4. Long Proud Heritage
Horror films have been traditionally reviled by the critics, not taken seriously and shunted into a corner. However, Horror films originate from a distinguished cinematic pedigree and have been around almost as long as cinema itself. We have a long proud heritage of films to celebrate. Notable entries go as far back to the early 1900s with the German Expressionist pioneers and films such as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Nosferatu. We then have the release of Dracula and Frankenstein in the 1930s, two films which would establish their subjects as horror film staples for many years. The 1950s bought us terrifying French horror classics - Les Yeux Sans Visage and Les Diaboliques and into the 1960s we had zombie landmark Night of the Living Dead. The 70s were a boon for horror with The Exorcist, The Omen, Rosemary's Baby, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween and Last House on the Left. The 80s were the slasher period - Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday 13th and the 1990s saw irony return to horror with Scream. The new century has brought a lot of exciting developments coming from France (Martyrs, Frontiers), Japan (Ju on, The Grudge) and America and the future of horror looks very interesting indeed.