This, The House of the Devil, produced by that early wizard of the new technology of moving pictures, Georges Melies in 1896.
They say this is the first actual Haunted House on film, and the first true horror movie. Now, film buffs and historians might debate that second part. Some argue that the horror 'genre', in terms of what a genre actually is, didn't emerge until Universal's famous monopolizing of the 1930s horror movies beginning with the original Universal Frankenstein and Dracula.
I've seen some argue that the reason for this distinction is that, even into the early 20th century when movies were just beginning and evolving, much of the social structure of the West was still somewhat religious based. That is, while from the top down Europe and America were clearly secularizing, on the street level - and for those products pandering to the street level - religion was still very much the default world view for the masses.
By the 1930s, however, apart from that 'last Great Awakening' that occurred as people flocked back to churches due to the Depression and growing problems in Europe and later Asia, society was already starting to secularize more and lower toward the ground. So as the Universal (and yes, other studio) monster films emerge, it's no longer simply falling into line with the default worldview, but rather standing in stark contrast to the emerging secularized, science and scholarship based society we see developing.
This is clear in some of those movies that emphasize the 'this can't be, science says so' theme. Perhaps. An interesting observation. And one, even if a bit simplified, I think hits somewhat close to the mark. After all, the utter collapse in a religious worldview and a Christian platform upon which we understand our reality that happened after WW2 was so quick, it's roots had to precede the war.
Actually, what became known as horror pictures, started in Germany during the 1910's. But it was in the 1920's that Germany produced an abundance of horror and science fiction films. When the 1930's rolled around, many of the people who made these films came to America, and quite a few ended up at Universal Pictures.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I'm impressed by is just how many of the early silent films focused not only on horror and science fiction, but religion and the supernatural in general. I don't know if the majority touched on those, but quite a lot just from what I've found.
Delete(Tom New Poster)
ReplyDeleteAn English teacher and I were discussing the works of HP Lovecraft and arguing over whether a believer or an unbeliever would be more terrified confronting the supernatural. My colleague (an Episcopal minister, now deceased) argued that the believer, knowing the devil and Hell were real, would be the more frightened meeting such up close. I tried to make the case that the unbeliever would be thoroughly dumfounded seeing in front of him what (or who) wasn't supposed to exist, and that the unknown would terrify more than the known. I suppose a case could be made either way.
I think, as a former unbeliever, there would be a shock value to seeing something you were convinced could never exist before the weight of the horror of it sank in. While as an unbeliever, there would be an odd - and perhaps brief - sense of validation and then awareness and, hopefully then, tapping in of knowledge about what was being confronted.
Delete