1922's Nosferatu

Horror films are movies that strive to elicit fright, fear, terror, or horror from viewers. Nosferatu A Symphony of Horror is a German Expressionist film by F Fear is an Emotional response to Threats and Danger. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific Stimulus, such as Fear is an Emotional response to Threats and Danger. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific Stimulus, such as The distinction between horror and terror is a standard literary and psychological concept applied especially to Gothic literature and film (Radcliffe 1826 Varma 1966 Crawford In horror film plots, evil forces, events, or characters, sometimes of supernatural origin, intrude into the everyday world. Evil, in many cultures is used to describe acts or thoughts which are contrary to some particular religion The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events Horror movies usually include a central villain. Early horror films often drew inspiration from characters and stories from classic literature, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, Phantom of the Opera and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary Antagonist the vampire Count Dracula. Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, generally known as Frankenstein, is a Novel written by the British author Mary Shelley The Phantom of the Opera (in French, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a French Novel by Gaston Leroux. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a Remake of the 1931 film of the same title Later horror films, in contrast, often drew inspiration from the insecurities of life after World War II, giving rise to the three distinct, but related, sub-genres: the horror-of-personality film, the horror-of-Armageddon film, and the horror-of-the-demonic film. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The horror-of-personality film is one of three sub-genres of the Horror film that grew out of mid- and late-20th-Century American culture In Christian mythology Armageddon ( Greek Αρμαγεδδων; also spelled Har-Magedon in some modern English translations also known as The horror-of-the-demonic film is one of three sub-genres of the Horror film that grew out of mid- and late-20th-Century American culture The last sub-genre may be seen as a modernized transition from the earliest horror films, expanding on their emphasis on supernatural agents that bring horror to the world. ^[1]

Horror films have been criticized for their graphic violence and dismissed as low budget B-movies and exploitation films. A B movie is a motion picture made on a low or modest budget Originally the term was used for films intended for distribution as the less-publicized second half of a Double Exploitation film is a type of film that eschews the expense of quality productions in favor of making films inexpensively attracting viewers by exciting their more prurient interests Nonetheless, all the major studios and many respected directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, Roman Polanski, Stanley Kubrick and Francis Ford Coppola, have made forays into the genre. A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (13 Francis Ford "Frank" Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is a five-time Academy Award -winning American Film director, The famous Hindi movie director and producer Ram Gopal Varma has experimented with several horror films, including Raat (The Night) (1992), Darna Mana Hai (Being Afraid is not allowed) (2003), and Darna Zaroori Hai (Being Afraid is necessary) (2006). Ram Gopal Varma ( Telugu: రామ్ గొపాల్ వర్మ Hindi: राम गोपाल वर्मा born April 7 1962 is a Darna Mana Hai ( Hindi: डरना मना है Urdu: ڈرنا منع ہے English: Getting Scared is Forbidden) is a Darna Zaroori Hai ( Hindi: डरना ज़रूरी है ै Urdu: ڈرنا ضروری ہے Translation: Being scared is Serious critics have analyzed horror films through the prisms of genre theory and the auteur theory. Genre studies are a structuralist approach to Literary theory, Film theory, and other cultural theories. Some horror films incorporate elements of other genres such as science fiction, fantasy, mockumentary, black comedy, and thrillers. Science fiction Film is a Film genre that uses speculative, Science -based depictions of imaginary phenomena such as extra-terrestrial Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes usually involving magic, Supernatural events make-believe creatures or exotic Fantasy worlds Mockumentary (also known as a pseudo-documentary) a Portmanteau of Mock and documentary, is a film and TV Genre, or a single work Black comedy, also known as black humor or dark comedy, is a sub-genre of Comedy and Satire where topics and events that are usually regarded The thriller is a broad Genre of Literature, Film, Gaming and Television. Many horror films are in the public domain (e. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone g. The Little Shop of Horrors, Night of the Living Dead, The Terror, Suspiria, Embryo)^[2]

History

1890s-1920s

Lon Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera

The horror genre is nearly as old as film itself. The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 Comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Night of the Living Dead (1968 directed by George Romero, is an independent Black-and-white Horror film. The Terror is a 1963 American Horror film produced by Roger Corman. Suspiria is a 1977 Italian Horror film directed by Dario Argento, and co-written by Argento and actress Daria Nicolodi Embryo is a 1976 Science fiction / horror film starring Rock Hudson and Barbara Carrera and was directed by Ralph Nelson. The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 Silent film directed by Rupert Julian adaptation of the Gaston Leroux novel of the same The first depictions of supernatural events appear in several of the silent shorts created by film pioneers such as Georges Méliès in the late 1890s, the most notable being his 1896 Le Manoir du diable (aka "The House of the Devil") which is sometimes credited as being the first horror film. Georges Méliès ( December 8, 1861 &ndash January 21, 1938) full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French Le Manoir du diable (The House of the Devil is a two-minute-long French Film directed by Georges Méliès. Another of his horror projects was the 1898. La Caverne maudite (aka "The Cave of the Demons", literally "the accursed cave"). ^[3] Japan made early forays into the horror genre with Bake Jizo and Shinin no Sosei, both made in 1898. The cinema of Japan (日本映画 The cinema of Japan (日本映画 The cinema of Japan (日本映画 Events May 19 - Vitagraph is founded in New York Birt Acres invents the first amateur format Birtac, by splitting 35 mm ^[4] In 1910, Edison Studios produced the first film version of Frankenstein, thought lost for many years, film collector Alois Felix Dettlaff Sr. The year 1910 in film involved some significant events Events The newsreel footage of the funeral of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom is shot Edison Studios was an American Motion picture production company owned by the Edison Company of inventor Thomas Edison. Frankenstein is a 1910 film made by Edison Studios that was written and directed by J A lost film is a Feature film or Short film that no longer exists in either studio archives or private collections found copy and had a 1993 rerelease. The year 1993 in film involved many significant films (For more about films in foreign languages check sources in those languages ^[5] It can now be viewed on youtube. YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload view and share Video clips YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees ^[6][7]

The early 20th century brought more milestones for the horror genre including the first monster to appear in a full-length horror film, Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre-Dame who had appeared in Victor Hugo's book, "Notre-Dame de Paris" (published in 1831). Quasimodo is a central character from French author Victor Hugo 's 1831 novel Notre Dame de Paris. Victor-Marie Hugo ( ( February 26, 1802 – May 22, 1885) was a French Poet, Playwright, Novelist The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Notre-Dame de Paris is an 1831 French novel written by Victor Hugo. Films featuring Quasimodo included Alice Guy's Esmeralda (1906), The Hunchback (1909), The Love of a Hunchback (1910) and Notre-Dame de Paris (1911). Alice Guy-Blaché ( July 1, 1873 &ndash March 24, 1968) was a pioneer Filmmaker who was the first female director in the motion picture ^[8]

