From ‘Nosferatu’ to ‘Get Out’: 100 Years of Horror

The silent German film, scripted by Henrik Galeen, was an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.” And its timing was perfect. When the film debuted, the world was trying to recover from the one-two punch of World War I and the Spanish influenza. So it struck a nerve when audiences saw Count Orlok — the embodiment of death and destruction — stalking a plague-infested city.

Other notables of the decade include: “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920), “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923), “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925), “London After Midnight” (1927), “The Cat and the Canary” (1927)

(1931, James Whale)

The great film, starring Boris Karloff, varies a lot from Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel but retains a central theme: the arrogance of man. Audiences in the 1930s were living in the Great Depression, blaming bankers and politicians for their difficulties. The villains of 1930s fright films are arrogant people who believe they can change the natural order of things; the victims are innocent bystanders. Mad scientists were central in “The Invisible Man” (1933), Paramount’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1931), and a trio from 1932: “Chandu the Magician,” “Dr. X” and “The Island of Lost Souls.” Like Frankenstein’s creature and King Kong, many 1930s “villains” were sympathetic outcasts, trying to cope with a heartless world that they didn’t create.

As a side note, many of the decade’s classics take place in Europe. Often this was because of their source novels, but there was something about Transylvania, Bavaria and foggy London that inspired a sense of dread that small-town America didn’t. That feeling was both a holdover from World War I and a dread of the dangerous despots who were rising in Europe in the ’30s.

Other notables: “Dracula” (1931), “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1931), “The Mummy” (1932); “White Zombie” (1932); “The Old Dark House” (1932), “Vampyr” (1932), “The Invisible Man” (1933), “King Kong” (1933); “The Ghoul” (1933); “The Testament of Dr. Mabuse” (1933); “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935)

(1942, Jacques Tourneur)

There were some gems, but in general, the 1940s have fewer iconic horror movies than any other decade. Instead of fictional scares, Hollywood offered realistic depictions of Axis members during World War II; the Nazis in “Casablanca,” for example, were scarier than any fantasy creation.

In terms of traditional horror, there were Val Lewton-produced atmospheric chillers, like the 1942 “Cat People” and 1943’s “I Walked with a Zombie,” a voodoo version of “Jane Eyre,” no less; both were directed by Jacques Tourneur. There was also the Robert Wise-directed 1945 “The Body Snatcher.” In these films, the scares were from the unseen and unknown.

Otherwise, there were numerous remakes (“Dr. Jekyll,” “Phantom of the Opera”) and sequels. Plus, Hollywood mixed horror with comedy in movies like Bob Hope in “The Ghost Breakers” (1940) and “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948).

Others: “The Wolf Man” (1941); “Isle of the Dead” (1945); “Bedlam” (1945); “The Beast With Five Fingers” (1946)

(1954, Ishiro Honda) 

The 1950s offer the clearest example of cause and effect between real-life traumas and horror movies, as “Godzilla” and a slew of other giant monsters were a result of nuclear testing or radiation. When the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, America unleashed death, destruction and a long-term nuclear fallout that destroyed both humans and nature. Japan followed “Gojira” (retitled “Godzilla” in the U.S.) with “Mothra,” “Rodan,” “Ghidorah” and “Gamera,” to name a few. The U.S. offered dozens of “nuclear monsters” like “Them!” (1954) and  “Attack of the Giant Leeches” (1959), or terrors created by those dang scientists, as in “I Was a Teenage Werewolf” (1957).

Side note: “Jaws” is often credited with inventing the wide release in 1975, but actually 1953’s “The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms” opened in 1,500 theaters. 

Other notables: “The Thing” (1951), “House of Wax” (1953), “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954), “Tarantula!” (1955), “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1956); “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957); “The Fly” (1958), “It! The Terror From Beyond Space” (1958); “The Blob” (1958); and “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman” (1958) 

(1968, writer-director Roman Polanski)

In Variety’s May 29, 1968, review of “Rosemary’s Baby,” A.D. Murphy points to Rosemary (Mia Farrow) as being “the lone victim of a conspiracy.” That was a key concept of the film and the entire decade. After suspicions that the U.S. government was lying about the decade’s assassinations as well as Vietnam left many people feeling paranoid. “Rosemary’s Baby” taps into that dread: Everyone around you is a potential source of danger; you are alone and you can’t trust anybody. While Hammer Films in the 1950s and 60s carried on the tradition of dark castles and laboratories, offered terror in everyday settings, in bright sunshine. 

