Horror in Hollywood

Horror films have enjoyed great acclaim since the time of their inception. It is difficult to say why this is, and different critics have different views on the subject. Below some of these views are highlighted, with a discussion of the most popular horror films.

The Classics

People appear to enjoy what instils a sense of not only fear, but also nostalgia. Thus, remakes of the old favorites such as "Psycho", as well as the modern perspective on an old theme such as the Halloween movies revived through "Jason X" appeal to large audiences. Modern special effects techniques, of course, also enhance the experience of a horror film to a degree unknown to audiences of as little as a decade ago.

Vampires also seem to have as much appeal in the movies as they do in literature. Apart from the countless "Dracula" films, the newer vampire, such as Anne Rice's Lestat and Louis in "Interview with the Vampire" seems to have taken over the cinema. Accompanying them we find the vampire slayer of equal popularity. "Blade" and its sequel have drawn large audiences with their quick action and flashy special effects. Movies involving zombies also have experienced an eerie resurrection. "Resident Evil" begins with a private battle in the building, but escalates to take the battle into the very world itself.

An altogether more sinister monster is Hannibal Lecter with a trilogy of films dedicated to the sophisticated psychopath. The evil portrayed in this film is all the more sinister because he is so attractive. Hannibal Lecter is a sophisticated and intellectual man. His appeal is universal and hidden until the monster emerges. Then it is too late. Of course, the special effects in all three films also serve to give this film much of its appeal.

The Psychological Need

It appears that the fear and loathing as well as the almost guilty enjoyment experienced in a movie theater filled with gore lovers are human psychological needs. Stephen King, when exploring the human need for horror, identifies three archetypal images in the horror genre. These include the vampire, the werewolf and the thing without a name (King 50). The last-mentioned includes monsters and ghosts. These are things that are horrible because they look horrible. It is a physical, clearly present danger.

The above archetypes, and especially the ghost, appeals to various fears in the human heart. The greatest fear must be the unknown and regarding the unknown, especially in the form of death. Death is the greatest unknown that everybody faces, because there can be no return from it. Nobody knows for sure what is beyond death. The first archetype, the vampire, thus represents the fear of death. However, the vampire also represents something that might be even worse than death. Undeath is an eternal state of craving for living human blood. This is juxtaposed with social paradigms of "good" as opposed to "evil". Anne Rice's Louis for example struggles with his vampire nature and the necessity to survive against his human sense of what it is to be good. Dracula on the other hand is evil personified. These two vampires reflect the societies in which they are created.

Bram Stoker lived during the late 1800's when good and evil were exact paradigms, with little doubt and little possibility of anything inbetween. However, Anne Rice writes during the present time when everything is questioned; especially paradigms of good and evil. So is Louis good or is he evil? The question appears to diminish in the light of Brad Pitt's vampire makeup. Thus horror movies serve to explain and deal with social issues of a particular time.

Indeed, it appears that many contemporary horror films appeal to a sense of sympathy and understanding for a fiend, horror or monster rather than to merely scare people. The reaction of fear is often accompanied by a feeling of sympathy. Louis for example suffers. He suffers during life, and during undeath. The audience pities him. He is, however doubtlessly, a killer, as Lestat accurately observes before Louis himself is ready to face this.

Frankenstein's monster can be seen in the same light. He is representative of "The Thing Without a Name". Here sympathy is evoked after the audience is used to the monster's terrible appearance. Like the Hunchbacked, Quasimodo of Notre Dame, the monster is shunned by society for the way he looks. He is however no less human for it, and he is hurt in a very human way. The true horror is found in society itself. By implication, the true monster is within each member of the audience: "We have met the monster, and..." according to Stephen King "he is us." (King 48).

Seeing a horror film today goes beyond the desire merely to be afraid. Instead there are deeper psychological issues that must be faced. The audience is privately facing the horror in themselves. This makes a horror film safe as it were. Society can deal with its own evil in the safety and illusionary privacy of a dark movie theater. In this way, a horror movie serves to provide society with a vent for its darkest passions. By sympathizing with the horror in the movie, the audience sympathizes with the horror inside themselves and in others. Greater tolerance is shown in the film to reflect the tolerance in society. Most importantly:

"Horror films provide a release for all the pent up emotion caused by modern living...Watching horror films allows us to meet our private fears head on, share them with others in the audience, and purge the dread by confronting it." (O'Shea 2003).

The History of the Horror Film

The horror film is older than most would suppose. The genre, in fact, came into existence as soon as cinema gave its first infant breaths. Georges Mиliиs receives the credit for the first directing attempt of a horror film in 1896, "Le manoir du Diable". This is also the first vampire film (O'Shea 2003), and its running time was only 2 minutes. The turn of the 20th century saw Germany taking the lead in the horror film genre. "Der Golem" saw the light in 1913 under the directorship of Paul Wegener. The golem, having been a creature of clay rebelling against its oppression, is the first version of the monster movie. The latter, foreshadows the 1930s, during which monster movies enjoyed their greatest appeal. Robert Wiene goes a step further and provides a great artistic flourish to his "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". This film is still studied today for its artistic appeal.