Lisa Clayton- Genre of Horror films

Plots involve death, supernatural or mental illness. Horror films are often combined with science fiction when the menance or monster is related to a corruption of technology, some of previous films which are genred to be horrors interprete from acienent myths.

Early horror movies are largely based on classic literature of gothic/horror genre, such as dracula, frankinstein and the Phantom of the opera. More recent horror films in contrast, often draw inspiration from the insecurities of life after World War II, giving rise to the three distinct, but related sub-genre: the horror-of-personality.

The last sub-genre, may be seen as a modernised transition of earlyer horror films, expanding on their emphasis on supernatural agents that bring horror to the world. Horror films have been dismissed as violent, low budget B movies and exploitation films. Some horror films incorporate elements of other genres such as science fiction, fantasy and thriller.

http://www.filmsite.org/horrorfilms.html - looks into the detail of the history of horror films and gives examples of past horror films which were successfull.