Genre

• Action
• Biography
• Drama
• Foreign Films
• Martial Arts
• Science Fiction
• Television
• Adventure
• Comedy
• Family
• History
• Musical
• Silent
• Thriller
• Animation
• Crime
• Film Noir
• Horror
• Mystery
• Special Interest
• War
• Anime
• Documentary
• Fitness
• Life/Learning
• Romance
• Sports
• Western

See our special collections

About Horror Movies

Horror movies are characterized by the attempt to make the audience experience dread, fear, terror, or horror. The film plots often involve the intrusion of an evil force, event or personage, sometimes of supernatural origin, on the mundane world and the consequences thereof. Some of the most common elements include vampires, zombies and other forms of resurrected corpses, werewolves, ancient curses, ghosts, demons, demonic possession, Satanism, evil children, slashers, animals attacking humans, inanimate objects brought to life by black magic or twisted science, haunted houses, cannibals, and malicious extraterrestrials. Specific stories and characters, often derived from classic literature, have also been popular with audiences, and inspired many sequels, remakes, and copycats. These include Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolf Man and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The horror film is often associated with low budgets and exploitation, but major studios and well-respected directors have made many horror movies. Because of the genre's marginal status, it suffered much critical dismissal or moral condemnation over the course of film history; however, during the past few decades new generations of critics have given horror movies substantial attention and analysis, especially with regard to its perceived subversive content. Over the same period, it has become more than ever a source of controversy, as its level of graphic violence has increased and accusations of misogyny have been leveled by some critics. Some horror films owe a substantial amount to other genres, particularly science fiction movies, fantasy and the thrillers. The lines between horror and these other categories are often a subject of debate among fans and critics. - The preceding paragraph was derived from a full article available from Wikipedia and its use is governed by the GNU Free Documentation License 1.2.