1950s audiences wanted stories that connected directly to their lives, to the ever-expanding technology in their homes and workplaces. They also wanted horror movies that played to their fears – stoked by politicians – of the shadows that lay beyond their immediate, personal experience of the shiny American Dream.
Contrasted with the United States' prosperous post-War economy and the rise of consumerism and suburbia, 1950s horror films reflected the pervading invisible fear of death from above.
Since the early days of cinema, we have had horror movies starting with the 1896 short film The Haunted Castle, believed to be the first. The 1920s and 30s saw the genre really take off, inspired by the gothic literature and classic novels of earlier eras.
While Universal created its icons of horror during the era of black-and-white film, the peak of horror movies in the '80s gave us new icons that to this day live on in popular culture.
Hyde (1931). The 30s also marked the first time that the word “horror” was used to describe the genre—previously, it was really just romance melodrama with a dark element—and it also saw the first horror “stars” being born. Bella Lugosi (of Dracula fame) was arguably the first to specialize solely in the genre.
Horror movies, especially those made for low budgets outside the mainstream studio system, offered ways to process and interpret the rapid pace of change. They often served as cautionary tales about the dangers of abandoning traditional values.
In the United States, horror fiction had prodigious subcultural roots, dating back to the singular figures of Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. But it was not until the late 1960s that the genre reached hitherto unforeseen levels of mainstream cultural prestige and commercial profitability.
Although the Golden Age would be defined largely by the output of Universal Studios, the first “all-talking” horror movie was released by Warner Bros. in 1928 and was called, The Terror.
The horror genre has ancient origins, with roots in folklore and religious traditions focusing on death, the afterlife, evil, the demonic and the principle of the thing embodied in the person. These manifested in stories of beings such as demons, witches, vampires, werewolves and ghosts.
The best known of these early supernatural-based works is the 3-minute short film Le Manoir du Diable (1896), known in English as both "The Haunted Castle" or "The House of the Devil". The film is sometimes credited as being the first ever horror film.
Exposure to terrifying acts like stories of demonic possession or alien infestation can be stimulating both mentally and physically. These experiences can give rise to both negative feelings, such as fear or anxiety, and positive feelings, such as excitement or joy.
The resulting film, The Curse of Frankenstein (d. Terence Fisher, 1957), was the most important horror film since Universal 's Dracula (US, d. Tod Browning, 1931). Its contemporary impact was immense; it was the first horror film in colour, and its critical reception was savage.
Audiences were drawn to movies not because of gimmicks, however, but because of the stories they told. Dramas and romantic comedies continued to be popular fare for adults. To appeal to teens, studios produced large numbers of horror films and movies starring music idols such as Elvis.
"Shock Theater" was a hosted horror movie show with Jim Ross presenting movies on Saturday nights at 11:00pm on KGUL-TV, Channel 11 Galveston, Texas in the late 1950's.
Hollywood in the 1950s was an industry in decline, even while it produced some of the strongest films of its history. With the rise of independent productions, the competition of TV, and major shifts in the social fabric, American cinema was dramatically changed during this decade.
The Human Centipede was banned altogether from Icelandic, British, and Australian theaters and released in the US without a rating. Its sequel, The Human Centipede 2, was placed under even heavier bans, due to its exacerbation of the horrific elements in the first film.
The earliest rudimentary attempt at a horror video game dates back to as early as 1972, when a Haunted House overlay was included with the first video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, inspired by haunted house fiction.
Thirteen Women (1932) is perhaps the earliest example of what would become a slasher film. It documents eleven (not thirteen, as two women's scenes were cut before theatrical release) women being harassed and murdered after a clairvoyant swami mails them a horoscope foreseeing swift doom.
1950s audiences wanted stories that connected directly to their lives, to the ever-expanding technology in their homes and workplaces. They also wanted horror movies that played to their fears – stoked by politicians – of the shadows that lay beyond their immediate, personal experience of the shiny American Dream.
Notes: Major influence from Universal with Chaney, Sr., Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Claude Rains, and Lon Chaney, Jr. Clear good and evil, morality, exorcism, virtues.
According to the American Library Association (ALA), Scary Stories made the list of top 10 books to be banned in the 1990s. According to Marshall.edu, the main reason why the books were banned was the contents were violent.
Summary. Horror movies have become less scary and more focused on psychological thrills, losing the classic bone-chilling scares of the past. Directors like Jordan Peele sometimes try to be too clever with convoluted plots, taking away from the simple and terrifying pleasure of seeing a deranged killer in action.
Horror movies dealing with contemporary social issues and addressing genuine psychological fears were big hits during the decade. Consequently, big name directors lined up to produce horror properties. This attracted big studio budgets that would have made Herschell Gordon Lewis's head explode.
