German Expressionism
The German
expressionism movement was largely due to World War One and the separation from
other countries that it caused. German government banned man foreign films so
that the population were limited to German films.
German cinema
was beginning to become popular around 1922
and was getting exposure globally. After this the ban on film imports
was lifted, giving Germany a part in the international film industry.
German
Expressionism films were drab and dimly lit, the production was very low budget
and sets were somewhat abstract.
Ideas such as
insanity and betrayal were explored contrasting with many current genres such
as action-adventure and romance.
Many major
German film producers however, immigrated to America, due to the Nazis gaining
power. They went on to produce an impressive repertoire of Hollywood
films.
Due to its
success German expressionism had a major impact on the horror and film noir
genres.
The first
German expressionist films were as follows The Student of Prague (1913), The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920),
Destiny (1921), Nosferatu (1922), Phantom (1922), Schatten (1923), and The Last
Laugh (1924), were highly symbolic and stylized.
‘Count Orlok’
from the famous Poster
advertising Nosferatu
Expressionist film Nosferatu
Clips from
Nosferatu showing the dark, expressive style that made the movement so
successful and helped develop the horror genre.
Clip from The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, this shows an interesting use of
Un-diegetic
soundtrack to add to the atmosphere.
Horror in
classic literature
HORROR
• noun 1) an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust
• noun 1) an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust
The
term ‘horror’ originated from Horace Walpole's 1764 novel, “The Castle of Otranto”
Literature
such as “Dracula” “Frankenstein” and “Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde” inspired many film
makers and successive films where made of each.
Mary Shelley
wrote the story in 1818. The film was made in 1910 made by Edison Studios that was
written and directed by J. Searle Dawley.
This is the original 1910 film directed by Dawley. You
can tell how German expressionism revolutionized the horror genre by the
contrast of the two film’s lighting, soundtracks and other features.
Monsters and Mad Scientists
Some of the
famous and most recognisable 30’s horrors
King Kong
(1933)
Dracula
(1931)
Frankenstein
(1931)
The Mummy
(1932)
One of the
major changes during this era was the introduction of sound into the films;
this brought a new form of terror to the audience. The genre had also shifted
from ghost and mental issues into horrible monsters.
Horror of the 1930’s took inspiration from classic
literature such as Frankenstein and Dracula. Films were made of these novels
respectively.
This era seemed to have audiences taken to distant places
with characters speaking foreign or exotic voices.
The studio that was behind much of the success in horror
during 30’s was the Universal Film Manufacturing Company; founded June 8, 1912
by Carl Laemmle, Sr. By 1915 the studio was largely recognized in cinema.
Although by this time the studio had released 250 motion pictures, the
company’s success was in slow decline and they were facing bankruptcy. Dracula,
however, released in 1931 revived the company and was a huge success.
Universal’s representation of Dracula, played by Bela Lugosi has become the
unforgettable image that we know today.
Another successful
film was Frankenstein; this representation played by Boris Karloff is still
today the most known adaptation of Frankenstein’s monster.
The Primal Animal Within 1940’s
The 40’s saw a shift
into having people horribly mutate into primal animals. These primal animals often
represented certain fears at the time or the past politically. For example Hitler identified himself with the
iconography of the wolf. Also the name
“Adolf” means “Noble Wolf”.
Another interesting
fact about the 40s was that American cinema had started to shift ahead of
European filmmaking, due to World War 2 beginning and Europe being unable to
produce films.
A film that sums up
many of the 1940’s films is “Cat People”
this film followed Irena, a young woman afraid that if she consummates
her marriage. The film plays on her mind throughout and has a film of primal,
sexual urges. Eventually she does turn into this primal animal.
Mutant Creatures and Alien Invaders
1950’s
During 1950 many
films where direct responses to world war 2. Technology was seen as the
dominant force such as nuclear bombs. The first ever American UFO sighting was
also reported in 1947. 1950’s had seen the birth of science fiction in film. At
the start of the decade many of the films were B grade, black and white films,
which were at the time outdated. Despite this many of the films had achieved
cult status such as “The Thing from another World”. Another noticeable film
from the early 50’s was “The Day the Earth Stood Still” one of the first films
to feature alien invaders.
