Horror History: Full Documentary
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VOICE OVER: Derek Allen
To celebrate the spooky season, we're releasing a new edition of our series Horror History as a feature-length video, with WatchMojo staff and contributors sharing their own stories. Horror has come a long way - from being a bump in the night to slaying at the box office. Join us for a deep dive into the history of monster movies, exploitation horror, slashers, supernatural horror, and how we arrived at a new Golden Age of terror!
Script written by George Pacheco
Horror has come a LONG way - and so have the monsters that lurk within!
Welcome to WatchMojo’s series Horror History, where we look at how the genre went from being a bump in the night to shaking down the box office!
Today, horror is the home of some of Hollywood’s most talented and creative minds. They’d probably be the first to admit however that they’re standing on the shoulders of giants. And there’s one shared love in particular that connects them to previous generations of horror pioneers: monsters!
There's a term sometimes given to these folks, a badge of honor that many are proud to bear: "monster kids." First coined by writer David Colton in the mid 90s, it refers to those today with a particular affection and nostalgia for horror's formative years. We're not talking only about the classic Universal Monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, and Gill-man. We’re also talking about creatures like the Body Snatchers, the Blob, and the Triffids. We’re talking Hammer Films and their boundary-pushing penchant for bright Technicolor blood and gratuitous skin. Think actors like Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing … and directors like William Castle, Terence Fisher and Mario Bava.
But what exactly constitutes a movie “monster”? Herein lies the beauty of the beast, because monsters come in many different forms - something that remains true across genres, whether horror or not. A movie monster doesn't NEED to be supernatural or fantastic. Sure, it could be a giant dinosaur, as in “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” - a movie that directly inspired Godzilla. Or an extraterrestrial, as in “20 Million Miles to Earth”. But it could also just be an animal, as in Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws”.
A movie monster can also be a vehicle for social and political commentary. We’ve seen this in many movies, from “Godzilla”’s representation of nuclear holocaust, to the way that Guillermo del Toro’s dark fantasy “Pan’s Labryinth” explored the horrors of war. More recently, his romantic fantasy “The Shape of Water”, inspired by 1954’s "Creature from the Black Lagoon", subverted the usual monster tropes to address prejudice and xenophobia.
Mind you, many of the “messages” in monster films remain up for debate - and may or may not have been intentional. One example is “King Kong”, which has been interpreted as a racist allegory, or an anti-colonial one; as being about the Great Depression, or about how we should respect nature. Still, the fact that debates like this exist marks a huge shift around a genre that was long maligned as not having any messages at all.
Of course, the real pleasure in watching classic monster movies is often just sitting back, grabbing a handful of popcorn, and watching the mayhem! Many of the kids who grew up devouring drive-in pictures in the 50s and 60s went on to work in the film industry themselves – creating their own scenes of glorious carnage. For example, when writing “Alien”, screenwriter Dan O'Bannon drew on 1951’s “The Thing from Another World” and 1965’s “Planet of the Vampires”. He used these to build a story around the haunting design concepts created by Swiss artist H. R. Giger, who became hugely influential in horror himself.
Then there’s Joe Dante, who in 1978 brought audiences the horror comedy “Piranha”. He followed that up with formative horror films “The Howling” and “Gremlins.” In each, his love of classic B-movies shines through, with a twist of contemporary humor. Another “monster kid” is John Landis, who directed the seminal “An American Werewolf in London”, released the same year as Dante’s “The Howling”.
These filmmakers drew on the visionary work of the greats who came before them, while pioneering new techniques that would themselves be passed on down the line. One such great was Willis O’Brien, who did the stop motion animation in 1933’s “King Kong” and mentored the legendary Ray Harryhausen, working with him on “Mighty Joe Young”. Harryhausen went on to create the special effects for the film “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad”, which inspired an eight year old John Landis to become a director!
Harryhausen also influenced special effects legend Rick Baker, who worked on Landis’ film “An American Werewolf in London”. Referencing Harryhausen’s groundbreaking work in “Jason and the Argonauts”, Baker once said: “We are all children of the Hydra's teeth”. Baker’s werewolf transformation sequence in “An American Werewolf in London” was a game-changer in turn.
Meanwhile, Baker had mentored a young up-and-coming visual effects artist named Rob Bottin, working with him on “Piranha” and “The Howling” (until Bottin took over work on the latter). Bottin went on to create genre-defining work with John Carpenter on "The Thing." Like we said, it all goes down the line!
Just as this old guard was inspired by “monster kid” magazines like “Famous Monsters of Filmland” and “Castle of Frankenstein”, so too was a new generation of filmmakers influenced by “Fangoria” and “Cinemagic” in the 80s and beyond. Such publications were made for people like J. J. Abrams, who broke into the business as a fan, composing a synth score for the low budget 1982 sci-fi horror "Nightbeast." Abrams discussed his love of genre magazines with the Washington Post, describing how he wrote letters back and forth with "Nightbeast" director Don Dohler in “Cinemagic” before landing that fateful job as a low budget film composer.
Oftentimes, filmmakers like Dante and Abrams continue these "fan moments" with Easter Eggs in their own movies - like the inclusion of a "Dr. Moreau" in "Gremlins". Or the homage in "Cloverfield" to John Carpenter's "Escape From New York."
The generation of "monster kids" making films in the late 60s and 70s were free of the strict Hays Code that governed older films, and benefitted from more permissive social attitudes towards what was shown on screen. This became even more important in the gore obsessed 1980s. It transformed once again as society embraced the computer age and CGI a decade later.
Science fiction movies like "Jurassic Park" broke ground by combining CGI and practical effects. (The animatronic dinosaurs were created by Stan Winston, who had worked with Rob Bottin on “The Thing”). In the years since, computer generated imagery has opened the floodgate for movies with monsters at scales never seen before.
Today, many old monsters are new again. After making a name for himself with 2010’s “Monsters”, Gareth Edwards brought audiences the largest live-action incarnation of Godzilla ever. Michael Dougherty, director of horror comedies “Trick 'r Treat” and “Krampus”, continued the story in “King of the Monsters”. And in “Godzilla vs. Kong”, Adam Wingard, director of the slasher film “You're Next”, brought Godzilla face-to-face with the colossal King Kong first unveiled in “Skull Island”.
Modern monster kids are continuing to show off what inspired them, and pushing the genre forward.
Sure, some modern monster movies could be accused of not having "enough" creature features. This is a criticism that’s been levelled against both Gareth Edwards’s films, for example. Are these movies trying to have their cake and eat it, too? Dwelling a bit too much on the message or commentary, or trying to hide their monsters rather than celebrate them? The answer is obviously subjective, but the fact that we're even having these discussions means that it's a good time to be a monster movie fan.
Whether we’re talking about “Nosferatu” or “Dracula” … “Godzilla” or “Cloverfield” … “Jaws” or “Tremors” … movie monsters continue to beget new monsters. And monster movies themselves continue to create new generations of “monster kids”!
Horror has been breaking down boundaries for decades. And exploitation horror has led the charge.
Welcome to WatchMojo’s series Horror History, where we look at how the genre went from being a bump in the night to shaking down the box office!
The term “exploitation film” is a difficult one to nail down. For many, it evokes images of New York City in the 1960s and 70s, specifically the Times Square district and its blocks of "grindhouse" theaters. Think bold theater marquees and salacious radio ads, teasing forbidden sights and sounds lurking just beyond the theater doors.
In essence though, an “exploitation film” is one that exploits trends, or taboo topics, often made on a low-budget and packed with gratuitous sex and violence. There's a "-sploitation" suffix for nearly any genre you can imagine, from Blaxploitation classics like "Shaft" and "Foxy Brown", to softcore Sexploitation fare like the "Emmanuelle" series. There's even "Nunsploitation" cinema, if you can believe it. These films pushed the envelope, and it was an international business, with grindhouses importing films from around the world to shock audiences in the States.
