The History of Horror Films

Horror Films were made for the viewers to feel fear,terror and of course horror. When horror films were first made in the 1890's there was like today's horror films a theme of death or the supernatural or maybe even mental illnesses.

Also many of the horror films made in the early and late periods would include a central villain. There was usually only one villain involved because it was easier for one particular person to be focused on by the audience when he/she created horror such as commiting murder etc.

Early horror movies were largely based on classic literature of the Gothic/horror genre such as "Dracula", "Frankenstein", "The Phantom of the Opera" and also "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". However more recent horror films draw inspiration from how people lived and how insecure they felt after World War 2, This then gave rise to three related sub genres which were

- The horror of Personality which can be seen in the film "Psycho"

- The horror of Armageddon which can be seen in the film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"

- The horror of the demonic which can be seen in the film "The Exorcist"

Horror films over the years have been criticised as being violent, low budget made and exploitation movies. However all the major studios and also many respected directors including Alfred Hitchcock and Roman Polanski have made various films in the genre. In the 1890's to 1920's, supernatural events appeared in several silent short movies by film pioneers such as Georges Melies. The most recognized short silent horror piece was called "The House of the Devil" and was directed by Melies. This short piece is sometimes credited as being the first created horror film.

In 1910, Edison Studios made the first film version of Frankenstein. This was then later released in 1933 because the film was thought to be lost but a film collector Alois Felix Dettlaff came across a copy and so re released the film. In the early 20th century, The first monster appeared in a full length horror film called "Quasimodo" this then brought more and more interest into the genre and also bigger audiences.

In the film industry, the horror genre is ever growing with more and more fans awaiting new films to be released. Viewers say that they get a thrill from watching horror films. So Although horror films have been going for over a hundred years, they will be going for hundreds of years to come.

“The Thing” is a 1982 science fiction horror film directed by John Carpenter and was released on the 25^th June 1982. The film is a remake of the 1951 film “The Thing from another World”. The film is based around an extra terrestrial life form which can imitate what it kills. This life form infiltrates an Antarctic Research Team, taking the appearance of what it chooses to kill whether it be animal or human.

Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, David Clennon, Donald Moffat, Thomas G. Waites, Joel Polis, Peter Maloney, Charles Callaghan, T. K. Carter, Richard Dysart, Richard Masur all starred in the film.

In the winter in 1982, A U.S Antarctic Research Station is alerted by gunfire and explosions. An Alaskan Husky makes its way towards the camp while a helicopter is chasing behind and the Norwegian occupants trying to kill the dog using rifles and thermal charges. After pursuing the dog and in view of the U.S researchers, the occupants misplace a thermal charge and the helicopter ends up being destroyed.

The research team take the dog into their kennels with their other sled dogs, not knowing anything about the new dog, only to find in a matter of minutes that their new visitor has dismembered their other dogs and has shape shifted into the form of a monster. As the film progresses, this mysterious being picks off certain members of the research team and then shape shifting into its kill so that the other members of the team do not realise that the monster itself is living among them.

Later on the film paranoia starts to set in as the last remaining team members are not sure where the monster is but more importantly, who it is.

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