Cinematography has developed many genres in its short history, which have been, of course, inspired by the other narrative arts, such as literature and theater. Pretty early on, filmmakers have engaged in creating productions that would explore the darker side of the world, and that would have as their goal to instill a fearful sentiment in the viewer.
Using special effects or basing their concept on the story alone, directors have explored and keep exploring as many facets of what scares us as they can. Hence, the history of cinema contains movies that are about everything and pretty much anything you can think of. From clear and obvious horror themes to more unexpected ones, such as giant flies.
Films are a great tool if we are looking to understand society. They provide insight into how we perceive and think of the world. Surely, many times, interpretations may be wrong, and some directors may intentionally go against the grain, but at the end of the day, everything has a meaning, everything is an action and, if not, a reaction to something.
There is a lot that could be said about horror films, but one intriguing aspect is that it can be argued that these reflect social fears. They do not do it very explicitly, which is why this level of interpretation is so powerful.
For example, in the 1933 production The Invisible Man, viewers could watch a story which was not new, but which gained relevance in the era. In this context, it can be said that the invisible man represents the fears of the people of the 30s in regards to the newfound anonymity which big cities offered. The 1920s and 1930s were a time when many people moved from the countryside to large cities, as these had their advantages, but, soon enough, people also discovered some of their downsides. if we take a moment to reflect, society went in the blink of an eye from a form of organization where everybody knew everyone, and that was the norm, to a structure where one could not know their immediate neighbors. It may be hard for us to understand now what people might have felt back then, but we need to understand that “the stranger” was a very horrifying idea in pre-urban society, as strangers could bring war, chaos and more.
Another production that exemplifies the idea according to which horror films are a mirror to social fears, we can look at the 1979 Alien movie. Ridley Scott’s film has a lot of sexual charge and critics have written about it extensively. There is a lot of sexual symbolism in the film and the overall idea of the movie, seen in this key, is about uncommon sexual practice and, more than that, harmful sexual practices. The 1960s and 70s had seen a sexual revolution like never before and now, after having discovered some (seemingly) positive aspects of it, people were also starting to deal with the negative aspects. Many women feared being raped and were not sure how to deal with their new position and with the new expectations to which society, men and they themselves were holding them to.
The themes of horror movies have changed as society did. If in The Shining from 1979 we are dealing with the nihilism of the 70s, as expressed by the fear of being alone with oneself, later films start dealing with robots and other tech-based stories, as gadgets and screens were making their way more and more in people’s lives.
Given all these thoughts, it is interesting to wonder what today’s horror movies are about? What is the red wire that connects them? In some regards, one can say that what defines the genre today is the idea of the “outside world”. Everything seems to be happening far and away, outside the “recorded” world. Surely, the aspects of physical harm are also extremely poignant.
And, by the way, there is a new “Invisible Man” in sight.