Body Horror

This chapter describes Canadian film-maker David Cronenberg as one of the most highly regarded auteurs within the horror genre. During the 1970s and 1980s, from low-budget independents to high-profile studio productions, the viewing of a 'David Cronenberg film' usually promised horror audiences a unique and disturbing experience. Coinciding with advances in make up and special effects, and the rise in popularity of the artists who created them, Cronenberg's films spearheaded one of the most popular sub-genres of the 1980s in the form of 'body horror'. The chapter looks at how and why this sub-genre emerged, a product of technological, commercial, and cultural changes in the industry, and how it relates to the 'transformation' films that had gone previously. It also discusses how such a distinctive director as Cronenberg was able to produce a successful mainstream horror film (The Fly, 1986) while remaining true to his own world view, and the lasting influence of his work on the genre as a whole.

Asian Horror

This chapter details how the mid-1990s saw a substantial increase in the number of horror films being produced in Asian countries, and in particular Japan and Korea. At the same time, globalisation and the introduction of worldwide distribution channels meant that such films became much more accessible to western audiences, with the surprise success of Hideo Nakata's Ringu (1998) bringing Japanese horror into the mainstream of western cinema. Often used to describe genre films from across Asia, so-called 'J-Horror' is now a recognised sub-genre in the west, with a number of scholarly books dedicated to its analysis. Although many of the more recent films feature modern trappings and a preoccupation with technology, they draw heavily from Japan's long tradition of folklore and ghost stories, while stylistically referencing the aesthetics of traditional Japanese theatre. The chapter considers Masaki Kobayashi's Kaidan (Kwaidan, 1964). It traces the evolution of Japan's unique national film industry and examines how cultural differences can affect genre production and consumption.

American Gothic

This chapter examines another convention of the horror genre: the 'Terrible Place', identified by Carol Clover as somewhere which at first appears to be a safe haven but which in fact acts to trap the victim with the monster. Horror was rapidly established as a standard Hollywood genre, and the early 1930s saw investment in horror films by all of the major studios, but none more so than Universal Pictures. The chapter looks at the origins of Universal's original horror cycle, and how the Hollywood 'star system' ensured that it continued. It considers the issue of film censorship and its effect on the evolution of the horror genre. The chapter also discusses James Whale's The Old Dark House (1932), which relies on the characteristics of the house itself and the unpredictable nature of its human inhabitants to generate suspense and fear.

Postmodern Horror

This chapter explores how, in postmodern horror cinema, the very formulaic nature of the genre becomes part of an in-joke. Wes Craven's Scream (1996) featured teen characters so familiar with slasher films that they were able to list the generic conventions with ease. The film is often credited with sparking a new wave of so-called 'postmodern' horror cinema, resulting in three direct sequels, a television series, and a slew of imitators, reboots, and re-imaginings. The chapter looks at a film that Craven made two years prior to the first Scream, and which in many respects is closer to the concept of postmodernism as it is more broadly defined. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) allowed the director to revisit his most famous creation with a postmodern twist, using reflexivity and circularity to adapt what had gone before and present audiences with something new. Given Craven's fascination with dreams and the overlap between the real and the imaginary, the chapter also discusses surrealism in cinema. Finally, it evaluates the cultural popularity of horror cinema, and how it affects both audiences and film-makers.

English Gothic

This chapter evaluates the British horror film industry. Given the country's input in the success of the Hollywood horror films of the 1930s, in terms of source material as well as technicians and actors, horror film production in Britain was remarkably slow to emerge. This was due in no small part to the stringent censorship rules of the British Board of Film Censorship/Classification (BBFC), who did their best to dissuade British studios from making such films. The chapter investigates how one studio took up the reins of the genre and went on to dominate it for almost two decades. Matched only by the golden age of Universal in the 1930s and 1940s, Hammer Films produced some of the genre's most iconic images and characters through dozens of productions, while breaking box-office records around the world. The chapter looks at Terence Fisher's The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), the company's first foray into the genre, one which would lay the foundations for their success and set the template for the English Gothic horror film as it flourished into the 1960s and 1970s.

