35 subgenres of horror

The horror genre is the only genre that proves to be a success in cinema and the
television time and again due to its ability to adapt and attract tastes
specific audiences. While some horror fans may prefer
the blood, the guts, and the gore, other fans of the genre may prefer horror
slow-burning psychological that doesn't show much blood.

The subgenres of horror are numerous, and it makes sense since the genre exists.
since someone can hold a movie camera and make a film.
Let's analyze why the horror genre remains dominant in culture.
cinema and television, and what subgenres were born from horror.

What is terror?

Horror is a film genre that can instill fear in people's hearts.

for people to entertain themselves. The movies that belong to the horror genre
they tend to exploit the greatest fears or the worst nightmares of
spectator through terror, blood, and a rush of adrenaline through
fears.

Not all horror movies look the same. The horror genre is one
one of the most liberating genres of cinema, as it allows filmmakers to play with
uncommon tropes and techniques that are not often seen in mainstream media
of communication.

The horror genre is a general term for all types of horror movies.
that exist. There are different types of horror, from psychological to gore, that the
filmmakers use to create great horror movies. The genre also
it overlaps with many other genres such as mystery, science fiction, fantasy
and the drama to attract the audience with a familiar feeling before frightening them.

What was the first horror movie?

The first horror movie was a 3-minute short film called The Manor
The Devil (1896), known in English as The Haunted Castle or The Devil's Castle.
It was thought that the movie had been lost, but it was discovered in 1988 in the
New Zealand Film Archive. You can watch the short film below.
The movie tells the story of an encounter with the devil and various ghosts.
assistants in a castle. The first short was not meant to scare or surprise.
to the viewers like modern horror movies, but their goal was
entertaining the audience. The cinematography to create impactful images established the
genre as a free genre to explore new visual languages.

The horror genre would not be defined until the masterpiece of German expressionism.
by director Robert Wiene, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The silent film caught the
attention of a global audience on terror and plot twists, which led to
the movie to have a massive impact on cinema and the horror genre.

The setting of Francis's nightmare (Friedrich Fehér) distinguishes the movie, already
that immerses the viewer in the chaos and horrors of history. The lines
rough, the twisted backgrounds and painted shadows created an atmosphere
surreal and terrifying that still endures in the genre, influencing the works of
Tim Burton and David Lynch.

When did horror become popular?

Although horror has a long history in cinema, the genre did not become mainstream.
principal until the 1970s.

Before that, Universal Pictures set out to establish its own style of horror in
Hollywood that would introduce the genre to the American public. Through
Universal Monsters, which included movies like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy,
The Wolfman and Creature from the Black Lagoon, the studio made room for it
terror in the mainstream.

The Universal Monsters

Unfortunately, 22 West Magazine found that the study began to

cheapen the genre by oversaturating it with multiple spin-offs and sequels of the
franchises, which caused people to abandon horror movies in favor of
the comedies.

After World War II ended and the public was

experiencing an economic boom, he was ready to be scared by the
entertainment. In the late 1950s, the public got The Fly, The Blob,
Rosemary's Baby, Night of the Living Dead, and The Haunting.
Although these movies did not start a new franchise, they served as
placeholders for the resurgence of terror. They provided new
shocks and techniques to the genre while addressing issues of racism, misogyny and
right to abortion.

Although The Exorcist was a horror success, the genre did not become the mainstream.
mainly until the late 70s with Halloween, The Amityville Horror, Friday
the 13th y Alien. The audience was impressed by the special effects, the blood
without censorship and the unconventional structure of the stories.

Now, horror is finding a new way to scare with a mindset

more 'sophisticated'. Terror has always had complex themes and moral messages,
but he never fully immersed himself in the artistic style of the Hausu films
The Yellow as they do it today. Terror constantly changes and evolves, but the
within the molds of its specific subgenre.

What are the characteristics of horror movies?

While many horror movies can incorporate physical violence and terror
psychological, there are horror movies that do not show any acts of violence. Each
The subgenre of horror has its unique characteristics, but horror has some
distinct characteristics that define the genre. The AMC site defines horror as
something that contains "dark, primitive, and repugnant traits that simultaneously
they attract us and repel us.

