Horror movie is a film that designed to frighten or panic, caused dread and alarm, invoke our worst hidden fear, and terrifying, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in cathartic experience. Horror movie usually deal with our most primal nature and its fears : nightmares, our vulnerability, alienation, revulsions, unknown terrors, fear of death, dismemberment, loss of identity, or fear of sexuality.
The first horror movie, was made by imaginative French filmmaker Georges Melies, titled Le Manoir Du Diable (a.k.a. The Devil's Castle, 1896). The movie only about 2 minutes long and containing some elements of later vampire films.
Nachte des Grauens (a.k.a. Night of Terror, 1916) - German's silent movie - was the first vampire movie that made in length-feature film. The film was directed by Arthur Robison, and it is about the story of vampire-like people.
Horror movie that have been considered as silent expressionistic landmark classic is German film called Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari (a.k.a. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1919) from director Robert Wiene. The story is about a ghost-like hypnotist-therapist in a carnival called Dr. Caligari (played by Wener Kraus) whose performing somnambulist. It was brought to Hollywood in the 1920s, and later influenced the classic period of horror films.
Meanwhile, the first horror movie that adapted Bram Stoker's Dracula novel was Hungarian film called Drakula Halala (a.k.a The Death of Dracula, 1921).
Meanwhile the American actor that been introduced the horror genre to audience in Hollywood was Alonso "Lon" Chaney, Sr., who also been known as "the man of a thousand faces". He's been known by that nickname for his transformative, grotesque makeup and acting genuis. He's been well-known for his act as the huncbacked Quasimodo - a tortured bellringer in a cathedral - in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923, directed by Wallace Worsley). Chaney's most memorable protrayal was in the ground-breaking, vividly-frightening horror classic The Phantom of the Opera (1925) as Devil's Island escapee Erik, a disfigured, deranged, biter, and vengeful composer / ghost of the Paris Opera (based on the character in Gaston Leroux's 1911 novel).
The most frequently portrayed character in horror films (that also been noted by Guinness Book of World Records) is Dracula, with over 160 representations. The first Hollywood movie about him was Dracula (1931), directed by Tod Browling, produced and released early in the year by Universal Studios. The film itself was a adaptation from Lugosi's Broadway stage story (played in 1927).
Another classic horror film was Frankenstein, which been produced in 1931. It was an adaptation from Mary Shelley's novel. Boris Karloff - played as the creature made by Dr. Henry Franskenstein - had been well-known after played this character.
Meanwhile, the first werewolf film that made and produced in US was The Werewolf of London (1935). It's directed by Stuart Walker and played by Henry Dull as Dr. Glendon, a scientist who brings the "wolf curse" upon himself.
Notable films with living dead "zombie" plots was made for the first time in 1932. The film called The Mummy, directed by Karl Freund, with Boris Karloff in the title role as the 3,700 years-old bandaged corpse of Im-Ho-Tep.
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