The history of horror movies: Expert brushes the cobwebs off a century of cinematic gore

The history of horror movies: Expert brushes the cobwebs off a century of cinematic gore

Our obsession with telling tales that scare us seems as popular today as it ever was; modern-day authors such as Stephen King, who has sold more than 400 million books worldwide, and hit podcasts Deadhouse, Uncanny and The Battersea Poltergeist, show us that horror is not going out of fashion.

But no outlet for horror seems to have captured our hearts quite like film. Since the birth of cinema in 1895, horror movies have entertained thrill-seekers and cushion-cuddlers alike. Last year alone, A Quiet Place Part II was the highest-grossing horror with a worldwide revenue of $297.4 million. What’s more, horror currently ranks at 6 on the market share chart.

But how has this genre become so popular? To understand how film became the heavyweight in telling scary stories, we first need to look back says Dr Cecilia Sayad, Senior Lecturer in Film at the University of Kent:

‘When horror hit the big screen over 100 years ago monsters were the main source of inspiration for movie-makers; Murnau’s Nosteratu and Dreyer’s Vampyr are key moments in the great age of monster movies, and are often considered trailblazers in horror genre. The silent movie trend was then developed in the 1930s with horror films like Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, and then again in the 1940s with Wolfman and Cat People. You only need to look at King Kong (1933) and Godzilla (1954) to understand how big the theme was for the first half of the cinematic era.

‘But each of the decades in cinema history can be marked, in the U.S. more specifically, by different types of horror films. Horror in the 1950s was more about the fun of being scared, and targeted a young, mainly teenage audience. The decade saw the rise of gimmick horror films by William Castle, which included events taking place at the cinema during the projection of movies: skeletons floating over the audience, vibrating motors placed under the seats, activated in specific moments of the film, stunts such as performers faking faints or selling ‘death-by-fright’ insurance policy at the entrance.

‘The 1960s saw the growth of ‘adult’ horror, with the introduction of darker themes such as incest and sexually motivated violence – as seen in Psycho and Peeping Tom, for example. Graphic violence and political themes were also a key feature in horror movies in this decade, but this became even more prominent in the 70s with movies such as The Last House on the Left, The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

‘The 80s can be considered as the decade of the slasher, with the 1978 film Halloween setting the trend for Friday the 13th and its many sequels. While the 90s saw a number of so-called postmodern horror films like the Scream franchise, which set the tone for self-reflexive parodies of older films.

‘The noughties saw the rise of torture porn (Hostel) and the found-footage horror film, set with Blair Witch Project (1999), but picked up by Paranormal Activity and its many sequels in the 2010s.

‘Today, one important trend in contemporary horror is the display of new technologies and social media; films like Unfriended, Host, Hacked really tap into modern-day technology and we also see a vast amount of found-footage horror (or faux documentary horror). There is also a return to the haunted house film and some nostalgia for 70s horror in the Conjuring and Insidious franchises, for example.’

Despite all the blood, gore, and truly terrifying scenes we see in horror films, every year we celebrate all things macabre during October by settling down to watch something spooky or by paying homage to our favourite ghoulish film through costume. To explain why we keep coming back for more, Dr Sayad adds:

‘There is a tradition of reading horror films as allegorical and sometimes direct forms of sociopolitical commentary, like Jordan Peele’s films such as Get Out and US. Horror films can be more or less political. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead is less openly political than the sequel Dawn of the Dead, but is seen as an allegory of the anxieties around the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights struggles. Because horror films tend to address our subconscious fears and anxieties, they are often considered to be symptomatic of the society that produces them.

‘If we look at the current horror films, series and podcasts out there, one thing that strikes us is how rich and varied the genre is, which is probably one of the things that make is so popular and appealing to audiences. Horror films deal with primal fears and anxieties, so its monsters just stay with us, and films incessantly recycle old themes: haunted houses, demonic possessions, serial killers, even classics like Dracula and Frankenstein keep making the fabric of horror tales for many decades.’

