The British Horror Film

The Rise and Fall of Hammer Horror

Hammer Film Productions is a British film production company founded in 1934, and is best known for its contribution to the horror film genre. 

Early Horror in the Film Industry:

Early examples of the horror genre being applied to film can be found in the works of G.A Smith, a film pioneer who began incorporating elements of horror into his short films. An example of this can be found in the short, Photographing a Ghost, (1889), in which Smith creates the appearance of ghosts using Double Exposure. As well as this, early examples of horror in film can also be found in German Expressionism, particularly in Nosferatu, (1922), which is based on Bram Stoker’s gothic novel Dracula, and in a selection of gruesome melodramas from 1934 onwards featuring Tod Slaughter reprising his role as the evil villain with macabre and grotesque tendencies.

Films featuring Tod Slaughter released in 1935, 1936, and 1999

“One of the reasons for their being no considerable body of British work in the horror genre was the nature of British censorship at the time” (Hammer and Beyond: the British Horror Film, 1993). The British press demonised the horror genre, and the British Board of Film Classification X rating was seen as negative, as there was concern these films would reflect badly on viewers. Before and during the Second World War there was a decline in the British film industry and Hammer temporarily took a break from making films. After the war was over however, Hammer began making films again which primarily consisted of 'quota-quickies', (The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927) and was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament designed to re-stimulate the declining British film industry, and consisted of cheaply made films designed to fill gaps in cinema schedules and quickly make money with easily reachable quotas. It was also at this point after the war that the previous strict censorship declined in general and began to pass films rated ‘H’ for horror. There was also a new-found appeal to X rated films and was viewed as a way of targeting audiences to make money.

The Rise and Fall of Hammer Horror:

In 1955 Hammer released The Quatermass Xperiment, with the intention of targeting an audience looking to watch films rated X, they incorporated the classification into the films name itself, making it the first official Hammer horror film. The film was extremely popular due to its uniqueness, which lead to the creation of sequels, X the Unknown and Quatermass 2: Enemy From Space.

Released 1956 and 1957

Released 1957

In 1957 Hammer reinvented horror by releasing The Curse of Frankenstein, the first horror film in colour. The film was revolutionary to the horror genre and was the first time audiences could experience gruesome imagery such as blood in a realistic way. The film was very successful among audiences and economically huge, opening the door to American funding for more productions, the most notable including Dracula, (1958) and The Mummy, (1959).

Released 1958 and 1959

Christopher Lee as Dracula 1958

During the 60s Hammer established themselves as the world leaders in the horror film industry and from the late 50s to early 70s released a further 6 sequels to The Curse of Frankenstein, 8 sequels to Dracula and 3 sequels to The Mummy, as well as another 28 horror films, (as well as 14 films of other genres).

However, audiences began to find the constant sequels and stories set in the past repetitive, and the 70s saw an increase in competition with films which brought the element of horror into the present day, for example, The Wicker Man, (1973). There was also big competition coming from America with the release of films such as The Exorcist, (1973) and The Omen, (1976). Hammer produced two TV series in the early 80s, Hammer House of Horror and Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense, but mid 80s ceased to make anything else and went into a semi-permanent hiatus until 2008. In the last 10 years Hammer have released 8 revival horror films, although none of them have been as iconic or made an impact as big as those released during the 60s, which were key in defining the horror genre, and shaping what it is today.

Hammer 'revival films' from 2009, 2012 and 2014

New Zealand Cinema

The Darker Side of New Zealand Cinema

Map of the World - New Zealand circled bottom right.

The New Zealand Film Industry is one of the latest starting film industries to develop, and since the 1970s have only released just over 300 feature films. The population in New Zealand at the beginning of the 1970s, 2 million, (compared to 46 million in England, and 205 million in America), was too small for the film industry to be sustainable, and therefore was not highly valued as a profitable industry, and any early examples of film to come from New Zealand were made by independent filmmakers who self-funded their works, such as John O’Shea. The National Film Unit however, was a government funded producer of short films and documentaries who’s aim was to create publicity material for the country, using the picturesque scenery and untouched environment as one of its main assets.

A successful and popular example of the material created for this purpose, is the short documentary film, This Is New Zealand (directed by Hugh Macdonald, 1970), which showcased the landscape and scenery of New Zealand and used breakthrough film technology of the time, requiring three separate but synchronized 35mm film projectors to create a wider screen.

Captures from This Is New Zealand, 1970

Due to its popularity, and the result of other documentary shorts all showcasing the same elements of New Zealand, the possibility of film opened up, and in 1977, the New Zealand Film Commission was established, and aimed to encourage and promote a national film industry which would draw the attention of an international audience. “The government has subtly supported films expected to be commercially successful, along with films offering leverage for other sorts of commercial exploitation, especially tourism” (New Zealand Cinema: Interpreting the Past, 2011). At this point, audiences only perception of New Zealand was of that shown in the short documentary style adverts, which created the idea of a magical undiscovered land, but a completely juxtaposing theme of the darker side of New Zealand and the negatives of living there began to show in some of the films produced by the commission. 

