The roots of horror films go straight to Gothic Horror. The adaptations of 1930s films used the literature of the 19th century for their horror references. Gothic Horror defined the genre, certainly from the Universal Monsters golden era through the 1950s with Hammer and the 1960s with Corman’s Poe films.

You have been well exposed to the subgenre’s fundamental concepts, which are the baseline for Halloween. The gloomy atmosphere sets the scenes, usually with a crumbling castle or a decaying old Victorian mansion acting as the location. Europe was the foundation for these early films, but the trope eventually wove its way through regions of the USA. Southern Gothic, Western Gothic, and Midwest Gothic all have distinct variations on the original theme. It’s about mood and attitude.

Even some Asian films feel Gothic. Onibaba is a great example of a Japanese-centric historical horror drama that shares many of the same elements of a European Gothic film: loneliness and emotional drama, the beauty of black-and-white contrasting composition, the building of dread and mystery. It’s all there.

The archetypes of horror villains can be traced to the monsters created for the page by Poe, Shelly, Bronte, Lovecraft, and Stoker. These early horror fiction authors lovingly scribed elaborate tales. They often described the little aspects of each scene and the characters’ minds in great detail. As a result, many of these films involve lots of exposition, which is not always great. Many Gothic Horror films will create strong protagonist arcs, which is definitely a big plus. Even the villains get good backstories. Sad, tragic lives can make the monsters pitiful or empathetic.

The great sets and costumes were, and continue to be, a gift of the Gothic Film. Most period-piece horror films are described as Gothic tales, rightfully or not. If a film dates from the mid-18th century to the early 20th century, it is likely to at least FEEL Gothic. Victorian and Edwardian costumes abound. You can’t go cheap on a Gothic horror movie production budget. Even Roger Corman got larger budgets for his Poe films. Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak is a sumptuous example of the strengths and weaknesses of Gothic Horror. The movie looked spectacular, but the story plodded and twisted into knots with a tricky plot.