So you've watched every horror film available and are waiting patiently for the next one to come around, and you can't wait for October when every channel stages a horror film festival. That means you have time to learn more about the classic horror films you've seen, and maybe discover some you haven't.
Mark Gatiss, who has worn all the hats in both film and television, produced an extensive documentary for the BBC in 2010 that explores almost a century of horror movies. A History of Horror aired in the UK in three installments in October of 2010.
Now you, too, can see it at your leisure. You don't have to watch it all at once, just bookmark this link and come back to it to see more. Part one is titled "Frankenstein Goes to Hollywood." It covers early horror movies, from the 1925 silent film The Phantom of the Opera to the rise of the Universal monster pictures. The Golden Age, as it were.
Part two is "Home Counties Horror." It chronicles the Hammer films of the 1950s and '60s, plus the rise of paganism and folklore in horror films.
Part three is "The American Scream." This is about Hollywood going all in on terror, with zombies and slasher films and more recent horror fare.
It's a pity that the series end with the first Halloween film, but there's only so much one man can do, and you must admit that these three hours cover an awful lot of cinema history.
-via Metafilter
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