It was an era before home video, where films often remained in theatres for months due to their immense popularity. Movies with titles like “Blacula", “Thriller: A Cruel Picture” aka "They Call Her One Eye", and "Zombi 2” put butts in seats thanks to generous helpings of action, sex, and violence. A thriving scene of dub actors helped movies from countries like Italy, Spain and France, thrill audiences alongside homegrown efforts in the US. And it wasn't only in New York City. Exploitation was everywhere, from the Combat Zone in Boston to the streets of Toronto, Canada.
After all, this is a period after the "Free Love" 1960s, firmly entrenched in a 1970s "Me Decade" culture. It’s a time when society was increasingly open to boundaries being pushed - and taboos being broken. Movies could show more than ever before - and show they did!
Exploitation horror was made up by a variety of subgenres. There were creature features. There were slashers, like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. And revenge flicks, like 1978’s “I Spit on Your Grave” . And there were splatter films, focusing on gore and violence. The first splatter film is generally considered to be Herschell Gordon Lewis’ “Blood Feast”, about a psychopathic food caterer. But it was George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” that really gave the genre momentum, while also establishing the framework for modern zombie movies. In fact, Romero was actually the one who came up with the “splatter” label, when describing the sequel “Dawn of the Dead”.
There was significant crossover not only between these subgenres, but also between exploitation genres in general. This was especially true when it came to exploitation horror and sexploitation. It's no secret that horror and adult films are some of the movie industry's biggest moneymakers, often used to bankroll other, more mainstream films. Both genres were popular during the exploitation heyday, with the adult films of the era often being just that: actual films, with stories to tell, built around explicit scenes. This led to sexploitation horror movies like “Vampyres” and “Nude for Satan”.
Such crossovers also occurred behind-the-scenes, as in the case of horror icon Wes Craven, who actually got his start working on adult films under the pseudonym “Abe Snake”. Similarly William Lustig worked on adult films before directing some classic examples of '80s horror , including the Times Square staple "Maniac."
Craven’s directorial debut, the exploitation horror film “The Last House on the Left", even included adult film actor Fred Lincoln in the cast. Before filming, Craven and producer Sean S. Cunningham, who would go to on to direct "Friday the 13th", had actually planned for it to be a hardcore film, although the idea was later dropped. Still, it shows how porous and permissive the boundaries were - a point demonstrated again a few years later when adult actress Marilyn Chambers scored the lead in David Cronenberg's horror classic "Rabid".
Sex sells, but the element to be “exploited” could really be just about anything. Italy had a wild run of cannibal films that exploited the gory special effects market throughout the late 70s into the 80s, with "Cannibal Holocaust" and "Cannibal Ferox" aka "Make Them Die Slowly" enjoying a tremendously successful run in US theaters. “Cannibal Holocaust” has been recognized as a pioneer of the "found footage" genre, two decades before "The Blair Witch Project" revitalized the genre in 1999.
The flexible nature of these films went hand-in-hand with the fact that often, exploitation producers would offer rookie directors plenty of creative freedom … so long as the required exploitable element was there in the final product. This was especially true of films released by producer Roger Corman. Corman gave many future Hollywood A-listers their start in the business, including Francis Ford Coppola, Joe Dante with "Piranha", and composer James Horner, who wrote the score for the gloriously trashy monster romp "Humanoids from the Deep." Corman's empire was an assembly line of movies meant for the grindhouse and drive-in markets.
This idea of quick and cheap never went away, and exploitation cinema continues to influence modern directors. Tarantino and Rodriguez’s 2007 double feature “Grindhouse”, combining “Planet Terror” and “Death Proof”, is a love letter to exploitation cinema. So are the fake trailers from directors Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, Eli Roth, and Jason Eisener. Roth's "The Green Inferno" is similarly an homage to Italian cannibal films.
Filmmakers like Roth are also connected to the "torture porn" genre, the modern day term for “splatter films”. Together with directors like Rodriguez, Zombie, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, Roth is part of the “Splat Pack”, whose films are often shot on low budgets and feature ultra-violence. Movies like Wan and Whannell’s "Saw" are still selling shock, and audiences are only too happy to oblige. Since the first “Saw” film was released in 2004, the franchise has grown to nine installments.
Meanwhile, the business model of production companies such as Blumhouse hearkens back to that exploitation philosophy of keeping budgets low and profits high. For every "Fantasy Island" that might under-perform, there are entries like "Happy Death Day" or "The Invisible Man" that get positive attention from fans and critics.
At the heart of exploitation horror is a delicate balance between art and commerce. It's a world that's full of talented dreamers and shameless hucksters, of businessmen and artists. There's always something for sale and a product to be made. At the same time, however, this world brought us some of the most daring, shocking and, yes, entertaining films of all time.
Let the body count begin!
Welcome to WatchMojo’s series Horror History, where we look at how the genre went from being a bump in the night to shaking down the box office!
Slasher films hold a special place within horror. For many, they’re the first movies that come to mind when they think of the genre. Villains like Michael Myers, Jason, Freddy, and Chucky have become iconic pop culture figures, instantly evoking the scares, thrills, and bloodshed closely associated with big-name horror franchises.
A typical slasher film features several key tropes. Jim Vorel of Paste magazine has put together a tidy definition, arguing that slasher films involve: human villains who choose to kill, usually in intimate ways (such as with knives rather than guns), racking up body counts that are showcased in graphic scenes. They tend to involve a “final girl”, and to focus on the killer and victims, rather than criminal investigations.
These conventions have roots in both literary and cinematic forebears.
From famed mystery writer Agatha Christie, the 1939 novel "And Then There Were None" is often cited as a jumping off point for the modern slasher. This is due primarily to its structure, where a group of apparent strangers are invited to a remote island and picked off one by one. It's a body count story that requires the reader to do some internal detective work of our own, as we try to decipher what connects the strangers and who is doing the killing.
At heart however, "And Then There Were None" is still a mystery story - a genre in which there's usually some grounded and mundane motivation for the killings, like greed, lust, revenge, jealousy, or profit. This focus on psychological motives is also present in proto-slashers like “Peeping Tom” and Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”, both released in 1960. Certainly, these films helped popularize key tropes, although their status as true “slashers” is debated.
But while the villains in typical slashers aren’t immune to base desires, they often seem driven by some inhuman and evil compulsion - taking satisfaction in the act of killing. They also tend to rack up a much higher body count than Norman Bates.
The classic tropes of slasher films would only really all come together in the 70s. To understand how these emerged from mystery stories and thrillers, we first have to take a trip to Italy, and talk about the giallo. Meaning “yellow” in Italian, giallo refers to the tawdry yellow paperbacks that flooded readers with lurid murder mystery stories. The genre first moved to cinema in the 1960s, with examples like Mario Bava's "The Girl Who Knew Too Much" and “Blood and Black Lace”, and Umberto Lenzi’s "Orgasmo" aka “Paranoia”. The more permissive 1970s would see giallo films amping up the sex and violence and exploding in popularity, in no small part thanks to master craftsmen like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. Argento’s “The Bird with the Crystal Plumage” in particular brought new attention to the genre.
It's impossible to overstate how much the Italian giallo influenced the modern slasher, to the point where "Friday the 13th Part 2" recreated key bloody sequences from Bava's 1971 film "A Bay of Blood". However, "A Bay of Blood" is still very much a murder mystery at heart, with the villains motivated by simple greed.
This definitely was NOT the case when it came to another infamous giallo, "Torso." Sergio Martino’s 1973 film upped the ante to a ridiculous level when it came to the murder set pieces and sadism. Giallo films often worked simultaneously as police procedurals or psychological thrillers. But "Torso" drove home the genre's increasing reputation for misogyny by creating an atmosphere that was almost prurient in its depiction of psychosexual assault. The killer here is committing crimes because he enjoys it, and does so upon a cast of seemingly disposable characters that are there to serve as fodder.
In his article on slashers, Jim Vorel points to this moment as the true birth of the genre. "Torso" ticks all of the boxes in terms of the common tropes in typical slasher films. There’s even a “final girl” - a female protagonist, typically portrayed as morally “pure”, who’s the last one left standing to confront the villain at the end. Other early examples of final girls include Sally Hardesty in “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre”, and Jess Bradford in “Black Christmas” - itself often recognized as as the “mother of the modern slasher”. There have been some “final boys” too, such as in movies like “The Burning”.
