Horror movies have always been a significant part of Hollywood, dating back to the silent era, when German expressionism dominated the genre with films like Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. When the talkie era began, horror became a dominant genre, with Universal horror monsters dominating the box office.

Dracula and Frankenstein arrived in 1931, and by the 1940s, everything from The Wolf Man to The Invisible Man and The Mummy had made their debut in horror cinema. However, their reign at the top lasted only a little over a decade, and it all ended due to one thing. World War II led to significant changes in horror cinema.

World War II’s Real-Life Horror Made Universal Monsters Obsolete

The War’s Horrors Made Universal Monsters Not So Scary

World War II began in 1939, but the United States chose to remain disconnected from the war, with many in the country considered isolationists. However, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, America joined the war in 1941, and the draft sent many young men overseas. By this time, all movies began to change, none more so than the horror genre.

World War II had two effects on horror movies. It took away a significant amount of money from these productions, and it created a sense of horror in American moviegoers that overshadowed vampires, werewolves, and supernatural creatures. Mᴀss deaths on the battlefields, extermination camps, and, eventually, the big bomb made these monsters less frightening.

The loss of money led to B-grade horror films by previous icons, such as Bela Lugosi (Dracula) and Boris Karloff (Frankenstein). The Universal Monster movies also suffered a considerable decline in quality at the time. However, this also led to a change in horror in the 1940s, with the best coming from Val Lewton and RKO.

Lewton produced movies like Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, and The Leopard Man, which eliminated supernatural monsters and created a more cerebral and human monster in their place. These movies, made between 1942 and 1946, marked the beginning of a gradual shift in horror, with the war causing terror to become a new staple of the genre.

Hollywood Transitioned From Monsters To Sci-Fi Horror Following World War II

Alien Invasions & Giant Monster Movies Symbolized The War & Fear Of Outsiders

Thanks mostly to things like the extermination camps and the atomic bomb, the form of horror moved away from the supernatural and into the area of sci-fi. There was also a sci-fi slant in Universal horror, as Frankenstein and The Invisible Man were both firmly rooted in the concept of mad scientists. However, the 50s had a different sci-fi feel.

Instead of mad scientists, it was either the world creating the horrors through things like atomic bombs and nuclear testing, or it was otherworldly aliens, which was a stand-in for the idea of Germany and Japan attacking other countries in World War II. During the 1950s, the classic Universal Monsters almost entirely disappeared.

In its place were movies like The Thing from Another World (1951), which blended the concept of an invasion of another society with the Cold War and the communist scare. More invasion monster movies arrived, such as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), and Them! (1954).

The change here was the introduction of world-destroying monsters, an apparent fear left over from World War II. Between these alien invasions and giant monster movies, as well as a new horror genre featuring ghosts that represented the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and lost in the world after the war, horror had a new face, all created from the war’s aftereffects.

Japan Helped Master Giant Monster Movies After The Atomic Bomb

Japan Created Godzilla Based On World War II’s Bomb

This led to the creation of the one monster that completely combined the fears of World War II with the new sci-fi horror movies that had replaced the old-school monsters. In 1954, Japan created its giant monster movie Gojira. Known in the United States as Godzilla, this monster emerged as a direct result of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan.

The fear in Japan was greater than anywhere else. While America celebrated the end of the war after dropping the bombs, millions of Japanese people died as a result. The fear of another nuclear holocaust in the country led to Godzilla’s rise, and he stood for years as a sign of what happens when science leads to destruction.

Hammer Horror Finally Helped Monsters Return To Prominence

Hammer Horror Brought Back Dracula & Frankenstein A Decade Later

It took many years after World War II for anyone to find the original Universal Monsters scary again. What is there to fear from a blood-sucking vampire or a werewolf when the real world has shown that everyone can die if someone orders just one bomb to be dropped on their city? However, time often heals fears, and soon the original monsters returned.

In 1955, Hammer Horror began making movies, although these originated in Britain, not the United States. The company felt it was time to revive classic horror, and after starting with smaller films like X: The Unknown, they finally brought back the old Universal Monsters.

In 1957, 12 years after World War II ended, Hammer Horror brought back Frankenstein’s Monster in The Curse of Frankenstein, and then, in 1958, they resurrected the vampire in Dracula. With Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee signed to deals, this British movie company brought the classic monsters back to the forefront once again.

Wars Have Always Changed How Fans View Horror Movies

Real-World Horrors Will Always Change Horror Movies

The idea that World War II changed the face of horror is something that has occurred during most of the wars involving the United States over the years. During the Vietnam War, the popularity of monster movies died again and was replaced by more dirty, personal horror with The Texas Chain Saw Mᴀssacre and Halloween.

The Iraq War in the 90s also saw a slowdown in silly monster movies, such as the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street movies, because they were no longer as scary as wars. It seems that when Americans encounter real-world horrors that are scarier than fictional monsters, horror movies will always face a time of change.

Old-school monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man will always exist, and they will continue to be revived for new generations. However, thanks to real-world horrors resulting from wars and other atrocities, horror constantly changes to deal with what people are really scared of. It changed horror movies during World War II and will change them again in future conflicts.