The Primitive style

The Primitive stage of a genre’s development is when the genre is in its infancy, when it’s characteristics have not yet been defined and when the genre is not yet accepted as being ‘popular’ with the general public.

The "primitive style" of movie-making predated classical Hollywood's continuity system. These techniques include frontal staging or a Tableau style, exaggerated gestures, hardly any camera movement, and no point of view shots.

The first films ever made were made by Auguste and Louis Lumiere - but it did not contain a storyline nor narrative, it plainly showed workers leaving a factory.









However, it is generally believed that the first horror film was Le Manoir du Diable or The House of the Devil by the French illusionist and filmmaker Georges Melies in 1896. This film includes a large range of camera tricks that had never been seen before, including skeletons appearing from thin air and a bat that magically transforms into a man. This silent film can be seen below:




But, the American Inventor Thomas Edison actually made a horror film one year before Melies in 1895. It was entitled The Execution of Mary Stewart. This is based on the true story of the execution of Mary Queen of Scots in 1567. This film ran for 15 seconds, and shows a crowd surrounding the Queen as an executioner swings an axe down upon her neck, cutting off her head. This film can also be seen below:


 



Le Manoir du Diable is the film that played a vital role in the creation of the now incredibly popular, and one of the most loved genre of films. Some other films that fall within the Primitive category of horror film include:

  • The Haunted Castle
  • Frankenstein
  • The Student of Prague

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