Please take a deep breath: modern horror movies were born here!

As we all know, the 1960s was a turbulent time. People's minds are full of unstable factors such as sexual liberation, marijuana, anti-authority, anarchism and so on. The horror movies of this era are like a mirror, reflecting the whole society. Aside from the mutant behemoth and the alien little green men in the 1950s, horror movies had a beautiful return in the 1960s-the inner fear rose again, and the once-old theme was rejuvenated.

This revolution is thanks to the suspense master Hitchcock, who pointed out the development direction of horror movies in the next decade with a bathroom fright. 1960' s psychopath awakens the inner fears that have been sleeping for a long time: serial killers with swords, weird clothes of the opposite sex, mummies, crazy schizophrenia and the beauty and screams of popular actress janet leigh. Hitchcock used these elements to bring horror movies back to reality from the vast universe in the 1950s, and added new horror elements-the horror of schizophrenia and sleeping at home.

So in the horror films of the early 1960s, the seeds of madness spread everywhere. Among them, there are films similar to psychopaths (such as killer 196 1), paranoia 1963, madman 1963) and so on. (1962), roman polanski's Cry in Cold Blood (1965) and Michelle Powell's Farewell to peeping tom (1960), the explicit sex and violence in the films annoyed almost all the film critics, and the whole film industry was in an uproar, which eventually led to the great director being taken by the whole film industry. Even the costume horror movies set in the classical era are infected with similar psychological diseases. In roger corman's The Collapse of the House of Asher (adapted from Poe's novel of the same name), Vincent Price interprets Madness with his blue velvet voice.

With the progress of the times, the madness on the screen in the 1960 s penetrated into life. The madness of the Beatles and the beat generation is a resistance to power and tradition. During this time, there is no big action in the horror film, and it seems to be saving energy for the next spewing. 1968, the madness that has been suppressed for a long time has finally found an outlet in the witch-seeking general. Michael Levi's, a 26-year-old British director, combined the classical Gothic drama with modern elements, and used all kinds of gruesome torture and torture to reflect the young people's distrust of authority. The director himself is also a young pioneer who blew the rebellious horn. The fearless young man didn't even notice the old actor Vincent Price when shooting. Pointing to the latter's performance made Vincent very angry and said, "I have made 87 films. What did you do? " Levi's didn't buy the old actor's account at all, and replied, "I have only made three films, but they are all excellent!" " This sentence has also become a prophecy. Only six months after the release of Exorcism, Levi's committed suicide in his residence at the age of 26. His death can be said to be an irreparable loss in the horror film industry.

Another feature of the 1960s was impermanence. In this era, the development of horror films is quite diverse, from the slow-paced Japanese ghost films Mystery Story and Ghost Girl (both 1966) to the Italian gothic horror film Black Sunday (1960, directed by Mario Beva) which combines sex and cruelty. Horror movies have created unprecedented prosperity all over the world.

While the types are diversified, the horror films are getting farther and farther in the picture creation, so that the scissors in the hands of film censors can't keep up with the speed of blood spatter. The initiator of all this is American director Gordon Lewis, who is known as the "godfather of blood". He created a new type of horror film: bloody horror, and painted the word horror scarlet. In his masterpiece Bloody Banquet (1963), he disemboweled a former cover girl of Playboy. The bloody internal organs in the film were criticized by film critics, and some even commented sharply: "Lewis's film is a slaughterhouse at night." However, the audience ignored the experts' accusations. Compared with those anemic movies in the past, Lewis's movies did provide a fresh way to stimulate the audience in the 1960s.

However, it was another person who pushed the bloody terror to the peak. If "Psychopaths" started the horror movies of the 1960s with the madness of one person, then "night of the living dead" (198) ended the 1960s with the madness of the whole people. The roar of zombies from the depths of their throats reveals a horror that borders on despair. Director george romero earned a global box office of up to $30 million at a low cost of 1 14000, which is the first truly modern horror film in film history. This film also created a brand-new horror-themed funeral film, and attracted numerous follow-up works, including dawn of the dead, Day of the Living Dead, Land of the Living Dead, and the popular Resident Evil series in recent years. Some film critics once called this movie "an endless and uncontrollable zombie carnival". The film was shot in black and white film, and the graininess of the picture was obvious, quite realistic and filled with pessimism. In the film, zombies devour internal organs (said to be donated by the local slaughterhouse) and then burn them alive; The girl who turned into a zombie stabbed her mother with a shovel (obviously to pay tribute to the psychopath); The black protagonist was misunderstood as a zombie and finally shot in the head by a racist. Although these plots are covered with funeral films, they actually tell all the stories of the 1960s, including the bloody Vietnam War and soldiers who died in the war, young people's resistance to their parents, and the civil rights movement for racial equality. The director melted the whole 1960s into a 96-minute horror story, presenting a perfect summary report for this turbulent decade.

Night of the living dead by Romero is the first truly modern horror film, and it is "an endless and uncontrolled zombie carnival".

Psychological America 1960

Marion stole public funds to escape, checked into a motel, but was killed in the bathroom. Her sister and boyfriend joined the police in-depth investigation. As a masterpiece of horror thriller, Hitchcock first explored the world of schizophrenic killers; Especially in the 48-second bathroom killing scene, although it is a black-and-white image, 78 shots are quickly switched, and the comprehensive use of lighting and sound still makes a shocking picture. Norman Bates, the hero, became synonymous with schizophrenia. Universal French Zone 2 released a two-disc version, a 94-minute documentary, a 65,438+05-minute short film "Hail to Hitchcock" and a 33-minute short film "movie master".