Horror Movies Through The Decades
The Golden Age Of Silent Films: 1920's
Movies were pretty much brand new in this decade and audiences got to experience them for the first time as movie palaces began to pop-up on every city block around the globe, way more exciting than listening to the radio!
Most films before the 1920's have been lost to time and this decade is really when the horror genre was birthed; there are just a few classics we recommend watching: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror (1922), and The Phantom Of The Opera (1925).
Films are silent in this decade, there is no dialogue; you watch a little bit of film, and then a dialogue card will come on screen for you to read what the characters were saying.
The films are also in black & white, no colour, but many have had coloured tints added to them that may change colour throughout the film.
The films are really just theatre productions, with simple sets you would expect taking place on a stage.
The 1st Golden Age Of Horror: 1930's
We make ENORMOUS leaps and bounds in the 1930's.
As the Great Depression ravaged the world, escapist films offered relief from the extreme economic hardship.
Monsters that have only ever been read about in books make their debuts in films; we get INCREDIBLE epics like Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1931), and King Kong (1933).
Films have dialogue and sound now! They called them the "Talkies", but there still isn't colour.
There is so much more to horror movies now than sound; costumes & makeup departments, massive studios for hordes of creatives to craft decadent elaborate sets, lighting & sound, practical effects!
With the popularity of private automobiles surging, drive-in movie theatres are popping up, changing the way people watched horror films, now you can hold your sweetie tight in the privacy of your own car.
The Dark Age Of Horror: 1940's
As the 2nd World War rages, film budgets are scaled back and interest in horror films wains as the public craves happier stories.
This decade in horror is all about monsters and crossovers between monster franchises; The Wolf Man (1941), The Mummy's Hand (1940), and Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) to name a few.
Films can be made in colour but most are still made in Black & White.
Our first typecast actors emerge: Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, and Edith Barrett.
Sci-Fi Mania: 1950's
The rise of television decimates Movie attendance, thousands of movie theatres close worldwide, but widescreen formats and Technicolor lure audiences back, mostly to drive-in theatres where families could enjoy the privacy and comfort of their large cars.
In the years after The Roswell Alien Incident, people looked up to the skies with fear and wondered what could be out in the universe; film makers capitalize on this with many films about alien invasion and space travel.
We get epic sci-fi films like The Blob (1958), It Came From Outer Space (1953), and Forbidden Planet (1956).
Many Black & White films are still being created, like the classic, Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) and The Alligator People (1959)
We also get our first comedies in this decade, comedians Abott & Costello bring their humour to horror crossovers.
New Wave Cinema: 1960's
We are exploring new things in horror, the monsters and aliens fizzle out of popularity.
In theatres & drive-ins, films are shown two at time in double features, and frequently had props and special effects in theatre.
Hitchcock births the slasher genre with his film Psycho (1960), Little Shop Of Horrors (1960) wows audiences with its puppeteered plant monster, and Romero creates the zombie genre with his film Night Of The Living Dead (1968).
Romero also casts the first POC in a lead role in horror, Duane Jones, in Night Of The Living Dead (1968).
The Blockbuster Era: 1970's
As the world is going through rapid social change, a culture war erupts between those casting off religion and tradition, and those fighting to keep things the way they have always been; horror franchises emerge, not seen since the 1930's, film studios begin pumping out sequels.
The paranormal genre emerges with religious films like The Exorcist (1973) and The Omen (1976), and religious people are not happy.
Audiences are horrified by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), which creates the "Grindhouse" sub genre, and depicts violence like never seen before.
This decade is by far the most obsessed with Dracula, several Dracula films came out every year of the 1970's, Blood For Dracula (1974) is a standout.
The first horror musical, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) creates a new genre, thrilling some and horrifying others with it's queer and sexual themes.
The death of drive-ins begins; the oils crisis sees the size of cars shrink and it is no longer comfortable to watch in films in compact cars.
The 2nd Golden Age Of Horror & Home Video: 1980's
VHS tapes create a new market, and people are watching more films than ever before from the comfort of their own homes.
