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Le Manoir du diable
The first depictions of supernatural events appear in several of the silent shorts created by film pioneers such as Georges Méliès in the late 1890s, the most notable being his 1896 Le Manoir du diable (aka "The House of the Devil") which is sometimes credited as being the first horror film -
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Timeline of Horror Films
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La Caverne maudite
aka "The Cave of the unholy one", literally "the accursed cave" also created by Georges Méliès -
Frankenstein
Edison Studios produced the first film version of Frankenstein; thought lost for many years, film collector Alois Felix Dettlaff Sr. found a copy and had a 1993 rerelease -
Dracula
It was in the early 1930s that American film producers, particularly Universal Pictures Co. Inc., popularized the horror film,Bringing to the screen a series of successful Gothic features including Dracula -
The Incredible Shrinking Man
Filmmakers continued to merge elements of science fiction and horror over the following decades. One of the most notable films of the era was 1957's The Incredible Shrinking Man, from Richard Matheson's existentialist novel. While more of a "science-fiction" story, the film conveyed the fears of living in the "Atomic Age" and the terror of social alienation. -
The Curse of Frankinstein
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, production companies focused on producing horror films, including the British company Hammer Film Productions. Hammer enjoyed huge international success from full-blooded technicolor films involving classic horror characters, often starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, such as The Curse of Frankenstein. Hammer, and director Terence Fisher, are widely acknowledged as pioneers of the modern horror movie. -
Romero's Night of the Living Dead
Produced and directed by Romero, on a budget of $114,000, it grossed $12 million domestically and $30 million internationally. This horror-of-Armageddon film about zombies was later deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" enough to be preserved by the United States National Film Registry. Blending psychological insights with gore, it moved the genre even further away from the gothic horror trends of earlier eras and brought horror into everyday life. -
The Exorcist
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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
recalled the Vietnam war; George A. Romero satirised the consumer society in his 1978 zombie sequel, Dawn of the Dead -
Shivers
Canadian director David Cronenberg featured the "mad scientist" movie subgenre by exploring contemporary fears about technology and society, and reinventing "body horror" -
The Hills Have Eyes
The ideas of the 1960s began to influence horror films, as the youth involved in the counterculture began exploring the medium. -
Childs Play 2
In the first half of the 1990s, the genre continued many of the themes from the 1980s. Sequels from the Child's Play series enjoyed some commercial success -
Candyman
Candyman, was a part of a mini-movement of self-reflexive or metafictional horror films. Each film touched upon the relationship between fictional horror and real-world horror. Candyman, examined the link between an invented urban legend and the realistic horror of the racism that produced its villain -
Frankenstein
Edison Studios produced the first film version of Frankenstein; thought lost for many years, film collector Alois Felix Dettlaff Sr. found a copy and had a 1993 rerelease -
Final Destination
marked a successful revival of teen-centered horror and spawned five sequels -
The Others
Another trend is the emergence of psychology to scare audiences, rather than gore, this proved to be a successful example of psychological horror film. A minimalist approach which was equal parts Val Lewton's theory of "less is more" -
Paranormal Activity
which was well retrieved by critics and an excellent reception at the box office, minimal thought started by The Blair Witch Project was reaffirmed and is expected to be continued successfully in other low-budget productions -
Brotherhood of the Wolf
The French horror film became the second-highest-grossing French-language film in the United States in the last two decades. The success of foreign language foreign films continued -
Fright Night
is a 3D comedy horror vampire film directed by Craig Gillespie. It is a remake of the 1985 Tom Holland film of the same name
