History of the Horror Movie Genre



Introduction1

Horror Genre - Evolution2

Horror Film Genre - History & Description2

Horror Film Genre - The Best of All Times7

Conclusion14

References15

History of the Horror Movie Genre

Introduction

Horror is an English term which has been derived from the Latin word “horrere” which means to bristle with the fear (horrorfilmhistory.com, n.d.). The horror film genre is further divided into three major categories i.e. Uncanny, Supernatural and Super-Uncanny (McKee, 1997). Uncanny is a horror film genre that deals with a character in the firm that has some rational explanation available to it such monsters, aliens, etc. Supernatural is a horror film genre that deals with a movie that has an irrational character or phenomenon with a source of astounding horror. Super-Uncanny, last but not the least, is the genre that indulge the film's audience into guessing it between the two other aforementioned genres. The examples can be The Shining, The Tenant, etc. Horror genre is one of the most famous genres that have a specific kind of effect on its audience as every other genre has some effect on it. Horror genre is one of the oldest film genres in the world whose history span is ranged for more than about four decades. There has been a plenty of written scripts and literature has been produced regarding horror genre and has surpassed the western as the most written about genre by genre critics (Jancovich, 2002). In such regard, countless studies has investigated the horror film genre's social, cultural and political meanings and functions and the effect of them on the dimensions of the society. Some other important factors i.e. being affected by the horror genre are psychological impacts, aesthetics, gender issues, thematic and generic development, and several others (Ryan, 2007).

Horror Genre - Evolution

Apart from the use of the horror genre in the film, horror term was coined in the publications for the very first time in the play of Horace Walpole's novel, named as “The Castle of Otranto”, published in the year of 1764. The novel comprise of the supernatural shocks & melodrama that is basically mysterious. The novel played an important role in gearing the horror genre whilst influencing a lot of people which also gave birth to what we call today “gothic mode of writing”. The “horror” term falls under the umbrella term of speculative fiction (Aho, 2009).Later on, better writers such as Matthew Gregory Lewis and Ann Radcliffe with their publications i.e. The Monk and The Mysteries of Udolpho respectively took the thrill and suspense to new heights. Gothic novels retained supreme for about a half century. Then “Frankenstein” was categorized as the first great horror classic in the year of 1818. It was written by a Mary Shelley.

Horror Film Genre - History & Description

Each genre has its own special effect on the observer. The effect is fear, when it comes to the horror genre. The horror film genre has a wide span and distinctive history, unlike the gangster genre or the film noir ...