History of Film and Horror

Eadweard Muybridge - 1879

• Eadweard Muybridge created the

zoopraxiscope – a device containing

a sequence of photographs, which

was spun to create a moving picture.

Louis Le Prince - 1888

In 1888 Le Prince shot the first film, a

series of moving pictures on paper film

using a single lens camera.

Auguste and Louis Lumière - 1895

• The French brothers made these

short, silent motion pictures when

cinematography was at its earliest.

• Each of their films were 17 meters

long, ran for around 50 seconds and

hand cranked through a projector.

The First Colour Film - 1902

• Edwardian photographer Edward Turner

shot the first colour film in 1902. The film

featured children playing, soldiers marching

and footage of a bird. The photographer

recorded the frames through red, green and

blue filters then projected and

superimposed them on top of each other.

The Vitaphone - 1926

• The vitaphone was a sound system created

by the Warner Bros in 1926. The sound was

made available separately to the film itself

– a film projector was attached to a record

player. This method was the last analog

sound-on-disc system to be used before

sound was included in the film.

The First Cinema

• The Nickelodeon cinema was the first

venue opened specifically for the

showing of motion pictures. They

charged 5 cents for admission and

were most popular between 1905

and 1915.

The Main Characteristics of Horror

• Horror films are made to create fear and panic

whilst also captivating the audience. In the early

stages of horror, the genre caused panic to the

viewers as the supernatural was a feared subject

which many people frowned upon. In comparison

to early horror, the genre has improved greatly

today. This is because special effects have

developed over the years.

The History of Horror -1895/6

• Horror movies were originally based on Gothic

literature. The Lumiere brothers created the first

‘spook tale’ movie of a dancing skeleton in 1895.

• The first film under the genre of horror was Le

Manoir du Diable (1896). It lasts 3 minutes and

focuses on the supernatural. Ghosts, witches,

bats, devils and trolls are all featured in the short

film.

1900’s – 1920’s

• ‘The silent era’. These years saw very

basic storylines of horror. Black and white

images featuring no sound were used.

• The first vampire horror was made in

1922. It was called Nosferatu and

incorporated light and shadow.

1930’s

• This decade was very important in the history of

horror. Sound started to be incorporated into

films, making them even scarier than before.

The suspense of hearing someone's footsteps or

a haunting scream made a significant difference.

• Popular titles such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The

Mummy and King Kong were released.

1940’s

• Horror movies were banned during

these years in Britain due to the war.

Tried and tested ideas were used in

Hollywood.

1950’s

• These years dealt with the devastations of the war

and people had too many of their own horror stories

to tell. The audience at this time therefore wanted

to watch humorous horror such as Frankenstein.

• The horror industry had to deal with threats of the

television and innovations such as new scary

monsters and stereophonic sound were introduced.

1960’s• Concepts of horror changed during

these years and the audience wanted

to watch films that were realistic and

believable. Many films edged away

from scary monsters and focused on

things that the audience actually

thought could happen.

1970’s

• Blood and gore was a key part of many

horrors in the 1970’s. Popular titles such as

The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw

Massacre, Halloween, Jaws, Carrie and The

Omen were released and widely successful

thanks to budgets being raised and

technology advancing.

1980’s

• Special effects developed greatly in

these years, giving the audience high

expectations.

• Films such as The Evil Dead and A

Nightmare On Elm Street were

created.

1990’S - today

• Films between the 1990’s and today are almost

seamless. They feature believable storylines and

disturbing characters that are relevant to today.

• There has also been a lot of re-makes in these

years. This has enabled a modern take on many

classic films that were made without the

advanced technology that we have today.