Arline Pineda

Horror is the genre that unites us all in enjoyment or hatred. Whether you love it or hate
it, it is a mainstay of the fall months. While you watch the movies that give you the comfort of
Autumn, learn about three movies that have had a large impact on the genre you love to be
terrified of.

Night of the Living Dead – George A. Romero
The film that was released in 1968 is about a group of people who are trapped in a farmhouse,
surrounded by the undead. This terrifying movie introduced the zombies as we know them today
as undead ghouls that feast on flesh. It also brought more intense gore to the screen. Before,
horror movies would be about a man living in Transylvania in some gothic castle. This film
would make the setting much more relatable being set in a rural farmhouse. The setting makes
the movie more believable and scary because it makes you feel like it could actually happen. If it
wasn’t for this decision of location, we might not have slasher films which use that similar
homey, believable setting, like Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and the next entry
on this list, Halloween.

Halloween – John Carpenter
This movie which was released in 1978 is about a deranged man who returns to his hometown
after breaking out of a mental institution and stalks a babysitter and her friends, taking them out
one by one. The film was shot with a small budget of around $350,000 so the crew had to be
very creative. For instance, Michael Myers’s iconic mask is a Captain Kirk mask painted white
with some adjusting. The film uses tropes that were present at the time but expands on them
and pioneered others. The final girl trope existed but with this film’s protagonist, Laurie Strode,
she fought back and didn’t just scream the whole time. The camera work also helped in the
horror aspect with the beginning taking place in his point of view, which establishes tension. The
score is also fantastic paired with the cinematography, creating the perfect atmosphere. This
film may have kickstarted the slasher craze of the 80’s but this next one made everyone stop
and listen.

Friday the 13th – Sean Cunningham
This movie, released in 1980, tells a tale of a group of counselors being picked off one by one
by a mysterious murderer. This movie is most likely what you think about when you hear “horror
movie” right? Someone slaughters a whole lot of teenagers. The main awesomeness of this film
is the fantastic gore of special effects master Tom Savini and the killer score by Harry
Manfredini. Tom Savini is a master of special effects and does stunts for the movies he works
on. Harry Manfedini is the man behind the iconic “Ki Ki Ki – Ma Ma Ma”. Without these two men
the film probably wouldn’t be as iconic as it is today. This film popularized the slasher sub-genre
and had shown that people wanted more of these types of movie