One of the first films which attracted larger scale audiences in New Zealand was Sleeping Dogs (1977). In which New Zealand suffers industrial disputes and violence, similarly to how the 1981 Springbok Tour caused protests and clashes with the police.

Goodbye Pork Pie (1981) was one of the first New Zealand films which was financially stable, as well as appealing to an international audience. Although entertaining, the film shows issues of youth and adolescence, and that growing up in New Zealand can lead to delinquency. 

Once Were Warriors (1994) is another key film which shows New Zealand is not always the pastoral paradise it is portrayed to be, and that horrors such as poverty, delinquency, alcohol abuse, physical abuse and rape still exist. “There is, in a way, two New Zealand's - the pastoral paradise promoted by the image-makers looking to add value to our primary products and our tourist industry, and the ‘other’ New Zealand characterised by the unseemly and sordid” (New Zealand: A Pastoral Paradise? 2000)

This misconception about New Zealand is commented on at the beginning of the film. “Iconic colonial images of New Zealand are demolished and reconstructed beginning with the billboard hoax in the pre-credit sequence, of a landscape imagined as a pastoral paradise which turns out to be an advertisement” (New Zealand Cinema: Interpreting the Past, 2011).

'Billboard Hoax' opening of Once Were Warriors, 1994

In the late 1990s New Zealand director Peter Jackson began planning his film adaptation of The Lord of The Rings Trilogy. Released from 2001-2003, the films brought a new sense of fame and recognition to New Zealand, and again portrayed the landscapes and scenery as its most valued asset. The films also helped to further develop the New Zealand film industry and created a huge skill by using largely Kiwi production crews, and investing in massive special effects facilities, Weta Workshop and Weta Digital.

New Zealand locations used in the
Lord of the Rings Trilogy, (2001, 2002, 2003)

A film which combines both elements of showcasing the unique New Zealand scenery which also inhabits some darker themes in Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople, (2016). In the film the tranquil and empty scenery represents the loneliness felt by both Uncle Hec and Ricky, showing how the isolation of the country has trapped them. This also explains the causes of Ricky’s crimes, and that the untouched surroundings of New Zealand mean's there is not much for young people to do, similarly, the cause of the delinquent acts seen in Goodbye Pork Pie.

German Expressionism

German Expressionism: A Horror Movement?

'Nosferatu',1922

German Expressionism is a movement which originated in Germany, and was popular from the end of the First World War until the 1930s. The movement first manifested itself in art forms such as painting, sculpture, architecture and theatre before also being applied to film.

'Café (Hotel de l’Europe)' - Max Beckmann, Sculpture - Ernst Barlach,
'Church on Hohezollernplatz'

German Expressionism’s popularity was due to it allowing citizens of Germany to ‘escape’ from the troubled times they faced during the aftermath of the war. Although often considered an artistic movement, I believe the films to come out of the German Expressionist era should primarily be viewed as the birth of the horror film genre. 

A definition of what horror is, can be taken from Sigmund Freud’s essay titled, ‘The Uncanny’. Freud suggests in the essay that horror narratives inhabit elements of ‘The Uncanny’, a “belonging to all that is terrible - to all that arouses dread”. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, (1920), is a notable German Expressionist Film which clearly shows elements of Freud’s ‘Uncanny’, making it definable as a horror.

The consideration of mise-en-scene can clearly be noticed in German Expressionist films, and shows the first understanding of the value it can hold. It is through the mise-en-scene that films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari begin to show these elements of horror. The sets used mimic real-life environments but with the addition of stylised and exaggerated shapes which creates a sense of unease. As the film plays out, the audience discovers the murderous intentions of Dr. Caligari and it becomes clear that the twisted setting illustrates the psychological state of the character, an example of Pathetic fallacy.

'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari', 1920

The final twist reveals Francis is an inmate in an insane asylum, and the events of the film are a figment of his imagination. The final setting used for the asylum is ‘normal’ compared to the rest of the film, showing the twisted version of the world was inside Francis’s head all along. The combination of setting, and other elements of mise-en-scene, accompanied by the haunting music and the dark themes of death, madness and insanity, keys themes commonly explored in German Expressionisn, proves that the film is an early example of horror.

'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari', 1920 

Nosferatu, (1922), is another German Expressionist film which should be defined as horror.

One way in which the film creates an atmosphere of horror is by playing with the movement of the actors and the camera as well as using a range of camera angles. This is an early example of utilising the visual power that could be won from using the camera in a certain way to create a sense of fear, particularly of Count Orlock. “The hideous form of the vampire approaches with exasperating slowness, moving from the extreme depth of one shot towards another in which he suddenly becomes enormous…in addition to his gigantic proportions, a kind of obliqueness which projects him out of the screen and makes him into a sort of tangible, three dimensioned menace” (The Haunted Screen, 1974). 

