Horror’s humble beginnings can be traced to what is known as the “Golden Era” of horror, a period when studios produced classic films with defining features including Tod Browning and Karl Freund’s Dracula (1931), James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931), or Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s King Kong (1933), to name a few. It is the artistic exploration of what scares us, as individuals and as a society, that led to the inception of horror. The golden era can be definitively pinpointed by the early 1920s to the late 1930s. Films that fall into the Golden Era category seem to derive from periods of societal anxiety and fear, like the Great Depression. The classics of the late 1920s and late 1930s became the building blocks of horror.
We can trace the origin of the horror genre to classics like Dracula (1931), The Invisible Man (1933) directed by the esteemed James Whale, Nosferatu (1922) directed by F.W. Murnau, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) directed by Robert Wiene, Frankenstein and Freaks (1932), from the mind of horror creator Tod Browning. The creation of Universal Studios monster films helped set in motion the golden age of its high-ranking stars like Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Claude Rains, and the ability to bring spine-chilling monsters to life. These classic monster films paved the way for horror as a new vehicle for art and created prominent, long-standing horror icons that remain distinguishable today. The Golden Era’s popularity is likely a result of the societal and economic challenges European countries and America faced during that particular period.
The popularity of these films and the Golden Age of horror likely stemmed from escapism from real-world troubles and provided an outlet to explore the darker side of human nature. In the article, “The Horrendous History of Horror” written by Elijah Gallagher, it states that “Horror is one of the most responsive fictional genres, meaning that motifs and themes adjust to current social and cultural anxieties. During the 20th century, horror adapted to society.” Horror reflects our fears and incorporates the cultural context of its time. The 1920s and 1930s were tumultuous times with cultural shifts taking place. In Germany, Hitler preyed on Germany’s fragile post-war status, creating a dangerous system that put a value on eugenics and Aryan superiority. Germany’s struggles with an intense political regime required an outlet to express fear and internal havoc.
During this time, the U.S. also faced the Great Depression followed by World War II. After the Great Depression, America was still reeling from the failure of the American dream, and people were desperate to cling to movies as a means of coping. During periods such as the 1920s and 1930s, social fears were reflected aesthetically in horror films, leading to Universal Studios Monsters. The number of Hollywood production businesses increased, as did the frequency with which movies were released. According to Retrospect Journal writer Jack Bennet, “Warner Brothers alone was producing eighty films a year in 1929, to combat the widespread economic and social decline associated with the Wall Street Crash and the onset of the Depression.” During this time, the production companies Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox formed. Toward the end of the 1920s, studios produced upwards of 800 films per year in order to entice a desperate populace to return to the theaters.
In these early years of cinema, it becomes clear that the Golden Age became successful due to immense star power. Not only did many flock to the theatres because of the acclaim, but these classic films produced horror icons, literary creations, and mythological monsters that many still know and love. The impact of the Golden Era exists in modern cinema today due to its ability to cultivate societal fears and artistically present them. Films from the Golden Era show our fear of monsters, powerlessness, pure chaos, and humans who yield too much power, providing an artistic basis for filmmakers today. This long-gone era’s classic films provide insights and inspiration from the past.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the silent German Expressionist film, remains an immutable classic and attraction of the horror genre. Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss), a crazed hypnotist, decides to enact a sinister plan using a sleepwalker, Cesare (Conrad Veidt). He plans to use Cesare to commit murders. Cesare and Dr. Caligari cause intensifying chaos. The turmoil within the film reflects the real-world horrors of 1920s Germany and still enacts a sense of unease today, thus igniting the driving factor of bringing real-world horrors in cinema to life. As one of the first horror films, Wiene’s creation laid the groundwork for future filmmakers.
Set designer Hermann Warm left his mark on German Expressionism and horror with the use of stark contrasts, incongruity, and visually stimulating storytelling. German Expressionism is a form of cinematic art defined by striking, powerful images, contrasting lighting, dark shadows, and an exterior presence that screams “Look at me!” The utilization of these techniques intends to represent the chaos, instability, and complete absurdity within the story. Often, German expressionism exhibits the concept of insanity which is still a theme widely used in horror today. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a prime example of the impact of set design and the aesthetic appearance of a film, especially in horror, which drives dread and terror.
