It’s spooky season, which for a lot of people means cozying up on the couch and willingly triggering their fight or flight response. I’m talking about horror movies and how they have woven themselves into our lives.
People’s desire for short scares and terrifying thrills has existed for as long as we have had storytelling. The first horror movie is considered to be the silent film “Le Manoir du Diable” by French director Georges Méliès, released in 1896. Horror movies have come very far since 1896.
Directors like Méliès opened the door for new directors in the early 20th century, ushering in the “golden age of horror” in the 1920s and 30s. Films like “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920), “Nosferatu” (1922), “The Mummy” (1932), and “Vampyr” (1932) established the genre.
The 1940s through the 60s saw the continuation of the movie monster, as seen in films like “The Wolf Man” (1941) or “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954). The decades also saw the establishment of psychological thrillers in the horror genre as Alfred Hitchcock, arguably the most well-known horror director of all time, entered the scene.
Hitchcock’s films focused on suspense and pushed the boundaries of what was allowed on screen at the time while defying tropes that had established themselves within the genre. His works paved the way for many of the horror movies we know and love today.
Improvements in special effects and editing techniques opened the horror genre up to more possibilities in the 70s and 80s. Violence and gore became synonymous with the horror genre. The slasher sub-genre was solidified with classics like “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974), “Halloween” (1978), “Friday the 13th” (1980), and “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984), which all came out of this new age of horror.
The body horror subgenre also grew in popularity. “An American Werewolf in London” (1981), “The Thing” (1982) and “The Fly” (1986) all pushed the boundaries of what an audience was willing to watch.
Movies like “The Exorcist” (1973) had initial negative reactions as audiences had never seen anything like it on the big screen before.
“It’s been reported that once inside the theater, a number of moviegoers vomited at the very graphic goings‐on on the screen. Others fainted, or left the theater, nauseous and trembling, before the film was half over,” said a New York Times article written by Judy Klemesrud in Jan. 1974.
From the 90s to now, we have seen more horror movies being self-aware of their tropes, such as in “Scream” (1996). Some audiences have grown bored of the violence of horror movies that seemingly replaced the actual plot in some cases. This has also given humorous horror movies the ability to make a way for themselves, examples being “Shaun of the Dead” (2004), “Zombieland” (2009), “The Cabin in the Woods” (2012), and the “Scary Movie” franchise.
“It never dies. It just keeps getting reinvented and it always will,” said director Jon Carpenter in a 2015 interview with Dave Portner for Interview magazine.
Today, horror has branched into many sub-genres, and to describe the characteristics of horror today would not be able to do them all justice. One thing that can be observed is that in many horror movies today they are separating themselves more from discriminatory tropes of the past.
Racism, misogyny, ableism, homophobia, transphobia and more have long been interwoven in the horror genre. Directors have tried to combat this in the past, but we are finally seeing it more now as those in front and behind the camera are beginning to diversify, opening doors to even more cinematic opportunities. Movies like “A Quiet Place” (2018), “Us” (2019), “Ready or Not” (2019), “Candyman” (2021), and “The Fear Street” franchise are reshaping the horror genre so that more people feel welcomed.
Horror is, for many, a form of catharsis, and as the genre grows and expands, more and more people will find solace in the terror. For others, horror can be a thrill, a way to get your blood pumping while still holding some feeling of safety. No matter the reason for watching horror, these movies will remain a reflection of our fears, our lives and ourselves.