Count Orlock presented through a Low-Angle Shot
to evoke audience fear - 'Nosferatu', 1922

Nosferatu also utilities elements of mise-en-scene to create a sense of fear and horror. In contrast to the extreme sets used in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu takes place in locations which replicate normal surroundings. “The horror film is more closely related to the terrors of everyday life”, (The Horror Genre from Beelzebub to Blair Witch, 2001). This adds to the horror as it shows a monster, Count Orlock, invading normal life. This sense of threat and invasion acts as a metaphor for Germany’s fears in the 1920’s. “The history of the horror film is essentially a history of anxiety in the twentieth century”, (The Horror Genre from Beelzebub to Blair Witch, 2001) and was a core theme found in German Expressionist films. A sense of fear is also created through Count Orlock’s imagery. Examples of this include through his costume and make-up, shadows, and vampire-esq actions and movements.
 

It can be argued that German Expressionism marks the birth of the horror film genre. “It represents a style and a vision and the beginnings of a genre” (The Horror Genre from Beelzebub to Blair Witch, 2001). German Expressionist films have clearly inspired the global horror genre even after the height of expressionist era began to come to an end, “It remained highly influential on the films which emerged later in the 1930s” (The Horror Genre from Beelzebub to Blair Witch, 2001). Many techniques and styles first explored in German Expressionist Films can still be seen throughout the horror genre since it’s rise in popularity, to present day. The video below shows clear links between German Expressionist films and the influence they have had on films made by Tim Burton.

The Hollywood Film Industry

Hollywood and the Treatment of Women

Hollywood is undoubtedly the largest and most successful industry in film, Hollywood leads the way and has done since its inception in the early 1900’s. However, the way in which women have been treated and represented within The Hollywood Film Industry needs to change.

Off Screen:

It is to no surprise that during the early days of Hollywood, it was nearly impossible for a woman to be given an important role or to be taken seriously in a male dominated industry in a patriarchal society. “Women are oppressed within the film industry, they are receptionists, secretaries, odd job girls, prop girls etc.” (Feminist Film Theory A Reader ,1999).  “Women had only two avenues for becoming Hollywood directors: as film actresses or as secretaries/production assistants who worked their way up through the ranks of the system”. (Feminist Hollywood From Born In Flames To Point Break , 2000). These quotes express the view that in the past a woman’s role in the Hollywood Film Industry would primarily be the less important jobs, and that if a woman wanted a more serious role then she would have to work extremely hard (harder than the male opposition) to work her way up the system for a chance to prove herself worthy of a more significant role. Some may argue that these views are outdated, and that now, much like other areas of society, men and women have become more equal.

On the surface it may look like this, but once you delve deeper into the Hollywood Film Industry it becomes extremely clear that there is still a significant imbalance between the men and women working in Hollywood. IMDB’s top 85 Hollywood Films of 2018 list reveals that only 2 of the 85 films were directed by women. 'The Centre For The Study Of Women InTelevision And Film', is an organisation which for the last 20 years has documented the representation of women within the industry. Each year The Centre develops a study which tracks the employment levels of women in the year’s top grossing films. “In 2017, women comprised 18% of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers working on the top 250 grossing films”. Taken from last year’s study, these statistics show that a clear imbalance still exists in the employment of women in Hollywood. In an interview with Jodie Foster (Actor, Director, Producer) Filmmaker Jack Howard explores why this could be.

On Screen:

The inaccurate or negative portrayal of women in film is largely due to the lack of women who have creative control when making films. In 1973, Laura Mulvey argued “That the textual systems of classical cinema fix a particular kind of viewing process, specifically a ‘Male Gaze’, that positions men as active subjects and women as passive objects. Classical Hollywood films offer no position for female or feminist spectators”. (Feminist Hollywood From Born In Flames To Point Break, 2000). This theory suggests that the presence of female characters in films is for male viewing pleasure, in roles which are supporting the male protagonist, often as a romantic interest. A perfect example of a female character presented in a voyeuristic way for male viewing purposes is Princess Leia wearing nothing but a gold bikini in Star Wars Return Of The Jedi (1983).

Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, 1983

Out of the top 250 grossing films in 2015, only 22% of protagonists were women, and women possessed only 33% of speaking roles, 76% of which, the women were White and in their 20s. This supports the idea that the purpose of women in film is to support their male leads. Many female characters are based strongly on gender stereotypes, which is not an accurate portrayal of women, but plays up to the sexualised, over feminine roles created to support men. In comparison to this, ‘strong’ female characters are often presented to only be strong as they have masculine traits, which again can be an inaccurate portrayal. Not all female characters are written badly, but we need to get to a point where an accurate                                                                                     representation of women is the rule and not the exception.

An example of a film with good representation of women both on and off screen is DC’s 2017 Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins. Wonder Woman demonstrates that a film can be successful and portray a female lead protagonist without having to sexualise the character, or give her the traits of a man.


Other Hollywood female lead films includes the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters, directed by Paul Feig.

The film however received a generally poor reception and is classed as a box office bomb. Female filmmaker Hazel Hayes discusses in this video what was wrong with the film, and how it could have easily been made much better.

2018 saw the release of Ocean’s 8, directed by Gary Ross. Although this is not an entirely new premise, it is a continuation and spin off from the original trilogy rather than a reboot, which compared to Ghostbusters can be seen as a step in the right direction in leading the way to a more equal film industry.