Mar 2019 *
We do threads now and then ranking decades of horror films. I don't want to rank anything here, bu I was just wondering, if you had to break down the last century of horror movies into distinct (not necessarily totally distinct, they could overlap) periods or eras of horror.... how would you do it? They don't necessarily have to correspond perfectly to decades, of course. Like, movies about the Devil infiltrating homey, domestic settings probably peaked between the late 60's and mid 70's.
So, how would you do it? How would you classify the eras, the periods, the chief defining trends of horror, over the years? Just post an idea or two, even if you don't have time to give a comprehensive, highly detailed breakdown of the entire last century.
Like, the golden age of MONSTER movies, featuring various kinds of monsters, was probably the 30s and part of the 40's.
After that, there was the period of scifi/horror movies about mutants produced by radiation.
Coming back to edit: how about a Vincent Price heyday era, in the early 60s? His Edgar Allan Poe movies were one of the biggest things going on in horror for awhile there.
In the late 60's and into the 70's, there were many movies about the Devil and Satanism. Often they were set in a home, but not always.
The 80's of course, had a lot going on. Among the trends going on that could be said to typify that era were 1.) slashers, 2.) movies set on various holidays, or days of the year, 3.) sequels... there started to be really prolonged series of sequels, and entire franchises, 4.) maybe movies just featuring demons, regular, run of the mill, average albeit still badass demons, but not necessarily The Devil?? Like, the Poltergiest movies, Night of the Demons, Demons 1 and 2, and others. I feel like Satan was less of a presence in horror movies than he had been a little earlier.... any thoughts on that???
After the 80s, there was just a total, pathetic train wreck of nothingness. No, not true, but there was kind of a lull. How wouild you describe the era just after the 80's?? Maybe the Blockbuster era? People would rent a lot of 70's and 80's horror movies from Blockbuster. Some of the great 80's franchises continued through the 90's and beyond. Anyway, yeah, maybe the bockbuster era??? Any discussion on that??
After that... it is hard to classify this period perfectly, but you could say it was 1.) the found footage era, 2.) the fashionable vampire era, and eventually 3.) the zombie apocalypse era. How would you define this period? Like, basically the 2000's, but perhaps including the late 90s and early 20-teens.
Since then... hmmmmm... how would you describe the current era of horror? The era of domestic demons? Like, the Insidious movies, Paranormal Activity movies, etc....??? There are many other things going on, of course. Anyone? Anyone?
So, how would you do it? How would you classify the eras, the periods, the chief defining trends of horror, over the years? Just post an idea or two, even if you don't have time to give a comprehensive, highly detailed breakdown of the entire last century.
Like, the golden age of MONSTER movies, featuring various kinds of monsters, was probably the 30s and part of the 40's.
After that, there was the period of scifi/horror movies about mutants produced by radiation.
Coming back to edit: how about a Vincent Price heyday era, in the early 60s? His Edgar Allan Poe movies were one of the biggest things going on in horror for awhile there.
In the late 60's and into the 70's, there were many movies about the Devil and Satanism. Often they were set in a home, but not always.
The 80's of course, had a lot going on. Among the trends going on that could be said to typify that era were 1.) slashers, 2.) movies set on various holidays, or days of the year, 3.) sequels... there started to be really prolonged series of sequels, and entire franchises, 4.) maybe movies just featuring demons, regular, run of the mill, average albeit still badass demons, but not necessarily The Devil?? Like, the Poltergiest movies, Night of the Demons, Demons 1 and 2, and others. I feel like Satan was less of a presence in horror movies than he had been a little earlier.... any thoughts on that???
After the 80s, there was just a total, pathetic train wreck of nothingness. No, not true, but there was kind of a lull. How wouild you describe the era just after the 80's?? Maybe the Blockbuster era? People would rent a lot of 70's and 80's horror movies from Blockbuster. Some of the great 80's franchises continued through the 90's and beyond. Anyway, yeah, maybe the bockbuster era??? Any discussion on that??
After that... it is hard to classify this period perfectly, but you could say it was 1.) the found footage era, 2.) the fashionable vampire era, and eventually 3.) the zombie apocalypse era. How would you define this period? Like, basically the 2000's, but perhaps including the late 90s and early 20-teens.
Since then... hmmmmm... how would you describe the current era of horror? The era of domestic demons? Like, the Insidious movies, Paranormal Activity movies, etc....??? There are many other things going on, of course. Anyone? Anyone?
1978-1988: Horror becomes mainstream. Horror films are about teens in peril for the first time. Edges are sanded down and polished and movies are made to dazzle young couples on dates. Sequels also become the order of the day and toward the end of this "era" an emphasis on horror/comedy is more evident than ever.
1989-1995: Downfall of horror in the mainstream. Sequel overkill. More cheap, trashy horror movies are released straight-to-video than ever. The Italian horror film industry, which had been on the decline, also completely crashes. The iconic directors of yesteryear are still working but their heyday is over.
1996-2002: "WB Horror." Scream makes horror "hip" and "cool" again and the market is flooded with teeny slasher movies starring actors you'd see on the WB, or look like they'd be on the WB. Troma also remerges during this period as a new force in extreme independent cinema after releasing several flops.