Notables: “Psycho” (1960); “Village of the Damned” (1960); “House of Usher” (1960); “Eyes Without a Face” (1960); “The Innocents” (1961); “The Birds” (1962); “The Haunting” (1963); “Masque of the Red Death” (1964); “Kwaidan” (1964); “Two Thousand Maniacs” (1964); “Repulsion” (1965); “Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors” (1965); “Queen of Blood” (1966); “Night of the Living Dead” (1968)

(1978, John Carpenter)

Unlike the sympathetic villains of earlier eras, these ones were faceless and with no conscience: “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th,” “Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” etc. Horror in the 1970s reflected the aftermath of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders. Members of the Manson family murdered randomly chosen people in their homes for no reason. The killings set off the 1970s fears: It wasn’t giant insects or zombies, it was the most terrifying creatures of all: human beings. You weren’t safe even in your own home. Phrases like “the boy next door” suddenly took on sinister connotations.

Notable: “The Last House on the Left” (1972); “Blacula” (1972); “The Exorcist” (1973), “The Wicker Man” (1973) “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (1974), “Black Christmas” (1974); “It’s Alive” (1974); “Jaws” (1975); “The Omen” (1976); “Carrie” (1976); “The Hills Have Eyes” (1977); “Eraserhead” (1977); “Suspiria”(1977); “Alien” (1979)

(1986, David Cronenberg)

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the world was confronted with AIDS and ebola. The new diseases were scary; so were the harmful and conspiracy theory rumors that they had been created intentionally. If scientists were inventing new ways of attacking our bodies, what else could we expect? As they say in the film: “Be afraid. Be very afraid.” David Cronenberg’s film explores how a body deteriorates, and it’s also an existential drama: Who am I and what am I?

Notable: “The Shining” (1980); “Friday the 13th” (1980), “The Howling” (1981); “Scanners” (1981); “Poltergeist” (1982); “The Thing” (1982); Stephen King’s “Christine,” “Cujo” and “The Dead Zone” (all 1983); “Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984); “Children of the Corn” (1984); “Day of the Dead” (1985); “Reanimator” (1985); “Lifeforce” (1985); “Lost Boys” (1987); “Hellraiser” (1987); “Child’s Play” (1988); “John Carpenter’s They Live” (1988)

(1996, Wes Craven)

“Scream,” written by Matt Williamson, offered the basic thrills of a scary movie, yet simultaneously offered an ironic detachment. It was created for a generation that had grown up with TV and had seen every horror movie on videocassette, so the endangered youngsters of “Scream” were something new to horror films: They were familiar with the staples of the genre. They’d seen the films, so they laughed at the idea of going into a dark room alone. It was the perfect horror film for a detached decade.

Notables: “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992); “Candyman” (1992); “Interview With the Vampire” (1994); “Seven” (1995); “The Frighteners” (1996); “From Dusk Till Dawn” (1996); “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997); “Event Horizon” (1997); “Ringu” (The Ring) (1998);  “Bride of Chucky” (1998); “Blair Witch Project” (1999); “Deep Blue Sea” (1999); “Lake Placid” (1999); “Sleepy Hollow” (1999); “The Sixth Sense” (1999)

(2001, writer-director Kiyoshi Kurosawa)

In the 21st century, everyone relies on digital technology but some worry about longterm effects on our eyes, ears, brains and even our humanity. The Japanese “Kairo” (or Pulse) centers on that. As Variety reviewer Derek Elley wrote when the film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, Kiyoshi Kurosawa “draws parallels between the spirit world and the Internet — both of which are inhabited by souls stuck in a kind of social limbo-cum-denial.” Similarly, in the 2003 “One Missed Call,” mobile phones are the culprit; in “Paranormal Activity” (2007), videocameras are central to the terror.

Notable: “Battle Royale” (2000); “Final Destination” (2000); “The Others” (2001); “The Ring” (2002); “Ju-On: The Grudge” (2002); “28 Days Later” (2002); “A Tale of Two Sisters” (2003); “Shaun of the Dead” (2004); “Noroi: The Curse” (2005); “The Grudge 2” (2006); “The Host” (2006); “The Orphanage” (2007); “Let the Right One In” (2008); “Cloverfield” (2008).

(2017, writer-director Jordan Peele)

The 2010s were defined by protests, from #OscarsSoWhite to #BlackLivesMatter to #Parkland. Many groups were tired of being ignored — by the government, the media and by Hollywood — and wanted their voices heard. Horror films, of course, reflected this. Many found expression within the format, such as Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning directorial debut “Get Out” in 2017. “Get Out” provided a frank conversation about liberal complacency in social justice reform (among many other things). Other horror films that pushed for representation and telling stories from new perspectives included: “A Girl Walks Home at Night Alone” and “The Babadook” (both 2014), “A Quiet Place” (2018) and “La Llorona” and “The Curse of La Llorona” (both 2019, but unrelated).

Other notables: “Insidious” (2010); “The Cabin in the Woods” (2011); “The Purge” (2013); “The Conjuring” (2013); “The Witch” (2016); “Train to Busan” (2016); “Hereditary” (2018); “Us” (2019); “Midsommar” (2019); “Ma” (2019)