View source for Horror film


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{{redirect|Horror Movie|the Skyhooks song|Horror Movie (song)}}
[[File:Max Schreck as Count Orlok in Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922).jpg|thumb|292x292px|[[Max Schreck]] as [[Count Orlok]] in the 1922 film ''[[Nosferatu]]''. Critic and historian [[Kim Newman]] declared that it set the template for the horror film.{{sfn |Marriott |Newman |2018 |p=20}}]]

{{Speculative fiction sidebar|cTopic=Horror fiction}}
'''Horror''' is a [[film genre]] that seeks to elicit physical or psychological [[fear]] in its viewers.<ref name="Kuhn-2012">{{Cite book |last1=Corrigan |first1=Timothy |title=The Film Experience : An Introduction |last2=White |first2=Patricia |publisher=Bedford/St. Martin’s |year=2021 |isbn=9781319208189 |edition=Sixth}}</ref><!--Characteristics--> Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with [[Transgressive art|transgressive topics or themes]]. Broad elements of the genre include [[Monster movie|monsters]], [[Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|apocalyptic events]], and [[Religion|religious]] or [[Folk horror|folk]] beliefs.

<!--History and sub-genres-->Horror films have existed [[History of horror films|since the early 20th century]]. Early inspirations predating film include [[folklore]]; the religious beliefs and [[superstition]]s of different cultures; and the [[Gothic fiction|Gothic]] and [[Horror fiction|horror literature]] of authors such as [[Edgar Allan Poe]], [[Bram Stoker]], and [[Mary Shelley]]. From its origins in [[silent film]]s and [[German expressionist cinema|German Expressionism]], horror became a codified [[genre]] only after the release of [[Dracula (1931 English-language film)|''Dracula'']] (1931). Many sub-genres emerged in subsequent decades, including [[body horror]], [[comedy horror]], [[erotic horror]], [[slasher film]]s, [[splatter film]]s, [[Supernatural horror film|supernatural horror]], and [[Psychological horror (film and television)|psychological horror]]. The genre has been produced worldwide, varying in content and style between regions. Horror is particularly prominent in the cinema of [[Japanese horror|Japan]], [[Korean horror|Korea]], and [[Thai horror|Thailand]], among other countries.

<!--Reception-->Despite being the subject of social and legal controversy due to their subject matter, some horror films and franchises have seen major [[List of highest-grossing horror films|commercial success]], influenced society, and generated popular [[Cultural icon|culture icons]].
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== Characteristics ==
{{See also|Horror and terror}}The book ''The Film Experience: An Introduction'' (2021) defines the horror film as a genre with origins in Gothic literature that seeks to frighten the viewer. The authors highlight the fundamental elements of the horror film as "characters with physical, psychological, or spiritual deformities"; "narratives built on suspense, surprise, and shock"; and "visual compositions that move between the dread of not seeing and the horror of seeing".<ref name="Kuhn-2012" /> 

Alternatively'', The Dictionary of Film Studies'' (2012) defines the horror film as representing "disturbing and dark subject matter, seeking to elicit responses of [[fear]], [[Horror and terror|terror]], [[disgust]], shock, [[suspense]], and (of course) horror from their viewers."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kuhn |first1=Annette |title=A dictionary of film studies |last2=Westwell |first2=Guy |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-19-174442-6 |edition=1st |series=Oxford reference online premium |location=Oxford}}</ref> In his chapter "The American Nightmare: Horror in the 70s" from the book ''Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan'' (2002), film critic [[Robin Wood (critic)|Robin Wood]] declared that the commonality between horror films is that “normality is threatened by the monster.”{{sfn |Balmain |2008 |p=4}} This idea was further expanded on by [[Noël Carroll]] in his book ''The Philosophy of Horror, or Paradoxes of the Heart'' (1990); he noted that "repulsion must be pleasurable, as evidenced by the genre's popularity."{{sfn |Balmain |2008 |p=4}}

Before the release of ''[[Dracula (1931 English-language film)|Dracula]]'' (1931), as historian [[Gary D. Rhodes]] explained, the ideas and terminology of horror films did not yet exist as a codified [[Film genre|genre]], although critics had used the term ''horror'' to describe films in reviews prior to ''Dracula''{{'}}s release.{{sfn |Rhodes |2014 |p=91}} ''Horror'' was a term used with a variety of meanings. In 1913, the magazine ''[[The Moving Picture World|Moving Picture World]]'' defined ''horrors'' as showcasing "striped convicts, murderous Indians, grinning 'black-handers', homicidal drunkards".{{sfn |Rhodes |2018b |p=97}} Some titles directly suggested horror, such as ''The Hand of Horror'' (1914), a melodrama about a thief who steals from his own sister.{{sfn |Rhodes |2018b |p=97}} During the silent era, the term ''horror'' was used to describe everything from battle scenes in war films to stories of drug addiction.{{sfn |Rhodes |2018b |p=98}} Rhodes concluded that the term ''horror film'' (or ''horror movie'') was not used in early cinema.{{sfn |Rhodes |2018b |p=97-98}}

The [[mystery film]] genre was then in vogue, and early information commonly promoted ''Dracula'' as a mystery film, despite the [[Dracula|novel]], the [[Dracula (1924 play)|play]], and the film relying on the [[supernatural]].{{sfn |Rhodes |2014 |p=90}} [[Kim Newman]] discussed the genre in [[British Film Institute]]'s book ''Companion to Horror'', where he noted that horror films in the 1930s were easy to identify, but after that decade, “the more blurred distinctions become, and horror becomes less like a discrete genre than an effect which can be deployed within any number of narrative settings or narrative patterns”.{{sfn |Balmain |2008 |p=5}} In the 1940s, the horror film was viewed in different terms. Critic [[Siegfried Kracauer]] included ''[[The Lost Weekend]]'' among films described as “terror films,” along with ''[[Shadow of a Doubt]]'' (1943), ''[[The Dark Corner]]'' (1946), ''[[Gaslight (1944 film)|Gaslight]]'' (1944), ''[[Shock (1946 film)|Shock]]'' (1946), ''[[The Spiral Staircase (1946 film)|The Spiral Staircase]]'' (1946), ''[[The Stranger (1946 film)|The Stranger]]'' (1946), and ''[[Spellbound (1945 film)|Spellbound]]'' (1945). Two years earlier, the ''[[New York Times]]'' described a new cycle of “horror” productions included ''Gaslight'', ''[[The Woman in the Window (1944 film)|The Woman in the Window]]'' (1944), ''[[Dark Waters (1944 film)|Dark Waters]]'' (1944), ''[[Laura (1944 film)|Laura]] (1944),'' and ''[[Phantom Lady (film)|Phantom Lady]]'' (1944).{{sfn |Jancovich |2008 |p=28}} Mark Jancovich wrote in the book ''The Shifting Definitions of Genre: Essays on Labeling Films, Television Shows and Media'' (2008) that ''horror'' was virtually synonymous with mystery as a generic term, not being limited to films concerned with the strange, eerie, and uncanny.{{sfn |Jancovich |2008 |p=28}}

Various writings on genre from Altman, Lawrence Alloway (''Violent America: The Movies 1946-1964'' (1971)) and Peter Hutchings (''Approaches to Popular Film'' (1995)) implied that it is easier to view films as [[Social cycle theory|cycles]] rather than genres, suggesting that viewing the [[slasher film]] as a cycle would locate it in terms of several factors: the film industry's economy and production, the personnel involved in particular eras, and the manner of film marketing, distribution, and exhibition.{{sfn |Jancovich |2000 |p=31-32}}
In an essay, Mark Jancovich declared that "there is no simple 'collective belief' as to what constitutes the horror genre" among [[Fandom|fans]] and [[Film criticism|critics]] of the genre.{{sfn |Jancovich |2000 |p=25-26}} Jancovich found that disagreements existed between audiences who wanted to distinguish themselves. Such disagreement included fans of other genres who may view a film such as ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]'' (1979) as belonging to [[Science fiction film|science fiction]], as well as horror fans dismissing it as inauthentic for either genre.{{sfn |Jancovich |2000 |p=26-27}} Further debates exist among genre fans having personal definitions of “true” horror films: some fans embrace [[Cult following|cult figures]] such as [[Freddy Krueger]] of the ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)|A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' series, while other fans disassociate themselves from characters and series and focus instead on genre ''[[auteur]]'' directors such as [[Dario Argento]], while still other fans would deem Argento's films too mainstream, preferring more [[underground film]]s.{{sfn |Jancovich |2000 |p=28}} Andrew Tudor wrote in his book ''Monsters and Mad Scientists: A Cultural History of the Horror Movie'' that "Genre is what we collectively believe it to be."{{sfn |Tudor |1991 |p=6-7}}

=== Cinematic techniques ===
{{One source|date=December 2021|section}}
Jacob Shelton investigated in detail the many ways that horror films manipulate audience members.<ref name="Ranker">{{cite web |title=15 Ways You Didn't Even Realize Horror Movies Are Manipulating You into Fear |url=https://www.ranker.com/list/horror-movie-tricks-for-scaring-the-audience/jacob-shelton |access-date=2019-11-22 |website=Ranker |language=en}}</ref> Shelton notes that [[negative space]] can draw viewers' eyes to anything in the frame—for example, a wall or the empty blackness in the shadows.<ref name="Ranker" />

Anna Powell explores how horror directors use [[cinematography]] to induce certain viewer reactions. Powell observes that lighting extremes, whether bright or dark, can prevent viewers from seeing every detail in a scene, which provokes unease. Bright lighting might also trick viewers into feeling safe.{{sfn |Powell |2005 |p=120}}

Powell also points out how distorting space and time can confuse and disorient horror film viewers.{{sfn |Powell |2005 |p=130}} To confound viewers' senses, directors might use [[Dutch angle|tilted camera angles]] and shots in slow-motion or reverse.{{sfn |Powell |2005 |p=131-2}}

Powell notes that directors also use colour, through costuming, setting, and [[Photographic filter|lens filters]], to communicate mood and evoke certain connotations. Red, for example, might convey blood, passion, or disease.{{sfn |Powell |2005 |p=137}} Contrasting colours bring viewers’ attention to certain places in the frame.{{sfn |Powell |2005 |p=141}}

