Silent films

The first horror films were created in the very late 1800's and early 1900's, despite the fact that horror didn't become a genre until the 1930's (but were rather branded as 'spook tales'). Le Manoir du Diable was created by Georges Méliès in 1896, and showed supernatural creatures typical of the horror genre. It's considered to be the very first horror film.

The film considered the 'granddaddy' of all horrors is The Cabinet Of Dr. Calgari (1919), which explores the theme of lunacy and an evil force - in this case, a doctor. 


This was followed by other silent films like The Golem and Nosferatu (1922), both of which start exploring the more supernatural, The Golem being recalled as the first monster film, with Nosferatu being the first vampire film, and is often considered the most terrifying depiction of vampires.



These films are categorised as German Expressionism, which emphasised expressionism over realism. Most films of the time were made by German filmmakers as the film industry in Germany at this time was booming.

...now with sound

With the late 1920's and early 1930's came one of the most important aspects of film as we know it - sound. This saw an influx of monsters, such as King Kong (1933) and Gothic horror films, such as Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932) and The Invisible Man (1933), to name a few.



Despite this, the Gothic horror movement lost steam. These ideas began to be remade and re-skinned, shown with films such as The Invisible Man Returns, The Mummy's Hand, and Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man. With this downfall, the film industry saw a huge decrease in budgets and the birth of the low-budget horror films. An example of which is Cat People (1942) (which is considered as a more psychological horror).

Mutants and Aliens!

In the 1950's, a new horror cycle began. This involved mutants and aliens (hence the title). This cycle was a lot to do with the fact that money was short (because it was post-WWII), so a lot of budgets were reserved for 'epics'. Horrors became B-list status. 

A cycle within this is Pulp Science Fiction, which came from the scare of the cold war. This included films such as The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951), The Thing From Another World (1951), Forbidden Planet (1956) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) (all of which focused primarily on aliens and threats from outer space).



At this time there were a lot of mutants and creatures from the depths. This includes Best from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), and most famously, Godzilla (1954) (which was a result of nuclear scares).

Swingin' Sixties

The 1960's showed an interest in the psychological, accompanied by sex and gore. The most famous director of horror at this time (and most arguably of all time) was Alfred Hitchcock. Films that revolutionised the horror genre (both of which by Hitchcock) were Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963).

By contrast, on the other side of the globe, there was a reboot of the monsters of old, but more sexualised and gory (thanks to Hammer! (also hence why this cycle is referred to as 'hammer horror')). Examples include The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) - much like the old one, but this time (for the first time), in colour.


After this cycle came occult films, which focused on Satan and the supernatural. This includes Rosemary's Baby (1968), and the most popular film The Exorcist (1973).



Following this were all sorts of cycles - the shark cycle, triggered by Jaws (1975), and the teen horror cycle, started by Carrie (1976). 



Films began to mix up the genre in films such as Alien (1979)(mixed up with sci-fi), The Thing (1982) and Poltergeist (1982).






With the new technology of video releases and cable, there was an influx of splatter-based horror films that would perhaps not be cinema-friendly.

With the 90's the slasher had run its course. Parodies arose, such as Dead Alive (1992), which took the splatter effects of The Evil Dead to a new level. Scream (1996) is famous for its self-awareness, and brought about a reboot of the teen horror cycle, with films such as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Final Destination (2000).


Psychological horror was still popular at this time, with films such as Silence of the Lambs (1991), Se7en (1995), The Sixth Sense (1999), The Others (2001), and The Ring (2002).

Modern Horror

In what's considered the 'modern era' of horror, there are three main cycles. The first is the reboot of splatter, known as Torture Porn (gross right?). This emphasised gore, torture and extreme violence. This included the most famous franchise in the history of horror, Saw. The term for this cycle was coined after the release of The Hostel (2005).



Then there was the 'found footage' cycle. Taking ideas from Cannibal Holocaust (1980) was The Blair Witch Project (1999), which focused on pieced together footage of an eyewitness. The found footage device would also be used in films such as Paranormal Activity (2007) and even the creature film Cloverfield (2008).




Then, most famously and most recent - zombies. Stemming from Night of the Living Dead (1968), the Zombie Apocalypse cycle arose. 28 Days Later (2002) breathed new life into the dead, and zombie flicks have been going on even over 10 years later, with titles such as World War Z (2013).



This cycle (which is arguably diminishing) is a popular horror subgenre to combine with comedy, with films such as Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Zombieland (2009).


Horror is considered one of the most if not the most versatile genres in film which constantly changes, as we can see from looking at the history of horror and the many cycles horror films have gone through. This is possibly why it remains one of the most popular to watch, and one of the most popular to make.