They continue to describe their subgenres:

Horror movies often combine with science fiction when the

threat or the monster are related to the corruption of technology, or
when the Earth is threatened by extraterrestrials. Film genres
Fantasy and supernatural are not synonyms of the horror genre, although the
Thriller movies can have some relationship when they focus on the ...
repugnant and horrible acts of the killer/madman. Horror movies also
known as chilling, horror movies, terror parties, and the macabre.

Some common elements that can be found throughout the horror genre
son

• More action than dialogue

• Growing suspense
• Frights
• A villain or a monster
Although the slasher genre is the most well-known and clearly defined subgenre of horror,
there are so many subgenres that have their own set of rules in horror.

Let's break down the main subgenres of horror.

Psychological

1. Phobia: as the name suggests, the phobia/the horror of isolation focuses on the
horrors of survival. Generally, there is a district phobia present in
these movies are like claustrophobia. If the characters manage to escape alive,
they usually have to pay a high price to survive.

• The Descent
• Gerald's Game
• Frozen

2. Madness and Phobia: this subgenre focuses less on the death of the characters,
but in the madness that drives them in the story. The terror is whether they have lost their heads
due to circumstances, mental illnesses, or simply tendencies
psychopaths. This subgenre overlaps with the slasher genre, but focuses on
less in killing and more in the force that drives the character to kill.

• The Shining
• Jacob's ladder
• In the mouth of madness

3. Invasion and Survival at Home: this subgenre typically involves

a woman alone at home or a group of people who are threatened by one or
more assailants who are generally masked. The main focus of the
A home invasion movie is about whether the victim(s) will survive.

Unlike slashers, home invasion movies focus on

more in the stalking of the victims than in their killings. The villains do not reveal
their identities until much later in history, which increases the fear
claustrophobic.

• The Strangers
• The purge
• Funny Games
4. Art and Essay: Also known as elevated horror, authorial horror and
the essay focuses on psychological themes and atmosphere. Often, films
Author terror has a distinctive cinematic style that can deepen
in philosophical ideas that challenge the beliefs of the spectators.

The story can be simple or complex, but the core of the movie tends to be the
cinematography. The experience of the film is more important than sticking to the
traditional cinematic structure. Sometimes, horror films can feel
empty and without substance, but it is undeniably impressive.

• Under the skin

• Climax
• Mandy

5. Slasher: The slasher genre is probably the most...

known. Generally, these movies feature a killer with appearance
human (sometimes with supernatural powers) who pursues a group of
people, usually teenagers. The deaths are bloody and unique, which
which makes it a fun but terrifying clock. It is also the genre
responsible for the Final Girl trope (the chased girl) that we can't help but love.

• Halloween
• Child’s Play
• Candyman
• Freaky
• Happy Death Day

6. Crime and Giallo: Crime and Giallo films focus on elements of

other genres such as slashers, noir fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror,
exploitation and supernatural terror. These films are more difficult to define due to
to its thematic and stylistic nature. Many of the films that belong to the
gender have splendid scenic designs with vivid, bold qualities,
surrealists and acts of violence against beautiful middle-class women.

• The Girl Who Knew Too Much

• Blood and Black Lace
• Suspiria
7. Backwoods Horror: The horrors of Backwoods are easy to define. They are
simply slasher movies that take place in forests, woods or places
rural areas that are affected by rural poverty. Often, the inhabitants of the
city that travels through rural territory encounters the country people who
they finally hunt in a terrifying way.

• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

• The Hills Have Eyes
• Wrong Turn

8. Torture: also known as torture porn, this subgenre shows

episodes of extreme violence and explicit scenes of torture and mutilation. The
subgenre is inherently delivered to the sadism delivered by a villain to
trivial without reason, granting the public satisfaction and gratification when it comes to
of blood and physical violence.

• Saw
• Hostel
• The Devil's Rejects

9. Body Horror: In its most basic form, body horror films show
grotesque or disturbing violations of the human body. The most popular forms
of bodily horror involved mutations due to disease or infection,
uncontrolled transformations and representations of bodily movements
unnatural.

• The fly
• Videodrome
• District 9
• Tusk

10. Splatter: also known as gore films, splatter movies

focus on the mutilation of the human body. Although gore films often
they are criticized for being free and are referred to as torture pornography, many
Gore films contain ironic social critiques in their scripts.