The [[jump scare]] is a horror film [[Trope (cinema)|trope]] where an abrupt change in image accompanied by a loud sound aims to surprise the viewer.<ref name="Ranker" /> This trope can also be [[subversion|subverted]] to create tension, as audiences may feel increased unease and discomfort in anticipating jump scares.<ref name="Ranker" />
[[File:Woman-wearing-red-t-shirt-2898511.jpg|thumb|Mirrors are often used to create a sense of tension in horror films.]]
[[Mirror]]s are often used in horror films to create visual depth and build tension. Shelton argues that mirrors have been used so often in horror films that audiences have been [[Classical conditioning|conditioned]] to fear them, and subverting audience expectations of a jump scare in a mirror can further build tension.<ref name="Ranker" /> [[Framing (visual arts)|Tight framing]] and [[close-up]]s are also commonly used; these can build tension and induce [[anxiety]] by not allowing the viewer to see beyond what is near the [[protagonist]].<ref name="Ranker" />

The interaction between horror films and their audiences is another significant issue discussed by Rhodes. He notes that horror films often serve as a safe space for viewers to confront and process their fears. This cathartic experience can provide psychological relief and a sense of empowerment, as viewers face and overcome their anxieties in a controlled environment. The communal experience of watching horror films in theaters or discussing them in fan communities also plays a crucial role in the genre's impact and popularity.[6]

=== Music ===
{{Main|Horror film score}}
[[File:John Carpenter Live 2016.jpg|thumb|Filmmaker and composer [[John Carpenter]], who has directed and scored [[John Carpenter filmography|numerous horror films]], performing in 2016]]
[[Horror film score|Music]] is a key element of horror films. In his book ''Music in the Horror Film'' (2010), Lerner writes that "music in horror film frequently makes us feel threatened and uncomfortable" and intends to intensify the atmosphere created by imagery and themes. Music helps to set the tense or chilling mood that horror movies often aim to achieve; it can even cause physiological effects that override learned reactions and behaviors.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Donnelly |first=K. J. (Kevin J. ) |url=https://archive.org/details/spectreofsoundmu0000donn_i6l0/mode/2up |title=The spectre of sound : music in film and television |date=2005 |publisher=BFI |isbn=978-1-84457-025-6 |location=London |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> [[Dissonance (music)|Dissonance]], [[atonality]] and experiments with [[timbre]] are typical techniques used by [[composer]]s in horror film music.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lerner |first=Neil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7VyOAgAAQBAJ&dq=horror+film+music&pg=PP1 |title=Music in the Horror Film: Listening to Fear |date=2009-12-16 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-28044-4 |language=en}}</ref> 

=== Themes ===
{{multiple image
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| image1            = Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (Revised Edition, 1831) Creature.jpg
| image2            = Apocalypse-Albert Goodwin.jpg
| image3            = Kitab al-Bulhan -- devil.jpg
| caption1          = [[Frankenstein's monster]]
| caption2          = ''Apocalypse'' by [[Albert Goodwin (artist)|Albert Goodwin]]
| caption3          = A [[demon]] in the [[Book of Wonders]]
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| link1             = Frankenstein's monster
| link2             = Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
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| footer            = Charles Derry proposed that the three key components of horror are personality, Armageddon and the demonic.
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}}

In his book ''Dark Dreams'', author Charles Derry conceived horror films as focusing on three broad [[Theme (narrative)|themes]]: the horror of [[personality]], the horror of [[Armageddon]], and the horror of the [[demon]]ic.{{sfn |Prawer |1989 |p=16}} First, the horror of personality derives from [[Monster movie|monsters]] being at the centre of the plot, such as [[Frankenstein's monster]], whose psychology makes them perform horrific acts including [[rape]]s, [[mutilation]]s, and [[wikt:sadistic|sadistic]] killings.{{sfn |Prawer |1989 |p=16}} Other key works with this theme include [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]],'' which feature psychotic murderers without monster make-up.{{sfn |Prawer |1989 |p=16}} Second, the Armageddon theme explores the fear of [[Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|large-scale destruction]], which includes [[List of science fiction horror films|science fiction works]] but also [[List of natural horror films|natural events]], such as Hitchcock's ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'' (1963).{{sfn |Prawer |1989 |p=16}} Finally, the theme of the demonic features graphic accounts of [[Satanic film|satanic rites]], [[witchcraft]], and [[exorcism]]s outside traditional forms of worship, as seen in films such as ''[[The Exorcist]]'' (1973) and ''[[The Omen]]'' (1976).{{sfn |Prawer |1989 |p=17}}

Some critics have suggested that horror films can be vessels for exploring contemporary cultural, political and social trends. Jeanne Hall, a film theorist, supports the use of horror films to ease the process of understanding issues by making use of their visual elements.<ref name="Lizardi">{{cite journal |last1=Lizardi |first1=Ryan |date=31 August 2010 |title='Re-Imagining' Hegemony and Misogyny in the Contemporary Slasher Remake |journal=Journal of Popular Film and Television |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=113–121 |doi=10.1080/01956051003623464 |s2cid=191466131}}</ref> The use of horror films can help audiences to understand prior historical events, for example, the [[Vietnam War]], the [[Holocaust]], the worldwide [[AIDS epidemic]]<ref name="History Horror">{{cite book |last=Heller-Nicholas |first=Alexandra |title=History and Horror |publisher=Screen Education}}</ref> or [[post-9/11]] pessimism.{{sfn |Aston |Walliss |2013 |p=4}}  

Anxieties surrounding race and racism have historically and continuously informed the horror genre.<ref name="Kuhn-2012" /> A good example is the history of the [[zombie apocalypse]] subgenre. The first [[zombie]] horror films, such as ''[[White Zombie (film)|White Zombie]]'' (1932), were inspired by stories brought back to Europe by colonizers, and these stories explicitly presented [[Afro-Haitians|Afro-Haitian]] religious and spiritual practices as evil and perverse.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McAlister |first=Elizabeth |title=Zombie theory: a reader |date=2017 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-1-5179-0091-5 |editor-last=Lauro |editor-first=Sarah Juliet |location=Minneapolis |chapter=Slaves, Cannibals, and infected Hyper-Whites: The Race and Religion of Zombies}}</ref> The film which later revived the subgenre, ''[[Night of the Living Dead]]'' (1968), incidentally presented themes surrounding race in America by casting [[Duane Jones]], a Black actor, as the lead.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Means Coleman |first=Robin R. |title=Horror Noire: A History of Black American Horror from the 1890s to Present |date=2023 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-367-76719-8 |location=Oxford}}</ref> Whether accidentally or actively, horror films demonstrate societal issues by who or what is chosen to incite fear, and how this choice is represented visually and narratively.

== History ==
{{Excerpt|History of horror films|templates=no}}In discussing narrative trends in horror, scholar Isabel Pinedo draws on the book ''Monsters and Mad Scientists: A Cultural History of the Horror Movie'' (1989) to map the development of the Anglo-American horror genre. She points out that early synchronized sound, as well as post-war period films, present threats to social order as external, while human agency (largely male) prevails. The focus is on the monster's acts of violence and the characters' failed attempts at resistance, ending with male experts using violence or knowledge to defeat the monster and restore social order.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Pinedo |first=Isabel Cristina |title=Recreational terror: women and the pleasures of horror film viewing |date=1997 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-3441-3 |series=SUNY series, interruptions--border testimony(ies) and critical discourse/s |location=Albany, N.Y}}</ref>{{sfn |Tudor |1991}}

Pinedo presents the category of postmodern horror. She summarizes the narrative structure as indicating the prevalence of internal threats to social order by using a combination of monstrous violence and ineffectual human resistance with open endings. These open endings may be as follows: the monster triumphs as in ''[[Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer]]'' (1990); the monster is defeated but only temporarily as in ''[[Halloween (1978 film)|Halloween]]'' (1978); or there is an ambiguous outcome as in ''[[Night of the Living Dead]]'' (1968), ''[[The Texas Chain Saw Massacre|The Texas Chainsaw Massacre]]'' (1974), ''[[The Thing (1982 film)|The Thing]]'' (1982), and ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street|Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' (1984).<ref name=":0" />{{Horrorfilmlist}}

==Sub-genres of horror film==
Horror is a malleable genre, and it can often be altered to accommodate other genres such as [[Science fiction film|science fiction]], which makes some films difficult to categorize.{{sfn |Odell |Le Blanc |2007 |p=15}}

===Lovecraftian horror===
{{main|Lovecraftian horror}}
Named after American author [[H. P. Lovecraft]] (1890–1937), this sub-genre of horror films include themes of [[Existential dread|cosmic dread]], forbidden and dangerous knowledge, madness, non-human influences on humanity, religion and superstition, fate and inevitability, and the risks associated with scientific discoveries.

===Body horror===
{{main|Body horror}}
A genre that emerged in the 1970s, body horror films focus on the process of a bodily transformation. In these films, the body is either engulfed by some larger process or heading towards fragmentation and collapse.{{sfn |Jancovich |1994 |p=26}}{{sfn |Jancovich |1992 |p=112}} The focus can be on apocalyptic implication of an entire society being overtaken, but the focus is generally upon an individual and their sense of identity, primarily them watching their own body change.{{sfn |Jancovich |1994 |p=26}} The earliest appearance of the sub-genre was the work of director [[David Cronenberg]], specifically with early films like ''[[Shivers (1975 film)|Shivers]]'' (1975).{{sfn |Jancovich |1994 |p=26}}{{sfn |Jancovich |1992 |p=112}} Mark Jancovich of the University of Manchester declared that the transformation scenes in the genre provoke fear and repulsion, but also pleasure and excitement such as in ''[[The Thing (1982 film)|The Thing]]'' (1982) and ''[[The Fly (1986 film)|The Fly]]'' (1986).{{sfn |Jancovich |1992 |p=115}}

=== Christmas horror ===
{{Main|Christmas horror}}
[[Christmas horror]] is a film subgenre that emerged in the 1970s with films such as ''[[Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?]]'' (1971) and ''[[Silent Night, Bloody Night]]'' (1972),{{sfn |Newby |2018}} which were soon followed by the influential ''[[Black Christmas (1974 film)|Black Christmas]]'' (1974).{{sfn |Newby |2018}}{{sfn |Ulaby |2015}} Defining the Christmas horror genre has been described as challenging,{{sfn |DuPée |2022 |p=6}} as it has generally been regarded as a sub-genre of the [[slasher film]].{{sfn |DuPée |2022 |p=5}}{{sfn |Rockoff |2003 |p=30}} Adam Rockoff, in ''[[Rue Morgue (magazine)|Rue Morgue]]'', noted that the sub-genre sits within a trend of holiday-themed slasher films, alongside films such as ''[[My Bloody Valentine (film)|My Bloody Valentine]]'' (1981) and ''[[April Fool's Day (1986 film)|April Fool's Day]]'' (1986).{{sfn |Rockoff |2003 |p=30}} Others take a broader view that Christmas horror is not limited to the slasher genre,{{sfn |DuPée |2022 |p=5}} noting how it evolved from the English Christmas tradition of telling ghost stories.{{sfn |Newby |2018}} Christmas in literature has historically included elements of "darkness"—fright, misery, death and decay—tracing its literary antecedents as far back as the biblical account of the [[Massacre of the Innocents]] and more recently in works such as E. T. A. Hoffmann's "[[The Nutcracker and the Mouse King]]" (1816) and Charles Dickens' ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'' (1843).{{sfn |Newby |2018}}{{sfn |Ulaby |2015}} Although ghosts have largely been replaced by serial killers, Christmas horror creates an outlet through which to explore "a modern reinvention of the Christmas ghost story".{{sfn |Newby |2018}}

