Horror Films In The 1930s

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How did this change in the genre come about? Horror movies were reborn in the 1930s. Unlike the dreamlike imagery of the 1920s, the films were peopled by ghostly wraiths floating about silently, horror films in the 1930s were replaced with monsters that grunted and groaned and howled. Horror films in the 1930s were all about monsters. The 30s monsters were exotic and were non-human. Many of the films from the 30s were based on literary classics of the 19th century, often set in far off lands with characters in period costumes speaking in strange accent. These films focused on monsters and involved brilliant makeup. These monsters were zombies, freaks, mad scientists, a mummy, an invisible man, werewolves and ghouls.But audiences were distanced from these films because they couldn’t understand the monsters belonging to world’s that weren’t theirs. Most of the the monster movies of the 30s were made by Universal Studios. Rival studio, RKO-radio pictures, the smallest major film studio, needed to make a profit after their disappointing film “Citizen Kane” which had not worked very well. They were in finance trouble so Val Lewton was fired to make cheap horror film for easy product. He had to keep the budget under $150 000. He was …show more content…

It tells the story of Irena and Oliver Reed. They meet at a Central zoo park in New york. Oliver falls in love with her and they get married. Irena believes herself to be descended from this evil tribe and she fears she will be transformed into a cat if aroused to passion, anger, or jealousy. Unable to consummate her marriage Irena also lives in fear that her husband, Oliver will leave her. As Oliver’s frustration and unhappiness grows, he seeks consolation from co-worker Alice Moore. Irena becomes jealous when she learns that she may be losing Oliver to Alice. Arena is forced to release her inner feline. As a result, Alice is soon haunted by a black

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