Many of the earliest feature length 'horror films' were created by German film makers in 1910s and 1920s, during the era of German Expressionist films. Cinema in Germany can be traced back to the very beginnings of the medium at the end of the 19th century German Expressionism is the term used to refer to a number of related creative movements which emerged in Germany before the first world war which reached a peak in Berlin Many of these films would significantly influence later Hollywood films. Paul Wegener's The Golem (1915) was seminal; in 1920 Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, with its Expressionist style, would influence film-makers from Orson Welles to Tim Burton and many more for decades. Paul Wegener ( 11 December 1874 &ndash 13 September 1948) was a German Actor, Writer and Film director Der Golem (German translated as The Golem and shown in the USA as The Monster of Fate) is a 1915 silent horror Robert Wiene ( April 27, 1873, Breslau – June 16, 1938, Paris) was Caligari redirects here For the company see Caligari Corporation. Expressionism is the tendency of an artist to distort reality for an Emotional effect it is a subjective art form George Orson Welles (May 6 1915 – October 10 1985 was an Academy Award -winning director, writer actor and producer for film stage radio and television Timothy "Tim" William Burton (born August 25 1958 is an American Film director, Screenwriter and Set designer, notable for the quirky The era also produced the first vampire-themed feature, F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922), an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, better known as F W Murnau ( December 28, 1888 &ndash March 11, 1931) was one of the most influential Nosferatu A Symphony of Horror is a German Expressionist film by F Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912 was an Irish writer of novels and short stories who is best known today for his 1897 horror Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary Antagonist the vampire Count Dracula. ^[9] Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927), though more of a science fiction film, is considered a landmark film of the German Expressionist era. Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang ( December 5, 1890 &ndash August 2, 1976) was an Austrian German - American Metropolis is a silent Science fiction film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Lang and Thea von Harbou. Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Early Hollywood dramas dabbled in horror themes, including versions of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Monster (1925) (both starring Lon Chaney, Sr., the first American horror movie star). The 1923 film version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, starring Lon Chaney as Quasimodo and Patsy Ruth Miller as Esmeralda The Monster is a 1925 silent horror Comedy directed by Roland West, based on the play by Crane Wilbur. Lon Chaney ( April 1 1883 &ndash August 26 1930) nicknamed " The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For other uses including various songs titled "Movie Star" see Movie star (disambiguation. His most famous role, however, was in The Phantom of the Opera (1925), perhaps the true predecessor of Universal's famous horror series. The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 Silent film directed by Rupert Julian adaptation of the Gaston Leroux novel of the same Universal Horror is the name given to the distinctive series of Horror films made by Universal Studios in California ^[10]

1930s & 1940s

Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster

It was in the early 1930s that American film producers, particularly Universal Pictures Co. Inc., popularized the horror film, bringing to the screen a series of successful Gothic features including Dracula (1931), and The Mummy (1932), some of which blended science fiction films with Gothic horror, such as James Whale's Frankenstein (1931) and The Invisible Man (1933). The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A movie studio (aka film studio) is in the established sense of the term a company that distributes films. Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios) a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is a major Global American Gothic fiction (sometimes referred to as Gothic horror) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Dracula is a classic 1931 Horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Béla Lugosi as the title character The Mummy is a 1932 horror classic from Universal Pictures directed by Karl Freund and starring Boris Karloff as a Science fiction Film is a Film genre that uses speculative, Science -based depictions of imaginary phenomena such as extra-terrestrial James Whale ( July 22, 1889 – May 29, 1957) was a British born Film director, best known for his work in the Frankenstein is a Horror film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and very loosely based on the novel of the same name The Invisible Man is a 1933 Horror film based on H G Wells ' Science fiction novel The Invisible Man, published Tod Browning, director of Dracula, also made the extremely controversial Freaks based on Spurs by Ted Robbins, it is about a band of circus freaks. Freaks is a 1932 Horror film about Sideshow performers directed and produced by Tod Browning with a cast mostly composed of It was so controversial the studio burned about 30 minutes and disowned it. These films, while designed to thrill, also incorporated more serious elements, and were influenced by the German expressionist films of the 1920s. Some actors began to build entire careers in such films, most notably Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Boris Karloff ( 23 November, &ndash 2 February,) was an English actor who emigrated to Canada in the 1910s Béla Lugosi (October 20 1882 &ndash August 16 1956 was an iconic Hungarian stage and film actor best known for his portrayal of Count Dracula in the American

In 1931, Fritz Lang released his epic thriller M, which chillingly told the story of a serial killer of children, played by Peter Lorre. M is a 1931 German drama - thriller directed by Fritz Lang and written by Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou A serial killer is a person who Murders usually three or more people with a "cooling off" period between each murder and whose motivation for killing is largely based Peter Lorre ( June 26 1904 &ndash March 23 1964) born László Löwenstein, was a Hungarian - Austrian

Other studios of the day had less spectacular success, but Rouben Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Paramount, 1931) and Michael Curtiz's Mystery of the Wax Museum (Warner Brothers, 1933) were both important horror films. Rouben Mamoulian ( October 8, 1897 &ndash December 4, 1987) was an Armenian - American film and Theatre Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a 1931 Horror film directed by Rouben Mamoulian. Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. Michael Curtiz ( December 24, 1886 - April 10, 1962) was an Academy Award -winning Hungarian-American Film director Mystery of the Wax Museum is a mystery / horror Technicolor film released in 1933 and directed by Michael Curtiz. Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and

Universal's horror films continued into the 1940s with The Wolf Man 1941, not the first werewolf film, but certainly the most influential. See also Lycanthropy (disambiguation Werewolves, also known as lycanthropes, are mythological or folkloric humans with the ability to Throughout the decade Universal also continued to produce more sequels in the Frankenstein series, as well as a number of films teaming up several of their monsters. Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, generally known as Frankenstein, is a Novel written by the British author Mary Shelley Also in that decade, Val Lewton would produce atmospheric B-pictures for RKO Pictures, including Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and The Body Snatcher (1945). Val Lewton ( 7 May  – 14 March) was an American Film producer and Screenwriter, who is best known for a sequence of nine brooding A B movie is a motion picture made on a low or modest budget Originally the term was used for films intended for distribution as the less-publicized second half of a Double Cat People is a Horror film produced by Val Lewton and directed by Jacques Tourneur. I Walked with a Zombie is a Horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur. The Body Snatcher ( is a Horror film directed by Robert Wise based on the short story The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson

The first horror film produced by an Indian film industry was Mahal, a Hindi film. The Indian film industry is the largest in the world in terms of ticket sales and number of films produced annually (877 feature films and 1177 short films were released in the year 2003 Mahal ( Hindi: महल Urdu: محل) is a 1949 Indian Hindi film directed by Kamal Amrohi and starring Bollywood (बॉलीवूड بالی وڈ is the informal term popularly used for the Mumbai -based Hindi-language Film industry in India It was a supernatural thriller and the earliest known film dealing with the theme of reincarnation.

