AO1 Development of Horror Films

The advances in technology in horror films has allowed for more special effects like the scene in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with the rotating camera lens, showing off more of the makeup as Dr Jekyll changes to Mr Hyde without use of camera cuts. This made the transformation more realistic and provided a more immersive experience. People have always tried to scare others and it could be said that the horror genre started with the old folklore and fictitious stories told before the time of film. As the times have changed the way horror stories have been told has changed also. With the printing press the were more and more books published that were used to send shivers down peoples spines like Frankenstein and Dracula. Which where then, later, adapted into films.Cultural changes over the years effected how the films were able to show gore and the way they could use this to show the stories in better detail for example in the Hostel the entire film revolves around the gore shown. Other ways that cultural changes can effect movies can be seen in Dawn of the Dead (1978) by George Romero. He used real life events, i.e. the consumerist culture at the time, to relate to the audience, showing hordes of mindless zombies crowding into a shopping mall. The film also put forward the idea of how people subconsciously follow daily routines, by having his zombies craving brains George Romero offered a harsh critique on this lifestyle.

The economical reasons for horror to develop is the films keep coming out with sequels for the original horror films like Frankenstein has a few sequels filmed like Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein, werewolf and also Dracula has had a lot of sequels. Other vampier films also referring to the original vampire count Dracula, people watch the sequels because they liked the original films because they are either continuing the story or give a prequel showing the start of the monster. Dracula films gave the idea for more vampire movies to me filmed which changed into different genres with Blade: Trinity which was a hybrid between horror and action the film also showed a reincarnated Dracula. the main developments in horror films have to be technology because with it there was the chance to change the types of films from psychological horror (making the audience imagine the gore) into visual horror (showing the gore leaving less to the imagination) the other way the development has changed is the rules for a horror have become more lenient you can show more in a horror film now a days but when horror started up you could barely show any gore.