Horror is a malleable genre, and it can often be altered to accommodate other genres such as
science fiction, which makes some films difficult to categorize.
Lovecraftian horror Named after American author
H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937), this sub-genre of horror films include themes of
cosmic dread, forbidden and dangerous knowledge, madness, non-human influences on humanity, religion and superstition, fate and inevitability, and the risks associated with scientific discoveries.
Body horror A genre that emerged in the 1970s, body horror films focus on the process of a bodily transformation. In these films, the body is either engulfed by some larger process or heading towards fragmentation and collapse. The focus can be on apocalyptic implication of an entire society being overtaken, but the focus is generally upon an individual and their sense of identity, primarily them watching their own body change. The earliest appearance of the sub-genre was the work of director
David Cronenberg, specifically with early films like
Shivers (1975). Mark Jancovich of the University of Manchester declared that the transformation scenes in the genre provoke fear and repulsion, but also pleasure and excitement such as in
The Thing (1982) and
The Fly (1986).
Christmas horror Christmas horror is a film subgenre that emerged in the 1970s with films such as
Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1971) and
Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972), which were soon followed by the influential
Black Christmas (1974). Defining the Christmas horror genre has been described as challenging, as it has generally been regarded as a sub-genre of the
slasher film. Adam Rockoff, in
Rue Morgue, noted that the sub-genre sits within a trend of holiday-themed slasher films, alongside films such as
My Bloody Valentine (1981) and ''
April Fool's Day'' (1986). Others take a broader view that Christmas horror is not limited to the slasher genre, noting how it evolved from the English Christmas tradition of telling ghost stories. Christmas in literature has historically included elements of "darkness"—fright, misery, death and decay—tracing its literary antecedents as far back as the biblical account of the
Massacre of the Innocents and more recently in works such as E. T. A. Hoffmann's "
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" (1816) and Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol (1843). Although ghosts have largely been replaced by serial killers, Christmas horror creates an outlet through which to explore "a modern reinvention of the Christmas ghost story".
Erotic horror Erotic horror is a subgenre of horror fiction that blends sensual and sexual imagery with horrific themes for the sake of
sexual arousal. Erotic horror has had influences on French and American horror cinema. The
works of
Jean Rollin, such as
Le Viol du Vampire and
Fascination, are considered quintessential erotic horror films, blending deeply sexual imagery with gore. An example of a British erotic horror film series is
Hellraiser.
Alien features heavy erotic imagery, with the design of the
Xenomorph by
H. R. Giger featuring both
phallic and vaginal imagery, intended to symbolize patriarchal guilt as well as sex, rape, and pregnancy.
Extreme Horror Extreme horror is a subgenre of horror that emerged from early twentieth century theater through shocking performances from Paris, France's
Théâtre du Grand‑Guignol. The transition from theater to cinema allowed transgressive acts of uncensored sex, torture, mutilation, and
taboo exploitation to reach a wider audience. Notably, the 1970s herald in extreme horror that is frequently cited as the beginning of the film subgenre including
Last House on the Left (1972),
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
, and
I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
. Extreme horror film series, such as
Saw (2004) and
Hostel (2005), have reached mainstream media with character(s) appearances in video games namely
Dead by Daylight and the subject of musical lyrics for the band
Ice Nine Kills.
Folk horror Folk horror uses elements of
folklore or other
religious and cultural beliefs to instill fear in audiences. Folk horror films have featured
rural settings and themes of isolation, religion and nature. Frequently cited examples are
Witchfinder General (1968), ''
The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971), The Wicker Man (1973), The Witch
(2015), and Midsommar'' (2019).
Found footage horror The
found footage horror film "technique" gives the audience a
first person view of the events on screen, and presents the footage as being discovered after. Horror films which are framed as being made up of "found-footage" merge the experiences of the audience and characters, which may induce suspense, shock, and bafflement.
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas noted that the popularity of sites like
YouTube in 2006 sparked a taste for amateur media, leading to the production of further films in the found footage horror genre later in the 2000s including the particularly financially successful
Paranormal Activity (2007).
Gothic horror In their book
Gothic film, Richard J. McRoy and Richard J. Hand stated that "Gothic" can be argued as a very loose subgenre of horror, but argued that "Gothic" as a whole was a style like
film noir and not bound to certain cinematic elements like the
Western or
science fiction film. The term "gothic" is frequently used to describe a stylized approach to showcasing location, desire, and action in film. Contemporary views of the genre associate it with imagery of castles at hilltops and labyrinth like ancestral mansions that are in various states of disrepair. Narratives in these films often focus on an audience's fear and attraction to social change and rebellion. The genre can be applied to films as early as
The Haunted Castle (1896),
Frankenstein (1910) as well as to more complex iterations such as
Park Chan-wook's
Stoker (2013) and
Jordan Peele's
Get Out (2017). The gothic style is applied to several films throughout the history of the horror film. This includes
Universal Pictures' horror films of the 1930s, the revival of gothic horror in the 1950s and 1960s with films from Hammer,
Roger Corman's Poe-cycle, and several Italian productions. By the 1970s American and British productions often had vampire films set in a contemporary setting, such as Hammer Films had their
Dracula stories set in a modern setting and made other horror material which pushed the erotic content of their vampire films that was initiated by
Black Sunday. In the 1980s, the older horror characters of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster rarely appeared, with vampire themed films continued often in the tradition of authors like
Anne Rice where vampirism becomes a lifestyle choice rather than plague or curse. Following the release of
Francis Ford Coppola's ''
Bram Stoker's Dracula'' (1992), a small wave of high-budgeted gothic horror romance films were released in the 1990s.