1950s-1960s

With the dramatic advances in technology that occurred in the 1950s, the tone of horror films shifted away from the gothic towards science fiction. A seemingly endless parade of low-budget productions featured humanity overcoming threats from "outside": alien invasions and deadly mutations to people, plants, and insects. This article is about invasion by Extra-terrestrial beings as a theme for other uses of the term see Alien invasion (disambiguation. In biology mutations are changes to the Nucleotide sequence of the Genetic material of an organism These films provided ample opportunity for audience exploitation, with gimmicks such as 3-D and "Percepto" (producer William Castle's pseudo-electric-shock technique used for 1959's The Tingler) drawing audiences in week after week for bigger and better scares. See also [[stereoscopy]] In film the term 3-D (or 3D) is used to describe any visual presentation system that attempts to maintain or recreate moving images William Castle ( April 24, 1914 &ndash May 31, 1977) was an American Film director, producer, and The Tingler is a 1959 horror - Thriller film by the American producer and director William Castle The classier horror films of this period, including The Thing from Another World (1951; attributed on screen to Christian Nyby but widely considered to be the work of Howard Hawks) and Don Siegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) managed to channel the paranoia of the Cold War into atmospheric creepiness without resorting to direct exploitation of the events of the day. The Thing from Another World, often referred to as The Thing before 1982 is a 1951 Science fiction film which tells the story of Christian Nyby ( September 1, 1913 – September 17, 1993) was an American television and Film director. Howard Winchester Hawks ( May 30, 1896 &ndash December 26, 1977) was an American Film director, producer and Donald Siegel ( October 26, 1912 - April 20, 1991) was an influential American Film director and producer Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a 1956 Science fiction film based on the novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney (originally Paranoia is a disturbed thought process characterized by excessive Anxiety or Fear, often to the point of Irrationality and Delusion. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Filmmakers would continue to merge elements of science fiction and horror over the following decades. ^[11] One of the most notable films of the era was 1957's The Incredible Shrinking Man, from Richard Matheson's existentialist novel. The Incredible Shrinking Man is a 1957 Science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold and adapted for the screen by Richard Matheson from Richard Matheson (born February 20, 1926) is an American Author and Screenwriter, typically of fantasy, horror Existentialism is a philosophical doctrine which posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives and that this essence follows from their existence While more of a "science-fiction" story, the film conveyed the fears of living in the "Atomic Age" and the terror of social alienation. The Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is a phrase typically used to delineate the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear bomb In Sociology and Critical social theory, alienation refers to an individual's estrangement from traditional community and others in general

The late 1950s and early 1960s saw the rise of production companies focused on producing horror films, including the British company Hammer Film Productions. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Hammer enjoyed huge international success from full-blooded technicolor films involving classic horror characters, often starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, such as The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Dracula (1958), and The Mummy (1959) and many sequels. Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE (26 May 1913—11 August 1994 was an English actor known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE, CStJ (born 27 May 1922 is a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award-nominated Saturn Award-winning English Actor The Curse of Frankenstein is a 1957 British Horror film by Hammer Film Productions. Dracula is a 1958 British Horror film, and the first of a series of Hammer Horror films inspired by the Bram Stoker novel The Mummy is a 1959 British Hammer Horror film starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Hammer, and director Terence Fisher, are widely acknowledged as pioneers of the modern horror movie. Terence Fisher ( 23 February 1904 &ndash 18 June, 1980) was a film director who worked for Hammer Films. Other companies contributed to a boom in horror film production in Britain in the 1960s and '70s, including Tigon-British and Amicus, the latter best known for their anthology films like Dr Terror's House of Horrors (1965). Tigon British Film Productions or Tigon was a film production and distribution company founded by Tony Tenser in 1966. Amicus Productions is a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England. Dr Terror's House of Horrors is a 1965 British Horror film from Amicus Productions, directed by veteran horror film director

American International Pictures (AIP) also made a series of Edgar Allan Poe–themed films produced by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price. American International Pictures was a Film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, Roger William Corman (born April 5 1926) sometimes nicknamed "King of the Bs" for his output of B-movies (though he himself rejects this as inaccurate Vincent Leonard Price Jr ( May 27 1911 &ndash October 25 1993) was an American Film Actor, remembered These sometimes controversial productions paved the way for more explicit violence in both horror and mainstream films.

In Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), the object of horror does not look like a monstrous or supernatural other, but rather a normal human being. Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (13 Psycho is a suspense / Horror film directed by auteur Alfred Hitchcock, from the Screenplay by Joseph The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events The horror has a human explanation, too, based in Freudian psychology and sex. Other seminal examples include Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960), Homicidal (William Castle, 1961), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (Robert Aldrich, 1962), Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte (Robert Aldrich, 1964), Pretty Poison (Noel Black, 1968), and The Collector (William Wyler, 1965). Peeping Tom is a Psychological thriller film by the British film director Michael Powell. Michael Latham Powell ( 30 September 1905 &ndash 19 February 1990) was a British Film director, renowned for his partnership Homicidal is a 1961 Thriller film produced and directed by the self-proclaimed "King of Showmanship" William Castle. William Castle ( April 24, 1914 &ndash May 31, 1977) was an American Film director, producer, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a Novel by Author Henry Farrell published in 1960. Robert Aldrich (August 9 1918 – December 5 1983 was an American Film director, writer and producer, notable for such films as Kiss Me Deadly Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte (also known as What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?) is a 1964 American Horror film Robert Aldrich (August 9 1918 – December 5 1983 was an American Film director, writer and producer, notable for such films as Kiss Me Deadly Pretty Poison (1968 is a Thriller film directed by Noel Black, starring Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld, about an ex-convict Noel Black (born June 30, 1937) is an American film and television director The Collector is the title of a 1963 novel by John Fowles. It was made into a movie in 1965 William Wyler ( July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a four-time Academy Award -winning motion picture director Films of the horror-of-personality sub-genre continue to appear through the turn of the century, with 1991's The Silence of the Lambs a noteworthy example. The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 suspense film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Some of these films further blur the distinction between horror film and crime or thriller genre. A crime film, in the most general sense is a Film that involves various aspects Crime and the Criminal justice system The thriller is a broad Genre of Literature, Film, Gaming and Television.

Ghosts and monsters still remained popular, but many films that still relied on supernatural monsters expressed a horror of the demonic. A ghost is said to be the apparition of a Deceased person frequently similar in appearance to that person and usually encountered in places she or he frequented A monster is any of a large number of Legendary creatures which usually appear in Mythology, Legend, or Horror fiction. The horror-of-the-demonic film is one of three sub-genres of the Horror film that grew out of mid- and late-20th-Century American culture The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961) and The Haunting (Robert Wise, 1963) were two such horror-of-the-demonic films from the early 1960s, with high production values and gothic atmosphere. The Innocents is a 1961 Horror film based on the novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry Jack Clayton ( 1 March, 1921 &ndash 26 February, 1995) was a British Film director who specialised in bringing literary The Haunting is a 1963 horror film directed by Robert Wise and adapted by Nelson Gidding from the novel The Haunting of Hill House Robert Wise ( September 10, 1914 &ndash September 14, 2005) was an American sound effects editor film editor and Academy Gothic fiction (sometimes referred to as Gothic horror) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Perhaps the most recognizable milestone of the sub-genre remains Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968), in which the devil is made of flesh. Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American horror / thriller Film written and directed by Roman Polanski. "Curse of the Demon/Night of the Demon" was a superior film by Jaques Touneur featuring Dana Andrews as the skeptic doctor searching out witchcraft.

Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) had a more modern backdrop; it was a prime example of a menace stemming from nature gone mad and one of the first American examples of the horror-of-Armageddon sub-genre. The Birds ( 1963) is a Horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the Short story of the same name by One of the most influential horror films of the late 1960s was George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968). George Andrew Romero (born February 4, 1940) is an American director writer editor and actor Night of the Living Dead (1968 directed by George Romero, is an independent Black-and-white Horror film. This horror-of-Armageddon film about zombies was later deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" enough to be preserved by the United States National Film Registry. zombie is a reanimated human corpse Stories of zombies originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of Vodou, which told of the people being controlled The National Film Registry is the registry of Films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Blending psychological insights with gore, it moved the genre even further away from the gothic horror trends of earlier eras and brought horror into everyday life. ^[12]

Low-budget gore-shock films from the likes of Herschell Gordon Lewis also appeared. A splatter film or gore film is a type of Horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and Graphic violence. Herschell Gordon Lewis (born 15 June 1929, in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, U Examples included 1963's Blood Feast (a devil-cult story) and 1964's Two Thousand Maniacs (a ghost town run by the shades of Southerners), which featured splattering blood and bodily dismemberment. Blood Feast ( 1963, also known as Egyptian Blood Feast and Feast of Flesh) is an American Horror film directed The Devil is the Two Thousand Maniacs! is a low budget 1964 Splatter film directed and written by Herschell Gordon Lewis. A ghost town is a Town or City that has been abandoned usually because the economic activity that supported it has failed or due to natural or human-caused The Southern United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South &mdashconstitutes a large distinctive Dismemberment is the act of cutting tearing pulling wrenching or otherwise removing the limbs of a living thing

1970s

Regan MacNeil, portrayed by Linda Blair in The Exorcist. Linda Denise Blair (born January 22 1959 is an American actress most famous for her role as the possessed child Regan in the 1973 film The Exorcist is a 1973 American Horror film, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty,

With the demise of the Production Code of America in 1964, and the financial successes of the low-budget gore films churned out in the ensuing years, plus an increasing public fascination with the occult, the genre was able to be reshaped by a series of intense, often gory horror movies with sexual overtones, made as "A-movies" (as opposed to "B-movies"). For the television broadcasting term please see Production code number. The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus (clandestine hidden secret referring to "knowledge of the hidden" A B movie is a motion picture made on a low or modest budget Originally the term was used for films intended for distribution as the less-publicized second half of a Double Some of these films were made by respected auteurs. ^{[13] [14]} The critical and popular success of Rosemary's Baby (1968) prompted the 1970s occult explosion, which included the box office smash The Exorcist (1973) (directed by William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty, who also wrote the novel), and scores of other horror films in which the Devil became the supernatural evil, often by impregnating women or possessing children. The Exorcist is a 1973 American Horror film, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, William Friedkin (born August 29 1935 in Chicago, Illinois) is an Academy Award-winning American movie and television director William Peter Blatty (born January 7, 1928) is an American Writer and Filmmaker. This article is about the novel published in 1971 For information about the 1973 film please see The Exorcist (film. Satan, ( Standard Hebrew Satan'el, English accuser) is a term that originates from the Abrahamic faiths, being traditionally "Evil children" and reincarnation became popular subjects (as in Robert Wise's 1977 film Audrey Rose, which dealt with a man who claims his daughter is the reincarnation of another dead person). Robert Wise ( September 10, 1914 &ndash September 14, 2005) was an American sound effects editor film editor and Academy Audrey Rose is a 1977 Horror film directed by Robert Wise, starring Marsha Mason and Anthony Hopkins. Alice, Sweet Alice (1976), is another Catholic themed horror slasher about a little girl's murder and her sister being the prime suspect. Alice Sweet Alice (aka Communion or Holy Terror) is a 1977 Psychological horror Slasher film. Another popular Satanic horror movie was The Omen (1976), where a man realizes his five year old adopted son is the Antichrist. The Omen is a 1976 suspense / horror Film directed by Richard Donner. For other uses see Antichrist (disambiguation In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist or anti-Christ means a person office Being by doctrine invincible to solely human intervention, Satan-villained films also cemented the relationship between horror film, postmodern style and a dystopian worldview. Doctrine (Latin doctrina) is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachings quot or "instructions" taught principles or positions as the Postmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement' While " Modern " itself refers to something "related to the present" the movement of modernism A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος alternatively cacotopia, kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti-utopia) is the vision of a society Another notable example is The Sentinel, which is not to be confused with the Michael Douglas/Kiefer Sutherland film of the same name, as a fashion model discovers her new brownstone residence may actually be a portal to Hell. The Sentinel is a 1977 Horror film starring Chris Sarandon & Cristina Raines. Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American Actor and producer, primarily in Movies and Television Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland He has Scottish ancestry from both parents and is the grandson of Canadian politician Tommy Douglas. Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering The movie is most notable for having a mix of seasoned actors like Ava Gardner, Burgess Meredith and Eli Wallach alongside future stars Christopher Walken and Jeff Goldblum. Ava Lavinia Gardner ( December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an Academy Award -nominated American actress Oliver Burgess Meredith ( November 16, 1908 He graduated from Hoosac School in 1926 Eli Herschel Wallach (born December 7, 1915) is an American BAFTA - Tony Award - and Emmy Award -winning and Golden Christopher Walken (born March 31 1943 is an American Film and Theatre Actor. Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (born October 22, 1952) is an Academy Award -nominated American actor

The ideas of the 1960s began to influence horror films, as the youth involved in the counterculture began exploring the medium. The Counterculture of the 1960s and early 1970s refers to a period between 1960 and 1973 that began in the United States as a reaction against Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left (1972) and Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) both recalled the horrors of the Vietnam war and pushed boundaries to the edge; George Romero satirised the consumer society in his 1978 zombie sequel, Dawn of the Dead; Canadian director David Cronenberg updated the "mad scientist" movie subgenre by exploring contemporary fears about technology and society, and reinventing "body horror", starting with Shivers (1975). Wesley Earl Craven (born August 2, 1939) is an American Film director and writer, perhaps best known as the creator of many Horror The Last House on the Left is a 1972 Horror film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Sean S Tobe Hooper (born January 25, 1943) is an American director and Screenwriter, best known for his work in the Horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia George Andrew Romero (born February 4, 1940) is an American director writer editor and actor Consumers refers to individuals or households that use goods and services generated within the economy. A sequel is a work in Literature, Film, or other media that portrays events following those of a previous work Dawn of the Dead (also known as George A Romero's Dawn of the Dead, Zombie internationally Zombies in Britain, and alternately called David Paul Cronenberg OC, FRSC (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian Film director and occasional Actor. Body horror, or biological horror, is Horror fiction in which the horror is principally derived from a sense of physical "wrongness" with the body Shivers (filmed as Orgy of the Blood Parasites; alternate titles The Parasite Murders, They Came from Within ^[15]

