Genre Development | Part 6 | An Overview

Contents:

• Genre Development | Part 1 | Introduction
• Genre Development | Part 2 | Primitive
• Genre Development | Part 3 | Classical
• Genre Development | Part 4 | Revisionist
• Genre Development | Part 5 | Parodic
• Genre Development | Part 6 | An Overview

The horror genre, as have all others, has seen multiple different styles. These are known as Altman’s Stages of Genre Development. The different stages are:

• Primitive – A Primitive film is one that starts off a genre, and were a genres characteristics are first established. This is the film that sparks off others to consider making a film of this type.
• Classical – These are films that are made when the genre is at it peak. When all the characteristics have been refined and most people have a good idea of what they are going to see when they watch a film of a certain genre. This stage happened in and around the 1970s, and a film that could be considered ‘classical’ could be The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, for the horror genre.
• Revisionist – These types of film reevaluate and change-up the formula for what is typically accepted as the standards for a genre. This is often thought of as the ‘new wave’ of genre. In horror, a film of this type would be Paranormal Activity or Insidious, something that doesn’t do as you would expect.
• Parodic – A parodic film is one that completely changes the formula of a genre, and often involves comedy. An example of this would be Scary Movie for the horror genre, or Blazing Saddles for the western genre. Both of these film defy what is to be expected from their respective genres. Often, films of this type include elements of the genre, but do not explicitly follow the conventions associated with it.

Many people consider the first primitive horror film to be The House of the Dead by the french director Georges Melies in 1896. This was the defining film in what was to become one of the most well-known and most enjoyed horror genres of all time. Other films in the primitive category of films are:

• The Haunted Castle
• Frankenstein
• The Student of Prague
• And others

There are many horror films that are referred to as classical. This is where the horror genre really took off and gained a large following. The various Codes and Conventions of the horror genre had been established by this point, like blood, violence, ghosts, etc. Films falling in this category would be:

• The Shining
• Halloween
• The Exorcist
• A Nightmare on Elm Street
• And others.

The revisionist category of the horror genre are the films that change-up the formula of what is typically accepted. Often, these films contain elements of the genre, but also change-up and add various elements into the fray. Films of this type often appeal to the younger generation, and people who are newcomers to the genre. Films of this type include:

• Evil Dead
• The Conjuring
• Insidious
• Sawney
• And others.

This is the type of horror film that really changes the conventions that are often seen in a horror film. Most of the time, these films include some elements of what is typically found in a horror film, but films of this type are often satirized and packed with cheezy humour. Films of this type would be:

• Scary Movie
• Shaun of the Dead
• Fido
• Severance
• And others