The idea of this "good girl" outliving her friends and triumphing at the end speaks to puritanical attitudes that contrast with the “anything goes” nature of slasher films; nonetheless, it became a staple of the genre in the late 70s and 80s. If you went skinny dipping or had sex in a horror movie, it was virtually guaranteed that you weren't going to make it to the end.
If critics and audiences started paying a lot of attention to slashers during this time, then we can thank "Halloween" for changing the game in 1978. Influenced by movies like “Black Christmas”, John Carpenter's masterpiece introduced one of the most iconic final girls of all time, Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode, and kick-started slasher mania. The movie’s success convinced major studios to bankroll their own slasher films, striking while the iron was hot. After all, these movies could be relatively cost effective, and virtually guaranteed to bring home a profit.
It’s this boom that brought us revered classics like “Friday the 13th”, "Prom Night", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", and “Child’s Play”. The influence of slashers spread out to other horror subgenres too - while Ridley Scott’s “Alien” doesn’t feature a human killer, it’s been described as a “slasher in space”. During this period, the slasher tropes became solidified, and before long you had a conveyor belt of films coming down the pipeline, hitting the same body count beats, nude scene requirements, and predictable sequel-baiting.
However, in response to pressure from parents and critics, the MPAA began cracking down on the genre, limiting films from showcasing their star attractions: blood and gore!
The "Friday the 13th" franchise seemed to suffer the most from this, with entire scenes hitting the cutting room floor. Moral outrage at the slasher film wouldn't be the only cause for its eventual decline though, as the glut of content did more harm than good. By the late 1980s, slasher films were suffering from diminishing returns thanks to substandard sequels and embarrassing direct-to-video ordeals. The writing seemed to be on the wall.
How could a genre that was so new, but already so overdone, find a new lease on life? Enter “A Nightmare on Elm Street’s” Wes Craven with “Scream” ... By the 1990s, fans had basically seen it all, and needed movies to reflect this knowledge to remind them why they loved this stuff in the first place. The advent of self-awareness and meta-commentary made slashers bankable again. Along with “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, also written by Kevin Williamson, “Scream” is often touted as bringing the genre back from the grave. It’s a legacy that’s lived on in other meta horror movies, like Drew Goddard’s brilliant and hilarious “The Cabin in the Woods”.
Mind you, on the subject of self-awareness, an even earlier film than “Scream” also deserves attention: 1991's "There's Nothing Out There!" Writer/director Rolfe Kanefsky presents a much looser and more comedic take on the "we're in a horror movie" horror movie. But there are definite parallels in how both feature horror film savvy characters and satirize the slasher film "rules".
Today, this idea of being self aware about the slashers we love seems to go hand in hand with an un-ironic appreciation of the classics. The 21st century has seen a veritable onslaught of remakes, reboots, and retconned sequels. A lot of these have been, to be honest, less than stellar. But there have been a few worthy successors too.
More promisingly, a whole new generation of filmmakers has brought the genre full circle, with original but old school style slashers like ""You're Next" and "Summer of 84". Blumhouse's "Happy Death Day" series looks back and winks at the glut of holiday themed slashers that, at one time, filled the market.
There's a nostalgia now for '80s slashers that drives both filmmakers and viewers alike. But behind those rose-colored glasses, there’s also often a drive to move the genre forward with original ideas and content - with one eye on the past, and one eye on the future!
The Devil's in the details!
Welcome to WatchMojo’s series Horror History, where we look at how the genre went from being a bump in the night to shaking down the box office!
While many horror subgenres drift in and out of popularity, the supernatural seems to be a perennial favorite. Horror movies about demonic possession, or malevolent ghosts, continue to fascinate audiences and fuel our nightmares.
What makes us so intrigued by sinister, otherworldly forces? Well, for starters, the menacing entities in supernatural horror films tend to strike where we feel safest - at home. The frightening appeal of haunted house films ties into similar fears about home invasions – evoking the terrifying idea that even when we feel safe and cosy, something could be lurking … right behind us! Similarly, films dealing with demonic possession cast a threatening pall over not only familiar objects, but also our loved ones and very souls.
There’s also just something eternally creepy about the unknown and unknowable.
People have been telling good old fashioned ghost stories from time immemorial. And their popularity on screen dates back to the early years of cinema history. Given the abundance of ghost stories, many films in the same vein have been adaptations. 1927’s “The Cat and the Canary”, for example, was based on a play. Even though its ghost turns out to be a human villain, it provides an embryonic example of the haunted house trope. So too does the comedy horror film “The Old Dark House”, which adapted the novel “Benighted”. Both take place in mysterious houses where a dark presence lurks in secret.
The supernatural element would receive more emphasis in films like 1961’s “The Innocents”, an adaptation of Henry James’ novella “The Turn of the Screw”. Although, even here, it’s easy to argue that the ghosts are figments of imagination, linked to a subtle subtext of sexuality and repression.
When it comes to horror adaptations, perhaps no other novel has been as influential as Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House”. Published in 1959, it was adapted four years later by director and producer Robert Wise into the seminal British horror film “The Haunting”. With its psychological drama, nail-biting suspense, subtle special effects, and chilling sound design, it came to epitomize the haunted house genre. Although the awful 1999 remake is better forgotten, Netflix’s adaptation in 2018 brought the story to streaming, allowing a new generation to experience the chills of Jackson’s tale.
In the late 60s, this interest in ghost stories gave way to an even darker fascination: pure evil!
In 1968’s “Rosemary’s Baby”, Mia Farrow’s Rosemary is assaulted by Satan and gives birth to his son. The movie’s success opened the door to other tales centered on evil forces - often featuring wicked or ill-fated children. One such film was William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, which absolutely terrified audiences with its shocking depiction of demonic possession. Friedkin was part of a new generation of directors from the “New Hollywood” movement. Amid falling profits, studios granted them unprecedented control and permission to take risks. And directors like Friedkin were more than happy to do so! "The Exorcist" kicked the demonic possession genre into high gear, and gave horror a new sense of legitimacy – earning ten Academy Award nominations and winning two, along with a plethora of Golden Globes.
What followed was a slew of imitators. Mario Bava's 1974 film "Lisa and The Devil" even had an exorcism scene shoehorned in to capitalize on demon fever. Naturally, parody of the new craze wasn’t far behind either ...
Children linked to dark, supernatural forces have since become a horror staple - whether as the devil’s spawn, as in “The Omen”, or as misunderstood kids, as in the Stephen King adaptation “Carrie”.
Fittingly, Master of Horror Stephen King would manage to mix all these elements - ghosts, possession, and children with supernatural powers - in his novel “The Shining”, brought to the screen by none other than Stanley Kubrick. The year before, “The Amityville Horror”, based on the real life DeFeo murders and claims of paranormal events, also featured a man driven by spirits to try to axe-murder his family. But while “The Amityville Horror” did evolve into a long-running franchise, it’s Jack Nicholson’s performance in “The Shining” that became an inescapable part of pop culture.
As the genre has progressed, these unseen forces have seemingly grown ever more powerful. Yes, they can possess a young girl, or drive a man mad. But they can also act on their own - reaching ghostly hands into our homes and taking control. This was terrifyingly depicted in Tobe Hooper’s “Poltergeist”, the brainchild of co-writer and producer Steven Spielberg. It’s a genre classic that also demonstrates how supernatural horror can work across different ratings; it may be rated PG, but just try to watch it and then turn the lights off for bed. “Poltergeist’s” influence has endured for decades, lurking behind modern movie franchises like the R-Rated “Paranormal Activity” and “The Conjuring”.
This versatility with ratings has helped ensure that haunted house and possession movies remain a recipe for financial success. PG-13 films like “The Sixth Sense” and “The Others” can thrill audiences of all ages with creepy and clever takes on traditional ghost stories; while an R-Rated movie like Guillermo del Toro’s “Crimson Peak” is clearly geared towards adults who can recall the sumptuous gothic atmosphere of Hammer Studios. Ironically, some of the most popular R-Rated horror films have been about possessed children’s dolls - from “Child’s Play” to “Annabelle”. The genre’s flexibility around ratings has allowed it to cater to both adolescents and adults who just want a little bit o' the devil in their lives.
