Genre Timeline:A Psychological Horror

ThrillerBy Morgan Redman

1920s • ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’ • 1920• German film• Master of German expressionism• Silent film (other than music)• Often considered the first psychological horror film• A notable Doctor discovers a way to control the mind of those who sleepwalk

1930s• ‘Freaks’• 1932• American Film• A group of circus freaks; the rich young dwarf falls in love with the beautiful trapeze artist• Not so much scary but instead points to the monsters inside the audience and provides horror in that aspect

1940s• ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’• 1945• Took inspiration from ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’• Thought evoking rather than scary• A young man wishes for his portrait to age rather than his actual person and then falls in and out of love with a young theatre star

1950s• ‘Les Diaboliques’ • 1955• French Film• Biggest inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’• Suspense horror• A wife and her husband’s mistress plan the death of their lover which leads to disturbing incidents and thus she questions her sanity

1960s• ‘Psycho’ • 1960• British film• Took inspiration from ‘Les Diaboliques’• Psychological horror thriller• A young woman is staying in a motel after embezzling money and finds her self staying under the roof of a psychotic male

1970s• ‘Don’t Look Now’ • 1973• Drama horror thriller• Relies on connotation rather than direct horror• A couples daughter dies and brings a message from the grave through a psychic warning that her father is in danger

1980s • ‘The Shining’• 1980• British/ American film• Psychological horror• A former teacher takes over as caretaker of a hotel where his son, with psychic abilities, sees the ghosts who haunt the hotel. After becoming trapped Jack is influenced by the ghosts and tries to murder his wife and son.

1990s• ‘Silence of the Lambs’• 1991• American film• Psychological horror thriller• A young female FBI agent investigates a murderer who skins females and wears their bodies; she does so with the help of manipulative murdering psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter a cannibal. He delves into her psyche and makes her vulnerable.

2000s• ‘American Psycho’• 2000• American Canadian film• Psychological horror slasher• A wealthy handsome male commits a multitude of sexual murders of females and escapes the penalty of his crimes after the evidence disappears

Summary• The psychological horror thriller genre has experienced many changes over the eras, some of these include:

• Advancement from silent films to audio• Advance from black and white to colour• Experiments engaging with audiences• Novel adaptions• Introduction of CGI• High frame rate (48fps rather than 24-30fps)• Larger film size (IMAX 65mm rather than 35mm)• DSLR cameras• Drones (The Shining opening)• Prosthetic make-up improvements