One Hundred Years Of The Horror Genre (Part 2)
1970's
Horror movies of the 1970s reflect the grim mood of the decade though they showed a return of the high-budget psychological horrors.
A recurrent theme of the fear of children and childbirth which could based upon the nations fears after the Thalidomide tragedy of the early 60's which left many babies disfigured, disabled or even stillborn.
As these themes evolved it became that people (especially children) were possessed by an "evil within" which often resulted in the breakdown of previously stable family units; sparking paranoia, fear, and distrust.
e.g. The Exorcist (1973), The Other (1972), The Omen (1976)
Replacing the old, gothic style of horror films, the 70's saw a huge increase in the number of graphic horror films as a new rating system was introduced and restrictions on adult movies was slackened. Shocking use of sexual exploitation of female victims, bold colours, and electronic music created these "classic" horrors and are the backbone for most common representations of various ages and genders in horror movies today.
e.g. The House That Dripped Blood (1970), Bob Clark's Black Christmas (1974), Halloween (1978)
1980's
Special visual effects finally reach the same level as the gory imaginings of horror films and movie makers in this decade with grotesque make up and technical advancements in animatronics and prosthetics; allowing film makers to play with the classic monsters of supernatural, human and unknown origins in a way that had not yet been explored.
e.g. Alien (1979), The Shining (1980), Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Films also often developed the ability to scare audiences with the fear of suggestion rather than needing to contain any actual monsters. This was popular for audiences of the psychological horror as it meant that the genre was able to expand through the audiences imagination as the viewers fear enhanced the atmosphere of the room when the films were played. For this reason, film makers saw the benefits of creating enigmatic suspense within the first few minutes of a film and providing a plot twist towards the end, usually destroying any assumptions the audience had made and therefore destroying the "trust" we had come to associate with good vs bad stereotypes.
e.g.
Some filmmakers took an alternative route and found that excess gore is best and instead ended up desensitising the audience to human gore. The body horror fad of the early 80's is usually obvious from do-I-laugh-or-do-I-vomit scenes as body parts and blood are shown across the screen for extended periods of time. In some extreme cases, this resulted in video nasties which were deemed unsuitable for public viewing and were removed from box offices, tv channels and, in some cases, not officially released at all.
e.g. Athrophagus (1980), Blood Moon (1981), The Driller Killer (1979 America, 1982 England)
e.g. Alien (1979), The Shining (1980), Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Films also often developed the ability to scare audiences with the fear of suggestion rather than needing to contain any actual monsters. This was popular for audiences of the psychological horror as it meant that the genre was able to expand through the audiences imagination as the viewers fear enhanced the atmosphere of the room when the films were played. For this reason, film makers saw the benefits of creating enigmatic suspense within the first few minutes of a film and providing a plot twist towards the end, usually destroying any assumptions the audience had made and therefore destroying the "trust" we had come to associate with good vs bad stereotypes.
e.g.
Some filmmakers took an alternative route and found that excess gore is best and instead ended up desensitising the audience to human gore. The body horror fad of the early 80's is usually obvious from do-I-laugh-or-do-I-vomit scenes as body parts and blood are shown across the screen for extended periods of time. In some extreme cases, this resulted in video nasties which were deemed unsuitable for public viewing and were removed from box offices, tv channels and, in some cases, not officially released at all.
e.g. Athrophagus (1980), Blood Moon (1981), The Driller Killer (1979 America, 1982 England)
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