Horror, Thriller and Fantasy films in better detail.

Horror Films:
Are unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm.
They are used to give the "thrill" some people need, and give an adrenalin boost when you are scared.
Horror films are also known as chillers, scary movies, spook fests, and the macabre.
Horror films mostly center on the dark side of life, such as murders, rape e.g. They sometimes rely on the supernatural since along as the human race has been alive, they have had nightmares and feared monsters, they focus on our vulnerability, our terror of the unknown, our fear of death and gore, loss of identity, or fear of sexuality.

They have been around nearly along as movies them self's and are guessed to have originated in the 1890's, after research I have found that one of the first horror movies was 'The House of the Devil' also know as 'Le Manoir du diable' it was released in 1896, it was only 2 minutes long, but it set off the start of a huge culture.

The earliest horror films were very Gothic, meaning that they were usually set in spooky old mansions and castles with foggy surroundings and shadowy settings. In 1906 one of the first "Monsters" entered our screens with Quasimodo (otherwise known as the hunchback of Notre Dame) in the film 'Esmeralda'

Lengthy Horror films originated in the 1910s and 1920s by German filmmakers.1922 brought around 'Nosferatu' the first ever vampire film and is still a cult classic.

The 1930’s brought American Producers, who popularized the genre and in LATER DAYS produced some very famous films such as Dracula and The Mummy.

The 1940s brought several B Movies such as 'I Walked With A Zombie'.

** The Wolf-Man was also released this year which was a very influential film.

By the 1950's Horror was very popular and split into 3 genres - still used today:

Personality :

No monsters, but horrific personalities in the leading characters, such as Serial Killers, Evil Scientists and Mad-men

Armageddon :

Shows the end of our world.

Supernatural :

Films with monsters, ghouls, aliens and other supernatural beings.

A lot of modern Horror films rely on computer graphic imagery and special effects, due to changes in technology, there is not much point building the whole movie up with some very quick glances of the monster when these days you can have a very realistic monster all the way through. Horror films, when done well and should rely less on horrifying special effects and only imply or suggest the horror in subtle ways, rather than blatantly displaying it, i.e., Val Lewton's horror films.

Horror films have a lot in common such as:

The setting - frequently a haunted house or graveyard.

A main villain - such as ONE monster, ONE murderer.

A main victim - someone the monster or murderer is after, someone you don't want to get hurt.

A big finale - a giant build up to a great conclusion.

Science Fiction - Aliens, Out of this world

Special effects - Monsters E.g (THIS IS MOSTLY MODERN HORROR FILMS)

Sound tracks - Loud, Jumpy, Over the top.

Taboo - Not usual things, uncomfortable for the viewer e.g blood, guts, sex.

Over time with a lot more exposure to these things people are trying to be different and original so including more novelty, such as hand held camera's (Blair witch Project, Cloverfield) e.t.c.


Thriller & Suspense Films :
Are types of films made to give intense excitement, suspense and a high level of anticipation. A genuine thriller is supposed to provide thrills and keep the audience hanging at the edge of their seats as the plot builds towards a climax. It is closely related to Horror genre such as Halloween - 1978.
Thrillers are often mixed with other genres like action such as 'Bourne Identity' and Sci Fi e.g 'Alien'. There are also psychological thrillers, military thrillers, spy thrillers, and the list goes on. It's easier to recognize a thriller

Suspense-thrillers come in all shapes and forms: murder mysteries, private eye tales, chase thrillers, women-in-danger films, courtroom and legal thrillers, erotic thrillers, surreal cult-film soap operas, and atmospheric and plot-twisting psychodramas.

Characters in thrillers include convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassins, innocent victims (often on the run), characters with dark pasts, psychotic individuals, terrorists, cops and escaped cons, private eyes and people involved in twisted relationships.

It is really difficult to label the convention of horror films as they cross over so many different genres, the main idea is that it "thrills" the audience. The plots are usually scary and normally the characters are at great risk of something and the films are made in a way that makes the watcher really want to know what happens next.
To keep the viewers interested Thriller films are so much more bloodier and gruesome these days. Thriller movies used to be more psychological, but now with newer audiences getting bored and less impressed they have had to change it to keep them interested.

Fantasy Films:
Are films which don't need to depend on any scientific knowledge what so-ever, when some horror films are thriller films base they're idea's on this planet or on people and places the exist, fantasy films can rely on none of this and can set them in unreal worlds or fairy tale lands in non existent places, with things that are impossible. Fantasy films often have an element of magic, myth and wonder and also the extraordinary. They appeal to both children and adults, depending upon the particular film.
Some conventions are flying carpets, magic swords and spells, dragons, and ancient religious relics are often used in the films.
Fantasy films some times over lap with the genres Horror and Sci Fi, like when they have great technology it may overlap with Sci-Fi, but sometimes when the supernatural or fantasy forces are designed to frighten the audience it can fall with the Horror genre.
The earliest fantasy films combined science fiction with visions of the future such as the 1902 - 'Voyage Dans La Lune' by George Melies. It was a silent fantasy film based on a trip to the Moon.
One of the most popular fantasy films was the musical 'Wizard of Oz'. Common conventions include Good v Evil, Magician's and Wizard's, Supernatural creatures, Medieval weapons, Quest's and Magical objects.
Again with children being less entertained by things that could impress a earlier generation Fantasy films need better special FX and more novelties to be original.


WHAT DO ALL THESE HAVE IN COMMON?
They all can overlap, E.g A story based in a haunted village (Fantasy/Horror) A monster (Horror) is trying to kill a boy, but the boy keeps running away but the monster keeps nearly getting him (Thriller).