Movies

Two films have proven to be among the most memorable in the long and lauded history of the horror genre. THE WOLFMAN (1942) and SAW (2004) remain two of the most influential horror films of the past 100 years. But, what is it about these two films that allow them to standout so strongly from the thousands of horror films that have been produced over the years There are a number of reasons and that is why a close examination of the two films is necessary. Also, the two films must be put into context with horror films as an entire genre. This is why a look at the complete history of the genre is necessary as well. As such, the genre will be explored from its early days of inception and well into the modern era. From this, the two films will be examined on their aesthetical value and their place in history.

The origins of the horror genre began in the literary realm. There were popular horror novels written over the centuries prior to the 20th century including Stokers DRACULA, Shelleys FRANKENSTEIN, and Robert Louis Stevensons DR JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. Is it no surprise that these same classics would be tapped for subject matter in the early silent films.

FRANKENSTEIN was adapted for the cinema for the first time in the Thomas Edison produced 1910 film version. The film was adapted twice more in 1915 in LIFE WITHOUT A SOUL and in 1920s THE MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN. Sadly, the latter two films are lost forever. Actually, prior to the DVD release of the 1910 version, only ONE print of the film existed so it came within a hairs breath of being lost itself.

Various other horror classics would be produced in the silent era including adaptations of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE as well as original versions of films based on the legend of the werewolf. However, it would be one film and one spin on the genre that would greatly aid in the genre becoming popular. This would be the emergence of Lon Chaney Sr. as the first horror film star.

Lon Chaney Sr. was not a horror actor per se. He was a major star in a variety of genres. In fact, very few of his film appearances were in actual horror productions. However, his appearance in silent classics such as THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME and LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT made him probably the most enduring of all silent movie stars outside of the comedians of the error.
The greatest hit of Lon Chaney Sr. was the adaptation of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. This utter nightmare of a film featured a shockingly frightening creature to terrorize audiences. The unmasking scene of the Phantom is among the most frightening of all horror scenes in film history.

The success of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA led to more silent era horror films including the German classic NOSFERATU. NOSFERATU was a product of the movement of German Expressionism which sought to recreate a nightmare scenario in the form of film. This (unauthorized) adaptation of the Stoker novel further aided in enhancing the popularity of the genre into the sound era. The 1931 version of DRACULA capitalized on the success of the Broadway play adaptation and helped launch the sound era of horror. But, do not assume that the road to success of the horror genre was one that was without any bumps in the proverbial road. History shows us this is not the case.

Unfortunately, the horror genre is not one that is commonly praised by critics. Often, classics of the horror film are not dubbed classics until many years after their release. This is because through the prism of history the effective impact of the film becomes clearly visible. However, at the time of their release, horror films are often treated with contempt.

James Whale and Boris Karloff brought the world FRANKENSTEIN in 1932 and it was a tremendous box office hit grossing in the millions at a time when films would have a very difficult time doing so. (Tickers were in the ten cent --range during the era) Criticism of the film was enormous and its amazing artistry was commonly ignored by those that felt it was just too horrifying and garish a film to take seriously. It was also considered too over the top of frightening to be of any commercial value. Most critics looked past the artistry of the film and centered on its more  at the time  salacious components. Such criticism was also levied at the 1932 DRACULA and THE MUMMY. Both were brilliant films and these three  along with BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN  opened the doors for the horror genre to explore into the mainstream even beyond their ability to draw audiences during the silent era.

Unfortunately for the horror genre, there was no first amendment or constitution in Great Britain. In 1933, the British Board of Film Censors banned horror movies in their home country in the interest of the public good. Due to the loss of such a vital export market, Universal shut down its horror movie line sending many actors (Bela Lugosi most notably) into unemployment. The horror genre, for all intents and purposes, was killed off. But, like the monsters it is films, it would eventually rise again as Universal put SON OF FRANKENSTEIN into production in 1939. The success of the film led to further horror productions that were wildly successful in the 1940s. The seemingly most popular of these films were FRANKENSTEIN and MUMMY sequels that were far more cartoonish than their predecessors. Also cartoonish were the monster rallies that featured an entourage of monsters in what were more fantasy-adventure pulp tales than serious horror films.

Why did this happen In the 1940s, World War II was raging across the globe and people were looking for escapist entertainment. The silliness of an Egyptian Mummy showing up in Louisiana (obviously, the bayou is cheaper to remake than ancient Egypt) provided an increasingly younger audience with cheap thrills. It also set the stage for the proverbial cancer that impacts the genre well into the modern era. That cancer would be the crank em out style of filmmaking that plagues horror films.

It is, however, important to point that some of the criticism of horror movies was well founded. Since audiences wanted cheap thrills in a number of instances, poor quality horror films could prove to be very successful at the box office regardless of how awful they were. Such an approach became common in the late 1950s and has remained a poison on the genre to this very day. So, for every one quality horror film, 20 or so extremely awful ones find their way into production.
Does that mean that all horror films of the 1940s were of middling quality No, there was one astounding classic that is actually far superior then a number of the serious horror films of the 1930s and 1920s. This film would be the 1942 classic THE WOLFMAN.