=== Erotic horror ===
{{main|Erotic horror}}
[[Erotic horror]] is a subgenre of horror fiction that blends sensual and sexual imagery with horrific themes for the sake of [[sexual arousal]]. Erotic horror has had influences on French<ref name="www.kinoeye.org">{{Cite web |title=Kinoeye {{!}} French horror: Jean Rollin - an introduction |url=https://www.kinoeye.org/~kinoeyeo/02/07/kalat07.php |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=www.kinoeye.org}}</ref> and American horror cinema. The [[Jean Rollin filmography|works]] of [[Jean Rollin]], such as ''[[Le Viol du Vampire]]'' and ''[[Fascination (1979 film)|Fascination]]'', are considered quintessential erotic horror films, blending deeply sexual imagery with gore.<ref name="www.kinoeye.org" /> American cinema has also featured notable erotic horror film franchises, such as ''[[Candyman (film series)|Candyman]].''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hobbs |first=Thomas |date=2021-10-31 |title='A living mirror to white brutality': Tony Todd on Candyman's violent (and erotic) horror |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/living-mirror-white-brutality-tony-todd-candymans-violent-erotic/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> An example of a British erotic horror film series is ''[[Hellraiser (franchise)|Hellraiser]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-01 |title=The sexual undertones of Clive Barker's 'Hellraiser' |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/sexual-undertones-of-clive-barkers-hellraiser/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}</ref> ''[[Alien (franchise)|Alien]]'' features heavy erotic imagery, with the design of the [[Xenomorph]] by [[H. R. Giger]] featuring both [[Phallus|phallic]] and vaginal imagery, intended to symbolize patriarchal guilt<ref>{{Cite web |last=Topel |first=Fred |date=2019-01-29 |title=What 'Memory: The Origins of Alien' Reveals About the Sexual Metaphors in the 1979 Film [Interview] |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/interviews/3543552/sundance-alien-documentary-reveals-sexual-metaphors-film-exclusive/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=Bloody Disgusting! |language=en-US}}</ref> as well as sex, rape, and pregnancy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-05-19 |title=What's the Meaning Behind the Sexual Imagery in "Alien"? {{!}} Watch {{!}} The Take |url=https://the-take.com/watch/whats-the-meaning-behind-the-sexual-imagery-in-alien |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=What's the Meaning Behind the Sexual Imagery in "Alien"? {{!}} Watch {{!}} The Take |language=en}}</ref>

=== Extreme Horror ===
[[Extreme cinema|Extreme horror]] is a subgenre of horror that emerged from early twentieth century theater through shocking performances from Paris, France's [[Grand Guignol|Théâtre du Grand‑Guignol.]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dissections Horror E-Zine |url=https://www.simegen.com/writers/dissections/Dissections%202019/Dissections_page_13.html |access-date=2025-10-14 |website=www.simegen.com}}</ref> The transition from theater to cinema allowed transgressive acts of uncensored sex, torture, mutilation, and [[taboo]] exploitation to reach a wider audience. Notably, the 1970s herald in extreme horror that is frequently cited as the beginning of the film subgenre including ''[[The Last House on the Left|Last House on the Left]]'' (1972), ''[[Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom]]'' (1975)'','' and ''[[I Spit on Your Grave]]'' (1978)''.'' <ref>{{Cite web |title=Dissections Horror E-Zine |url=https://www.simegen.com/writers/dissections/Dissections%202019/Dissections_page_13.html |access-date=2025-10-15 |website=www.simegen.com}}</ref> Extreme horror film series, such as ''[[Saw (franchise)|Saw]]'' (2004) and [[Hostel (film series)|''Hostel'']] (2005), have reached mainstream media with character(s) appearances in video games namely ''[[Dead by Daylight]]'' and the subject of musical lyrics for the band [[Ice Nine Kills]]. 

=== Folk horror ===
{{Main|Folk horror}}
[[Folk horror]] uses elements of [[folklore]] or other [[Religion|religious]] and cultural beliefs to instill fear in audiences. Folk horror films have featured [[Rural area|rural settings]] and themes of isolation, religion and nature.<ref name="Hurley-2019">{{Cite news |last=Hurley |first=Andrew Michael |date=2019-10-28 |title=Devils and debauchery: why we love to be scared by folk horror |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/28/devils-and-debauchery-why-we-love-to-be-scared-by-folk-horror |access-date=2020-02-05 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="Murphy">{{cite news |last=Murphy |first=Bernice M. |title=Beyond Midsommar: 'folk horror' in popular fiction |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/beyond-midsommar-folk-horror-in-popular-fiction-1.3963971 |access-date=2019-11-12 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref> Frequently cited examples are ''[[Witchfinder General (film)|Witchfinder General]]'' (1968), ''[[The Blood on Satan's Claw]]'' (1971), ''[[The Wicker Man]]'' (1973), [[The Witch (2015 film)|''The Witch'']] (2015), and ''[[Midsommar (film)|Midsommar]]'' (2019).<ref name="Hurley-2019" /><ref name="Murphy" /> Local folklore and beliefs have been noted as being prevalent in horror films from the [[Southeast Asian cinema|Southeast Asia]] region, including [[Thai horror|Thailand]] and [[Indonesian horror|Indonesia]].<ref name="Ferrarese">{{Cite web |last=Ferrarese |first=Marco |title='New kinds of monsters': The rise of Southeast Asian horror films |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/2/zombie-films-breathe-new-life-into-malaysian-and-indonesia-horror |access-date=2022-01-19 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rithdee |first=Kong |date=5 November 2021 |title=Into the devil's lair |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/arts-and-entertainment/2210099/into-the-devils-lair |access-date=2022-01-19 |work=Bangkok Post}}</ref>

===Found footage horror===

The [[Found footage (film technique)|found footage horror]] film "technique" gives the audience a [[First-person narrative|first person view]] of the events on screen, and presents the footage as being discovered after. Horror films which are framed as being made up of "found-footage" merge the experiences of the audience and characters, which may induce suspense, shock, and bafflement.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McRobert |first1=Neil |date=November 2015 |title=Mimesis of Media: Found Footage Cinema and the Horror of the Real |journal=Gothic Studies |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=137–150 |doi=10.7227/GS.17.2.9}}</ref> [[Alexandra Heller-Nicholas]] noted that the popularity of sites like [[YouTube]] in 2006 sparked a taste for amateur media, leading to the production of further films in the found footage horror genre later in the 2000s including the particularly financially successful ''[[Paranormal Activity]]'' (2007).{{sfn |Heller-Nicholas |2014 |p=4}}

===Gothic horror===
{{main|Gothic film}}
In their book ''Gothic film'', Richard J. McRoy and Richard J. Hand stated that "Gothic" can be argued as a very loose subgenre of horror, but argued that "Gothic" as a whole was a style like ''[[film noir]]'' and not bound to certain cinematic elements like the [[Western (genre) film|Western]] or [[science fiction film]].{{sfn |Hand |McRoy |2020 |p=3}} The term "gothic" is frequently used to describe a stylized approach to showcasing location, desire, and action in film. Contemporary views of the genre associate it with imagery of castles at hilltops and labyrinth like ancestral mansions that are in various states of disrepair.{{sfn |Hand |McRoy |2020 |p=1}} Narratives in these films often focus on an audience's fear and attraction to social change and rebellion.{{sfn |Hand |McRoy |2020 |p=2}} The genre can be applied to films as early as ''The Haunted Castle'' (1896), ''Frankenstein'' (1910) as well as to more complex iterations such as [[Park Chan-wook]]'s ''[[Stoker (film)|Stoker]]'' (2013) and [[Jordan Peele]]'s ''[[Get Out (film)|Get Out]]'' (2017).{{sfn |Hand |McRoy |2020 |p=3}}

The gothic style is applied to several films throughout the history of the horror film. This includes [[Universal Classic Monsters|Universal Pictures' horror films]] of the 1930s, the revival of gothic horror in the 1950s and 1960s with films from Hammer, [[Roger Corman]]'s Poe-cycle, and several Italian productions.{{sfn |Hand |McRoy |2020 |p=5-6}} By the 1970s American and British productions often had vampire films set in a contemporary setting, such as Hammer Films had their ''Dracula'' stories set in a modern setting and made other horror material which pushed the erotic content of their vampire films that was initiated by ''Black Sunday''.{{sfn |Muir |2012 |p=10}}{{sfn |Muir |2012 |p=11}}{{sfn |Curti |2015 |p=38}} In the 1980s, the older horror characters of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster rarely appeared, with vampire themed films continued often in the tradition of authors like [[Anne Rice]] where vampirism becomes a lifestyle choice rather than plague or curse.{{sfn |Marriott |Newman |2018 |p=220}} Following the release of [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s ''[[Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992 film)|Bram Stoker's Dracula]]'' (1992), a small wave of high-budgeted gothic horror romance films were released in the 1990s.{{sfn |Marriott |Newman |2018 |p=272}}

