Horror films are meant to strike fear in the hearts of viewers and have been around for many years. Their plots generally include a central villain and involve a theme of death. Horror movies have changed throughout history, while early films were largely based on classic novels such as Dracula and Frankenstein, newer films often draw their inspiration from real life. Horror films were once thought of as violent, low budget films but many film studios and respected directors have had huge success with horror movies. Famous directors of horror films include Alfred Hitchcock, Francis Ford Coppola, and Roman Polanski among many others. Horror films often times will incorporate components of other genres such as thrillers, fantasy, and science fiction.
Well Known Horror Film Directors:
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Alfred Hitchcock – resources and information on all of Hitchcock's movies
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M. Night Shyamalan – the official website of the director of movies such as The Sixth Sense, The Village, and Signs among others
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Eli Roth – a biography of the director most well known for the Hostel films
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Francis Ford Coppola – an article from CNN on the man most renowned for Bram Stokers Dracula and The Godfather films
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John Carpenter – the official website of the director of the world famous Halloween starring Jamie Lee Curtis
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Rob Zombie – a site devoted to Rob Zombie's films which include House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, Halloween, and others
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Tim Burton – the official site of the director known for such films as Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, Coraline, and more
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Wes Craven – director known for works such as the Scream movies, The Hills Have Eyes, and Nightmare on Elm Street
Horror Movie Databases:
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The Horror Movie Database – a database of over 1,000 different horror movies with information on each
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Horror – a database, news, reviews, and forums all about horror films for scary movie fans
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IMDB – the Internet Movie Database features information on almost any movie ever made including horror films
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Horror Genre – a directory of horror film resources including filmmakers and directors, discussion boards, special effects, reviews, and much more
Miscellaneous Horror Film Resources:
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Upcoming Horror Movies – descriptions and lists of horror movie releases as well as descriptions, reviews, and trailers
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Top 50 Horror Films – a list of the top horror films of all time from the Internet Movie Database
1. Psycho (1960)
2. Alien (1979)
3. The Shining (1980)
4. Aliens (1986)
5. Les Diaboliques (1955)
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Top 25 Horror Movies – a list of the top 25 horror movies from TIME magazine
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Horror Film Resources – a list of various horror film resources from UC Berkeley
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Death & Dying in Film – information on horror film scenes featuring death and dying
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Understanding Horror Cinema – an article from the Journal of Media Psychology on understanding the appeal of horror movies
Written by Michael S. Atwood