Of course, like any genre, supernatural horror has had to innovate to maintain interest. The special effects from “The Exorcist” might have shocked audiences in the 70s, but we have an eternal hunger for something new. Several explosively successful movements have helped the genre avoid stagnation. These include the vengeful ghost stories in J-horror movies like “Ringu” and “Ju-On: The Grudge”, as well as their American remakes. There’s also the found footage style used by movies like the aforementioned “Paranormal Activity”. The more out-there supernatural horror movies, like “Hausu”, have to be seen to be believed. Seriously, go watch this slice of insanity for yourself …
A thread that runs through many of these films is the line between sanity and insanity. It's a common horror trope that a character who's experiencing supernatural phenomena will at first have their claims laughed off or explained away by skeptical friends and relatives. This has been especially true for female characters. In both “The Cat and the Canary” and “Rosemary’s Baby”, female protagonists are made to question their sanity before learning they were right all along. In her book “House of Psychotic Women”, Canadian writer, programmer and producer Kier-La Janisse contrasts the “female neurotic”, who lives in shame, with her male counterpart, “the eccentric”. In movies such as “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death” and “The Entity”, the past traumas of female protagonists are provoked, making it easier to dismiss them.
It’s a theme that continues to be spun out in new and insightful ways. A prime example is Leigh Whannell’s Blumhouse movie “The Invisible Man”, which used the trope to shine a light on domestic violence.
At the heart of all these films are powerful, often destructive emotions barely within our control. 1980’s classic haunted house movie “The Changeling”, for example, provided a potent commentary on grief. In more recent times, so too did “The Babadook”, and of course Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” - which really went all out in the grim final act. These films show how the genre can function as a universal solvent - serving up the requisite suspense and scares, while also working on another level for the critical set. It’s yet another reason for its enduring popularity.
Taking place in our homes, and dredging the depths of our hearts, supernatural horror films dramatize dangers both inside and out. They keep us coming back for more with intangible horrors that strike when we least expect it, seeping through the walls into our bedrooms and even into our nightmares. To be honest, though? We wouldn't want it any other way … at least on our screens!
Horror has entered a new age … and we love it!
Welcome to WatchMojo’s series Horror History, where we look at how the genre went from being a bump in the night to shaking down the box office!
As a genre, horror has always been transgressive, pushing boundaries and breaking new ground. However, for just that reason, it’s also remained somewhat niche and easy for critics to dismiss. Gradually though, that’s changed, thanks to standout films that made audiences and critics alike stand up and pay attention. Today, horror feels like it’s come of age, with more respect than ever before given to its creators and the stories they have to tell.
This rise has been buoyed in recent years by a wave of films that have used horror to tell artful stories about deeper human experiences, or provide social commentary on the world we live in. It’s important to note, however, that they’re hardly the first to do so. Much has been said about how George A. Romero’s 1978 film “Dawn of the Dead” savagely satirized consumer culture with its setting of Monroeville Mall. Also from the late 70s, David Lynch’s movie “Eraserhead” delved into the director’s own anxieties about fatherhood. Then there’s David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of “The Fly”, with its gruesome body horror intended as a metaphor for aging. When it was released, many critics also saw in it an analogy for the AIDS crisis.
Having said that, horror films today do seem more willing than ever before to put these deeper ideas at the centre of their narrative. Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 film “Black Swan” used horror to explore obsession and mental breakdown. In our previous episode, we talked about how “The Babadook” and “Hereditary” explore grief, and the way that “The Invisible Man” highlights gaslighting and domestic violence.
Horror has had even more to say thanks to growing diversity within its ranks. 2014 brought us Ana Lily Amirpour's singular film "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night", a self-described “Iranian vampire Western”. Subverting many of the usual vampire movie tropes, it provided a fresh, feminist spin on the genre that celebrates classic horror while also creating something new.
Meanwhile, Jordan Peele’s 2017 film “Get Out” dealt with racism, complicity, and ignorance, while still very much working within genre parameters. The film was a critical darling and received four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture; Peele became the first Black winner of Best Original Screenplay. The universal acclaim is indicative of where horror is at now – a place where some of the most in demand Hollywood talents are actively seeking the genre out, rather than keeping their distance.
Mind you, “Get Out” wasn’t the first horror film nominated for Best Picture. That honor goes to 1973’s “The Exorcist”; hot on its heels two years later came “Jaws”. So far, the only horror film to actually take home the award was “The Silence of the Lambs”. In fact, it won FIVE Oscars in total, also picking up Best Actor, Actress, Director and Adapted Screenplay! There was much chatter however as to whether or not the label “horror” was actually warranted, with some preferring “psychological thriller” instead.
This is one of the reasons why Peele's win for Original Screenplay was a big deal! There wasn't the same ambiguity with "Get Out" as there was with "The Silence of the Lambs." This was a capital H horror film, and "Get Out" was proud of that fact. Indeed, as a filmmaker, Jordan Peele seems not to want to break out of horror’s genre trappings, so much as use them to tell larger stories. He returned to horror again in his follow-up film “Us”, which took aim at classism and privilege.
Peele is far from the only contemporary filmmaker revelling in classic horror tropes while bringing a unique vision to the genre. Ari Aster and Robert Eggers also deserve mentioning here, with the latter achieving his own moment of Oscar buzz when his 2019 film "The Lighthouse" was nominated for Best Cinematography. Both filmmakers work in a space where critics and fans alike seem to dig what they're doing, despite the fact that none of their films at this point could be described as softballs within the world of horror. Whether it's Aster playing with folk horror tropes a la "The Wicker Man" with his film "Midsommar", or Eggers challenging our ideas of the occult with his brilliantly moody masterpiece "The Witch", both names seem to be on the lips of every modern horror fan today.
In the same breath, many of those same fans are raving about the distribution and production company A24 – for good reason! A24 and Blumhouse serve as two of the most popular, prolific and successful horror studios of the modern day, with contrasting production models that have nevertheless resonated with the movie going public. A24 tend to take more chances with progressive, forward thinking productions, while Blumhouse balance a roster of high profile fare, like David Gordon Green's "Halloween" with lower budgeted rolls of the dice, a la "Unfriended" and darkly comedic success stories, such as the "Happy Death Day" series.
Indeed, it seems as if the R rating has made a return with a vengeance over the last few years, albeit with less of the exploitative sleaze that partially defined the genre in the 70s and 80s. Horror movies are being made for adults, and adults are watching horror movies; sometimes with their kids ... sometimes catching their kids. Filmmakers seem to be taking more chances by ignoring that dangling carrot that is the ever lucrative PG-13 rating. 2015’s R-Rated “It Follows” combined a parable about sexually transmitted infections with a harrowing John Carpenter-influenced synth soundtrack to create one of the most effective horror films of the decade. Gore Verbinski’s 2017 film "A Cure for Wellness" also embraced its R-rating, feeling like a wild-eyed throwback to the stylish (and occasionally nonsensical) giallo films from Italy. Released the same year, Andy Muschietti’s R-Rated Stephen King adaptation “It” became the highest grossing horror film of all time, garnering praise from fans and critics alike.
One common theme throughout the history of horror is how each generation of storytellers builds on the legacies of past visionaries. What’s old becomes new, and often returns in waves. If horror is once again championing the past with regards to its soundtracks or visuals, it's also doing so with yet another all important throwback: practical effects. Maybe we can thank “The Walking Dead’s” special makeup effects creator Greg Nicotero for the assist. Or Shudder’s "Creepshow" series. The backlash against the cringe-worthy CGI that marred movies like "Piranha 3D" and 2011’s "The Thing” probably helped too. Either way, horror filmmakers seem to be going back to basics, combining their old school knowledge with new modern techniques.
And that's why being a horror fan today is so exciting. The little genre that could has come a long way, and the future looks just as promising. Horror fans never forget their roots, and will always support honest filmmakers with unique visions, especially if their hearts are in the right place.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter if you adore the drive in, stick with slashers, love those jump scares or wanna hug those big, furry monsters. Horror is a home for outcasts, a place where anything is possible, that unites fans under one glorious banner of shared truth: we love being scared!
