I am so pumped that Halloween is so close because this means horror movie marathons for me! We know classic horror and movie monsters came way before the films of today, but did you know that the first real scary movie came out in 1896? The film was called Le Manoir du Diable by George Mellies and was a three-minute showing of skeletons, ghosts, bats, and of course the devil. Although not intended to be scary, and not exactly long enough to be considered a movie, it was the first film to show supernatural entities.
By the early 1900’s, film makers cast their gaze towards literary classics and soon began making movie adaptations. The 1920’s and 30’s saw the Golden Age of horror, with silent films including Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari while the talkies had Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Mummy. The 30’s also saw Freaks by Tod Browning, a film so disturbing that the film had to be cut and censored that the original was lost. Even today, Freaks retains its shock factor and is still considered highly disturbing.
Entering the 40’s and 50’s, we saw the rise of radioactive mutations on screen. This was heavily influenced by the nuclear weapons at the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War in the years following. Additionally, the space race had a huge influence on horror of the time. Aliens and UFOs dominated the pop culture scene as people pondered and feared what monsters lurked in faraway galaxies. This period brought us Godzilla, War of the Worlds, and When Worlds Collide which foreshadowed the rise of disaster movies.
The 60’s and 70’s saw gimmicky low budget horror films but also brought the rise of zombie flicks thanks to George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. These are also the decades where films turned away from monsters, mutants, and aliens and instead started focusing on the evil lurking in humanity and nature. Popular horror films of the time include Psycho, Peeping Tom, The Birds, and Jaws.
The 80’s and 90’s were prime time for occult movies and sequels to spring up. Who can forget The Shining or The Fog? And let’s not forget the rise of slasher films such as the Nightmare on Elm Streets, the Halloweens, and the Friday the 13ths and the Screams. Computers were also increasingly popular, and we saw a surge in horror films related to technology, like Ghost in the Machine.
We rang in the 2000’s with post-apocalyptic joys like World War Z, Resident Evil, and I am Legend among others. Modern CGI and filming techniques also ushered in the age of “bigger and better” remakes like The Fog and War of the Worlds. While the graphics, costumes, and special effects may be more realistic (and scary!) than the decades prior, there is still something to appreciate about the classics!
What about today? Horror films are ever changing, and filmmakers are still experimenting. A 2022 film called Skinamarink written and directed by Kyle Edward Ball is one such experimental film that has the masses divided. The film takes place through the eyes of two children, so the audience is seeing everything from their point of view and height. Unlike other horror films where the main characters are trying to escape or fight back against a slasher or dark entity, the two kids are trying to navigate a scary situation with no adults present. It’s a whole different kind of scary!
I hope you all learned something and are inspired to watch a bunch of horror movies this month!