Slasher mania takes over, a desensitized public craves bloody murders, and epic villains emerge like "Freddy Kreuger" from A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), "Michael Myers" from Halloween (1978), and "Jason Voorhees" from Friday The 13th (1980).
It's not just Slashers, all genres of horror are thriving with massive blockbuster films like The Thing (1982), The Shining (1980), The Evil Dead (1981), Gremlins (1984), The Fly (1986), The Blob (1988), Poltergeist (1982), and so many more.
Technological advances in the film industry are bringing things to life for audiences in ways never dreamed of, especially with special effects gore.
Horror Contempt & Rebirth: 1990's
Audiences have grown tired of horror, plots became repetitive and derivative, "horror tropes" are too predictable and there has been endless unsatisfying sequels.
Independent studios begin to rise and rival Hollywood, diverse voices gain prominence, and new animation made possible with computers revolutionizes film forever.
The Found Footage film The Blair Witch Project (1999) births the genre, but Found Footage won't become a popular sub-genre until next decade; this is the first film to take advantage of the growing popularity of the internet, going viral on burgeoning social media sites like MySpace.
Horror is reborn with the release of the meta-slasher-comedy Scream (1996), which changes everything and re-captures audiences.
Family-friendly horror dominates the box office; films like Edward Scissor Hands (1990), The Addams Family (1991), and Casper (1995) catapult Halloween into a calendar holiday beyond North America.
The Digital Age: 2000's
Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) reaches new heights in film as human technology takes over peoples' lives, we begin to carry computers in our pockets; meanwhile, online streaming service Netflix disrupts and begins to decimate cable tv and movie disc sales, the disc rental store is dying.
Superhero movies gain extreme popularity and dominate along with fantasy franchises like Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings.
The horror spoof film Scary Movie (2000) grabs onto the success of the Scream (1996) franchise and births the horror parody genre.
Zombie mania takes over and becomes the unrivalled favourite horror genre of the decade, with films like 28 Days Later (2002), Shaun Of The Dead (2004), and the remake Dawn Of The Dead (2004).
At the end of the decade, Paranormal Activity (2009) livens up the dormant found footage genre and film makers race to produce more.
The New Millennium: 2010's
90% of people in most modern countries now have internet in their homes, cell phones and ipods have been replaced by smart phones, you can now watch movies on your phone, and children being born grow up emersed in digital technology.
"The Streaming Wars" begin; Netflix and other new streaming services disrupt traditional distribution models, begin to create their own content, and battle for dominance, but they are snubbed at awards ceremonies; the film industry has never been bigger and the public is overwhelmed with content, particularly on television which enters its golden age, trillions is poured into content creation.
Hollywood begins its decline as the never ending thirst for content goes global; new major production centers emerge in London, Toronto, Vancouver, and Australia.
Zombie, superhero, and found footage mania fizzles out midway through the decade, and is replaced with a paranormal craze; Paranormal Activity (2009), The Conjuring (2013) and Insidious (2010) franchises dominate.
Psychological horror emerges as a popular new genre, audiences are thrilled by films like Hereditary (2018), Midsommar (2019), and Us (2019), drawing in new audiences.
The Pandemic & Beyond: 2020's
The COVID-19 virus forces theatres to close, streaming becomes dominant, and questions arise about the future of cinema, as countries try to control the spread of the virus, their citizens are trapped in their homes, and they are streaming more content than was ever thought possible; film studios race to create more content as the pandemic drags on for years, the cast & crews of productions are forced into strict isolation for filming, with frequent shutdowns when there is a virus outbreak.
Psychological horror is still ruling, we can't see the monsters, they are within us; remakes are also very popular this decade but seldom match their originals.
Theatres struggle to regain their customers as audiences have become accustomed to watching films in the comfort of their own homes on giant tv screens.
As artificial intelligence becomes apart of people's lives, many horror films are created to scare audiences, like M3gan (2022), Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022), and Companion (2025).
Want to broaden your knowledge of horror through the decades?
You can search horror movies in our catalog by Decade.
We hope you enjoyed this look at the history of horror movie production.
Stay tuned to our blog for more horror content.
-Pumpkinhead
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