Also in the 1970s, horror author Stephen King, a child of the 1960s, first arrived on the film scene. Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American Author, Screenwriter, Musician, Columnist, Many of his books were adapted for the screen, beginning with Brian DePalma's adaptation of King's first published novel, Carrie (1976), which went on to be nominated for Academy Awards—although it has often been noted that its appeal was more for its psychological exploration as for its capacity to scare. Brian De Palma (born Brian Russell DePalma on September 11 1940 in Newark New Jersey) is an American Film director. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. John Carpenter, who had previously directed the stoner comedy Dark Star (1974) and the Howard Hawks-inspired action film Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), created the hit Halloween (1978), kick-starting the modern "slasher film". John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American Film director, Screenwriter, producer, film score Stoner film is a Subgenre of Films that center around an explicit use of the drug cannabis. Dark Star is a 1974 Sci-fi Tongue-in-cheek comedy Motion picture directed by John Carpenter and co-written with Dan O'Bannon Howard Winchester Hawks ( May 30, 1896 &ndash December 26, 1977) was an American Film director, producer and Action movies are a Film genre where action sequences such as fights, Shootouts Stunts Car chases or explosions either take precedence Assault on Precinct 13 is a 1976 American action / thriller movie inspired by the Howard Hawks Film Rio Bravo Halloween is a 1978 American independent Horror film set in the fictional midwestern town of Haddonfield, The slasher film (sometimes referred to as bodycount films and dead teenager movies) is a Sub-genre This subgenre would be mined by dozens of increasingly violent movies throughout the subsequent decades, and Halloween has also become one of the most successful independent films ever made. Other notable '70s slasher films include Bob Clark's Black Christmas (1974), which had came out before Halloween, and was another start of the sub-genre. The slasher film (sometimes referred to as bodycount films and dead teenager movies) is a Sub-genre Benjamin "Bob" Clark ( August 5 1939 After attending Catawba College majoring in philosophy Clark won a football scholarship to Black Christmas is a 1974 Canadian Horror film, directed by Bob Clark, which has a very large Cult following Halloween is a 1978 American independent Horror film set in the fictional midwestern town of Haddonfield,

In 1975, Steven Spielberg began his ascension to fame with Jaws, a film notable for not only its expertly crafted horror elements but also for its success at the box office. Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (Hon (born December 18 1946 is an American Film director, Screenwriter and producer. Jaws is a 1975 thriller / horror Film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley 's best-selling The film kicked off a wave of killer animal stories such as Orca, and Up From The Depths. Orca is a 1977 Horror film directed by Michael Anderson and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and starring Richard Harris The 1978 comedy film Piranha, directed by Joe Dante, is a spoof of such films. This is a list of comedy horror films: 1920s 1923 Puritan Passions 1925 The Piranha is a 1978 comedy Horror film about a swarm of killer Piranha. Joseph Domenick "Joe" Dante (born November 28, 1946) is an American Film director and producer of films generally with A parody (ˈpɛɹədiː US, [ˈpaɹədiː] UK) in contemporary usage is a work created to mock comment on or poke fun at an original work its subject 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. A B movie is a motion picture made on a low or modest budget Originally the term was used for films intended for distribution as the less-publicized second half of a Double

1979's Alien combined the naturalistic acting and graphic violence of the 1970s with the monster movie plots of earlier decades, and re-acquainted horror with science fiction. Alien is a 1979 science fiction / Horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver. Science fiction Film is a Film genre that uses speculative, Science -based depictions of imaginary phenomena such as extra-terrestrial It spawned a long-lasting franchise, and countless imitators.

At the same time, there was an explosion of horror films in Europe, particularly from the hands of Italian filmmakers like Mario Bava, Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, and Spanish filmmakers like Jacinto Molina (aka Paul Naschy) and Jess Franco, which were dubbed into English and filled drive-in theaters that could not necessarily afford the expensive rental contracts of the major producers. The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had discovered the medium when Pope Leo XIII was filmed Mario Bava ( July 31 1914 – April 25 1980) was an Italian director, Screenwriter, and Cinematographer Dario Argento (born September 7 1940) is an Italian Film director, producer and Screenwriter. Lucio Fulci ( June 17, 1927 – March 13, 1996) was an Italian film director, Screenwriter, and Actor The art of motion-picture making within the nation of Spain or by Spanish filmmakers Paul Naschy (born Jacinto Molina on September 6, 1934 in Madrid) is a Spanish movie Actor, Screenwriter, and Jesús (or Jess) Franco (born May 12, 1930 as Jesús Franco Manera) is a Spanish Film director, writer A drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor screen a projection booth a Concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles These films were influenced by the success of Hammer in the 1960s and early '70s, and generally featured traditional horror subjects - e. g. vampires, werewolves, psycho-killers, demons, zombies - but treated them with a distinctive European style that included copious gore and sexuality (of which mainstream American producers overall were still a little skittish). Vampires are mythological or folkloric revenants who subsist by feeding on the blood of the living See also Lycanthropy (disambiguation Werewolves, also known as lycanthropes, are mythological or folkloric humans with the ability to A serial killer is a person who Murders usually three or more people with a "cooling off" period between each murder and whose motivation for killing is largely based zombie is a reanimated human corpse Stories of zombies originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of Vodou, which told of the people being controlled A film producer is a person who creates the conditions for making movies. Notable national outputs were the "giallo" films from Italy and the Jean Rollin romantic/erotic films from France. Jean Michel Rollin Le Gentil (born November 3, 1938 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, France) is a The cinema of France comprises the art of Film making within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad ^[16]

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, filmmakers were starting to be inspired by Hammer and Euro-horror to produce exploitation horror with a uniquely Asian twist. The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the Cinema of China Shaw Studios produced Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1973) in collaboration with Hammer, and went on to create their own original films. The Shaw Brothers Studio ( Chinese 邵氏片場 owned by Shaw Brothers (HK Ltd The genre boomed at the start of the 1980s, with Sammo Hung's Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1981) launching the sub-genre of "kung-fu comedy horror", a sub-genre prominently featuring hopping corpses and tempting ghostly females known as fox spirits (or kitsune), of which the best known examples were Mr. Vampire (1985) and A Chinese Ghost Story (1987). Sammo Hung is a Chinese Actor, producer and director from Hong Kong, known for his work in many kung fu films Jiang Shi ( literally "stiff corpse " sometimes called Chinese vampires by Westerners are reanimated corpses that hop around killing living creatures Mr Vampire, aka Geungsi Sinsang (Chinese 殭屍先生 Jiāngshī Xiānsheng) is Ricky Lau 's 1985 highly A Chinese Ghost Story ( Jyutping: Sin6neoi5 Jau1wan4 literal meaning "The Ethereal Spirit of a Beauty" is a 1987 Hong Kong ^[17] But Hammer Film Productions would stop making movies in the 1970s as the demand for slasher films increased, following the success of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Halloween, among others. Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent Halloween is a 1978 American independent Horror film set in the fictional midwestern town of Haddonfield,

1980s

Freddy Krueger played by Robert Englund. Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American Actor, best known for playing the fictional Serial killer