===Natural horror===
{{see also|List of natural horror films}}
Also described as "eco-horror", the [[natural horror film]] is a subgenre "featuring nature running amok in the form of mutated beasts, carnivorous insects, and normally harmless animals or plants turned into cold-blooded killers."<ref>{{cite web |title=Natural Horror Top rated Most Viewed – AllMovie |url=http://www.allrovi.com/movies/subgenre/natural-horror-d584 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207022414/http://www.allrovi.com/movies/subgenre/natural-horror-d584 |archive-date=7 February 2012 |access-date=24 April 2012 |publisher=Allrovi.com}}</ref>{{sfn |Gregersdotter |Hoglund |Hallen |2015 |p=32}} In 1963, [[Alfred Hitchcock]] defined a new genre nature taking revenge on humanity with ''[[The Birds (1963 film)|The Birds]]'' (1963) that was expanded into a trend into the 1970s. Following the success of ''[[Willard (1971 film)|Willard]]'' (1971), a film about killer rats, 1972 had similar films with ''[[Stanley (1972 film)|Stanley]]'' (1972) and an official sequel ''[[Ben (1972 film)|Ben]]'' (1972).{{sfn |Muir |2012 |p=17}} Other films followed in suit such as ''[[Night of the Lepus]]'' (1972), ''[[Frogs (film)|Frogs]]'' (1972), ''[[Bug (1975 film)|Bug]]'' (1975), ''[[Squirm]]'' (1976) and what Muir described as the "turning point" in the genre with ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' (1975), which became the highest-grossing film at that point and moved the animal attacks genres "towards a less-fantastic route" with less giant animals and more real-life creatures such as ''[[Grizzly (1976 film)|Grizzly]]'' (1976) and ''[[Night Creature]]'' (1977), ''[[Orca (1977 film)|Orca]]'' (1977), and ''[[Jaws 2]]'' (1978).{{sfn |Muir |2012 |p=17}}{{sfn |Muir |2012 |p=19}}{{sfn |Muir |2012 |p=20}} The film is linked with the environmental movements that became more mainstream in the 1970s and early 1980s such [[vegetarianism]], [[animal rights movement]]s, and organizations such as [[Greenpeace]].{{sfn |Gregersdotter |Hoglund |Hallen |2015 |p=31}} Following ''Jaws'', sharks became the most popular animal of the genre, ranging from similar such as ''[[Mako: The Jaws of Death]]'' (1976) and ''[[Great White (1981 film)|Great White]]'' (1981) to the ''[[Sharknado (film series)|Sharknado]]'' film series.{{sfn |Gregersdotter |Hoglund |Hallen |2015 |p=31}} [[James Marriott (author)|James Marriott]] found that the genre had "lost momentum" since the 1970s while the films would still be made towards the turn of the millennium.{{sfn |Marriott |Newman |2018 |p=187}}

=== Psychological horror ===
{{Main|Psychological horror films}}

Bill Gibron of [[PopMatters]] declared a mixed definition of the psychological horror film, ranging from definitions of anything that created a sense of disquiet or apprehension to a film where an audience's mind makes up what was not directly displayed visually. Gibron concluded it as a "clouded gray area between all out splatter and a trip through a cinematic dark ride."{{sfn |Gibron |2013}}

=== Religious horror ===
{{Main|Religious horror}}
Religious horror is a subgenre of horror film whose common themes are based on religion and focus heavily on supernatural beings, often with [[demon]]s as the main antagonists that bring a sense of threat.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-24 |title=From 'The Exorcist' to 'Saint Maud': 8 of The Best Religious Horror Movies |url=https://collider.com/from-the-exorcist-to-saint-maud-best-religious-horror-movies/ |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 April 2023 |title=Two New Religious Horror Films Showdown Over Demonic Possession |url=https://religionunplugged.com/news/2023/4/17/this-weekend-two-new-religious-horror-films-showdown-over-demonic-possession?format=amp |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=religionunplugged.com}}</ref> Such films commonly use religious elements, including the crucifix or cross, holy water, the Bible, the rosary, the sign of the cross, the church, and prayer, which are forms of religious symbols and rituals used to depict the use of faith to defeat evil.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hong |first=Seung Min |date=June 2010 |title=Redemptive Fear: A Review of Sacred Terror and Further Analyses of Religious Horror Films |url=https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/jrpc.22.2.006 |journal=The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture |language=en |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=6 |doi=10.3138/jrpc.22.2.006 |issn=1703-289X |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

=== Slasher film ===
{{Main|Slasher film}}
The [[slasher film]] is a horror subgenre which involves a killer murdering a group of people (often teenagers), usually by use of bladed tools.<ref name=":0p">{{cite book |title=Style and form in the Hollywood slasher film |date=2015 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=9781137496478 |editor=Clayton, Wickham |location=Basingstoke |oclc=927961472}}</ref> In his book on the genre, author Adam Rockoff wrote that these villains represented a "rogue genre" of films that are "tough, problematic, and fiercely individualistic."{{sfn |Muir |2007 |p=17}} Following the financial success of ''[[Friday the 13th (1980 film)|Friday the 13th]]'' (1980), at least 20 other slasher films appeared in 1980 alone.{{sfn |Marriott |Newman |2018 |p=218}} These films usually revolved around three properties: unique social settings (campgrounds, schools, holidays) and a crime from the past committed (an accidental drowning, infidelity, a scorned lover) and a ready made group of victims (camp counselors, students, wedding parties).{{sfn |Muir |2007 |p=21}} The genre was derided by several contemporary film critics of the era such as Ebert, and often were highly profitable in the box office.{{sfn |Muir |2007 |p=18-19}} The release of ''[[Scream (1996 film)|Scream]]'' (1996), led to a brief revival of the slasher films for the 1990s.{{sfn |Marriott |Newman |2018 |p=274}} Other countries imitated the American slasher film revival, such as South Korea's early 2000s cycle with ''[[Bloody Beach]]'' (2000), ''[[Nightmare (2000 film)|Nightmare]]'' (2000) and ''[[The Record (film)|The Record]]'' (2000).{{sfn |Chung |2013 |p=87}}

===Splatter film===
{{Main|Splatter film}}
[[Splatter film|Splatter]] is a subgenre that depends on [[violence]] and [[Graphic violence#Gore|gore]] to display and accentuate a fascination with the theatricality of [[mutilation]] and the vulnerability of the human body.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hesseldenz |first=Peter |title=Research Guides: Horror Film: Splatter Film |url=https://libguides.uky.edu/horrorfilms/splatter |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=libguides.uky.edu |language=en}}</ref>

===Supernatural horror===
{{Main|Supernatural horror film}}
[[Supernatural horror film]]s, sometimes referred to as [[paranormal]] horror films, integrate [[Supernatural fiction|supernatural elements]], such as the [[afterlife]], [[spirit possession]] and religion into the horror genre.<ref>{{cite web |date=2011-03-26 |title=Supernatural |url=https://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/992-supernatural/ |access-date=2021-12-19 |website=The Script Lab |language=en-US}}</ref> Since they often focus on undead or non-physical beings, they may create unease in viewers without a visible presence on screen. This may include characters feeling a touch or chill in the air, furniture moving on its own, mysterious sounds, or lights flickering with no apparent cause. Prominent supernatural horror films include ''[[Paranormal Activity]]'' and ''[[The Conjuring]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arnaud |first=Jourdan |date=2021-10-18 |title=Subgenres of Horror Films Explained |url=https://www.lafilm.edu/blog/subgenres-of-horror-films-explained/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=The Los Angeles Film School |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Suburban gothic ===
{{Main|Suburban Gothic}}
Suburban gothic is a subgenre of [[Gothic fiction]], art, film and television, focused on anxieties associated with the creation of [[suburb|suburban communities]], particularly in the United States and the [[Western world]], from the 1950s and 1960s onwards.

This genre often explores themes of paranoia, conformity, and hidden dangers. Suburban horror films include ''[[Halloween (1978 film)|Halloween]]'' (1978), ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' (1984), and ''[[The Stepford Wives (1975 film)|The Stepford Wives]]'' (1975), all of which use the suburban setting to heighten the tension and fear.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Subgenre deep dive: Suburban Horror |url=https://britishfantasysociety.org/subgenre-deep-dive-suburban-horror/ |website=The British Fantasy Society  |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sheetz |first=Janelle |date=February 17, 2024 |title=10 Best Suburban Horror Movies, Ranked |url=https://collider.com/suburban-horror-movies-ranked/ |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref>{{better source|date=May 2025|reason=Per [[WP:RSP/VALNET]]}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 20, 2024 |title=The First Big Thriller of 2024 Reveals the Power of an Overlooked Genre |url=https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/best-suburban-horror-movies |website=Inverse |language=en}}</ref>

=== Teen horror ===
[[Teen horror]] is a horror subgenre that victimizes teenagers while usually promoting strong, [[Anticonformity (psychology)|anti-conformity]] teenage leads, appealing to young generations. This subgenre often depicts themes of sex, under-aged drinking, and gore.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Cynthia J. |last2=Bowdoin Van Riper |first2=A. |date=2015 |title=Marketing, Monsters, and Music: Teensploitation Horror Films |url=https://www.academia.edu/download/112063413/jacc.1230320240304-1-h52eri.pdf |journal=The Journal of American Culture |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=130–141 |doi=10.1111/jacc.12303 |issn=1542-7331}}</ref> Horror films aimed a young audience featuring teenage monsters grew popular in the 1950s with several productions from [[American International Pictures]] (AIP) and productions of [[Herman Cohen]] with ''[[I Was a Teenage Werewolf]]'' (1957) and ''[[I Was a Teenage Frankenstein]]'' (1957).{{sfn |Marriott |Newman |2018 |p=70}} This led to later productions like ''[[Daughter of Dr. Jekyll]]'' (1957) and ''[[Frankenstein's Daughter]]'' (1958).{{sfn |Marriott |Newman |2018 |p=70}} Teen horror cycle in the 1980s often showcased explicit gore and nudity, with John Kenneth Muir described as cautionary conservative tales where most of the films stated if you partook in such vices such as drugs or sex, your punishment of death would be handed out.{{sfn |West |2018 |p=4}}
Prior to ''Scream'', there were no popular teen horror films in the early 1990s.{{sfn |Shary |2005 |p=99}} After the financial success of ''Scream'', teen horror films became increasingly reflexive and self-aware until the end of the 1990s with films like ''[[I Know What You Did Last Summer]]'' (1997) and non-slasher ''[[The Faculty]]'' (1998).{{sfn |Shary |2005 |p=102}}{{sfn |Shary |2005 |p=99}} The genre lost prominence as teen films dealt with threats with more realism in films like ''[[Donnie Darko]]'' (2001) and ''[[Crazy/Beautiful]]'' (2001).{{sfn |Shary |2005 |p=103}} In her book on the 1990s teen horror cycle, Alexandra West described the general trend of these films is often looked down upon by critics, journals, and fans as being too glossy, trendy, and sleek to be considered worthwhile horror films.{{sfn |West |2018 |pp=3–4}}