Natural horror Also described as "eco-horror", the
natural horror film is a subgenre "featuring nature running amok in the form of mutated beasts, carnivorous insects, and normally harmless animals or plants turned into cold-blooded killers." In 1963,
Alfred Hitchcock defined a new genre nature taking revenge on humanity with
The Birds (1963) that was expanded into a trend into the 1970s. Following the success of
Willard (1971), a film about killer rats, 1972 had similar films with
Stanley (1972) and an official sequel
Ben (1972). Other films followed in suit such as
Night of the Lepus (1972),
Frogs (1972),
Bug (1975),
Squirm (1976) and what Muir described as the "turning point" in the genre with
Jaws (1975), which became the highest-grossing film at that point and moved the animal attacks genres "towards a less-fantastic route" with less giant animals and more real-life creatures such as
Grizzly (1976) and
Night Creature (1977),
Orca (1977), and
Jaws 2 (1978). The film is linked with the environmental movements that became more mainstream in the 1970s and early 1980s such
vegetarianism,
animal rights movements, and organizations such as
Greenpeace. Following
Jaws, sharks became the most popular animal of the genre, ranging from similar such as
Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976) and
Great White (1981) to the
Sharknado film series.
James Marriott found that the genre had "lost momentum" since the 1970s while the films would still be made towards the turn of the millennium.
Psychological horror Bill Gibron of
PopMatters declared a mixed definition of the psychological horror film, ranging from definitions of anything that created a sense of disquiet or apprehension to a film where an audience's mind makes up what was not directly displayed visually. Gibron concluded it as a "clouded gray area between all out splatter and a trip through a cinematic dark ride."
Religious horror Religious horror is a subgenre of horror film whose common themes are based on religion and focus heavily on supernatural beings, often with
demons as the main antagonists that bring a sense of threat. Such films commonly use religious elements, including the crucifix or cross, holy water, the Bible, the rosary, the sign of the cross, the church, and prayer, which are forms of religious symbols and rituals used to depict the use of faith to defeat evil.
Slasher film The
slasher film is a horror subgenre which involves a killer murdering a group of people (often teenagers), usually by use of bladed tools. In his book on the genre, author Adam Rockoff wrote that these villains represented a "rogue genre" of films that are "tough, problematic, and fiercely individualistic." Following the financial success of
Friday the 13th (1980), at least 20 other slasher films appeared in 1980 alone. These films usually revolved around three properties: unique social settings (campgrounds, schools, holidays) and a crime from the past committed (an accidental drowning, infidelity, a scorned lover) and a ready made group of victims (camp counselors, students, wedding parties). The genre was derided by several contemporary film critics of the era such as Ebert, and often were highly profitable in the box office. The release of
Scream (1996), led to a brief revival of the slasher films for the 1990s. Other countries imitated the American slasher film revival, such as South Korea's early 2000s cycle with
Bloody Beach (2000),
Nightmare (2000) and
The Record (2000).
Splatter film Splatter is a subgenre that depends on
violence and
gore to display and accentuate a fascination with the theatricality of
mutilation and the vulnerability of the human body.
Supernatural horror Supernatural horror films, sometimes referred to as
paranormal horror films, integrate
supernatural elements, such as the
afterlife,
spirit possession and religion into the horror genre. Since they often focus on undead or non-physical beings, they may create unease in viewers without a visible presence on screen. This may include characters feeling a touch or chill in the air, furniture moving on its own, mysterious sounds, or lights flickering with no apparent cause. Prominent supernatural horror films include
Paranormal Activity and
The Conjuring.
Suburban gothic Suburban gothic is a subgenre of
Gothic fiction, art, film and television, focused on anxieties associated with the creation of
suburban communities, particularly in the United States and the
Western world, from the 1950s and 1960s onwards. This genre often explores themes of paranoia, conformity, and hidden dangers. Suburban horror films include
Halloween (1978),
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), and
The Stepford Wives (1975), all of which use the suburban setting to heighten the tension and fear.
Teen horror Teen horror is a horror subgenre that victimizes teenagers while usually promoting strong,
anti-conformity teenage leads, appealing to young generations. This subgenre often depicts themes of sex, under-aged drinking, and gore. Horror films aimed a young audience featuring teenage monsters grew popular in the 1950s with several productions from
American International Pictures (AIP) and productions of
Herman Cohen with
I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and
I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957). This led to later productions like
Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957) and ''
Frankenstein's Daughter'' (1958). Teen horror cycle in the 1980s often showcased explicit gore and nudity, with John Kenneth Muir described as cautionary conservative tales where most of the films stated if you partook in such vices such as drugs or sex, your punishment of death would be handed out. Prior to
Scream, there were no popular teen horror films in the early 1990s. After the financial success of
Scream, teen horror films became increasingly reflexive and self-aware until the end of the 1990s with films like
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and non-slasher
The Faculty (1998). The genre lost prominence as teen films dealt with threats with more realism in films like
Donnie Darko (2001) and
Crazy/Beautiful (2001). In her book on the 1990s teen horror cycle, Alexandra West described the general trend of these films is often looked down upon by critics, journals, and fans as being too glossy, trendy, and sleek to be considered worthwhile horror films. == Regional horror films ==