Monster Kids
Horror has come a LONG way - and so have the monsters that lurk within!
Welcome to WatchMojo’s series Horror History, where we look at how the genre went from being a bump in the night to shaking down the box office!
Today, horror is the home of some of Hollywood’s most talented and creative minds. They’d probably be the first to admit however that they’re standing on the shoulders of giants. And there’s one shared love in particular that connects them to previous generations of horror pioneers: monsters!
There's a term sometimes given to these folks, a badge of honor that many are proud to bear: "monster kids." First coined by writer David Colton in the mid 90s, it refers to those today with a particular affection and nostalgia for horror's formative years. We're not talking only about the classic Universal Monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, and Gill-man. We’re also talking about creatures like the Body Snatchers, the Blob, and the Triffids. We’re talking Hammer Films and their boundary-pushing penchant for bright Technicolor blood and gratuitous skin. Think actors like Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing … and directors like William Castle, Terence Fisher and Mario Bava.
But what exactly constitutes a movie “monster”? Herein lies the beauty of the beast, because monsters come in many different forms - something that remains true across genres, whether horror or not. A movie monster doesn't NEED to be supernatural or fantastic. Sure, it could be a giant dinosaur, as in “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” - a movie that directly inspired Godzilla. Or an extraterrestrial, as in “20 Million Miles to Earth”. But it could also just be an animal, as in Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws”.
A movie monster can also be a vehicle for social and political commentary. We’ve seen this in many movies, from “Godzilla”’s representation of nuclear holocaust, to the way that Guillermo del Toro’s dark fantasy “Pan’s Labryinth” explored the horrors of war. More recently, his romantic fantasy “The Shape of Water”, inspired by 1954’s "Creature from the Black Lagoon", subverted the usual monster tropes to address prejudice and xenophobia.
Mind you, many of the “messages” in monster films remain up for debate - and may or may not have been intentional. One example is “King Kong”, which has been interpreted as a racist allegory, or an anti-colonial one; as being about the Great Depression, or about how we should respect nature. Still, the fact that debates like this exist marks a huge shift around a genre that was long maligned as not having any messages at all.
Of course, the real pleasure in watching classic monster movies is often just sitting back, grabbing a handful of popcorn, and watching the mayhem! Many of the kids who grew up devouring drive-in pictures in the 50s and 60s went on to work in the film industry themselves – creating their own scenes of glorious carnage. For example, when writing “Alien”, screenwriter Dan O'Bannon drew on 1951’s “The Thing from Another World” and 1965’s “Planet of the Vampires”. He used these to build a story around the haunting design concepts created by Swiss artist H. R. Giger, who became hugely influential in horror himself.
Then there’s Joe Dante, who in 1978 brought audiences the horror comedy “Piranha”. He followed that up with formative horror films “The Howling” and “Gremlins.” In each, his love of classic B-movies shines through, with a twist of contemporary humor. Another “monster kid” is John Landis, who directed the seminal “An American Werewolf in London”, released the same year as Dante’s “The Howling”.
These filmmakers drew on the visionary work of the greats who came before them, while pioneering new techniques that would themselves be passed on down the line. One such great was Willis O’Brien, who did the stop motion animation in 1933’s “King Kong” and mentored the legendary Ray Harryhausen, working with him on “Mighty Joe Young”. Harryhausen went on to create the special effects for the film “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad”, which inspired an eight year old John Landis to become a director!
Harryhausen also influenced special effects legend Rick Baker, who worked on Landis’ film “An American Werewolf in London”. Referencing Harryhausen’s groundbreaking work in “Jason and the Argonauts”, Baker once said: “We are all children of the Hydra's teeth”. Baker’s werewolf transformation sequence in “An American Werewolf in London” was a game-changer in turn.
Meanwhile, Baker had mentored a young up-and-coming visual effects artist named Rob Bottin, working with him on “Piranha” and “The Howling” (until Bottin took over work on the latter). Bottin went on to create genre-defining work with John Carpenter on "The Thing." Like we said, it all goes down the line!
Just as this old guard was inspired by “monster kid” magazines like “Famous Monsters of Filmland” and “Castle of Frankenstein”, so too was a new generation of filmmakers influenced by “Fangoria” and “Cinemagic” in the 80s and beyond. Such publications were made for people like J. J. Abrams, who broke into the business as a fan, composing a synth score for the low budget 1982 sci-fi horror "Nightbeast." Abrams discussed his love of genre magazines with the Washington Post, describing how he wrote letters back and forth with "Nightbeast" director Don Dohler in “Cinemagic” before landing that fateful job as a low budget film composer.
Oftentimes, filmmakers like Dante and Abrams continue these "fan moments" with Easter Eggs in their own movies - like the inclusion of a "Dr. Moreau" in "Gremlins". Or the homage in "Cloverfield" to John Carpenter's "Escape From New York."
The generation of "monster kids" making films in the late 60s and 70s were free of the strict Hays Code that governed older films, and benefitted from more permissive social attitudes towards what was shown on screen. This became even more important in the gore obsessed 1980s. It transformed once again as society embraced the computer age and CGI a decade later.
Science fiction movies like "Jurassic Park" broke ground by combining CGI and practical effects. (The animatronic dinosaurs were created by Stan Winston, who had worked with Rob Bottin on “The Thing”). In the years since, computer generated imagery has opened the floodgate for movies with monsters at scales never seen before.
Today, many old monsters are new again. After making a name for himself with 2010’s “Monsters”, Gareth Edwards brought audiences the largest live-action incarnation of Godzilla ever. Michael Dougherty, director of horror comedies “Trick 'r Treat” and “Krampus”, continued the story in “King of the Monsters”. And in “Godzilla vs. Kong”, Adam Wingard, director of the slasher film “You're Next”, brought Godzilla face-to-face with the colossal King Kong first unveiled in “Skull Island”.
Modern monster kids are continuing to show off what inspired them, and pushing the genre forward.
Sure, some modern monster movies could be accused of not having "enough" creature features. This is a criticism that’s been levelled against both Gareth Edwards’s films, for example. Are these movies trying to have their cake and eat it, too? Dwelling a bit too much on the message or commentary, or trying to hide their monsters rather than celebrate them? The answer is obviously subjective, but the fact that we're even having these discussions means that it's a good time to be a monster movie fan.
Whether we’re talking about “Nosferatu” or “Dracula” … “Godzilla” or “Cloverfield” … “Jaws” or “Tremors” … movie monsters continue to beget new monsters. And monster movies themselves continue to create new generations of “monster kids”!
Exploitation Horror
Horror has been breaking down boundaries for decades. And exploitation horror has led the charge.
Welcome to WatchMojo’s series Horror History, where we look at how the genre went from being a bump in the night to shaking down the box office!
The term “exploitation film” is a difficult one to nail down. For many, it evokes images of New York City in the 1960s and 70s, specifically the Times Square district and its blocks of "grindhouse" theaters. Think bold theater marquees and salacious radio ads, teasing forbidden sights and sounds lurking just beyond the theater doors.
In essence though, an “exploitation film” is one that exploits trends, or taboo topics, often made on a low-budget and packed with gratuitous sex and violence. There's a "-sploitation" suffix for nearly any genre you can imagine, from Blaxploitation classics like "Shaft" and "Foxy Brown", to softcore Sexploitation fare like the "Emmanuelle" series. There's even "Nunsploitation" cinema, if you can believe it. These films pushed the envelope, and it was an international business, with grindhouses importing films from around the world to shock audiences in the States.
It was an era before home video, where films often remained in theatres for months due to their immense popularity. Movies with titles like “Blacula", “Thriller: A Cruel Picture” aka "They Call Her One Eye", and "Zombi 2” put butts in seats thanks to generous helpings of action, sex, and violence. A thriving scene of dub actors helped movies from countries like Italy, Spain and France, thrill audiences alongside homegrown efforts in the US. And it wasn't only in New York City. Exploitation was everywhere, from the Combat Zone in Boston to the streets of Toronto, Canada.
