of-The-Dead-Poster-by-charlie-
adlard-and-Trailer-with-George-A-Ramero-Commentary63102): More Horror News, 6 May 2010.
25. Box Office for Horror Movies Is Weak: Verging on Horrible (https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/movies/11hostel.ht
ml): RAK Times, 11 June 2007.
26. Kit, Zorianna (22 July 2010)." 'Saw' movie franchise to get Guinness World Record" (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/
38372199/ns/today-entertainment/). MSNBC. Reuters. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
27. I Spit on Your Horror Movie Remakes(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9805698/) MSNBC 2005 opinion piece on
horror remakes
28. Halloween Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/halloween/). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7
September 2007.
29. Halloween (2007): Reviews(http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/halloween2007). Metacritic. Retrieved 7 September
2007.
30. "Friday the 13th: The Remake" (http://www.fridaythe13thfilms.com/films/newfriday.html). Retrieved 26 May 2008.
31. Aviles, Omar. "Corn remake cast" (http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=23056). JoBlo.com. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
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Till You Drop. 5 March 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
33. "Friday the 13th (2016)"(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3364774/). IMDb. 13 May 2016.
34. "Clive Barker Writing Hellraiser Remake"(http://www.imdb.com/news/ni56350303/). IMDb.
35. "Halloween Returns" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502407/). IMDb.
36. "MTV's Scream TV Series Plot Details & Character Descriptions"(http://screenrant.com/mtv-scream-tv-show-plot-c
haracter-descriptions/). Screenrant.com. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
37. Fleming, Mike (2014-04-24)."Friday The 13th Series: Horror Franchise To Become TV Show" (http://www.deadline.
com/2014/04/friday-the-13th-scares-up-hourlong-series/). Deadline. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
38. Film, Total. "Joss Whedon talks The Cabin in the Woods" (http://www.totalfilm.com/news/joss-whedon-talks-the-cabi
n-in-the-woods). TotalFilm.com. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
39. https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2017/09/11/it-box-office-pennywise-is-bigger-than-jesus-with-a-123m-
weekend/#5ce38d455c85
40. Hallenbeck 2009, p. 3
41. "Natural Horror Top rated Most Viewed AllMovie" (http://www.allrovi.com/movies/subgenre/natural-horror-d584).
Allrovi.com. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
42. refMcRobert, Neil. "Mimesis of Media: Found Footage Cinema and the Horror of the Real." Gothic Studies, vol. 17,
no. 2, Nov. 2015, pp. 137-150. EBSCOhost, doi:10.7227/GS.17.2.9
43. Reyes, Xavier Aldana. "Reel Evil: A Critical Reassessment of Found Footage Horror
." Gothic Studies, vol. 17, no. 2,
Nov. 2015, pp. 122-136. EBSCOhost, doi:10.7227/GS.17.2.8.
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[serial online]. June 2015;38(2):130-141. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March
21, 2017.
45. Stack, Tim. "Oh, The Horror." (http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=21&sid=f974de41-a7e4-4577-88d9-
fbc1438149fa@sessionmgr14&bdata=JmxvZ2luLmFzcCZzaXRlPWV ob3N0LWxpdmU=). Entertainment Weekly.
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48. Lizardi, Ryan. "Hegemony and Misogyny in the Contemporary Slasher Remake"(http://content.ebscohost.com/pdf23
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49. Heller-Nicholas, Alexandra.History and Horror. Screen Education.
50. Carta, Silvio (2011). "Orientalism in the Documentary Representation of Culture"(http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/
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s://doi.org/10.1080%2F08949468.2011.604592) . Retrieved March 7, 2013.
51. Holm, Nicholas. "Ex(or)cising the Spirit of Japan: Ringu, The Ring, and the Persistence of Japan"
(http://web.ebscoh
ost.com/ehost/detail?sid=6199f988-400d-451e-95b6-65582204a120@sessionmgr4&vid=13&hid=14&bdata=JmxvZ2
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Bibliography

Worland, Rick (2006). The Horror Film: An Introduction. Blackwell Publishing. pp. 73, 176178, 184.

Further reading
Dixon, Wheeler Winston.A History of Horror. (Rutgers University Press; 2010),ISBN 978-0-8135-4796-1.
Steffen Hantke, ed. American Horror Film: The Genre at the T urn of the Millennium (University Press of Mississippi;
2010), 253 pages.
Petridis, Sotiris (2014). "A Historical Approach to the Slasher Film". Film International 12 (1): 76-84.

External links
9 Outrageous and Uncensored Pre-code Horror Films o
Yu Should See Now
Love Horror - a website devoted to horror films

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