The 1980s were marked by the growing popularity of horror movie sequels. 1982's Poltergeist (directed by Tobe Hooper) was followed by two sequels and a television series. The Poltergeist movies are a trilogy of Horror films produced in the 1980s Tobe Hooper (born January 25, 1943) is an American director and Screenwriter, best known for his work in the Horror film The seemingly-endless sequels to Halloween, Friday the 13th (1980), and Wes Craven's successful supernatural slasher A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) were the popular face of horror films in the 1980s, a trend reviled by most critics. Halloween is a 1978 American independent Horror film set in the fictional midwestern town of Haddonfield, A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American Horror film directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first Another popular horror film of the '80s, Stephen King and George A. Romero's Creepshow, spawned two generally-considered 'lesser' sequels in 1987 & 1990 respectively, Creepshow 2 and Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (aka. Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American Author, Screenwriter, Musician, Columnist, George Andrew Romero (born February 4, 1940) is an American director writer editor and actor Tagline General information Stephen King's Creepshow is a 1982 anthology Horror movie directed by George A Creepshow 2 is a 1987 horror Anthology Film directed by Michael Gornick (who was George A Tales from the Darkside is a 1990 movie directed by John Harrison based on the anthology television series Tales from the Darkside. Creepshow 3) as did The Evil Dead (1981). Tales from the Darkside is a 1990 movie directed by John Harrison based on the anthology television series Tales from the Darkside. The Evil Dead (also known as Evil Dead, The Book of the Dead, Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead and

Nevertheless, original horror films continued to appear sporadically: Clive Barker's Hellraiser (1987) and Tom Holland's Child's Play (1988) were both praised by some, although their success again launched multiple sequels, which were considered inferior by fans and critics alike. Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English author film director and visual artist Hellraiser is a 1987 British Horror film exploring the themes of Sadomasochism, pain as a source of pleasure and morality under duress and fear Tom Holland may refer to Tom Holland (director, American film director Tom Holland (author, British author Tom Holland Child's Play is a 1988 Horror film written by Don Mancini and directed by Tom Holland. Also released in 1980 was Stanley Kubrick's austere adaptation of the Stephen King supernatural thriller The Shining which became one of the most popular and influential horror films of the decade. The Shining is a 1980 horror Film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on Stephen King 's novel of the same name

As the cinema box office returns for serious, gory modern horror began to dwindle (as exemplified by John Carpenter's The Thing in 1982), the genre found a new audience in the growing home video market, although the new generation of films was less sombre in tone. A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for Admission to a venue The Thing is a 1982 science fiction and Horror film directed by John Carpenter, written by Bill Lancaster and starring Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or hired for home entertainment Motel Hell (1980) and Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case (1982) were among the first 1980s films to campily mock the dark conventions of the previous decade (zombie films like Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead had contained black comedy and satire, but were in general more dark than funny). Motel Hell is a 1980 horror / Comedy film directed by Kevin Connor and starring Rory Calhoun as farmer butcher and meat entrepreneur Frank Henenlotter, born 1950 is an American Screenwriter, director, and film historian Basket Case is a 1982 Horror comedy Film written and directed by Frank Henenlotter. Night of the Living Dead (1968 directed by George Romero, is an independent Black-and-white Horror film. Dawn of the Dead (also known as George A Romero's Dawn of the Dead, Zombie internationally Zombies in Britain, and alternately called Black comedy, also known as black humor or dark comedy, is a sub-genre of Comedy and Satire where topics and events that are usually regarded Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human David Cronenberg's graphic and gory remake of The Fly, was released in 1986, about a few weeks from the James Cameron film Aliens, Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator, Dan O'Bannon's The Return of the Living Dead, and Lloyd Kaufman's The Toxic Avenger (all 1985), soon followed. David Paul Cronenberg OC, FRSC (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian Film director and occasional Actor. The Fly is a 1986 Science fiction / Horror film produced by Brooksfilms and 20th Century Fox, directed by David Cronenberg James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is an Academy Award -winning Canadian - American director This article is about the film for the video games see Aliens (Square computer game and Aliens (arcade game. Stuart Gordon (born August 11, 1947) in Chicago Illinois) is a director, writer and producer of Films and Re-Animator is a 1985 Horror film directed by Stuart Gordon and based on the H Dan O'Bannon (born Daniel Thomas O'Bannon on September 30, 1946 in St The Return of the Living Dead is a zombie Horror film that was released in 1985 and was followed by several sequels. Lloyd Kaufman (Born Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr on December 30, 1945) is an American Film director, producer, Screenwriter The Toxic Avenger is an American Cult classic Comedy horror Film first released in late 1985 by Troma Entertainment In Evil Dead II (1987), Sam Raimi's explicitly slapstick sequel to the relatively sober The Evil Dead (1981), the laughs were often generated by the gore, defining the archetypal splatter comedy. Evil Dead II (also known as Evil Dead 2 Dead by Dawn) is an American Comedy horror movie released in 1987 Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi (born October 23, 1959) is an American Film director, producer, Actor and Slapstick is a type of Comedy involving exaggerated physical violence or activities which exceed the boundaries of common sense such as a character being hit in the face with The Evil Dead (also known as Evil Dead, The Book of the Dead, Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead and A splatter film or gore film is a type of Horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and Graphic violence. New Zealand director Peter Jackson followed in Raimi's footsteps with the ultra-gory micro-budget feature Bad Taste (1987). Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing Bad Taste, released in 1987, is a cult Action comedy / Sci-fi Splatter film. The same year, from Germany's Jörg Buttgereit, came Nekromantik, a disturbing film about the life and death of a necrophiliac. Jörg Buttgereit (born December 20 1963) is a German writer/ director known for his controversial films NEKRomantik is a 1987 German Horror film directed by Jörg Buttgereit.

Horror films continued to cause controversy: in the United Kingdom, the growth in home video led to growing public awareness of horror films of the types described above, and concern about the ease of availability of such material to children. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Many films were dubbed "video nasties" and banned (notably foreign films such as The Anthropophagus Beast, A Blade in the Dark, The New York Ripper and Tenebre but US and Canadian films like Madman, Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, Don't Go in the House & Maniac). " Video nasty " was a term coined in the United Kingdom in the 1980s that originally applied to a number of Films distributed on Video cassette that The Anthropophagus Beast is a 1980 Italian language Horror film, directed by Joe d'Amato and co-written by d'Amato and George A Blade in the Dark known (in its original Italian title as Casa con la scala nel buio La but also goes by House of the Dark Stairway The New York Ripper, original title Lo squartatore di New York, is a 1982 film directed and co-written by Lucio Fulci. Tenebrae (also known as Tenebre) is a 1982 Italian horror thriller film written and directed by Dario Argento Madman (also known as Madman Marz and The Legend Lives) is a 1982 Horror film / Horror-of-demonic similar in style and feel to Nightmare/Nightmares in a Damaged Brain (also known as Blood Splash) is Psychological horror / Mystery / Slasher / Exploitation Don't Go in the House (also known as Pyromaniac in France is a Low budget Slasher film emulating Psycho that Maniac is a 1980 American Slasher film (though considered more of a Splatter film) about a disturbed and traumatized In the USA, Silent Night, Deadly Night, a very controversial film from 1984, failed at theatres and was eventually withdrawn from distribution due to its subject matter: a killer Santa Claus. Silent Night Deadly Night is a 1984 Slasher film directed by Charles E Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply " Santa " is the

1990s

Scream (1996) revitalized horror of the 1990s and 2000s. Scream is a 1996 film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson.