After all, this is a period after the "Free Love" 1960s, firmly entrenched in a 1970s "Me Decade" culture. It’s a time when society was increasingly open to boundaries being pushed - and taboos being broken. Movies could show more than ever before - and show they did!
Exploitation horror was made up by a variety of subgenres. There were creature features. There were slashers, like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. And revenge flicks, like 1978’s “I Spit on Your Grave” . And there were splatter films, focusing on gore and violence. The first splatter film is generally considered to be Herschell Gordon Lewis’ “Blood Feast”, about a psychopathic food caterer. But it was George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” that really gave the genre momentum, while also establishing the framework for modern zombie movies. In fact, Romero was actually the one who came up with the “splatter” label, when describing the sequel “Dawn of the Dead”.
There was significant crossover not only between these subgenres, but also between exploitation genres in general. This was especially true when it came to exploitation horror and sexploitation. It's no secret that horror and adult films are some of the movie industry's biggest moneymakers, often used to bankroll other, more mainstream films. Both genres were popular during the exploitation heyday, with the adult films of the era often being just that: actual films, with stories to tell, built around explicit scenes. This led to sexploitation horror movies like “Vampyres” and “Nude for Satan”.
Such crossovers also occurred behind-the-scenes, as in the case of horror icon Wes Craven, who actually got his start working on adult films under the pseudonym “Abe Snake”. Similarly William Lustig worked on adult films before directing some classic examples of '80s horror , including the Times Square staple "Maniac."
Craven’s directorial debut, the exploitation horror film “The Last House on the Left", even included adult film actor Fred Lincoln in the cast. Before filming, Craven and producer Sean S. Cunningham, who would go to on to direct "Friday the 13th", had actually planned for it to be a hardcore film, although the idea was later dropped. Still, it shows how porous and permissive the boundaries were - a point demonstrated again a few years later when adult actress Marilyn Chambers scored the lead in David Cronenberg's horror classic "Rabid".
Sex sells, but the element to be “exploited” could really be just about anything. Italy had a wild run of cannibal films that exploited the gory special effects market throughout the late 70s into the 80s, with "Cannibal Holocaust" and "Cannibal Ferox" aka "Make Them Die Slowly" enjoying a tremendously successful run in US theaters. “Cannibal Holocaust” has been recognized as a pioneer of the "found footage" genre, two decades before "The Blair Witch Project" revitalized the genre in 1999.
The flexible nature of these films went hand-in-hand with the fact that often, exploitation producers would offer rookie directors plenty of creative freedom … so long as the required exploitable element was there in the final product. This was especially true of films released by producer Roger Corman. Corman gave many future Hollywood A-listers their start in the business, including Francis Ford Coppola, Joe Dante with "Piranha", and composer James Horner, who wrote the score for the gloriously trashy monster romp "Humanoids from the Deep." Corman's empire was an assembly line of movies meant for the grindhouse and drive-in markets.
This idea of quick and cheap never went away, and exploitation cinema continues to influence modern directors. Tarantino and Rodriguez’s 2007 double feature “Grindhouse”, combining “Planet Terror” and “Death Proof”, is a love letter to exploitation cinema. So are the fake trailers from directors Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, Eli Roth, and Jason Eisener. Roth's "The Green Inferno" is similarly an homage to Italian cannibal films.
Filmmakers like Roth are also connected to the "torture porn" genre, the modern day term for “splatter films”. Together with directors like Rodriguez, Zombie, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, Roth is part of the “Splat Pack”, whose films are often shot on low budgets and feature ultra-violence. Movies like Wan and Whannell’s "Saw" are still selling shock, and audiences are only too happy to oblige. Since the first “Saw” film was released in 2004, the franchise has grown to nine installments.
Meanwhile, the business model of production companies such as Blumhouse hearkens back to that exploitation philosophy of keeping budgets low and profits high. For every "Fantasy Island" that might under-perform, there are entries like "Happy Death Day" or "The Invisible Man" that get positive attention from fans and critics.
At the heart of exploitation horror is a delicate balance between art and commerce. It's a world that's full of talented dreamers and shameless hucksters, of businessmen and artists. There's always something for sale and a product to be made. At the same time, however, this world brought us some of the most daring, shocking and, yes, entertaining films of all time.
Slashers
Let the body count begin!
Welcome to WatchMojo’s series Horror History, where we look at how the genre went from being a bump in the night to shaking down the box office!
Slasher films hold a special place within horror. For many, they’re the first movies that come to mind when they think of the genre. Villains like Michael Myers, Jason, Freddy, and Chucky have become iconic pop culture figures, instantly evoking the scares, thrills, and bloodshed closely associated with big-name horror franchises.
A typical slasher film features several key tropes. Jim Vorel of Paste magazine has put together a tidy definition, arguing that slasher films involve: human villains who choose to kill, usually in intimate ways (such as with knives rather than guns), racking up body counts that are showcased in graphic scenes. They tend to involve a “final girl”, and to focus on the killer and victims, rather than criminal investigations.
These conventions have roots in both literary and cinematic forebears.
From famed mystery writer Agatha Christie, the 1939 novel "And Then There Were None" is often cited as a jumping off point for the modern slasher. This is due primarily to its structure, where a group of apparent strangers are invited to a remote island and picked off one by one. It's a body count story that requires the reader to do some internal detective work of our own, as we try to decipher what connects the strangers and who is doing the killing.
At heart however, "And Then There Were None" is still a mystery story - a genre in which there's usually some grounded and mundane motivation for the killings, like greed, lust, revenge, jealousy, or profit. This focus on psychological motives is also present in proto-slashers like “Peeping Tom” and Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”, both released in 1960. Certainly, these films helped popularize key tropes, although their status as true “slashers” is debated.
But while the villains in typical slashers aren’t immune to base desires, they often seem driven by some inhuman and evil compulsion - taking satisfaction in the act of killing. They also tend to rack up a much higher body count than Norman Bates.
The classic tropes of slasher films would only really all come together in the 70s. To understand how these emerged from mystery stories and thrillers, we first have to take a trip to Italy, and talk about the giallo. Meaning “yellow” in Italian, giallo refers to the tawdry yellow paperbacks that flooded readers with lurid murder mystery stories. The genre first moved to cinema in the 1960s, with examples like Mario Bava's "The Girl Who Knew Too Much" and “Blood and Black Lace”, and Umberto Lenzi’s "Orgasmo" aka “Paranoia”. The more permissive 1970s would see giallo films amping up the sex and violence and exploding in popularity, in no small part thanks to master craftsmen like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. Argento’s “The Bird with the Crystal Plumage” in particular brought new attention to the genre.
It's impossible to overstate how much the Italian giallo influenced the modern slasher, to the point where "Friday the 13th Part 2" recreated key bloody sequences from Bava's 1971 film "A Bay of Blood". However, "A Bay of Blood" is still very much a murder mystery at heart, with the villains motivated by simple greed.
This definitely was NOT the case when it came to another infamous giallo, "Torso." Sergio Martino’s 1973 film upped the ante to a ridiculous level when it came to the murder set pieces and sadism. Giallo films often worked simultaneously as police procedurals or psychological thrillers. But "Torso" drove home the genre's increasing reputation for misogyny by creating an atmosphere that was almost prurient in its depiction of psychosexual assault. The killer here is committing crimes because he enjoys it, and does so upon a cast of seemingly disposable characters that are there to serve as fodder.
In his article on slashers, Jim Vorel points to this moment as the true birth of the genre. "Torso" ticks all of the boxes in terms of the common tropes in typical slasher films. There’s even a “final girl” - a female protagonist, typically portrayed as morally “pure”, who’s the last one left standing to confront the villain at the end. Other early examples of final girls include Sally Hardesty in “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre”, and Jess Bradford in “Black Christmas” - itself often recognized as as the “mother of the modern slasher”. There have been some “final boys” too, such as in movies like “The Burning”.