Once these b
class films had started to raise awareness bigger companies started on the
theme. Colour Sci-Fi’s where made in the mid and late 50s such as “Invasion of
the Body Snatchers” (1956).
Ghosts, Zombies, Satanism, and
your Family. (1960’s 70’s)
Some of the most
influential films of the 60’s and 70’s were as follows
·
Night
of the Living Dead.
·
Phsyco
·
Texas
chainsaw massacre
·
The
Omen
The 60 helped to change the perceptions of old taboos and changed the way
people thought of sex and violence. This was evident in films of these times as
they were gradually getting more sexual and violent. Because many of the films
were underground B movies, they avoided censorship and other legal actions.
Due to the fears of war reclining and monsters from older films seeming
outdated and no longer scary, teens wanted to see horrors that were a little
more believable and had some relation to reality.
Horrors during this era had the monster more real, more human. The monster
was being portrayed as one of us. For example the killer in Alfred Hitchcock’s
Tremendously famous “Phsyco” the killer is a crazed man looking for
revenge. The 70’s especially put emphasis on the family and how the killer
could be part of it for example in “The Omen” the monster is a little boy and
in The shining it was the dad, Spawning the famous line “daddy’s home”.
The
70’s was a direct response to the 60’s and the fears that we had changed for
the worse, birth control for example was introduced in the 60’s and changed
people’s perceptions to sex. Many thought that sex should be to have children
and this pill was making it purely for pleasure.
Hammer Horror
Hammer Films, a
British company, was established in 1934. Its most influential films were the
“Hammer Horror” films such as “The curse of Frankenstein (1957)” This film
marked the return of Gothic Horror this time with colour and a different
approach from the previous film by universal. The success of this film
contributed to the making of other very successful films such as Dracula (1958)
and The Mummy.
Hammer Horror
films were especially praised for their visual style.
Slasher movies, Horror/Gore and
the transition to parody’s (80’s)
The 80’s marked
the era in which visual effects started to improve. Advancements in latex for
example made for more realistic gore. Whereas before the monsters would have to
be shown using camera tricks and crudely prominent strings to move them etc.
Films such as
Alien, (which actually was released in 1979) and “American Werewolf in London”
marked the beginning of this era. These films amazed audiences with new styles
of gore and effects. Films had started to take gore to new levels and explore
the workings of the human body, films such as “Bride of re-animator” (1986)
were examples of this
The 80’s was also
the beginning of “video nasties”. This term was actually coined by the media.
Articles in newspapers were being published against the distribution of these
films. They were seen as immoral due to the extreme death scenes and other
things. Films such as “I Spit On Your Grave” were examples of these films. At
one point it was possible to be arrested for being in possession of a “video
nasties” film.
People had begun
to become bored of the same formula of these films. By the 90’s parody’s were
being made of the generic films. For example scream (1996) makes fun of many
horrors. The fact that horror was combined with comedy made these films unique
and consequently, they sold well.
2000’s torture and return of
gore.
One of
the biggest changes in horror during the 2000’s was the introduction torture
porn coined by David Edelstein in the January 2006. This basically meant
abusing ones power for your own gain by torturing a victim. Allot of the time,
the killers where seen to have been doing it for sexual pleasure, which is one
of the reasons why the term was coined so. Hostel and the massively famous
“saw” series, which has seven films in the series so far are examples of these
films.
Many of
these films had created moral panics, for example in 2007 “torture porn” hit
the tabloids with the film Captivity. A poster for this film was released which
grab the attention of people around America in a negative way. Forcibly the
advert was taken down however the not so successful film went ahead.
Another
big success in 2000’s horrors is the Final Destination series. The film has had
five films and counting. Final Destination had teenagers escaping death and
having the inevitability of dying looming over them. Characters would die in bizarre
and “creative” ways. Audiences would cheer on the death of these characters and
the only reason they would watch the film was to see how the next person would
be killed in a ridiculous way.
Some
critics say that the future for the horror genre is going downhill and that we
have exhausted the age old formulae. Some films continue to challenge this and
hopefully this leads to the next age of new horror films.