In the first half of the 1990s, the genre continued many of the themes from the 1980s. Sequels from the Child's Play and Leprechaun series enjoyed some commercial success. Child's Play is a 1988 Horror film written by Don Mancini and directed by Tom Holland. Leprechaun is a 1992 Horror film directed by Mark Jones. It features one of the first roles played by a young Jennifer Aniston, before The slasher films A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Halloween all saw sequels in the 1990s, most of which met with varied amounts of success at the box office, but all were panned by fans and critics, with the exception of Wes Craven's New Nightmare.

New Nightmare, with In the Mouth of Madness, The Dark Half, and Candyman, were part of a mini-movement of self-reflective horror films. Wes Craven's New Nightmare ( 1994) is the seventh entry in the ''Nightmare on Elm Street'' series of Slasher films This film is not considered In the Mouth of Madness (also known as John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness) is a 1995 Horror film directed by John Carpenter The Dark Half is a 1993 Horror film adaptation of the Stephen King Novel of the same name. For other entities called Candyman see Candyman. Candyman is a 1992 Slasher film starring Virginia Madsen Each film touched upon the relationship between fictional horror and real-world horror. Candyman, for example, examined the link between an invented urban legend and the realistic horror 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.

In 1994's Interview With the Vampire, the "Theatre de Vampires" (and the film itself, to some degree) envoked the Grand Guignol style, perhaps to further remove the undead performers from humanity, morality and class. Interview with the Vampire is a Vampire Novel by Anne Rice written in 1973 and published in 1976 The Grand Guignol ( pronounced giɲɔl was a theatre ( Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol) in the Pigalle area of Paris (at 20 bis rue The horror movie soon continued its search for new and effective frights. In 1985's novel The Vampire Lestat by author Anne Rice (who penned Interview. The Vampire Lestat (1985 is a Novel by Anne Rice, and the second in her Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Anne Rice (born Howard Allen O'Brien on October 4, 1941) is a best-selling American Author of gothic and religious-themed . . 's screenplay and the 1976 novel of the same name) suggests that its antihero Lestat inspired and nurtured the Grand Guignol style and theatre. The Grand Guignol ( pronounced giɲɔl was a theatre ( Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol) in the Pigalle area of Paris (at 20 bis rue

The Canadian film Cube (1997) was perhaps one of the few horror films of the 1990s to be based around a relatively novel concept; it was able to evoke a wide range of different fears, and touched upon a variety of social themes (such as fear of bureaucracy) that had previously been unexplored. This article primarily discusses cinema in English Canada For information on French Canadian cinema see also Cinema of Quebec. Cube is a 1997 Canadian Psychological thriller / horror / Science fiction movie directed by Vincenzo Bureaucracy is the structure and set of regulations in place to control activity usually in large organizations and government

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, courtesy of the special effects possibilities with computer-generated imagery. Science fiction Film is a Film genre that uses speculative, Science -based depictions of imaginary phenomena such as extra-terrestrial Computer animation Computer-generated imagery (also known as CGI) is the application of the field of Computer graphics or more specifically 3D computer graphics ^[18]

To re-connect with its audience, horror became more self-mockingly ironic and outright parodic, especially in the latter half of the 1990s. Irony is a literary or Rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity or Discordance between what one says or does and what one means or A parody (ˈpɛɹədiː US, [ˈpaɹədiː] UK) in contemporary usage is a work created to mock comment on or poke fun at an original work its subject Peter Jackson's Braindead (1992) (known as Dead Alive in the USA) took the splatter film to ridiculous excesses for comic effect. Braindead ( New Zealand 1992 released as Dead Alive in North America is an extreme Zombie comedy splatstick horror A splatter film or gore film is a type of Horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and Graphic violence. Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), featured an ensemble cast and the style of a different era, harking back to the sumptuous look of 1960s Hammer Horror, and a plot focusing just as closely on the romance elements of the Dracula tale as on the horror aspects. Francis Ford "Frank" Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is a five-time Academy Award -winning American Film director, Bram Stoker's Dracula (aka Dracula) is a 1992 horror - Romance film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. 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. Scream is a 1996 film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. Kevin Meade Williamson (born March 14 1965) is an American screenwriter known for his screen works of Scream, I Know What Along with I Know What You Did Last Summer (written by Kevin Williamson as well) and Urban Legend, they re-ignited the dormant slasher film genre. I Know What You Did Last Summer is a Thriller / Horror film released in 1997. Kevin Meade Williamson (born March 14 1965) is an American screenwriter known for his screen works of Scream, I Know What Urban Legend is a 1998 Horror film starring Alicia Witt, Jared Leto, Rebecca Gayheart, Robert Englund, The slasher film (sometimes referred to as bodycount films and dead teenager movies) is a Sub-genre

Among the popular English-language horror films of the late 1990s, only 1999's surprise independent hit The Blair Witch Project attempted straight-ahead scares. The Blair Witch Project is a low-budget American Horror film released in 1999 But even then, the horror was accomplished in the context of a mockumentary, or mock-documentary. Mockumentary (also known as a pseudo-documentary) a Portmanteau of Mock and documentary, is a film and TV Genre, or a single work Other films such as M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense (1999) also concentrated more on unnerving and unsettling themes than on gore. Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan (ˈʃaməˈlan ( Malayalam: മനോജ് നെല്ലിയട്ടു ശ്യാമളന്‍ Tamil: மனோஜ் நெல்லியட்டு The Sixth Sense is a 1999 Psychological horror film written and directed by M Japanese horror films, such as Hideo Nakata's Ringu in 1998, and Masuru Tsushima's Otsuyu (aka The Haunted Lantern) (1997) also found success internationally with a similar formula. J-Horror is a term used to refer to Japanese contributions to Horror fiction in popular culture Hideo Nakata (中田 秀夫 Nakata Hideo, born July 19, 1961, in Okayama, Japan) is a Japanese film director is a 1998 Japanese horror mystery Film from director Hideo Nakata, adapted from the novel of the same name

2000s

Poster art for Saw (2004), an enormously popular low-budget horror film that sparked a wave of horror films with a greater emphasis on torture and gore. Saw is the first installment of the Saw crime Horror film series.