• Final Destination
• Tag
• Terrifier 2
11. Cannibal: this subgenre uses cannibalism as an impactful element.
graphic and realistic violence and genuine cruelty towards animals are difficult to
to digest, what serves as the main advertising attraction of cannibal movies.
The reputation of the subgenre is often viewed negatively, which leads to the
Cannibal horror movies are a taboo. It is difficult to become mainstream.
with these movies, but Green Inferno by Eli Roth and Raw by Julia Ducournau
they brought cannibalism back to the mainstream.

• Cannibal Holocaust
• The green hell
• Raw

12. Extreme: Exploitation horror presents the most extreme examples of gore,
mutilation and cannibalism in films. The graphic nature of these films
it is difficult to digest, as it shows all the brutality. Due to its taboo nature
and its plotless nature, many of these movies have been banned in several
countries.

• Thriller: A Cruel Picture

• Ichi the Killer
• A Serbian Film

13. Zombies: popularized by George A. Romero, zombies have a history

deep and rich in cinema. Zombies unconsciously terrify the brain
human and have appeared in many cultures around the world.

• Night of the Living Dead

• Train to Busan
• 28 Days Later

Virus: there is a lot of mixing between zombies and viruses, but it is important to remember that
Not all zombies are based on viruses and not all viruses lead to zombies.
In movies that are not about zombie viruses, the infected often retain
the control until the virus takes over completely.

• The Crazies
• Pontypool
• Mayhem
[Link]: Vampires have been a staple in the horror genre.
long before any other movie monster. All the movies of
vampires have different sets of rules for their vampires, but always
they keep one thing the same: they need blood to live.

• Let The Right One In

• Blade
• Midnight Mass

16. Werewolf: Werewolves are an underutilized movie monster that

has fought to find many homes in the horror genre. Unlike
vampires, werewolves are not given the same status of terror and, to
however, the werewolves offer a lot.
space to explore the 'otherness' and allow special effects artists
show your talents during the transformation scene.

• An American Werewolf in London

• The werewolf
• Howl

17. Classic and Mythological: this horror genre has its roots in the myths of a
culture. These movies are based on the legends we hear while
we grew up and were scared. Whether the villain is a masked killer,
a disturbed lunatic or a supernatural creature, the classic and mythological horror it
speak to the inner child who believes that something might be lurking beyond the light.

• The ritual
• The Weeping Woman
• Krampus

[Link]-Monsters: Neo-monster is a term that describes everything else in the

genre of monsters. All the new strange, creative monsters,
frankly strange ones that have no home in the monster genre live
in this subgenre. Neo-monsters prevail in B movies, but have
found a new life in the mainstream thanks to CGI.

• A Quiet Place
• Pumpkinhead
• Stranger Things
19. Animals and Nature: this subgenre of horror presents natural forces in
game in the shape of an animal or plant. Generally, these animals or the foliage are the
antagonists in movies and threaten the lives of human characters.

• The Happening
• Shark
• Creepshow

20. Giant Creatures: just like animals and nature, the creatures
Giants are usually the villains in these horror movies. Mutated by radiation.
or by a strain of altered DNA, these creatures terrorize the characters and, to
tripe, serve as a metaphor for Mother Nature's revenge.

• Godzilla
• King Kong
• Crawl

[Link] Creatures: unlike most horror creatures, these

characteristics of creatures have small cute monsters that terrorize the
city. Size is not a problem when it comes to monsters with intentions
malicious. These are often family-friendly horror movies that still
They can scare both adults and children.

• Ghoulies
• Gremlins
• Munchies

22. Science Fiction and Extraterrestrials: science fiction horror combines terror
from the unknown with science. With futuristic threats or species that have been
disturbed unknowingly by humans, the science fiction horror promises that the
horror will exist regardless of the time or place, and that includes space. Where the
the genre of monsters can offer a loose or fluid explanation for the
animal attacks, there is often a lot of research about where
Did the aliens come or why?

• Alien
• Nope
• Prey
23. Ghosts and Spirits: This subgenre is another that needs no introduction.
in horror movies, ghosts and spirits are usually the souls of the dead that
they have unfinished business or seek revenge.

• Ghost Ship
• Poltergeist
• Thirteen Ghosts

24. Haunted House: Could you have a ghost movie without a house?
haunted? The simple answer is yes, so this subgenre focuses more on
the location that in the ghost itself. The plot usually revolves around a group of
intrepid newcomers who venture into a haunted house.