== Regional horror films ==
===Asian horror films===
{{main|Horror films of Asia}}
Horror films in [[Cinema of Asia|Asia]] have been noted as being inspired by national, cultural or religious [[folklore]], particularly beliefs in [[ghost]]s or spirits.<ref name="Ferrarese" /><ref name="Richards-2010">{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=Andy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tbiDAAAAQBAJ |title=Asian Horror |date=2010-10-21 |publisher=Oldcastle Books |isbn=978-1-84243-408-6 |language=en}}</ref> In ''Asian Horror'', Andy Richards writes that there is a "widespread and engrained acceptance of [[supernatural]] forces" in many Asian cultures, and suggests this is related to [[Animism|animist]], [[Pantheism|pantheist]] and [[Karma|karmic]] religious traditions, as in [[Buddhism]] and [[Shintoism]].<ref name="Richards-2010" /> Although [[Chinese horror film|Chinese]], [[Japanese horror|Japanese]], [[Thai horror|Thai]] and [[Korean horror|Korean]] horror has arguably received the most international attention,<ref name="Richards-2010" /> horror also makes up a considerable proportion of [[Horror films of Cambodia|Cambodian]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chronister |first=Kay |author-link=Kay Chronister |date=2020-03-01 |title='My Mother, the Ap': Cambodian Horror Cinema and the Gothic Transformation of a Folkloric Monster |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/gothic.2020.0040 |journal=Gothic Studies |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=98–113 |doi=10.3366/gothic.2020.0040 |issn=1362-7937 |s2cid=216404862 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> and [[Malaysian cinema|Malaysian]] cinema.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ainslie |first=Mary J. |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/10.1057/978-1-137-58417-5_9 |title=Transnational Horror Cinema: Bodies of Excess and the Global Grotesque |date=2016 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=978-1-137-58416-8 |editor-last1=Siddique |editor-first1=Sophia |publication-place=London |pages=179–203 |chapter=Towards a Southeast Asian Model of Horror: Thai Horror Cinema in Malaysia, Urbanization, and Cultural Proximity |doi=10.1057/978-1-137-58417-5_9 |editor2-last=Raphael |editor2-first=Raphael}}</ref>

===European horror films===
{{main|Horror films of Europe}}
Ian Olney described the horror films of [[Cinema of Europe|Europe]] were often more erotic and "just plain stranger" than their British and American counter-parts.{{sfn |Olney |2013 |p=xi}} European horror films (generally referred to as Euro Horror){{sfn |Wynter |2016 |p=44}} draw from distinctly European cultural sources, including [[surrealism]], [[romanticism]], [[Decadent movement|decadent tradition]], early 20th century [[Pulp magazine|pulp-literature]], [[film serials]], and [[erotic comics]].{{sfn |Olney |2013 |p=6}} In comparison to the narrative logic in American genre films, these films focused on imagery, excessiveness, and the irrational.{{sfn |Olney |2013 |p=7}}

Between the mid-1950s and the mid-1980s, European horror films emerged from countries like Italy, Spain and France, and were shown in the United States predominantly at drive-in theatre and [[grindhouse]] theaters.{{sfn |Olney |2013 |p=xi}} As producers and distributors all over the world were interested in horror films, regardless of their origin, changes started occurring in European low-budget filmmaking that allowed for productions in the 1960s and 1970s for horror films from Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain, as well as co-productions between these countries.{{sfn |Lazaro-Reboll |2012 |p=11-12}} Several productions, such as those in Italy, were co-productions due to the lack of international stars within the country.{{sfn |Heffernan |2004 |p=141}} European horror films began developing strong [[cult following]] since the late 1990s.{{sfn |Olney |2013 |p=xi}}

===Oceania===
==== Australia ====
It is unknown when [[Cinema of Australia|Australia's cinema]] first horror title may have been, with thoughts ranging from ''[[The Strangler's Grip]]'' (1912) to ''[[The Face at the Window (1919 film)|The Face at the Window]]'' (1919) while stories featuring ghosts would appear in ''[[The Guyra Ghost Mystery|Guyra Ghost Mystery]]'' (1921).{{sfn |Shelley |2012 |p=9}} By 1913, the more prolific era of Australian cinema ended with production not returning with heavy input of government finance in the 1970s.{{sfn |Shelley |2012 |p=5-6}} It took until the 1970s for Australia to develop sound film with television films that eventually received theatrical release with ''[[Dead Easy (1970 film)|Dead Easy]]'' (1970) and ''[[Night of Fear (film)|Night of Fear]]'' (1973). ''[[The Cars That Ate Paris]]'' (1974) was the first Australian horror production made for theatrical release.{{sfn |Shelley |2012 |p=9}} 1970s Australian art cinema was funded by state film corporations, who considered them more culturally acceptable than local exploitation films ([[Ozploitation]]), which was part of the Australian phenomenon called the [[cultural cringe]].{{sfn |Shelley |2012 |p=10}} The greater success of genre films like ''[[Mad Max (film)|Mad Max]]'' (1979), ''[[The Last Wave]]'' (1977) and ''[[Patrick (1978 film)|Patrick]]'' (1978) led to the [[Australian Film Commission]] to change its focus to being a more commercial operation. This closed in 1980 as its funding was abused by investors using them as tax avoiding measures. A new development known as the [[Film and television financing in Australia|10BA tax shelter scheme]] was developed ushering a slew of productions, leading to what Peter Shelley, author of ''Australian Horror Films'', suggested meant "making a profit was more important than making a good film."{{sfn |Shelley |2012 |p=10}} Shelley called these films derivative of "American films and presenting generic American material".{{sfn |Shelley |2012 |p=10}} These films included the horror film productions of [[Antony I. Ginnane]].{{sfn |Odell |Le Blanc |2007 |p=192}} While Australia would have success with international films between the mid-1980s and the 2000s, less than five horror films were produced in the country between 1993 and 2000.{{sfn |Shelley |2012 |p=12}}{{sfn |Withers |2016}} It was only after the success of ''[[Wolf Creek (film)|Wolf Creek]]'' (2005) that a new generation of filmmakers would continuously make horror genre films in Australia that continued into the 2010s.{{sfn |Shelley |2012 |p=12}}{{sfn |Withers |2016}}

==== New Zealand ====
By 2005, [[Cinema of New Zealand|New Zealand]] has produced around 190 feature films, with about 88% of them being made after 1976.{{sfn |Conrich |2005 |p=115}} New Zealand horror film history was described by Philip Matthews of [[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] as making "po-faced gothic and now we do horror for laughs."{{sfn |Matthews |2017}} Among the earliest known New Zealand horror films productions are ''[[Strange Behavior]]'' (1981), a co-production with Australia and ''[[Death Warmed Up]]'' (1984) a single production.{{sfn |Conrich |2005 |p=117}} Early features such as [[Melanie Read]]'s ''[[Trial Run (1984 film)|Trial Run]]'' (1984) where a mother is sent to remote cottage to photograph penguins and finds it habitat to haunted spirits, and Gaylene Preston's ''[[Mr. Wrong (1984 film)|Mr. Wrong]]'' (1984) purchases a car that is haunted by its previous owner.{{sfn |Conrich |2005 |p=116}} Other films imitate American slasher and splatter films with ''[[Bridge to Nowhere (film)|Bridge to Nowhere]]'' (1986), and the early films of [[Peter Jackson]] who combined splatter films with comedy with ''[[Bad Taste]]'' (1988) and ''[[Braindead (film)|Braindead]]'' (1992) which has the largest following of the mentioned films.{{sfn |Conrich |2005 |p=117}} Film producer [[Ant Timpson]] had an influence curating New Zealand horror films, creating the Incredibly Strange Film Festival in the 1990s and producing his own horror films over the 2010s including ''[[The ABCs of Death]]'' (2012), ''[[Deathgasm]]'' (2015), and ''[[Housebound (2014 film)|Housebound]]'' (2014).{{sfn |Matthews |2017}} Timpson noted the latter horror entries from New Zealand are all humorous films like ''[[What We Do in the Shadows]]'' (2014) with [[Jonathan King (film director)|Jonathan King]], director of ''[[Black Sheep (2006 New Zealand film)|Black Sheep]]'' (2006) and ''[[The Tattooist]]'' (2007) stating "I'd love to see a genuinely scary New Zealand film but I don't know if New Zealand audiences – or the funding bodies – are keen."{{sfn |Matthews |2017}}

=== North America ===
==== Mexico ====
{{Main|Horror films of Mexico}}
After the 1931 release of an American-produced Spanish-language version of ''[[Dracula (1931 Spanish-language film)|Dracula]]'' by [[George Melford]] for the Latin-American market employing Mexican actors, Mexican horror films were produced throughout the 1930s and 1940s, often reflecting on the overarching theme of [[Relationship between religion and science|science vs. religion conflict]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Green |first=Doyle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=niNzBgAAQBAJ |title=Mexploitation Cinema: A Critical History of Mexican Vampire, Wrestler, Ape-Man and similar films, 1957-1977 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company, Inc.]] |year=2005 |isbn=0-7864-2201-7}}</ref> Ushered by the release of ''[[El vampiro]]'', the Mexploitation horror film era started in 1957, with films characterised by their low production values and camp appeal, often featuring vampires, wrestlers, and Aztec mummies.{{Sfn |Green |2005 |pp=6-9}} A key figure in the Mexican horror scene (particularly in [[Germán Robles]]-starred vampire films) was producer [[Abel Salazar (actor)|Abel Salazar]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Flores |first=Silvana |year=2018 |title=Entre monstruos, leyendas ancestrales y luchadores populares: La inserción del Santo en el cine fantástico mexicano |url=https://revistas.uam.es/secuencias/article/view/secuencias2018.48.001/11722 |journal=Secuencias |location=Madrid |publisher=[[Autonomous University of Madrid|UAM Ediciones]] |page=17 |doi=10.15366/secuencias2018.48.001 |hdl=10486/690219 |issn=1134-6795 |s2cid=213113335 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> The late 1960s saw the advent of the prominence of [[Carlos Enrique Taboada]] as an standout Mexican horror filmmaker, with films such as ''[[Hasta el viento tiene miedo]]'' (1967), ''[[El libro de piedra]]'' (1968), ''[[Más negro que la noche]]'' (1975) or ''[[Veneno para las hadas]]'' (1984).{{Sfn |García Ruiz |2019 |pp=41–42}} Mexican horror cinema has been noted for the mashup of classic gothic and romantic themes and characters with autochthonous features of the Mexican culture such as the [[Ranchería]] setting, the colonial past or the myth of [[La Llorona]] (shared with other Hispanic-American nations).<ref>{{Cite book |last=García Ruiz |first=Pedro Enrique |url=http://ru.atheneadigital.filos.unam.mx/jspui/bitstream/FFYL_UNAM/33/2/cinemexicanoyfilosofia.pdf |title=Cine mexicano y filosofía |publisher=[[Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México]] |year=2019 |isbn=978-607-30-2039-8 |location=Ciudad de México |page=40 |chapter=El cine de terror mexicano: más que romanticismo y gótico}}</ref>

