When you think of gory horror movies, modern mainstream titles like Evil Dead, Hostel, and Terrifier probably come to mind first. These films push boundaries on what is acceptable and take audiences to the limits of terror. But these films are just part of a more significant legacy in horror and owe a lot to earlier movies that helped break away from the genre's limitations years prior.
Filmmakers like Herschell Gordon Lewis started experimenting with grotesque visuals and extreme violence in the early 1960s, making such groundbreaking films as Blood Feast, The Wizard of Gore, and The Gruesome Twosome. These movies shocked audiences at the time, leaving some entirely banned in certain countries. They may not hold up to modern horror standards, but they paved the way for what was to come.
Let's take a look into the history of gory horror movies and explore how they've evolved over the years. From early exploitation films to more recent slasher classics, these movies have helped gore and influenced horror forever.
Fiend Without a Face: Meshing Cold War Anxiety with Gore
Though often overlooked for more in-your-face films, the 1958 science fiction horror movie Fiend Without a Face is one of horror's earliest forays into actual gore. The black-and-white British film follows an American military officer investigating mysterious sightings of disembodied brains and their connection to a nearby atomic missile plant.
The original tagline alone for the film reads: "New Horrors! Mad Science Spawns Evil Fiends! ... Taking form before your horrified eyes!" This wasn't far from the truth. As the movie progresses, disembodied brains manifest as blob-like monsters with spindly tentacles and sharp teeth, attacking people and creating gruesome scenes. The finale, in which the brains are shot at (with some exploding in splashes of blood and flopping around on the ground), arguably displayed more gore than any previous film. Though the effects may not look too impressive today, when released in 1958, they were groundbreaking for their time, which is perhaps why the film is included in the esteemed Criterion Collection.
This new and extreme presentation of horror was not without controversy. Fiend Without a Face was a topic of discussion within the British Parliament, where members questioned how a film with such violence was allowed to be released. It set a new standard for what science fiction could do and, in a way, laid the groundwork for future gore-filled flicks.
Blood Feast: The Godfather of Gore
Fast-forward just a few years to 1963, and we have the dawn of a new era for gory horror: exploitation films. Led by Herschell Gordon Lewis, whose films are now regarded as cult classics, Blood Feast is seen as the first true splatter film. It's the first entry of a trilogy of movies from Lewis, often referred to as the Blood Trilogy, which also includes Two Thousand Maniacs! and Call Me Blood Red. These movies are some of the earliest examples of extreme, over-the-top gore in horror.
Blood Feast follows Fuad Ramses, a psychopathic caterer with sinister motives. In the film, Ramses performs a series of gruesome murders in order to collect body parts and make an ancient ritual offering to an Egyptian goddess. The murders are graphically depicted and far more extreme than anything shown before in film. It didn't take long for critics to tear the movie apart, and it was almost universally panned. A 1964 edition of The Los Angeles Times referred to it as "grisly, boring movie trash," yet despite the reviews, audiences were enthralled by what they saw, and Blood Feast became a cult classic that set a new standard for gore in horror.
Gore Post Hays Code: The Slasher Boom, Then and Now
Though Blood Feast and exploitation films of the mid-20th century were groundbreaking in their own way, it wasn't until the late 1970s and early 1980s that gore became more mainstream. The introduction of the "slasher" subgenre changed horror and its presentation of gore forever and ushered in a new era of horror.
The slasher genre is marked by its emphasis on gory violence and death, often with a focus on body horror. The introduction of slasher films saw some of the most iconic franchises in horror begin, such as Friday the 13th and Halloween. Yet without the influence of the exploitation films before them, these movies may have never come to fruition.
The Hays Code, a film production code that restricted what could and could not be shown on screen, was in effect for over 30 years before it was abolished in 1968. This opened up the possibilities for filmmakers to push the boundaries of violence and gore even further. The slasher films of this era took full advantage of this, making them some of the most graphic and gruesome movies in the genre.
Since then, gore has been a staple of horror films, and with each passing year, the level of violence seems to increase. This was clear with the 2022 release of Terrifier 2, which reportedly caused viewers to become ill from its extreme content.
Gory splatter films hold a unique place in the horror genre and maintain an important influence on the film industry. As long as there is an audience for them, it's likely that we'll continue to see more and more violent films. Whether that's a good or bad thing is up to your personal opinion, but one thing is sure, the history of gore in horror films has made a lasting impression.