The Slasher Film

This chapter argues that of all the horror genre's many strands and variations, the original 'slasher' cycle of the 1970s and early 1980s remains the most disreputable and critically vilified, yet its commercial popularity and lasting influence are unquestionable. Whilst rarely making out-and-out slashers themselves, major Hollywood studios cashed in by buying finished films from their independent producers, giving the makers an instant profit and the studios a cheap marketable film virtually guaranteed an audience of teenagers. The chapter examines a film frequently cited as a forerunner of the slasher, one heavily influenced by the Italian giallo genre of crime fiction. In diverging from the established conventions of the giallo, Mario Bava's Bay of Blood (1971) introduced a number of narrative and aesthetic features found in many of the slasher films that followed. The chapter then considers the influence of the video industry on the evolution of the horror genre (and vice versa), and looks at the issue of censorship as it assesses the British 'video nasties' scare of the early 1980s.

‘Mainstream’ Horror

This chapter reflects on how the year 2017 saw a renaissance in horror cinema, the genre as a whole becoming 'mainstream'. It looks at the parameters of the term 'mainstream horror', and how it relates to the genre as it developed through the years. The chapter then considers a film that succeeded in capturing the imaginations, and box-office dollars, of traditional and non-traditional horror audiences around the world. Capitalising on renewed interest in the work of Stephen King, the 2017 adaptation of his epic novel IT quickly became the highest grossing R-rated horror film of all time. Encompassing many of the themes and ideas covered in the previous chapters, Andy Muschietti's It provides a fascinating barometer for the state of horror cinema as we approach the third decade of the twenty-first century.

The Birth of Modern Horror

This chapter focuses on the birth of modern horror. The horror genre is ultimately concerned with the battle between good and evil. At times this can be very clearly delineated, but in real life this is not always the case. At the time of its release, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) was truly ground-breaking in its approach to horror in everyday life. Shocking and controversial, it was initially denounced by critics yet became a worldwide box-office sensation and set the direction of the genre for the next fifty years. One of the most analysed and discussed films in cinema history, and arguably the single most influential film in the evolution of the horror genre, entire books have been written about every aspect of Psycho's production, reception and lasting influence. By contextualising the film in the environment of a Hollywood that found itself under mounting pressures, the chapter examines how Hitchock's low-budget film changed the face of horror forever.

Early European Horror

This chapter discusses early European horror, identifying elements that would go on to become 'monster movie' convention. It looks at Paul Wegener and Carl Boese's Der Golem: Wie er in Die Welt Kam (The Golem: How He Came into the World, 1920). Most discussions of German Expressionism's influence on the horror genre tend to concentrate on stylistic traits such as the distinctive lighting and camerawork, and the break from traditionalist modes of visualisation and representation. Whilst this is certainly an important area, one must not neglect the thematic concerns of films such as Der Golem, Das Kabinett des Dr Caligari (The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Robert Wiene, 1919), and Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau, 1922), which bind them both to the Expressionist movement and to the horror genre as it would later develop. The movement's pre-occupation with unpredictability, irrationality, chaos and instability found voice in tales of fatalism, alienation, ambiguity, and loss of personal control or identity.

American Independent Horror

This chapter assesses the emergence of American independent horror, looking at George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968). By the mid-1960s, the traditional Hollywood studio system was responsible for only around 20 per cent of America's film production. The remainder came from independent film-makers and from films made outside of the United States, where labour and locations were cheaper. The 'New Wave' movements in countries such as Japan, France, Britain, and Czechoslovakia introduced new styles of film-making to American cinemagoers, who found them an attractive alternative to the classical Hollywood feature film. As such, the late 1960s saw enormous changes in American cinema, including within the horror genre. Influenced by social, political and cultural upheavals occurring in the country at the time, 1968 is often cited as the dawn of the 'modern American horror film'. The chapter considers how political and social turmoil in America led to a growing number of independent film-makers actively working against the industry establishment, taking advantage of the heavily diminished influence of the major studios, and producing films which rejected Hollywood conservatism and deliberately pushed the boundaries of acceptability.