Horror has proven to be a dependable genre at the Mexican box office in the 21st-century, with Mexico ranking as having the world's largest relative popularity of the genre among viewers (ahead of South Korea), according to a 2016 research.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gallón |first=Angélica |date=26 August 2022 |title=¿Qué dice de México que sea el primer país del mundo que más cine de terror consume? |url=https://elpais.com/mexico/2022-08-26/que-dice-de-mexico-que-sea-el-primer-pais-del-mundo-que-mas-cine-de-terror-consume.html |website=[[El País]]}}</ref>

==Effects on audiences==
=== Psychological effects ===

In a study done by Uri Hasson et al., brain waves were observed via [[functional magnetic resonance imaging]] (fMRI). This study used the inter-subject correlation analysis (ISC) method of determining results. It was shown that audience members tend to focus on certain facets in a particular scene simultaneously and tend to sit as still as possible while watching horror films.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hasson |first1=Uri |last2=Landesman |first2=Ohad |last3=Knappmeyer |first3=Barbara |last4=Vallines |first4=Ignacio |last5=Rubin |first5=Nava |last6=Heeger |first6=David J. |date=2008-06-01 |title=Neurocinematics: The Neuroscience of Film |url=https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/projections/2/1/proj020102.xml |journal=Projections |language=en-US |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1–26 |doi=10.3167/proj.2008.020102 |issn=1934-9696 |s2cid=5680951 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In another study done by John Greene and Glenn Sparks, it was found that the audience tends to experience the [[Excitation-transfer theory|excitation transfer process]] (ETP) which causes a physiological arousal in audience members. The ETP refers to the feelings experienced immediately after an emotion-arousing experience, such as watching a horror film. In this case, audience members' heart rate, blood pressure and respiration all increased while watching films with violence. Audience members with positive feedback regarding the horror film have feelings similar to happiness or joy felt with friends, but intensified. Alternatively, audience members with negative feedback regarding the film would typically feel emotions they would normally associate with negative experiences in their life.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Greene |first1=John O. |last2=Sparks |first2=Glenn G. |date=1983 |title=The role of outcome expectations in the experience of a state of communication apprehension |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01463378309369506 |journal=Communication Quarterly |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=212–219 |doi=10.1080/01463378309369506 |issn=0146-3373}}</ref>

Only about 10% of the American population enjoy the physiological rush felt immediately after watching horror films.<ref>{{Cite web |last=admin-risepoint |date=2020-07-13 |title=The Psychology of Fear |url=https://online.csp.edu/resources/article/pyschology-of-fear/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=CSP Global |language=en-US}}</ref> The population that does not enjoy horror films could experience emotional fallout similar to that of [[Post-traumatic stress disorder|PTSD]] if the environment reminds them of particular scenes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=de Araújo |first1=Alexandre Xavier Gomes |last2=Luz |first2=Mariana Pires |last3=Berger |first3=William |last4=Pagotto |first4=Luiz Felipe |last5=Figueira |first5=Ivan |last6=Mendlowicz |first6=Mauro V. |date=2019 |title=Can horror movies induce PTSD-like syndrome? |url=http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1415-47142019000200360&tlng=en |journal=Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=360–375 |doi=10.1590/1415-4714.2019v22n2p360.11 |issn=1984-0381}}</ref>

A 2021 study suggested horror films that explore [[grief]] can provide psychological benefits to the bereaved, with the genre well suited to representing grief through its genre conventions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Millar |first1=Becky |last2=Lee |first2=Jonny |date=2021-07-01 |title=Horror Films and Grief |journal=Emotion Review |language=en |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=171–182 |doi=10.1177/17540739211022815 |issn=1754-0739 |s2cid=235779574 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Physical effects ===
In a study by Medes et al., prolonged exposure to [[infrasound]] and low-frequency noise (<500&nbsp;Hz) in long durations has an effect on vocal range (i.e. longer exposure tends to form a lower phonation frequency range).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bonanca |first1=Iris |last2=Caetano |first2=Marlene |last3=Castelo Branco |first3=NunoA.A. |last4=Ferraria |first4=Renata |last5=Graca |first5=Andreia |last6=Jorge |first6=Ana |last7=Mendes |first7=Ana P |last8=Oliveira |first8=Nadia |last9=Santos |first9=Carolina |last10=Alves-Pereira |first10=Mariana |year=2014 |title=Voice acoustic profile of males exposed to occupational infrasound and low-frequency noise |journal=Journal of Laryngology and Voice |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=12 |doi=10.4103/2230-9748.141460 |hdl=10400.26/14507 |s2cid=53399379 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free}}</ref> Another study by Baliatsas et al. observed that there is a correlation between exposure to infrasound and low-frequency noises and sleep-related problems.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baliatsas |first1=Christos |last2=van Kamp |first2=Irene |last3=van Poll |first3=Ric |last4=Yzermans |first4=Joris |date=July 2016 |title=Health effects from low-frequency noise and infrasound in the general population: Is it time to listen? A systematic review of observational studies |url=https://www.nivel.nl/nl/publicaties/6138 |journal=Science of the Total Environment |volume=557-558 |pages=163–169 |bibcode=2016ScTEn.557..163B |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.065 |pmid=26994804}}</ref> Though most horror films keep the audio around 20–30&nbsp;Hz, the noise can still be unsettling in long durations.<ref name="Ranker"/>

Another technique used in horror films to provoke a response from the audience is [[cognitive dissonance]], which is when someone experiences tension in themselves and is urged to relieve that tension.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dissonance theory |url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Dissonance+theory |access-date=2019-11-22 |website=TheFreeDictionary.com}}</ref> Dissonance is the clashing of unpleasant or harsh sounds.<ref>{{Citation |title=dissonance |work=The Free Dictionary |url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/dissonance |access-date=2019-11-22}}</ref> A study by Prete et al. identified that the ability to recognize dissonance relied on the left hemisphere of the brain, while consonance relied on the right half.<ref name="Prete-2015">{{cite journal |last1=Prete |first1=Giulia |last2=Fabri |first2=Mara |last3=Foschi |first3=Nicoletta |last4=Brancucci |first4=Alfredo |last5=Tommasi |first5=Luca |date=4 May 2015 |title=The 'consonance effect' and the hemispheres: A study on a split-brain patient |journal=Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=257–269 |doi=10.1080/1357650X.2014.959525 |pmid=25256169 |s2cid=31138548}}</ref> There is a stronger preference for consonance; this difference is noticeable even in early stages of life.<ref name="Prete-2015" /> Previous musical experience also can influence a dislike for dissonance.<ref name="Prete-2015" />

[[Skin conductance response]]s (SCRs), heart rate (HR), and [[Electromyography|electromyographic]] (EMG) responses vary in response to emotional stimuli, showing higher for [[negative emotion]]s in what is known as the "negative bias."<ref name="Dellacherie-2011">{{cite journal |last1=Dellacherie |first1=Delphine |last2=Roy |first2=Mathieu |last3=Hugueville |first3=Laurent |last4=Peretz |first4=Isabelle |last5=Samson |first5=Séverine |date=March 2011 |title=The effect of musical experience on emotional self-reports and psychophysiological responses to dissonance: Psychophysiology of musical emotion |journal=Psychophysiology |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=337–349 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01075.x |pmid=20701708}}</ref> When applied to dissonant music, HR decreases (as a bodily form of adaptation to harsh stimulation), SCR increases, and EMG responses in the face are higher.<ref name="Dellacherie-2011" /> The typical reactions go through a two-step process of first orienting to the problem (the slowing of HR), then a defensive process (a stronger increase in SCR and an increase in HR).<ref name="Dellacherie-2011" /> This initial response can sometimes result in a [[fight-or-flight response]], which is the characteristic of dissonance that horror films rely on to frighten and unsettle viewers.<ref name="Ranker" />

== Reception ==

=== In film criticism ===
{{See also|Vulgar auteurism}}
Critic [[Robin Wood (critic)|Robin Wood]] was not the first film critic to take the horror film seriously, but his article ''Return of the Repressed'' in 1978 helped inaugurate the horror film into academic study as a genre.{{sfn |Peirse |Martin |2013 |p=7}} Wood later stated that he was surprised that his work, as well as the writing of Richard Lippe and Andrew Britton would receive "historic importance" intellectual views of the film genre.{{sfn |Peirse |Martin |2013 |p=7}} William Paul in his book ''Laughing Screaming'' comments that "the negative definition of the lower works would have it that they are less subtle than higher genres. More positively, it could be said that they are more direct. Where lower forms are explicit, higher forms tend to operate more by indirection. Because of this indirection the higher forms are often regarded as being more metaphorical, and consequently more resonant, more open to the exegetical analyses of the academic industry."{{sfn |Paul |1994 |p=32}}

Steffen Hantke noted that academic criticism about horror cinema had "always operated under duress" noting that challenges in legitimizing its subject, finding "career-minded academics might have always suspected that they were studying something that was ultimately too frivolous, garish, and sensationalistic to warrant serious critical attention".{{sfn |Hantke |2007}}

Some commentary has suggested that horror films have been underrepresented or underappreciated as serious works worthy of [[film criticism]] and major films awards.<ref>{{cite web |last=Barber |first=Nicholas |date=14 June 2018 |title=Is horror the most disrespected genre? |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180614-is-horror-the-most-disrespected-genre |access-date=2021-12-20 |publisher=BBC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Davis |first=Clayton |date=2020-10-02 |title=Horror and the Academy: 13 Times the Oscars Could Have Embraced the Genre |url=https://variety.com/2020/film/awards/academy-awards-horror-movies-the-exorcist-1234786184/ |access-date=2021-12-20 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> As of 2025, only seven horror films have been nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]], with [[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|''The Silence of the Lambs'']] being the sole winner.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-23 |title=Oscars 2025: Is the Academy finally taking horror seriously? |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/oscars-2025-academy-taking-horror-seriously/ |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}</ref> However, horror films have still won major awards.<ref>{{cite web |date=2020-02-25 |title=15 Horror Films That Won Major Awards |url=https://screenrant.com/horror-films-won-major-awards-get-out-rosemarys-baby/ |access-date=2021-12-20 |website=ScreenRant |language=en-US}}</ref>