In older TV GUIDE publications, reviews would give THE WOLFMAN and would read The real deal. You could not ask for a more hulking and fearsome werewolf than Lon Chaney Jr. This is true and it is because the film is not so much about the wolf as much as it is about the man.

THE WOLFMAN is not a film about a menacing, rampaging creature. No, it is about the wayward prodigal son realizing he has abandoned his family. It is also about the inability for a father to love his son in the way a father should. This creates a dysfunction in the family that expands and comes to life in the form of the fearsome and menacing werewolf Lawrence Talbot turns into.

In the film, Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns to his home estate to be by his fathers side (Claude Rains) after the unfortunate death of his brother. Lawrence realizes his lack of responsibility led him astray but even as he tries to make amends, the playboy in him causes his amorous advances toward a woman that is engaged. Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers) ignores his advances but Lawrence persists. This leads to the scenario where he places both of them in danger  they are attacked by a werewolf. Lawrence kills the beast but is bitten and becomes a werewolf himself. Now, when the moon rises, he loses control of himself and becomes a rampaging beast. He tries to convince his father of the problem but his father will not listen or believe.

While it is understandable a father would be skeptical of tales of werewolves, the image of the Wolfman in the father-son dynamic clearly is symbolic of dysfunctional relationships. You could easily replace the image of the werewolf with drug addiction, gambling, or mental illness. Essentially, the werewolf becomes the symbol of anxiety and stress that threatens to tear apart the solidity of the family unit.

It is this component that remains one of the most common motifs in the horror film  anxiety. The cathartic experience found in horror films is anxiety, stress, and despair. And no modern horror film typifies this more than the original SAW (2004) was able to deliver in its presentation.

With the detonation of the atomic bomb to end WWII, the horror genre died. The fear of atomic attack rendered the horror genre irrelevant. The era of horror died and the realm of science-fiction emerged. Of course, like the mythical creatures in the horror film, the genre would not stay dead.
In the late 1950s, three events would occur that would bring the genre back Hammer Films released full color frightening adaptations of DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN delivering a level of shock never seen in horror films before AIP Films released the films I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN and I WAS A TEENAGE WOLFMAN which opened the door for a teen audience and the classic horror films of the 1930s and 1940s were released to television capturing a kids audience launching a horror boom that only abated for a brief time in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Unfortunately, the new explosion of horror films saw a significant rise in exploitation. Benignly sleazy during the 1960s, as censorship codes dissolved the horror genre would become far more exploitative than it ever had been before. Films such as THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974), HALLOWEEN (1978), DAWN OF THE DEAD (1979), FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980) among others made the horror genre a violent, R-rated realm that boosted shock and anxiety levels in audiences. So, the experience of the cinema attending audience was one of shock and awe. This is why the success of SAW is not surprising. The film greatly boosted the shocking experience through putting the audience through a bizarre psychoanalytical world of serial killer that takes the guise of a savior of sorts.

The film SAW (and its uneven sequels) revolves around a psychotic murderer who places people in various traps designed to teach moral lessons. Those that do not truly look deep into themselves and change who they are cannot survive the traps. That would be about 99 of the people finding themselves in such traps. The stress and the anxiety such victims face carries over into the audience in a dually interactive manner. How is it interactive Basically, the audience will be placed in a position where they can identify with both the victim and the killer in the proceedings.

In terms of identifying with the victim, the audience understands that they all have their own unique flaws and problems. Seeing the victims on display in the film SAW leads them to realize their own problems and their own frailties. This is much like the anxiety that Lawrence Talbot feels in THE WOLFMAN although the absurdist world of SAW is decidedly more realistic since the antagonist is one that is rooted in reality as opposed to a fantasy creature such as a werewolf.

The audience also has a tendency to identify with Jigsaw since many will be somewhat envious of the power that the killer wields. Yes, this may sound like a garish indictment of the audience but there is a segment of it  possibly larger than some assume  that have a desire to crave the power that Jigsaw possesses over others. This does not mean that they wish to harm others. It can often mean that they simply wish to control the destiny of themselves and others. The grim nature of a film like saw presents such control in an explicit manner and THE WOLFMAN presents a decided lack of control in a very detailed manner. However, this notion of power, release, and control is a common convention in all horror films. A powerful monsterantagonist is one that has some control over others. This can prove to be very attractive to a certain segment of the audience.

The same could even be said of those that find the victim component of the film since it provides a visual experience that complements the helplessness people may feel in their life. This is a perpetual convention that has been with the horror genre since its inception and will stay will it for decades to come. Films genres all produce emotional responses of some sort. Comedies can make you laugh, dramas can make you sad, and horror films evoke fear. Fear is a form of anxiety and the rush of anxious helplessness and anxious dread aids in making the genre perversely popular. Perhaps it is this garish emotional response that is the reason why so many critics fail to take the genre seriously.

Whether or not most critics take the genre seriously or ignore it is irrelevant. The key here is that the genre has proven wildly successful. Some films have even emerged as all-time classics as evidenced with THE WOLFMAN and SAW. Of course, there will be many more classics to come and the horror genre will live forever like many of its undead brethren.