• The Amityville Horror

• Beetlejuice
• The Grudge

25. Possession: this subgenre is quite simple. Someone or something is possessed by

a spirit. The spirit can be good or evil, but this is horror, so the
Most of the time we will get an evil spirit. Sometimes, humans do not
They have to be the ones who are possessed. Some of my favorite horror movies.
they include inanimate objects that come to life to kill.

• Christine
• Oculus
• Possession

26. Devils, Demons and Hell: Very rarely in possession movies, the
the devil really possesses, but when it inhabits a human body, the bets
they are always much taller. Demons and lesser imps often
they do most of the devil's heavy work, but they don't always have to
to possess a body to create a living hell for the characters of the movie.
On the contrary, they can simply be entities that leave a trail of death and
destruction.

• The omen
• Devil
• To the Devil a Daughter
[Link] and Occultism: movies that feature witches or cults tend to play
with the tropes that have been given to the characters a long time ago in the
history. Some movies portray a hierarchy with other magical beings
minors, but the objective of the cults and the witches tends to be the same: to serve
a superior being.

• The Craft
• The Witch
• Silent Hill

28. Supernatural Power: supernatural powers in horror often

they present a teenager or child who has inexplicable powers that cannot
to control. Often, this leads to many terrible events happening before
that the character can perfect their skill. The final scene often involves
that the character becomes enraged with those who avoided or manipulated them throughout
the movie.

• Firestarter
• Carrie
• Seconds Apart

[Link] Comedy: horror comedy plays both in the comedy genre

like in horror, they thrive well together. Comedy often comes from
seeing another person suffer in funny ways, and writing for a joke is to
the same script for a satisfactory slaughter. The creatures can
they are more cute or playful than scary, but they are malevolent creatures in the
that cannot be trusted.

• Shaun of the Dead

• Jennifer's Body
• Eating Raoul

30. Horror Parody: the horror parody is a subset of comedy.

terror, but with a twist. The horror of the parody almost explains itself. It mocks
of horror franchises or tropes. Some parody horror movies almost
they imitate the plot of the movies they are parodying or may have their own
unique plots while largely relying on stereotypes of the
horror movies.

• What We Do in the Shadows

• Horror movie
• The cabin in the woods
31 Lovecraftian / Cosmic Horror: Named after HP Lovecraft, Lovecraftian
horror and cosmic horror, places the horror in the unknown or beings beyond the
human understanding.

• The Mist
• The Void
• Annihilation

32. Gothic Horror: Gothic horror takes much of its tone and aesthetics from the
gothic literature. There is a delicate blend of romance and melancholy mixed with
elements of horror.

• Sleepy Hollow
• Crimson Peak
• Interview with the Vampire

Found Footage: while found footage is more of a filming technique,

the style saw a rise in popularity in the 2010s in the horror genre, becoming
in a default subgenre. The style of the film generally has a
character filming the other characters or GoPros attached to their body. The
Unstable camera disorients the viewers, adding to the chaos of horror.
from the movie and plays with the ideas of perspective as it develops the
technology.

• Deadstream
• Cloverfield
• [REC]

Folk Horror: Folk horror consists of films that focus largely

in the relationship of a community with the land. Often set in areas
rural or secluded, the brutal clash between modernism and societies
primitives reach a critical point, and Mother Nature tends to prevail
always.

Popular horror often delves into old ideas or folklore and focuses on
themes of isolation and a character's relationship with themselves and with the land.

• Midsummer
• Lamb
• The Wicker Man
Post-Apocalyptic: post-apocalyptic movies feature characters in
an empty place. In a world destroyed by various causes, such as a war
nuclear or a medical pandemic, these movies often focus on the end of
world and the struggle for survival.

• Doomsday
• Bird Box
• Daybreak

All these subgenres showcase the fantastically unique quality of the genre of
Terror. There is a little something for everyone. Each subgenre dives deeper into niches.
that can be further broken down. The possibilities are endless, and it is about the
What do you think suits your taste and story best?

Horror is a constantly expanding genre that will continue to find new

ways to reinvent oneself. Many of these subgenres tend to immerse themselves among
Yes, borrowing some elements while they create their ethos.

Don't be afraid to play within the subgenres of horror when writing your
next project, and do not feel that you have to adhere to any subgenre. Create
a horror project that you want to see, but it is useful to turn to movies
specific and borrow some features from them.