The idea of this "good girl" outliving her friends and triumphing at the end speaks to puritanical attitudes that contrast with the “anything goes” nature of slasher films; nonetheless, it became a staple of the genre in the late 70s and 80s. If you went skinny dipping or had sex in a horror movie, it was virtually guaranteed that you weren't going to make it to the end.
If critics and audiences started paying a lot of attention to slashers during this time, then we can thank "Halloween" for changing the game in 1978. Influenced by movies like “Black Christmas”, John Carpenter's masterpiece introduced one of the most iconic final girls of all time, Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode, and kick-started slasher mania. The movie’s success convinced major studios to bankroll their own slasher films, striking while the iron was hot. After all, these movies could be relatively cost effective, and virtually guaranteed to bring home a profit.
It’s this boom that brought us revered classics like “Friday the 13th”, "Prom Night", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", and “Child’s Play”. The influence of slashers spread out to other horror subgenres too - while Ridley Scott’s “Alien” doesn’t feature a human killer, it’s been described as a “slasher in space”. During this period, the slasher tropes became solidified, and before long you had a conveyor belt of films coming down the pipeline, hitting the same body count beats, nude scene requirements, and predictable sequel-baiting.
However, in response to pressure from parents and critics, the MPAA began cracking down on the genre, limiting films from showcasing their star attractions: blood and gore!
The "Friday the 13th" franchise seemed to suffer the most from this, with entire scenes hitting the cutting room floor. Moral outrage at the slasher film wouldn't be the only cause for its eventual decline though, as the glut of content did more harm than good. By the late 1980s, slasher films were suffering from diminishing returns thanks to substandard sequels and embarrassing direct-to-video ordeals. The writing seemed to be on the wall.
How could a genre that was so new, but already so overdone, find a new lease on life? Enter “A Nightmare on Elm Street’s” Wes Craven with “Scream” ... By the 1990s, fans had basically seen it all, and needed movies to reflect this knowledge to remind them why they loved this stuff in the first place. The advent of self-awareness and meta-commentary made slashers bankable again. Along with “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, also written by Kevin Williamson, “Scream” is often touted as bringing the genre back from the grave. It’s a legacy that’s lived on in other meta horror movies, like Drew Goddard’s brilliant and hilarious “The Cabin in the Woods”.
Mind you, on the subject of self-awareness, an even earlier film than “Scream” also deserves attention: 1991's "There's Nothing Out There!" Writer/director Rolfe Kanefsky presents a much looser and more comedic take on the "we're in a horror movie" horror movie. But there are definite parallels in how both feature horror film savvy characters and satirize the slasher film "rules".
Today, this idea of being self aware about the slashers we love seems to go hand in hand with an un-ironic appreciation of the classics. The 21st century has seen a veritable onslaught of remakes, reboots, and retconned sequels. A lot of these have been, to be honest, less than stellar. But there have been a few worthy successors too.
More promisingly, a whole new generation of filmmakers has brought the genre full circle, with original but old school style slashers like ""You're Next" and "Summer of 84". Blumhouse's "Happy Death Day" series looks back and winks at the glut of holiday themed slashers that, at one time, filled the market.
There's a nostalgia now for '80s slashers that drives both filmmakers and viewers alike. But behind those rose-colored glasses, there’s also often a drive to move the genre forward with original ideas and content - with one eye on the past, and one eye on the future!
Supernatural Horror
The Devil's in the details!
Welcome to WatchMojo’s series Horror History, where we look at how the genre went from being a bump in the night to shaking down the box office!
While many horror subgenres drift in and out of popularity, the supernatural seems to be a perennial favorite. Horror movies about demonic possession, or malevolent ghosts, continue to fascinate audiences and fuel our nightmares.
What makes us so intrigued by sinister, otherworldly forces? Well, for starters, the menacing entities in supernatural horror films tend to strike where we feel safest - at home. The frightening appeal of haunted house films ties into similar fears about home invasions – evoking the terrifying idea that even when we feel safe and cosy, something could be lurking … right behind us! Similarly, films dealing with demonic possession cast a threatening pall over not only familiar objects, but also our loved ones and very souls.
There’s also just something eternally creepy about the unknown and unknowable.
People have been telling good old fashioned ghost stories from time immemorial. And their popularity on screen dates back to the early years of cinema history. Given the abundance of ghost stories, many films in the same vein have been adaptations. 1927’s “The Cat and the Canary”, for example, was based on a play. Even though its ghost turns out to be a human villain, it provides an embryonic example of the haunted house trope. So too does the comedy horror film “The Old Dark House”, which adapted the novel “Benighted”. Both take place in mysterious houses where a dark presence lurks in secret.
The supernatural element would receive more emphasis in films like 1961’s “The Innocents”, an adaptation of Henry James’ novella “The Turn of the Screw”. Although, even here, it’s easy to argue that the ghosts are figments of imagination, linked to a subtle subtext of sexuality and repression.
When it comes to horror adaptations, perhaps no other novel has been as influential as Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House”. Published in 1959, it was adapted four years later by director and producer Robert Wise into the seminal British horror film “The Haunting”. With its psychological drama, nail-biting suspense, subtle special effects, and chilling sound design, it came to epitomize the haunted house genre. Although the awful 1999 remake is better forgotten, Netflix’s adaptation in 2018 brought the story to streaming, allowing a new generation to experience the chills of Jackson’s tale.
In the late 60s, this interest in ghost stories gave way to an even darker fascination: pure evil!
In 1968’s “Rosemary’s Baby”, Mia Farrow’s Rosemary is assaulted by Satan and gives birth to his son. The movie’s success opened the door to other tales centered on evil forces - often featuring wicked or ill-fated children. One such film was William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, which absolutely terrified audiences with its shocking depiction of demonic possession. Friedkin was part of a new generation of directors from the “New Hollywood” movement. Amid falling profits, studios granted them unprecedented control and permission to take risks. And directors like Friedkin were more than happy to do so! "The Exorcist" kicked the demonic possession genre into high gear, and gave horror a new sense of legitimacy – earning ten Academy Award nominations and winning two, along with a plethora of Golden Globes.
What followed was a slew of imitators. Mario Bava's 1974 film "Lisa and The Devil" even had an exorcism scene shoehorned in to capitalize on demon fever. Naturally, parody of the new craze wasn’t far behind either ...
Children linked to dark, supernatural forces have since become a horror staple - whether as the devil’s spawn, as in “The Omen”, or as misunderstood kids, as in the Stephen King adaptation “Carrie”.
Fittingly, Master of Horror Stephen King would manage to mix all these elements - ghosts, possession, and children with supernatural powers - in his novel “The Shining”, brought to the screen by none other than Stanley Kubrick. The year before, “The Amityville Horror”, based on the real life DeFeo murders and claims of paranormal events, also featured a man driven by spirits to try to axe-murder his family. But while “The Amityville Horror” did evolve into a long-running franchise, it’s Jack Nicholson’s performance in “The Shining” that became an inescapable part of pop culture.
As the genre has progressed, these unseen forces have seemingly grown ever more powerful. Yes, they can possess a young girl, or drive a man mad. But they can also act on their own - reaching ghostly hands into our homes and taking control. This was terrifyingly depicted in Tobe Hooper’s “Poltergeist”, the brainchild of co-writer and producer Steven Spielberg. It’s a genre classic that also demonstrates how supernatural horror can work across different ratings; it may be rated PG, but just try to watch it and then turn the lights off for bed. “Poltergeist’s” influence has endured for decades, lurking behind modern movie franchises like the R-Rated “Paranormal Activity” and “The Conjuring”.
This versatility with ratings has helped ensure that haunted house and possession movies remain a recipe for financial success. PG-13 films like “The Sixth Sense” and “The Others” can thrill audiences of all ages with creepy and clever takes on traditional ghost stories; while an R-Rated movie like Guillermo del Toro’s “Crimson Peak” is clearly geared towards adults who can recall the sumptuous gothic atmosphere of Hammer Studios. Ironically, some of the most popular R-Rated horror films have been about possessed children’s dolls - from “Child’s Play” to “Annabelle”. The genre’s flexibility around ratings has allowed it to cater to both adolescents and adults who just want a little bit o' the devil in their lives.