Moreover, this creative movement gained popularity in 1920s Germany and represents the turmoil and anxieties of pre-World War I German society. The popularity of the art movement expanded to other European artists and filmmakers, leading to the beginnings of its influence in the cinema industry. German expressionism’s influence crosses borders and reflects periods of history or the nightmare experience of Germany’s historic pre and post-war periods. Economic and political instability characterized 1920s Germany, giving rise to the early challenges of war-riddled Germany and Hitler’s early ascension to power and implementation of his extremist beliefs. An unstable national budget, debt, and the emergence of new anxieties plagued the German people and the German expressionist movement emulated those feelings of isolation and uneasiness. Post-World War I left Germany in a state of upheaval and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari easily expresses the reality of life for Germans. The German 1920s film era spread to Europe and still influences modern cinema, even in the U.S.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari influences how we view modern cinema and modern horror. The film has been hailed by audiences and critics alike for its innovative film noir style and stunning cinematography. This timeless film inspired Tim Burton’s style of directing with Edward Scissorhands. Burton’s and Wiene’s films are eerily similar with a scientist attempting to create the impossible with zero regard for ethics. Johnny Depp’s character of Edward Scissorhands is synonymous with Cesare as both are products of insane geniuses. Burton draws on expressionist films to create his unique spin. For example, the aesthetic yet unrealistic setting in both Caligari and Edward Scissorhands presents the expressionist art form. In Burton’s 1990 film the suburban, oddly pristine, colorful neighborhood and Gothic mansion exemplifies expressionism: exaggerated angles, colors, and a mild sense of unease.
Wiene propelled the Golden Age of horror cinema into existence by undertaking a terrifying and stylistically significant film. His creation would go on to inspire other filmmakers like Fritz Lang, director of another German expressionist film, Metropolis (1927), Tim Burton, and F.W. Murnau, director of the classic film Nosferatu. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari remains a relic of pure horror, inspiring filmmakers for ages.
Dracula helped to launch the horror genre into stardom. Bram Stoker’s novel, of the same name, inspires many artful reconstructions of the story from the 1931 adaptation to Dracula (1958), The Brides of Dracula (1960), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), and Dracula (1992). Innocent and naive real estate agent Renfield (Dwight Frye) falls under the spell of Dracula as he scours the area at night searching for beautiful unsuspecting victims to feast upon. However, Lugosi’s performance as Dracula solidifies the image of what a typical villainous vampire looks like—cloaked, mysterious, and with an accent. It’s the epitome of what constitutes a vampire film and it set the standard for many to come. In the wake of the release of Dracula and other Universal Pictures films such as Frankenstein, the Gothic genre was unleashed. Now, the vampire is the most intriguing literary and pop culture monster of all time. Lugosi’s stylized version of the blood-sucking creature anchored the barbarous but enticing vampire to modern culture. In 2015, Dracula made the Library of Congress National Film Registry, an indication of its lasting influence.
While the direction and artistic freedom lean more toward the stage play production rather than sticking with the novel adaptation, the results appear dramatic, yet that doesn’t take away from its classic horror film status as it set the ball rolling for other vampire horror films. Freund, the cinematographer, also worked on the paradigmatic Nosferatu, the earliest vampire film to date.
Dracula helped create the image of the darker side, a representation of our deepest desires. The vampire symbolizes a desirable creature and in the last few years, vampire films elicit a sexually unrestrained atmosphere, like Catherine Hardwicke’s, Bill Condon’s, David Slade’s, and Chris Weitz’s popular adaptations of the Twilight series (2008-2012) or Neil Jordan’s Interview With a Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994). Maybe the attraction of the vampiric characters makes these films so popular and appealing. Again, monster films are a consequence of a period or culture. The 1930s was a time when sexual desires remained in a repressive state and out pops this fresh and enticing vampire character. Not only did Dracula encourage the invention of sexual horror monsters, but it’s also one of the first few supernatural horror films, fashioning a new subgenre of horror. Dracula inspired the fresh and invigorating take that vampires can be alluring. Modern television shows such as True Blood (2008-2014) and the popular Twilight (2008-2012) films maximized the old myths and lore of vampire sexuality. Everything after Dracula took some aspect, even with other vampire-related films starring the seductive and terrifying Christopher Lee.