The start of the 2000s saw a quiet period for the genre. The re-release of a restored version of The Exorcist in September of 2000 was successful despite the film having been available on home video for years. The Exorcist is a 1973 American Horror film, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, Franchises such as Freddy Vs. Jason also made a final stand in theaters. Freddy vs Jason is a 2003 American Slasher film directed by Ronny Yu. Final Destination (2000) marked a successful revival of clever, teen-centered horror, and spawned three sequels. Final Destination is a 2000 Supernatural thriller, about a group of teenagers who 'cheat death' by avoiding a plane crash when one of them

Some notable trends have marked horror films in the 2000s. A French horror film Brotherhood of the Wolf became the second-highest-grossing French-language film in the United States in the last two decades. Brotherhood of the Wolf, also known by its French title Le Pacte des loups (literally " The Pact of the Wolves " French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A minimalist approach which was equal parts Val Lewton's theory of "less is more" (usually employing low-budget techniques seen on 1999's The Blair Witch Project) 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), One Missed Call (2008), The Eye (2008), Shutter (2008) and The Uninvited (2009). The Blair Witch Project is a low-budget American Horror film released in 1999 The Ring is a 2002 American remake of the 1998 Japanese horror film of the same name (also known as Ringu) The Grudge is the 2004 American Remake of the Japanese film Ju-on The Grudge. One Missed Call is an American 2008 film Remake of the Japanese film Chakushin Ari. The Eye is a 2008 film starring Jessica Alba. It is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong - Thai - Singaporean film of the Shutter is a 2008 Remake of the 2004 Thai film of the same name. The Uninvited is an upcoming American Remake of the 2003 South Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters

There has been a minor return to the zombie genre in horror movies made after 2000. The Resident Evil video game franchise was adapted into a film released in March of 2002. Resident Evil (known in Japan as) is a Survival horror Video game series and Media franchise consisting of Comic books novelizations A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. A media franchise is an Intellectual property involving the characters, setting, and Trademarks of an original work of media (usually Resident Evil is a British film that was a 2002 Science fiction Horror film based on the same titled series of Two sequels have followed. The British film 28 Days Later (2002) featured an update on the genre with a new style of aggressive zombie. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located 28 Days Later is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic Science fiction film directed by Danny Boyle. The film later spawned a sequel: 28 Weeks Later. 28 Weeks Later is a 2007 British post-apocalyptic Horror film, and Sequel to the 2002 film 28 Days Later An updated remake of Dawn of the Dead (2004) soon appeared as well as Land of the Dead (2005) and the comedy-horror Shaun of the Dead (2004). Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 Remake of George A Romero 's 1978 film of the same name. Dawn of the Dead (also known as George A Romero's Dawn of the Dead, Zombie internationally Zombies in Britain, and alternately called Land of the Dead (also known as George A Romero's Land of the Dead) is the fourth film in George A This is a list of comedy horror films: 1920s 1923 Puritan Passions 1925 The Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British Zombie -themed Comedy (or " rom zom com " as it dubs itself film More recently the popular video game franchise Silent Hill (2006) was made into a feature film, based on an original story. is a Survival horror Video game franchise developed and published by Konami.

A larger trend is a return to the extreme, graphic violence that characterized much of the type of low-budget, exploitation horror from the Seventies and the post-Vietnam years. Films like Audition (1999), Wrong Turn (2003), House of 1000 Corpses (2003), The Devil's Rejects and the Australian film Wolf Creek (2005), took their cues from The Last House on the Left (1972), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), and The Hills Have Eyes (1977). Wrong Turn is a 2003 Horror film, directed by Rob Schmidt and written by Alan B For the song of the same name see House of 1000 Corpses (song House of 1000 Corpses is a 2003 exploitation The Devil's Rejects is a 2005 exploitation Horror film written and directed by Rob Zombie. The cinema of Australia has a long history and has produced many internationally-recognised films actors and filmmakers The Last House on the Left is a 1972 Horror film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Sean S The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent The latter two have also been remade: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 2003, and The Hills Have Eyes in 2006 both followed by a prequel in the same year and a sequel in the following year. The Hills Have Eyes is a 2006 Remake of Wes Craven's 1977 film of the same name. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning is a 2006 horror film and a Prequel to the remake of the 1974 film The Texas Chain The Hills Have Eyes 2 is the 2007 feature film sequel to the remake of the 1977 horror film The Hills Have Eyes. 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 even "gore-nography") with films such as FeardotCom, Turistas, Captivity, and most recently Untraceable, WΔZ, Saw, Hostel, Pathology and their respective sequels in particular being frequently singled out as examples of emergence of this sub-genre. A splatter film or gore film is a type of Horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and Graphic violence. FeardotCom is a 2002 Horror film directed by William Malone. Cast Stephen Dorff &ndash Detective Mike Turistas (translates as 'Tourists' in English) is a 2006 Horror film, directed by John Stockwell. Captivity is a 2007 Thriller film starring Elisha Cuthbert, and directed by Roland Joffé. Untraceable is a 2008 film thriller starring Diane Lane, Joseph Cross, Billy Burke and Colin Hanks. WΔz (pronounced double-u delta zed) is a 2008 British thriller / horror The Saw series is a Horror film franchise created by director James Wan and Screenwriter Leigh Whannell. Hostel is a 2005 Horror film written and directed by Eli Roth, starring Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Jennifer Pathology is a 2008 thriller film directed by Marc Schoelermann and written by Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor creators of

Remakes of late 1970s horror movies became routine in the 2000s. In addition to 2004's remake of Dawn of the Dead and 2003's remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in 2007 Rob Zombie wrote and directed a remake of John Carpenter's Halloween. Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 Remake of George A Romero 's 1978 film of the same name. Robert Bartleh Cummings (born January 12, 1965) better known by his Stage name, Rob Zombie, is an American Musician Halloween is a 2007 remake of the 1978 slasher film of the same name. Halloween is a 1978 American independent Horror film set in the fictional midwestern town of Haddonfield, 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,^[19][20] but was a success in its theatrical run. Production of re-makes looks set to continue in 2008 and beyond, with Quarantine (a remake of REC), Friday the 13th,^[21] A Nightmare on Elm Street and even Attack of the Killer Tomatoes being remade. Quarantine is a 2008 American Horror film directed by John Erick Dowdle and starring Jennifer Carpenter. REC (or '') is a 2007 Horror film co-directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza Friday the 13th is an American horror franchise that consists of eleven Slasher films a television show, Novels A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror franchise that consists of eight Slasher films a television show, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is a 1978 Comedy film directed by John De Bello and starring David Miller.

References

See also

• Slasher film
• Exploitation film
• Giallo
• J-Horror
• Thriller film
• Monster Movie
• Splatter film
• Final girl
• Bloody Disgusting
• Fearnet
• Cannibalism in popular culture
• List of comedy horror films
• List of horror films
• K-Horror
• German underground horror
• Werewolf films
• Vampire films
• Zombies

External links

• IMDb Entry on Best/Worst "Horror" Titles
• Horror Film Bibliography (via UC Berkeley)
• ESplatter - Daily horror movie news and reviews
• Fangoria — Magazine devoted to the horror genre
• Rue Morgue - Canadian horror magazine
• About: Horror & Suspense Movies — News and reviews about current and classic horror movies
• British Horror Films - Site devoted to the British film industry
• BlackHorrorMovies.com - Site devoted to African American horror films
• OMGHorror - Horror games and movies
• China Bans Horror Movies - Shanghai Daily, March 2008
• I Spit on Your Horror Movie Remakes - MSNBC 2005 opinion piece on horror remakes
• Box Office for Horror Movies Is Weak: Verging on Horrible: New York Times, June 11, 2007