Horror film

Horror may also overlap with the fantasy, supernatural fiction, and thriller genres.

The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction films and horror films, although the genres do overlap.

Horror may also overlap with the fantasy, supernatural fiction, and thriller genres.

Thriller films also share a close relationship with horror films, both eliciting tension.

Some sub-genres of horror film include low-budget horror, action horror, comedy horror, body horror, disaster horror, found footage, holiday horror, horror drama, psychological horror, science fiction horror, slasher, supernatural horror, gothic horror, natural horror, zombie horror, first-person horror, and teen horror.

Body horror or biological horror is a subgenre of horror which intentionally showcases graphic or psychologically disturbing violations of the human body.

Some sub-genres of horror film include low-budget horror, action horror, comedy horror, body horror, disaster horror, found footage, holiday horror, horror drama, psychological horror, science fiction horror, slasher, supernatural horror, gothic horror, natural horror, zombie horror, first-person horror, and teen horror.

The most common use of the technique is in horror films (e.g., Cannibal Holocaust, The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, [REC], Cloverfield), where the footage is purported to be the only surviving record of the events, with the participants now missing or dead.

Some sub-genres of horror film include low-budget horror, action horror, comedy horror, body horror, disaster horror, found footage, holiday horror, horror drama, psychological horror, science fiction horror, slasher, supernatural horror, gothic horror, natural horror, zombie horror, first-person horror, and teen horror.

Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of horror film and supernatural film.

In 1913, German directors Stellan Rye and Paul Wegener made the silent horror film Der Student von Prag, popularly known for its English title as The Student of Prague, loosely based on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe.

The Student of Prague (Der Student von Prag, also known as A Bargain with Satan) is a 1913 German silent horror film.

F. W. Murnau arguably made The first vampire-themed movie, Nosferatu (1922).

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (translated as Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror; or simply Nosferatu) is a 1922 German Expressionist horror film, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok.

In October 1920, Paul Wegener teamed up with co-director Carl Boese to make the final Golem film entitled Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam, known in English as The Golem: How He Came into the World.

The Golem: How He Came into the World (Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam, also referred to as The Golem) is a 1920 silent horror film and a leading example of early German Expressionism.

This would become the first phase of the studio's Universal Classic Monsters series that would continue for three more decades.

Universal Classic Monsters is a phrase used to describe the horror, fantasy, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Pictures during the decades of the 1920s through the 1950s.

The first of these films was The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) starring Lon Chaney as the hunchback Quasimodo.

Chaney was known for his starring roles in such silent horror films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925).

Considered a classic, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari helped draw worldwide attention to the artistic merit of German cinema and had a major influence on American films, particularly in the genres of horror and film noir, introducing techniques such as the twist ending and the unreliable narrator to the language of narrative film.

Nor does film noir rely on anything as evident as the monstrous or supernatural elements of the horror film, the speculative leaps of the science fiction film, or the song-and-dance routines of the musical.

Other notable examples of Universal Studios' horror films include The Phantom of the Opera (1925), The Cat and the Canary (1927), The Unknown (1927), and The Man Who Laughs (1928).

The Cat and the Canary is a 1927 American silent horror film adaptation of John Willard's 1922 black comedy play of the same name.

Other notable examples of Universal Studios' horror films include The Phantom of the Opera (1925), The Cat and the Canary (1927), The Unknown (1927), and The Man Who Laughs (1928).

The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, directed by Rupert Julian and starring Lon Chaney in the title role of the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.

In 1924, German filmmaker Paul Leni made another representative German Expressionist film with Das Wachsfigurenkabinett, or Waxworks as it is commonly known.

Waxworks (Das Wachsfigurenkabinett) is a 1924 German silent fantasy-horror film directed by Paul Leni.

The first of these films was The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) starring Lon Chaney as the hunchback Quasimodo.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 American romantic drama film with horror elements starring Lon Chaney, directed by Wallace Worsley, and produced by Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg.

Bela Lugosi stars in Tod Browning's Dracula (1931) and then Boris Karloff stars in James Whale's Frankenstein (1931), both films considered classic adaptations of the popular horror characters.

William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor who was primarily known for his roles in horror films.

Wegener teamed up with Henrik Galeen to make Der Golem (1915).

Der Golem (Der Golem, shown in the US as The Monster of Fate) is a 1915 German silent horror partially lost film, written and directed by Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen.

Bela Lugosi stars in Tod Browning's Dracula (1931) and then Boris Karloff stars in James Whale's Frankenstein (1931), both films considered classic adaptations of the popular horror characters.

Frankenstein is a 1931 American pre-Code horror monster film from Universal Pictures.

Bela Lugosi stars in Tod Browning's Dracula (1931) and then Boris Karloff stars in James Whale's Frankenstein (1931), both films considered classic adaptations of the popular horror characters.

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (20 October 1882 – 16 August 1956), better known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian-American actor famous for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 film and for his roles in other horror films.

Bela Lugosi stars in Tod Browning's Dracula (1931) and then Boris Karloff stars in James Whale's Frankenstein (1931), both films considered classic adaptations of the popular horror characters.

Dracula is a 1931 American pre-Code vampire-horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula.

Other notable examples of Universal Studios' horror films include The Phantom of the Opera (1925), The Cat and the Canary (1927), The Unknown (1927), and The Man Who Laughs (1928).

The Unknown is a 1927 American silent horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney as carnival knife thrower Alonzo the Armless and Joan Crawford as the scantily clad carnival girl he hopes to marry.

The next year, Karloff would play the titular character in The Mummy (1932).

The Mummy is a 1932 American pre-Code horror film directed by Karl Freund.

The best known of these supernatural-based works is the 3-minute short film Le Manoir du Diable (1896), also known in English as The Haunted Castle or The House of the Devil.

However, because of its themes and characters, it can technically be considered the first horror film (and, because it includes a transformation involving a bat, it has even been called the first vampire film).

Universal then began releasing sequels including Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Dracula's Daughter (1936).

The Bride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American science-fiction horror film, the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 hit Frankenstein.

He would also come to design the Satanic make-up for Lugosi in the independently produced White Zombie (1932).

White Zombie is a 1932 American pre-Code horror film independently produced by Edward Halperin and directed by Victor Halperin.