A Brief History of Horror

By Dan Bate

The Early Days

In the late 1890's there were short silent films which was where horror movies would begin. A Frenchman named Georges Melies is thought to be the creator of the first horror film with his 1896 short silent Le Manior du diable.

Where Britain jumped on the Band Wagon

The Ghoul (1933) – this film is thought to be the first British Horror film made. Apparently rescued from a skip somewhere in New York in 1969, this is thought to be because of the poor quality of the filming and editing, but is understandable for the sheer young age of the industry and inexperience of the director, T. Hayes Hunter’s horror directing.

Decline and Rebirth

• After the Second World War, horror wasn’t appreciated by mainstream cinema audiences. As technology advanced, low budget monster movies seemed to be a bit rubbish really and unsophisticated. There were several remarkable films made during the 1950s - like Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). Horror really began to re-emerge as a serious genre at the end of the decade. The British company Hammer Film Productions were largely responsible for pulling monster movies out of their slump.

Hammer Time!

Hammer Films was an unsuccessful business that was bankrupt within 3-4 years of its first opening. It was reopened in 1946 to make short films that would support more expensive productions. It was the success of the 1955 film ‘The Quatermass Xperiment’ which led to Hammer’s move into horror. Hits such as The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958) followed elevating the studio to worldwide prominence.