Another understated classic is James Whale’s The Invisible Man, where Rains plays a scientist gone mad resulting from a potion that makes him invisible, and his sanity slips away. Whale’s adaptation is based on H.G. Wells’ 1897 novel, The Invisible Man. The mad scientist horror trope delves deep into the dark side of humanity. With Dr. Griffin, his scientific tampering drives him utterly mad and he becomes a psychotic power-hungry version of a man stating, “The drugs I took seemed to light up my brain. Suddenly I realized the power I held, the power to rule, to make the world grovel at my feet.” In Darryl Jones’s book, Horror: A Very Short Introduction he states “Mad science–scientific progress completely severed from any ethical concern is a recurring trope in horror and can be understood as giving form to genuine concerns about unchecked technological progress and its potential for dehumanization.” The mad scientist concept has become infused into modern cinema with films like Frankenweenie (2012), Spider-Man-2 (2004), Back to the Future (1985), and not to mention Hollow Man (2000), a slight retelling of The Invisible Man, and The Invisible Man, the 2020 remake starring Elizabeth Moss and Oliver Jackson-Cohen. The Invisible Man is a deterrent example of ignorance and remains a moral tale that audiences consume today.
In the 1930s, the mad scientist theme was popular. Similarly, the 1930s was when Hitler rose to power, so films began to reflect the idea of science and power. Even The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari falls under the mad scientist category. This subset dives into the theme of scientific madness and depicts the lengths humanity will go to assert superiority and the popular theme goes hand in hand with the real-world horrors of its time.
Apart from the film’s storyline and themes, Whale’s classic was one of the first major films to use sound to amplify the terror. On top of sound technology, the film became a trailblazer for what would become green screen technology. According to Comic Book Resources, Rains’ character “had to remove his bandages in front of a mirror to unveil his true self. To accomplish this, the same scene had to be filmed four times. According to [John P.] Fulton, the actor had to be filmed taking off his bandages with a black background; then, his reflection had to be filmed separately.” This was truly progressive filmmaking for its time due to Fulton’s work as a special effects artist. The Invisible Man earned its status among the classic Universal Monsters films, as it jump-started a fascination with science fiction horror, and developed technological advancements in the cinema industry that filmmakers rely on today.
The Golden Age was a profound period in cinema’s advancement where sound played a significant role. Talkies were the future of entertainment. Sound and color became indispensable tools in cinema production. Thus, the U.S. became the front-runner in movie-making. Horror depends on sound and the emergence of this technical achievement was a significant advancement in the 1930s. Today’s movie-watching is shaped by the transition from the silent era to the era of sound. Sound is what makes a film terrifying and memorable. When we can hear the victims screaming, the monsters growling, and the screams of pure horror, that’s what makes it immersive. Horror takes advantage of our biological instincts and provokes physical and emotional responses. Dracula was in the midst of the transition process of silent films to sound making it one of the first few to venture into this new terrain of filmmaking. The introduction of sound transformed how we go to the theatres and experience a film, impacting the horror genre for decades. With the use of sound, suspense, and fear are more easily signaled and experienced throughout the film; it can signify a monster or killer on the hunt or the creaking of a haunted house. It’s the ultimate sensory experience. The emergence of sound changed the technology of filmmaking, altering the cinematic experience forever.
The Golden Era of Cinema impacts modern cinema today with the way they ignite fear and fascinate us still to this day with their unique approaches to the multiple facets of horror. Also, the era illustrates a time when people needed an escape. People flocked to the cinemas to escape world atrocities in the 1930s, thus categorizing film as a creative form of escapism that we still rely on. According to encylopedia.com, “The years of the 1930s are considered the golden era of Hollywood cinema. Eighty-five million people a week crowded movie theatres across America to escape their sometimes desperate financial situations.” The escapism brought along with the societal fears they ignited makes them timeless. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari creates a sense of visual fear and the story of an evil doctor. Dracula sparks our fear of monsters and the feeling of being powerless against external forces and The Invisible Man depicts a mad scientist’s conquest for dominance. The Golden Era remains a pioneering force in cinema. This era introduced fears and brought them to life. Each film started a wave of intrigue and impacted the cinema industry with its distinctive approaches to horror. Modern filmmakers draw on these stories, aesthetics, and iconic films to produce more art for us to consume, perpetuating a deeply influential artistic cycle. Today, the proof of their impact in these films is still identifiable and iconic to filmgoers and filmmakers.
