Absinthe Heart: Chateau Of Grotesque Volume 1

CGI effects and meticulous attention to detail in bringing out the gore in movies is a must have in modern cinema and films such as Ju-On and Scream have drawn loads of cinema goers just to satiate their need for horror. Unfortunately, the deluge of multi million productions that grace the projectors and television screens are nothing but a diluted product cleverly masked by the cosmetic surgery: It looks good on the surface but once you start scratching the surface, you will find that the most horrific thing about the movie is the fact that it barely made your face turn pale, let alone giving you sleepless nights. Not even the revival of frightening characters such as Freddy Krueger and Jason have done any favours but rather to turn their appearance into a comeback akin to a forgotten 80's star. Is there hope left for horror in the cinema? Or will the likes of a frisky teenage girl caught between two males confused about their creature orientation lead the genre to the throes of doom?

Undoubtedly, classic literature formed the root behind the creation of horror and in who better to dish out the screams than Satan himself? In the epic Paradise Lost (1667) written by John Milton, Satan is portrayed as a persuasive figure who triggers the fear of God into Eve and later passed on to Adam as they committed an act of sin after an act of lustful sex with each other. While the actions of Satan might not caused readers to break into a cold sweat, it is his ability to control the characters like a puppet master and playing the role of God which releases the fear within Adam and Eve after succumbing to his temptations. Milton himself turned to Dutch playwright Joost van den Vondel in seeking inspiration for Paradise Lost by watching the plays Lucifer (1654) and Adam In Ballingschap (1664) with few lines from the play being translated and incorporated into the book thanks to his limited understanding of the Dutch language. Like a piledriver breaking into new ground in an era where literature was relatively limited to singing praises about the royal family or to criticise its failings, horror was seen as a refreshing change in the system which gave birth to a genre of its own in the form of Gothic literature, exemplified by the opus The Castle Of Otranto which was written by Horace Walpole in 1764. Breaking the laws of convention and giving macabre twists in the storyline, The Castle Of Otranto became the catalyst with elements of medievalism, horror and unconventional romance providing the blueprint of a Gothic novel while referencing certain real life events in a concealed manner yet enable to reflect on the real life degeneration of society at that point of time. Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley is a story about how Man attempts to play the role of God with Dr Victor Frankenstein using his well versed knowledge in the field of science to create a man made human being, only to recoil from fear upon its animation and the destructive rampage it caused in order to settle the score with Frankenstein. Despite the horror theme that predominantly runs through the book coupled with the monster's less than appealing features, the book Frankenstein also acted as a warning against the ongoing Industrial Revolution which saw machines replacing the need for manual labour. Milton's Paradise Lost carries some influence over the book as well with Shelley referring to the creature as Adam since the latter was a creation of God just like the monster, albeit through the use of various body parts galvanised together by Victor Frankenstein who was a mere mortal with exceptional knowledge. Shelley's book is just one of the many iconic books that has graced the pivotal era of Gothic literature along with other historic works such as Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (1886) and even Herman Melville's Moby Dick (1851) which carried shared themes such as mysticism and the unorthodox. Somewhere in the 1800's however, Eadweard Muybridge and his creation was about to make history and provide horror a new platform, going from print to screen

It was his idea to put a series of pictures into a moving sequence that led to the creation of the motion picture camera by William Kennedy Dickson and it did not take long before the first horror film was being produced: Le Manoir du Diable directed by Georges Mèliès in 1896. Translated as The House Of The Devil, it was released on Christmas Eve and it lasted for 2 minutes with the storyline that was ironically, more comical than scary but it paved the way in establishing the horror genre along with the spaghetti Westerns and comedy routines such as Charlie Chaplin. The Germans were the first to create horror movies with the likes of Der Golem (1913) by Paul Wegener which was based on an old Jewish folk tale and the iconic first full length vampire movie Nosferatu (1922) by F.W.Murnau followed by Robert Wiene's The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari. It was not long before the Americans jumped on the bandwagon with production company Universal Studios releasing both Frankenstein and Dracula in 1931 using both literature classics such as the former and original creations such as The Mummy (1932) and Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) with Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde being the only exception to the rule as the film was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer (MGM). Despite the ongoing world wars at that point of time which affected the film industry, it ushered a new era of horror films with the entry of Britain and the revival of Hammer Film Productions. After a brief slump in 1937 that caused the company to go into liquidation, Hammer Films got back on its feet after being rescued by James Carreras and Anthony Hinds with the company being nomadic for a few years before settling at Down Place which was located at the banks of the Thames. Hammer Films finally got its big break when it began to experiment with horror films which has become its trademark, beginning with the adaption of Nigel Kneale's The Quartermass Experiment in 1955 (changed to The Quartermass Xperiment in order to cash in on the newly created X rating for horror films at that point of time) followed by The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957) which was being presented in colour and marked the appearance of a certain Christopher Lee as the monster, marking the start of an illustrious career in tandem with the production company as their star artiste. Best known for his recurring roles as Count Dracula in Dracula (1958), Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968), Taste The Blood Of Dracula (1969) and Scars Of Dracula (1970), Christopher Lee played other characters such as The Mummy (1959) and Rasputin, The Mad Monk (1966) for Hammer Films before progressing to other roles elsewhere. Coincidentally, it caused Hammer Films to gradually stop producing Gothic horror films and go into television production in the 80s before hibernating for 20 years until recently, when a consortium led by art collector Charles Saatchi bought over the company in 2000 and transferring ownership in 2007 to the Dutch company Cyrte Investments, led by producer John de Mol. Despite its lowpoint, Hammer Films has made a significant impact on the horror film industry and most of its elements can credited to the creation of the popular exploitation films in America (also known as grindhouse) which began in the 60s

So forget the 3D glasses that promises you a realistic view of watching movies and the fanatical hype surrounding a ghost inside a television screen for that matter. The horror genre in literature and movies may be polished in contrast to their ancestors but at the end of the day, it is all about the quality and lasting impact it has in years to come. Maybe modernisation has forced the creatures of the night to adapt to civilisation or risk extinction but there is nothing more satisfying (or horrific, for that matter) than to watch Dracula rise from his grave and literally sinks his fangs onto his delicacy for the night. Its haemoglobin, not ketchup