The horror genre is one of the most popular genres within Hollywood.
Over the years, the genre has made billions of dollars and captured the imagination of audiences worldwide. Before the usual jump scares and special effects, horror movies began with simple stories that explored fear, mystery, and the unknown. The origins of horror in films can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. When filmmakers were first experimenting, they used special effects features called stop tricks and substitution splices. One of the earliest examples of a horror movie is “Le Manoir du Diable”, otherwise known as “The House of the Devil”. It featured bats, skeletons, ghosts, and demons, all of which were brought to life using early camera tricks. While the film only lasted a few minutes, it set an example of what horror movies could become.
In the 1920s and 1930s, horror began to emerge as a primary genre. German films, such as Nosferatu, which premiered in 1922, employed dark shadows and eerie imagery to evoke fear, while Hollywood studios like Universal Pictures introduced monsters that became legends and inspired scary bedtime stories. These legends are known as Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy. These films shaped the look and feel of horror, combining urban legends with emotionally charged performances and creative effects.
By the 1960s and 1970s, horror had evolved into a more psychological and shocking form. Directors like Alfred Hitchcock and George A. Romero pushed ideas in films that brought movies like Psycho, which was released in 1960, and Night of the Living Dead, which was released in 1968. The movies are still talked about mainly today because they shifted away from monsters and focused more on human behavior. These movies also explored paranoia, morality, and violence. This era made horror more realistic and socially aware, capturing tense emotions within the world as it began to evolve and change.
Today, horror still continues to evolve and reinvent itself with many new forms of technology and storytelling styles. Modern films like Get Out, The Conjuring, and Hereditary blend traditional scares with deeper meanings and themes such as race, grief, and mental health. The genre’s power to adapt to modern fears and ideas keeps it alive and relevant. Horror movies remain entertaining and allow people to explore the things that frighten and fascinate us.