Critics have also commented on the [[Gender in horror films|representation of women]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Linz |first1=Daniel G. |last2=Donnerstein |first2=Edward |author-link2=Edward Donnerstein |last3=Penrod |first3=Steven |year=1988 |title=Effects of long-term exposure to violent and sexually degrading depictions of women. |url=http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/0022-3514.55.5.758 |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |language=en |volume=55 |issue=5 |pages=758–768 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.55.5.758 |issn=1939-1315 |pmid=3210143 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Clover |first=Carol J. |date=1987-10-01 |title=Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film |url=https://online.ucpress.edu/representations/article/doi/10.2307/2928507/82266/Her-Body-Himself-Gender-in-the-Slasher-Film |journal=Representations |language=en |volume=20 |issue=20 |pages=187–228 |doi=10.2307/2928507 |issn=0734-6018 |jstor=2928507 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Spines">{{cite magazine |last=Spines |first=Christine |title=Chicks dig scary movies |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2009/07/24/chicks-dig-scary-movies |access-date=15 April 2012 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}}</ref><ref name="Nowell">{{cite journal |last1=Nowell |first1=Richard |year=2011 |title='There's More Than One Way to Lose Your Heart': The American Film Industry, Early Teen Slasher Films, and Female Youth |journal=Cinema Journal |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=115–140 |doi=10.1353/cj.2011.0073 |jstor=41342285 |s2cid=144874450 |id={{Gale|A277106285}}}}</ref> and [[Disability in horror films|disability]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Sutton |first=Travis |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118883648.ch5 |title=A Companion to the Horror Film |date=2014-09-09 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-470-67260-0 |editor-last=Benshoff |editor-first=Harry M. |edition=1 |pages=73–89 |language=en |chapter=Avenging the Body: Disability in the Horror Film |doi=10.1002/9781118883648.ch5 |access-date=2022-09-30 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> in horror films, as well as the [[Race in horror films|prevalence of racial stereotypes]].<ref>{{cite web |date=2019-02-07 |title=From Blacula to Get Out: the documentary examining black horror |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/feb/07/horror-noire-documentary-black-horror |access-date=2021-12-21 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Means Coleman |first=Robin R. |url=http://archive.org/details/horrornoireblack0000mean |title=Horror noire : blacks in American horror films from the 1890s to present |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge  |isbn=978-0-415-88019-0 |location=New York |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

=== Censorship ===

Many horror films have been the subject of [[moral panic]], [[Film censorship|censorship]] and legal controversy.

In the United Kingdom, [[Film censorship in the United Kingdom|film censorship]] has frequently been applied to horror films.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kermode |first=Mark |title=British Horror Cinema |date=2001 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-99676-8 |editor=Steve Chibnall, Julian Petley |chapter=The British censors and horror cinema |doi=10.4324/9780203996768 |access-date=2021-12-22 |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203996768-5/british-censors-horror-cinema-mark-kermode}}</ref> A moral panic over several [[Slasher film|slasher]] films in the 1980s led to many of them being banned but released on videotape; the phenomenon became popularly termed "[[Video nasty|video nasties]]".<ref>{{cite web |date=2014-07-11 |title=Film censorship: How moral panic led to a mass ban of 'video nasties' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/film-censorship-how-moral-panic-led-to-a-mass-ban-of-video-nasties-9600998.html |access-date=2021-12-22 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=9 December 2014 |title=Looking Back at Britain's Moral Panic Over Slasher Flicks |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/video-nasty-frankie-mullin-045/ |access-date=2021-12-22 |website=Vice (magazine) |language=en}}</ref> Constraints on permitted subject matter in [[Cinema of Indonesia|Indonesian films]] has also influenced [[Indonesian horror|Indonesian horror films]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Heeren |first=Katinka van |date=2007-06-01 |title=Return of the Kyai: representations of horror, commerce, and censorship in post-Suharto Indonesian film and television |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13583880701238688 |journal=Inter-Asia Cultural Studies |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=211–226 |doi=10.1080/13583880701238688 |issn=1464-9373 |s2cid=145086314 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In March 2008, [[Film censorship in China|China banned]] all horror films from its market.<ref>{{cite web |date=2008-03-25 |title=Feature: China bans horror movies |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-03/25/content_6564049.htm |website=China Daily}}</ref>

In the U.S., the [[Motion Picture Production Code]] which was implemented in 1930, set moral guidelines for film content, restraining movies containing controversial themes, graphic violence, explicit sexuality and/or nudity. The gradual abandonment of the Code, and its eventual formal repeal in 1968 (when it was replaced by the [[Motion Picture Association of America film rating system|MPAA film rating system]])<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hunt |first1=Kristin |date=February 28, 2018 |title=The End of American Film Censorship |url=https://daily.jstor.org/end-american-film-censorship/ |access-date=June 30, 2022 |website=JSTOR Daily}}</ref> offered more freedom to the movie industry.