Of course, like any genre, supernatural horror has had to innovate to maintain interest. The special effects from “The Exorcist” might have shocked audiences in the 70s, but we have an eternal hunger for something new. Several explosively successful movements have helped the genre avoid stagnation. These include the vengeful ghost stories in J-horror movies like “Ringu” and “Ju-On: The Grudge”, as well as their American remakes. There’s also the found footage style used by movies like the aforementioned “Paranormal Activity”. The more out-there supernatural horror movies, like “Hausu”, have to be seen to be believed. Seriously, go watch this slice of insanity for yourself …
A thread that runs through many of these films is the line between sanity and insanity. It's a common horror trope that a character who's experiencing supernatural phenomena will at first have their claims laughed off or explained away by skeptical friends and relatives. This has been especially true for female characters. In both “The Cat and the Canary” and “Rosemary’s Baby”, female protagonists are made to question their sanity before learning they were right all along. In her book “House of Psychotic Women”, Canadian writer, programmer and producer Kier-La Janisse contrasts the “female neurotic”, who lives in shame, with her male counterpart, “the eccentric”. In movies such as “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death” and “The Entity”, the past traumas of female protagonists are provoked, making it easier to dismiss them.
It’s a theme that continues to be spun out in new and insightful ways. A prime example is Leigh Whannell’s Blumhouse movie “The Invisible Man”, which used the trope to shine a light on domestic violence.
At the heart of all these films are powerful, often destructive emotions barely within our control. 1980’s classic haunted house movie “The Changeling”, for example, provided a potent commentary on grief. In more recent times, so too did “The Babadook”, and of course Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” - which really went all out in the grim final act. These films show how the genre can function as a universal solvent - serving up the requisite suspense and scares, while also working on another level for the critical set. It’s yet another reason for its enduring popularity.
Taking place in our homes, and dredging the depths of our hearts, supernatural horror films dramatize dangers both inside and out. They keep us coming back for more with intangible horrors that strike when we least expect it, seeping through the walls into our bedrooms and even into our nightmares. To be honest, though? We wouldn't want it any other way … at least on our screens!
The New Golden Age of Horror
Horror has entered a new age … and we love it!
Welcome to WatchMojo’s series Horror History, where we look at how the genre went from being a bump in the night to shaking down the box office!
As a genre, horror has always been transgressive, pushing boundaries and breaking new ground. However, for just that reason, it’s also remained somewhat niche and easy for critics to dismiss. Gradually though, that’s changed, thanks to standout films that made audiences and critics alike stand up and pay attention. Today, horror feels like it’s come of age, with more respect than ever before given to its creators and the stories they have to tell.
This rise has been buoyed in recent years by a wave of films that have used horror to tell artful stories about deeper human experiences, or provide social commentary on the world we live in. It’s important to note, however, that they’re hardly the first to do so. Much has been said about how George A. Romero’s 1978 film “Dawn of the Dead” savagely satirized consumer culture with its setting of Monroeville Mall. Also from the late 70s, David Lynch’s movie “Eraserhead” delved into the director’s own anxieties about fatherhood. Then there’s David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of “The Fly”, with its gruesome body horror intended as a metaphor for aging. When it was released, many critics also saw in it an analogy for the AIDS crisis.
Having said that, horror films today do seem more willing than ever before to put these deeper ideas at the centre of their narrative. Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 film “Black Swan” used horror to explore obsession and mental breakdown. In our previous episode, we talked about how “The Babadook” and “Hereditary” explore grief, and the way that “The Invisible Man” highlights gaslighting and domestic violence.
Horror has had even more to say thanks to growing diversity within its ranks. 2014 brought us Ana Lily Amirpour's singular film "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night", a self-described “Iranian vampire Western”. Subverting many of the usual vampire movie tropes, it provided a fresh, feminist spin on the genre that celebrates classic horror while also creating something new.
Meanwhile, Jordan Peele’s 2017 film “Get Out” dealt with racism, complicity, and ignorance, while still very much working within genre parameters. The film was a critical darling and received four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture; Peele became the first Black winner of Best Original Screenplay. The universal acclaim is indicative of where horror is at now – a place where some of the most in demand Hollywood talents are actively seeking the genre out, rather than keeping their distance.
Mind you, “Get Out” wasn’t the first horror film nominated for Best Picture. That honor goes to 1973’s “The Exorcist”; hot on its heels two years later came “Jaws”. So far, the only horror film to actually take home the award was “The Silence of the Lambs”. In fact, it won FIVE Oscars in total, also picking up Best Actor, Actress, Director and Adapted Screenplay! There was much chatter however as to whether or not the label “horror” was actually warranted, with some preferring “psychological thriller” instead.
This is one of the reasons why Peele's win for Original Screenplay was a big deal! There wasn't the same ambiguity with "Get Out" as there was with "The Silence of the Lambs." This was a capital H horror film, and "Get Out" was proud of that fact. Indeed, as a filmmaker, Jordan Peele seems not to want to break out of horror’s genre trappings, so much as use them to tell larger stories. He returned to horror again in his follow-up film “Us”, which took aim at classism and privilege.
Peele is far from the only contemporary filmmaker revelling in classic horror tropes while bringing a unique vision to the genre. Ari Aster and Robert Eggers also deserve mentioning here, with the latter achieving his own moment of Oscar buzz when his 2019 film "The Lighthouse" was nominated for Best Cinematography. Both filmmakers work in a space where critics and fans alike seem to dig what they're doing, despite the fact that none of their films at this point could be described as softballs within the world of horror. Whether it's Aster playing with folk horror tropes a la "The Wicker Man" with his film "Midsommar", or Eggers challenging our ideas of the occult with his brilliantly moody masterpiece "The Witch", both names seem to be on the lips of every modern horror fan today.
In the same breath, many of those same fans are raving about the distribution and production company A24 – for good reason! A24 and Blumhouse serve as two of the most popular, prolific and successful horror studios of the modern day, with contrasting production models that have nevertheless resonated with the movie going public. A24 tend to take more chances with progressive, forward thinking productions, while Blumhouse balance a roster of high profile fare, like David Gordon Green's "Halloween" with lower budgeted rolls of the dice, a la "Unfriended" and darkly comedic success stories, such as the "Happy Death Day" series.
Indeed, it seems as if the R rating has made a return with a vengeance over the last few years, albeit with less of the exploitative sleaze that partially defined the genre in the 70s and 80s. Horror movies are being made for adults, and adults are watching horror movies; sometimes with their kids ... sometimes catching their kids. Filmmakers seem to be taking more chances by ignoring that dangling carrot that is the ever lucrative PG-13 rating. 2015’s R-Rated “It Follows” combined a parable about sexually transmitted infections with a harrowing John Carpenter-influenced synth soundtrack to create one of the most effective horror films of the decade. Gore Verbinski’s 2017 film "A Cure for Wellness" also embraced its R-rating, feeling like a wild-eyed throwback to the stylish (and occasionally nonsensical) giallo films from Italy. Released the same year, Andy Muschietti’s R-Rated Stephen King adaptation “It” became the highest grossing horror film of all time, garnering praise from fans and critics alike.
One common theme throughout the history of horror is how each generation of storytellers builds on the legacies of past visionaries. What’s old becomes new, and often returns in waves. If horror is once again championing the past with regards to its soundtracks or visuals, it's also doing so with yet another all important throwback: practical effects. Maybe we can thank “The Walking Dead’s” special makeup effects creator Greg Nicotero for the assist. Or Shudder’s "Creepshow" series. The backlash against the cringe-worthy CGI that marred movies like "Piranha 3D" and 2011’s "The Thing” probably helped too. Either way, horror filmmakers seem to be going back to basics, combining their old school knowledge with new modern techniques.
And that's why being a horror fan today is so exciting. The little genre that could has come a long way, and the future looks just as promising. Horror fans never forget their roots, and will always support honest filmmakers with unique visions, especially if their hearts are in the right place.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter if you adore the drive in, stick with slashers, love those jump scares or wanna hug those big, furry monsters. Horror is a home for outcasts, a place where anything is possible, that unites fans under one glorious banner of shared truth: we love being scared!
