Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Five Films that Laid the Foundation for the Horror Film

Friday, October 26, 2018, By News Staff
Share
College of Visual and Performing ArtsfacultyResearch and Creative
man walking up steps

“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920, dir. Robert Wiene). Source Credit: British Film Institute

The term “horror film” first appeared in public usage in 1931 after the release of Tod Browning’s “Dracula.” But that doesn’t mean monsters and mayhem were not regularly seen on the silver screen during the silent era.

Kendall Phillips, professor of communication and rhetorical studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, explains how horror crept into the earliest of movies.

“Early filmmakers relied on existing cultural stories and mythology to make their short, silent films understandable,” says Phillips, whose book “A Place of Darkness: The Rhetoric of Horror in Early American Cinema” (University of Texas Press) was published earlier this year. “While late 19th-century American audiences were a diverse mix of cultures, languages and religions, stories about ghosts, devils and witches were well known to almost everyone.”

Phillips also notes that early films were not shown in movie theaters—they didn’t arise until 1905.

Kendall Phillips

Kendall Phillips

“Before 1905, audiences saw films at carnivals or vaudeville shows or, very commonly, at magic shows,” Phillips says. “So, movies and magic were intertwined from the very birth of motion pictures.”

Some early horror films might seem a bit silly to today’s audiences, but audiences back in the day may have had a different experience. “Audiences of the time probably watched these films with a mix of wonder, laughter and a bit of fright,” Phillips says.

Phillips points to five films, which he covers in his book, “A Place of Darkness,” that helped to shape the notion of fear on film:

  1. “Le Manoir de Diable” (1896, dir. Georges Méliès). “Less than a year after the first motion pictures were projected for an audience, French magician and pioneering filmmaker Georges Méliès produced this short film packed with almost every trope of the classic horror film: a crumbling castle, witches, devils and a menacing bat!”
  2. “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1908, dir. Otis Turner). “Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 book became an instant American classic. The novel quickly spawned a popular stage adaptation and it did not take long for filmmakers to pick up on the story’s popularity. William Selig’s company produced the first known adaptation and spawned numerous others. Stevenson’s story of dual personalities was adapted for the screen at least eight times before the popular 1931 adaption starring Frederic March.”
  3. “Ghost Breaker” (1914, dir. Cecil B. DeMille). “What’s a good horror film without an intrepid hero? While there were many films that portrayed a brave American exploring the unknown, one of the best early examples is DeMille’s adaptation of the popular Broadway play by Paul Dickey and Charles Goddard. The hero, Warren Jarvis, is a tough Kentucky adventurer who must brave a haunted Spanish castle to retrieve a fortune and win the hand of the damsel in distress. A popular remake of this film starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard was released in 1940.”
  4. “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920, dir. Robert Wiene). “The impact of this strange German film can hardly be underestimated. While Hollywood bosses and some audience members hated this film’s heavily Expressionistic imagery, critics and others found it a refreshing way to use the medium of film to create psychological imagery. Caligari would have a huge influence on the way horror was filmed for years to come.”
  5. “The Monster” (1925, dir. Roland West). “Like a little laughter mixed in with your screams of terror? Then thank this Lon Chaney film for perfecting the mix of madcap comedy and creepy atmosphere. West’s film would provide the blueprint for the comedy thriller that would be perfected in films like Paul Leni’s 1927 ‘The Cat and the Canary.’”
a man in armor looking at couple

“Ghost Breaker” (1914, dir. Cecil B. DeMille)

These films can still evoke a sense of the creepy—and an appreciation for the early art of filmmaking.

“Unfortunately, the 1908 version of ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ and the 1914 ‘Ghost Breaker’ are now lost films,” Phillips says. “But people can definitely find the others and some, especially Caligari, continue to stand up as both scary stories and impressive works of cinematic art.”

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Education Expert: Massive Public Investment Needed to Solve Teacher Shortages 
    Wednesday, September 20, 2023, By Christopher Munoz
  • High School Students Gain Real-World Experience During the Summer Internship Program
    Wednesday, September 20, 2023, By News Staff
  • ‘Undeterred: Syracuse University’s Unique Connection to Affirmative Action and Our Next Steps’ Featured Discussion at The D.E.I.A. Symposium Oct. 3
    Wednesday, September 20, 2023, By News Staff
  • Syracuse Views Fall 2023
    Tuesday, September 19, 2023, By Christine Weber
  • 7 New Representatives Added to the Board of Trustees
    Monday, September 18, 2023, By News Staff

More In Arts & Culture

Human Rights Film Festival: Changing the World, One Conversation at a Time

From the rural landscape of Michigan, to the devastated landscape of Bucha in the Ukraine, to the virtual landscape of the African diaspora, filmmakers address social issues and the fight for human rights around the globe at the 21st annual…

20 Years of Syracuse Symposium

Even if you haven’t participated in Syracuse Symposium offerings yet, the intriguing and provocative annual themes still may have caught your eye. Topics like Justice (2007-08), Identity (2011-12), Repair (2022-23) and this year’s Landscapes, offer a kaleidoscopic platform for timely…

La Casita to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month With New Exhibition

La Casita Cultural Center, located at 109 Otisco St. in Syracuse, will mark the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month 2023 with a community-wide event and exhibition opening on Friday, Sept. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition, “Futurismo…

Discover These Arts Resources Through the Coalition of Museum and Arts Centers

With the new academic year comes a reminder of the tremendous arts resources available to the Syracuse University community here on campus through the Coalition of Museum and Arts Centers (CMAC). Established in 2005, the mission of CMAC is to…

Central New York Humanities Corridor: Advancing Relevant and Impactful Research That ‘Doesn’t Fit in a Box’

Courtney Mauldin infuses her scholarly research with a clear purpose: to give Black girls innovative opportunities to dream big and envision futures filled with possibilities. Her involvement with the Central New York Humanities Corridor is critical to success: “We see…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.