HISTORY OF HORROR

1930’S & 1940’S

1930’S

With the entrance of sound to cinema it completely redefined the face of the horror genre.

With this era came more supernatural being and the

increase in funding of special effects.

DRACULA - 1931

• Produced by Universal

• Based on the 1924 play ‘Dracula’

• When premiered newspapers wrote a members of the audience fainted

• This helped increase publicity and lead to more people seeing the film

FRANKENSTEIN - 1931

• Distributed by Universal Pictures

• Based on the novel by Mary Shelley

• Was a huge hit with both the audience and the critics

• When released in some states in the US cut out the line “It’s alive! It’s alive! In the name of god! Now I know what it feels like to be God!” as they felt it was blasphemous

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN - 1935

• The first sequel to Frankenstein

• Never quite reached the level of success that Frankenstein did

• But was still positively received by critics

THE MUMMY - 1932• The Mummy had

particularly great box office success in Britain

• Unlike Frankenstein and Dracula it had not sequels, but was semi-remade in the 40’s

KING KONG - 1933• Although now in

our modern age we do not consider it a Horror in the 30’s they did

• King Kong was most distinguished for its us of stop motion animation

1940’S

While in the midst of WW2 horror films were at a stand still

as the horror genre had been banned in Britain and had been majorly curbed all over Europe so they were mostly produced

in America.

THE WOLF MAN - 1941• Second werewolf

film produced by Universal Pictures

• Did a lot better than ‘Werewolf in London’(1935) first werewolf film produced by Universal which didn’t do as well commercially