Dr Cecilia Sayad is a Senior Lecturer in Film, and the author of The Ghost in the Image: Technology and Reality in the Horror Genre (Oxford UP, 2021), Performing Authorship: Self-Inscription and Corporeality in the Cinema (I.B. Tauris, 2013) and the Portuguese-language O jogo da reinvenção: Charlie Kaufman e o lugar do autor no cinema (Alameda, 2008). With Mattias Frey, she co-edited Film Criticism in the Digital Age (Rutgers UP, 2015). She has published articles in academic journals such as Screen, Cinema Journal, Film Quarterly, Framework and the Journal of Film and Video, among others. Her ‘Found-Footage Horror and the Frame’s Undoing’ won the award for Best Journal Article by the British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS) in 2017.

Rugged Hank

Education Technology Day must be extended to prisons

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Typically thought of as being an easy to clean area of the home, hard floors have risen in popularity in recent decades. Globally, hard floors are the most common floor type,2 and research released today by Dyson has uncovered poor cleaning habits that mean hard floors are likely to be harbouring an array of hidden nasties. This comes as 32% of Brits – equating to 21.6 million people in the UK – will use the same dirty mop head for six months or more before replacing it. What’s more, one in 20 also admit to keeping the same mop for a year or longer, and one in 10 think it is acceptable to use the same mop 100 times, spreading dirt around their floors every time they use it. Cross contamination is a primary issue for most common and traditional mopping methods with germs and bacteria further being unknowingly spread around homes as Brits use dirty water to clean floors.3 45% only change the water to new water between rooms, whereas 41% wait even longer until it looks dirty. This could mean that floors are being washed with dirty water, adding more dirt rather than taking it away. Surprisingly, almost one in 10 (9%) even admit to not changing the dirty water at all when mopping. Over a quarter (28%) admit to mopping their floors once a fortnight or less while over half (53%) admit they don’t regularly clean behind appliances and leave dirt to build up for as long as six months at a time. image002.jpg On how to achieve a perfect barefoot clean feel after mopping, Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert offers their top tips for eliminating dirt around the home: 1. Create a cleaning schedule to stay on top of dirt build-up. In the last year, there has been a 15% global reduction in the number of people who maintain regular cleaning schedules. 47% of the British public admitted to only being motivated to clean when they spot visible dirt or dust.4 Regular floor cleaning with a wet hard floor cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ removes more stubborn dirt than vacuuming alone. It is important to have a debris free surface, clear any clutter from the floor or other surfaces. Choose the right machine: Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes. Some machines will be engineered with hard floors in mind and will struggle on thick pile carpets, for example. Choosing the right machine for your home will make a big difference to the ease and speed with which you’re able to clean your home. Clean your floors ‘little and often’. Washing your floors frequently in areas that receive more foot fall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Using a dedicated wet floor cleaner on hard flooring such as the Dyson WashG1 is helpful for this, as the versatile format means it vacuums and washes the floor simultaneously. Cleaning schedules have also become less regimented. In recent years only 41% of people claim to have a regular cleaning schedule, and 60% admit to cleaning reactively; being motivated to clean only when there is visible dirt or dust5. It’s perhaps not surprising, that a fifth of people are still concerned their floors are dirty after they’ve mopped them (22%) and one in four6 feel extremely worried about indoor dust at home. Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert reveals why it is important to change the way we mop: “Cleaning your hard floors properly and regularly is important for maintaining a healthy environment around your home. Without a proper cleaning routine, dirt may unknowingly build up and spread around your home. It is evident from our research that current mopping habits mean British households aren’t cleaning their floors as effectively as they should. “From ignoring problem areas where dust and debris build up, cross contamination with dirty water to not replacing mop heads or inconsistent cleaning, current mopping behaviours may be making floors dirtier as opposed to cleaner. Moving away from traditional methods, wet floor cleaners like the Dyson WashG1 simplify the floor cleaning experience and provide a modern efficient and hygienic solution” To help take the guesswork out of mopping, the brand new WashG1 is Dyson’s first dedicated wet floor cleaner that tackles wet and dry debris in one go. Engineered for hygienic cleaning and maintenance, the WashG1 is revolutionising wet floor cleaning, removing the need for multi-products and multi-steps to achieve a barefoot clean feel around the home. To put the product to the test, Dyson have cleaned one of London’s most iconic landmarks The Victoria and Albert Museum. From cleaning the grand marble floors housing the most prestigious exhibits, to cleaning up leftover food in the Gamble Room Cafe, the WashG1 had a dirt busting tour of the museum leaving it spotless. Images can be found here. The WashG1 introduces Dyson’s engineering expertise to cleaning hard floors. With a 1 litre clean-water tank to cover flooring up to 290m2, the Dyson WashG1 uses a combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies to remove wet and dry spills and stains simultaneously. The Dyson WashG1 is available to purchase now from Dyson.co.uk, retailing at £599.99.