== References ==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

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* {{cite web |last=Gibron |first=Bill |date=July 31, 2013 |title=What Exactly is a "Psychological" Horror Film? |url=https://www.popmatters.com/173980-what-exactly-is-psychological-horror-2495736567.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817231014/https://www.popmatters.com/173980-what-exactly-is-psychological-horror-2495736567.html |archivedate=August 17, 2018 |access-date=July 2, 2024 |work=[[PopMatters]]}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gregersdotter |first1=Katarina |title=Animal Horror Cinema: Genre, History and Criticism |last2=Hoglund |first2=Johan |last3=Hallen |first3=Nicklas |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-349-55349-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Halle |first=Randall |title=Light Motives: German Popular Film in Perspective |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=2003 |isbn=0-8143-3044-4 |chapter=Unification Horror: Queer Desire and Uncanny Visions}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hand |first1=Richard J. |title=Gothic Film: An Edinburgh Companion |last2=McRoy |first2=Richard J. |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-4744-4804-8 |chapter=Introduction}}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-ehQgAACAAJ&q=overlook+film+encyclopedia |title=The Overlook Film Encyclopedia |publisher=[[Overlook Press]] |year=1995 |isbn=0-87951-624-0 |editor-last=Hardy |editor-first=Phil |editor-link=Phil Hardy (journalist) |volume=3}}
* {{cite journal |last=Hantke |first=Steffan |year=2007 |title=Academic Film Criticism, the Rhetoric of Crisis, and the Current State of American Horror Cinema: Thoughts on Canonicity and Academic Anxiety |journal=College Literature |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=191–202 |doi=10.1353/lit.2007.0045 |s2cid=170518242}}
* {{cite book |last=Hawkins |first=Joan |title=Cutting Edge: Art-horror and the Horrrific Avant-garde |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=2000}}
* {{cite book |last=Heffernan
  |first=Kevin
  |title=Ghouls, Gimmicks, and Gold: Horror Films and the American Movie Business, 1953–1968
  |publisher=[[Duke University Press]]
  |year=2004
  |isbn=0822385554
}}
* {{cite book |last=Heller-Nicholas |first=Alexandra |title=Found Footage Horror Films |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-7864-7077-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Jancovich |first=Mark |title=Horror |publisher=B. T. Batsford Ltd. |year=1992 |isbn=0-7134-6820-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Jancovich |first=Mark |title=American Horror From 1951 to the Present |publisher=Keele University Press |year=1994 |isbn=1-85331-149-9}}
* {{cite journal |last=Jancovich |first=Mark |year=2000 |title='A Real Shocker': Authenticity, Genre and the Struggle for Distinction |journal=Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=23–35 |doi=10.1080/713657675 |issn=1030-4312 |s2cid=144833572}}
* {{cite book |last=Jancovich |first=Mark |title=The Shifting Definitions of Genre: Essays on Labeling Films, Television Shows and Media |publisher=McFarland |year=2008 |editor-last1=Geraghty |editor-first1=Lincoln |chapter=Pale Shadows; Narrative Hierarchies in the Historiography of 1940s Horror |editor-last2=Janovich |editor-first2=Mark}}
* {{cite book |last=Jones |first=Steve |title=Torture Porn: Popular Horror After Saw |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-230-31941-7}}
* {{cite journal |last=Jurgess |first=Todd |year=2022 |title=Videotape, Guinea Pig, and the Horror of Privacy |journal=JCMS: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies |publisher=Michigan Publishing |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=88–109 |doi=10.1353/cj.2022.0017 |s2cid=246436799}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Kuhn |first1=Annette |title=A dictionary of film studies |last2=Westwell |first2=Guy |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-174442-6 |edition=1st |location=Oxford}}
* {{cite journal |last=La Marca |first=Paolo |year=2024 |title=Horror Manga: Themes and Stylistics of Japanese Horror Comics |journal=[[List of MDPI academic journals|Humanities]] |volume=13 |issue=8}}
* {{cite web |last=LaCava |first=Stephanie |date=October 7, 2021 |title=Julia Ducournau on Titane |url=https://www.screenslate.com/articles/julia-ducournau-titane |access-date=January 20, 2021 |work=Screen Slate}}
* {{cite book |last=Lazaro-Reboll |first=Antonio |title=Spanish Horror Film |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7486-3638-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Lucas |first=Tim |author-link=Tim Lucas |title=Mario Bava - All the Colors of the Dark |publisher=Video Watchdog |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-9633756-1-2}}
* {{Cite AV media notes |first=Tim |author-link=Tim Lucas
 |title       =The Two Faces of Black Sabbath
 |year        =2013b
 |page        =15
 |last      =Lucas  |type        =booklet
 |publisher   =Arrow Films
 |id          =FCD778
}}
* {{cite book |last=Mank |first=Gregory William |title=Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff: The Expanded Story of a Haunting Collaboration, with a Complete Filmography of Their Films Together |publisher=McFarland |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7864-5472-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Martin |first=Daniel |title=Hong Kong Horror Cinema |publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4744-2460-8 |editor-last1=Bettinson |editor-first1=Gary |chapter=The Enduring Cult of The Bride with White Hair: Chivalry and the monstrous Other in the Hong Kong Fantasy-Horror |editor-last2=Martin |editor-first2=Daniel}}
* {{cite book |last1=Marriott |first1=James |author-link1=James Marriott (author) |title=The Definitive Guide to Horror Movies |last2=Newman |first2=Kim |author-link2=Kim Newman |publisher=[[Carlton Publishing Group|Carlton Books]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-78739-139-0 |location=London |orig-date=1st pub. 2006}}
* {{cite web |last=Matthews |first=Philip |date=October 30, 2017 |title=What are You Afraid of? The New Horror Movie Renaissance |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/97782112/what-are-you-afraid-of-the-new-horror-movie-renaissance |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130080610/https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/97782112/what-are-you-afraid-of-the-new-horror-movie-renaissance |archive-date=November 30, 2017 |access-date=January 21, 2021 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Means Coleman |first=Robin R |title=Horror Noire: A History of Black American Horror from the 1890s to Present |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-367-76719-8 |location=Oxford}}
* {{cite web |last=Mendelson |first=Scott |date=September 11, 2017 |title=Box Office: Stephen King's 'It' Scared Up A Monstrous $123M Weekend. |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2017/09/11/it-box-office-pennywise-is-bigger-than-jesus-with-a-123m-weekend/?sh=f19faa15c855 |access-date=July 13, 2018 |work=[[Forbes]]}}
* {{cite book |last=Muir |first=John Kenneth |title=Horror Films of the 1980s |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7864-2821-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Muir |first=John Kenneth |title=Horror Films of the 1990s |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7864-4012-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Muir |first=John Kenneth |title=Horror Films of the 1970s |publisher=McFarland |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7864-9156-8}}
* {{cite journal |last=Nair |first=Kartik |year=2012 |title=Taste, Taboo, Trash: The Story of the Ramsay Brothers |journal=BioScope |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=123–145 |doi=10.1177/097492761200300203 |s2cid=144146193}}
* {{Cite web |last=Newby |first=Richard |date=2018-12-21 |title=The Strange Appeal of Christmas Horror |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/why-christmas-horror-movies-appeal-audiences-1171409/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203141537/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/why-christmas-horror-movies-appeal-audiences-1171409/ |archive-date=December 3, 2023 |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |language=en-US}}
* {{cite book |last=Newman |first=Kim |title=Cat People |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-85170-741-9 |orig-date=1st pub. 1999}}
* {{cite book |last=Newman |first=Kim |title=Nightmare Movies |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4088-0503-9 |orig-date=1st pub. 1988}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Newman |first=Kim |date=November 2020 |title=Planet Terror: The Year in Horror |magazine=Sight & Sound |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |volume=30 |issue=9}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Newman |first=Kim |date=January 2020c |title=This Year in Horror |magazine=Sight & Sound |publisher=British Film Institute |volume=30 |issue=1}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Newman |first=Kim |date=November 2020b |title=Wide Angle: Exploring the Bigger Picture |magazine=Sight & Sound |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |volume=30 |issue=9}}
* {{cite web |last1=Nguyen |first1=Hanh |date=31 December 2018 |title='One Cut of the Dead': A Bootleg of the Japanese Zombie Comedy Mysteriously Appeared on Amazon |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/12/amazon-one-cut-of-the-dead-zombie-bootleg-movie-pirated-1202031415/ |access-date=2 March 2019 |work=[[IndieWire]]}}
* {{cite book |last=O'Brien |first=Daniel |title=Spooky Encounters: A Gwailo's Guide to Hong Kong Horror |publisher=Critical Vision |year=2003 |isbn=1-900486-31-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=Odell |first1=Colin |author1-link=Michelle Le Blanc and Colin Odell |title=Horror Films |last2=Le Blanc |first2=Michelle |author2-link=Michelle Le Blanc and Colin Odell |publisher=[[Kamera Books]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-84243-218-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Olney |first=Ian |title=Euro Horror: Classic European Horror Cinmea in Contemporary American Culture |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-253-00648-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Paul |first=William |title=Laughing Screaming: Modern Hollywood Horror and Comedy |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1994}}
* {{cite book |last1=Peirse |first1=Alison |title=Korean Horror Cinema |last2=Martin |first2=Daniel |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-7486-4310-3 |chapter=Introduction}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pinedo |first=Isabel |title=Recreational Terror: Women and the Pleasures of Horror Film Viewing. |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1997 |isbn=0791434427}}
* {{cite book |last=Powell |first=Anna |title=Deleuze and Horror Film |publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]] |year=2005}}
* {{cite book |last=Prawer |first=Siegbert Solomon |title=Caligari's Children: The Film as Tale of Terror |publisher=Da Capo |year=1989 |isbn=0-306-80347-X |orig-date=1st pub. 1980}}
* {{cite book |last=Prince |first=Stephen |title=The Horror Film |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-8135-3363-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Rhodes |first=Gary D. |author-link=Gary D. Rhodes |title=Tod Browning's Dracula |publisher=Tomahawk Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-9566834-5-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=Rhodes |first1=Gary D. |title=No Traveler Returns: The Lost Years of Bela Lugosi |last2=Kaffenberger |first2=Bill |publisher=BearManor Media |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-59393-285-5 |edition=Kindle}}
* {{cite journal |last=Rhodes |first=Gary D. |year=2018b |title="Horror Film": How the Term Came to Be |url=https://www.monstrum-society.ca/uploads/4/1/7/5/41753139/rhodes_-_horror_film_-_monstrum_1.pdf |journal=Monstrum |volume=1 |issue=1 |issn=2561-5629 |access-date=October 14, 2022}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Rockoff |first=Adam |date=November–December 2003 |title=Yuletide Terror |magazine=[[Rue Morgue (magazine)|Rue Morgue]] |publisher=Marrs Media Inc |issue=36 |issn=1481-1103}}
* {{cite web |last=Salvi |first=Pooja |date=October 28, 2018 |title=Have you ever wondered what the Ramsays are doing? We find out |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/just-before-monday/report-have-you-ever-wondered-what-the-ramsays-are-doing-we-find-out-2680042 |publisher=DNA India}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Sélavy |first=Virginie |date=November 2020 |title=The Psychedelic Renaissance: The Enduring Influence of 1970s Horror |magazine=Sight & Sound |publisher=British Film Institute |volume=30 |issue=9}}
* {{cite book |last=Shary |first=Timothy |title=Teen Movies: American Youth on Screen |publisher=Wallflower |year=2005 |isbn=1 904764-49-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Shelley |first=Peter |title=Australian Horror Films, 1973-2010 |publisher=McFarland |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7864-6167-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Shipka |first=Danny |title=Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960–1980 |date=2011 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-4888-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Tsang |first=Raymond |title=Hong Kong Horror Cinema |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4744-2460-8 |editor-last1=Bettinson |editor-first1=Gary |chapter=What Can a ''Neoi Gwei'' Teach Us? Adaptation as Reincarnation in Hong Kong Horror of the 1950s |editor-last2=Martin |editor-first2=Daniel}}
* {{cite book |last=Tudor |first=Andrew |title=Monsters and Mad Scientists : A Cultural History of the Horror Movie |date=1991 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=063116992X}}
* {{Cite web |last=Ulaby |first=Neda |date=12 December 2015 |title=Oh Holy Fright: Christmas Horror Movies That Slay |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/12/12/459204220/oh-holy-fright-christmas-horror-movies-that-slay |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115193643/https://www.npr.org/2015/12/12/459204220/oh-holy-fright-christmas-horror-movies-that-slay |archive-date=November 15, 2023 |website=[[NPR]]}}
* {{cite book |last1=Weaver |first1=Tom |title=Universal Horrors |last2=Brunas |first2=Michael |last3=Brunas |first3=John |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7864-2974-5 |edition=2 |orig-date=1990}}
* {{cite book |last=Walker |first=Johnny |title=Italian Horror Cinema |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-7486-9353-5 |editor-last1=Baschiera |editor-first1=Stefano |chapter=4. Knowing the Unknown Beyond 'Italianate' and 'Italian' Horror Cinema in the Twenty-First Century |editor-last2=Hunter |editor-first2=Russ}}
* {{cite journal |last=Werbeck |first=Kai-Uwe |year=2016 |title=The State vs. Buttgereit and Ittenbach: Censorship and Subversion in German No-Budget Horror Film |journal=Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts |volume=27 |issue=3}}
* {{cite book |last=West |first=Alexandra |title=Films of the New French Extremity |publisher=McFarland |year=2016 |isbn=9781476663487}}
* {{cite book |last=West |first=Alexandra |title=The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle: Final Girls and a New Hollywood Formula |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4766-7064-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Willis |first=Andy |title=Hong Kong Horror Cinema |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4744-2460-8 |editor-last1=Bettinson |editor-first1=Gary |chapter=From Killer Snakes to Taxi Hunters: Hong Kong Horror in an Exploitation Context |editor-last2=Martin |editor-first2=Daniel}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wynter |first=Kevin |title=Transnational Horror Cinema. Bodies of Excess and the Global Grotesque |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-137-58416-8 |editor-last=Siddique |editor-first=Sophia |page=44 |chapter=An Introduction to the Continental Horror Film |doi=10.1057/978-1-137-58417-5 |editor-last2=Raphael |editor-first2=Raphael}}
* {{cite web |last=Withers |first=Ned Athol |date=January 18, 2016 |title=The 10 Best Australian Films of The 21st Century |url=http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2016/the-10-best-australian-films-of-the-21st-century/ |access-date=January 21, 2021 |work=Taste of Cinema}}
* {{cite book |last=Worland |first=Rick |title=The Horror Film: A Brief Introduction |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4051-3902-1}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Dixon, Wheeler Winston. ''A History of Horror''. (Rutgers University Press; 2010), {{ISBN|978-0-8135-4796-1}}.
* Steffen Hantke, ed. ''American Horror Film: The Genre at the Turn of the Millennium'' (University Press of Mississippi; 2010), 253 pages.
* Petridis, Sotiris (2014). "[http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/intellect/fint/2014/00000012/00000001/art00007 A Historical Approach to the Slasher Film]". [[Film International]] 12 (1): 76–84.
* Gooch, Joshua. ''Capitalism Hates You: Marxism and the New Horror Film''. (Minnesota University Press, 2025), {{ISBN|978-1-517917975}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?genres=horror&explore=title_type,genres&ref_=tt_ov_inf Horror genre] on [[IMDb]]

{{Horror film}}
{{Film genres}}
{{Filmsbygenre}}
{{Horror fiction}}
{{Goth subculture}}
{{Sister bar|wikt=horror movie|commons=Category:Horror films|s=Portal:Horror films|auto=1}}


[[Category:Film genres]]
[[Category:Horror films| ]]
[[Category:Horror fiction|*]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Horror film|access_date=2026-02-23}}