Typically thought of as being an easy to clean area of the home, hard floors have risen in popularity in recent decades. Globally, hard floors are the most common floor type,2 and research released today by Dyson has uncovered poor cleaning habits that mean hard floors are likely to be harbouring an array of hidden nasties. This comes as 32% of Brits – equating to 21.6 million people in the UK – will use the same dirty mop head for six months or more before replacing it. What’s more, one in 20 also admit to keeping the same mop for a year or longer, and one in 10 think it is acceptable to use the same mop 100 times, spreading dirt around their floors every time they use it. Cross contamination is a primary issue for most common and traditional mopping methods with germs and bacteria further being unknowingly spread around homes as Brits use dirty water to clean floors.3 45% only change the water to new water between rooms, whereas 41% wait even longer until it looks dirty. This could mean that floors are being washed with dirty water, adding more dirt rather than taking it away. Surprisingly, almost one in 10 (9%) even admit to not changing the dirty water at all when mopping. Over a quarter (28%) admit to mopping their floors once a fortnight or less while over half (53%) admit they don’t regularly clean behind appliances and leave dirt to build up for as long as six months at a time. image002.jpg On how to achieve a perfect barefoot clean feel after mopping, Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert offers their top tips for eliminating dirt around the home: 1. Create a cleaning schedule to stay on top of dirt build-up. In the last year, there has been a 15% global reduction in the number of people who maintain regular cleaning schedules. 47% of the British public admitted to only being motivated to clean when they spot visible dirt or dust.4 Regular floor cleaning with a wet hard floor cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ removes more stubborn dirt than vacuuming alone. It is important to have a debris free surface, clear any clutter from the floor or other surfaces. Choose the right machine: Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes. Some machines will be engineered with hard floors in mind and will struggle on thick pile carpets, for example. Choosing the right machine for your home will make a big difference to the ease and speed with which you’re able to clean your home. Clean your floors ‘little and often’. Washing your floors frequently in areas that receive more foot fall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Using a dedicated wet floor cleaner on hard flooring such as the Dyson WashG1 is helpful for this, as the versatile format means it vacuums and washes the floor simultaneously. Cleaning schedules have also become less regimented. In recent years only 41% of people claim to have a regular cleaning schedule, and 60% admit to cleaning reactively; being motivated to clean only when there is visible dirt or dust5. It’s perhaps not surprising, that a fifth of people are still concerned their floors are dirty after they’ve mopped them (22%) and one in four6 feel extremely worried about indoor dust at home. Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert reveals why it is important to change the way we mop: “Cleaning your hard floors properly and regularly is important for maintaining a healthy environment around your home. Without a proper cleaning routine, dirt may unknowingly build up and spread around your home. It is evident from our research that current mopping habits mean British households aren’t cleaning their floors as effectively as they should. “From ignoring problem areas where dust and debris build up, cross contamination with dirty water to not replacing mop heads or inconsistent cleaning, current mopping behaviours may be making floors dirtier as opposed to cleaner. Moving away from traditional methods, wet floor cleaners like the Dyson WashG1 simplify the floor cleaning experience and provide a modern efficient and hygienic solution” To help take the guesswork out of mopping, the brand new WashG1 is Dyson’s first dedicated wet floor cleaner that tackles wet and dry debris in one go. Engineered for hygienic cleaning and maintenance, the WashG1 is revolutionising wet floor cleaning, removing the need for multi-products and multi-steps to achieve a barefoot clean feel around the home. To put the product to the test, Dyson have cleaned one of London’s most iconic landmarks The Victoria and Albert Museum. From cleaning the grand marble floors housing the most prestigious exhibits, to cleaning up leftover food in the Gamble Room Cafe, the WashG1 had a dirt busting tour of the museum leaving it spotless. Images can be found here. The WashG1 introduces Dyson’s engineering expertise to cleaning hard floors. With a 1 litre clean-water tank to cover flooring up to 290m2, the Dyson WashG1 uses a combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies to remove wet and dry spills and stains simultaneously. The Dyson WashG1 is available to purchase now from Dyson.co.uk, retailing at £599.99.

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