The What was the first ever horror movie? It's a question that we've pondered time and time

again throughout the history of this podcast. Many would argue that the first true horror film is Robert Viner's The Cabinet of Dr.

Caligari in 1920, a German expressionist film about a homicidal somnambulist on a killing spree.

But this film wasn't necessarily setting out to

horrify audiences in the traditional sense.

This was more like a psychological art house film, one that just happened to be incredibly unsettling.

It wasn't until the back-to-back success of Universal's Dracula and Frankenstein and Paramount's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, all released in 1931,

that the horror genre became a recognizable thing, a format. It's alive, it's alive, it's alive.

One could argue, therefore, that it was the following year,

1932, when studios began jumping on the success of these three films and

trying to replicate them, that horror became an established genre. It was in 1932 that It's a big dog.

They'll make one of us a loving cup.

It was in 1932 that MGM jumped on the horror bandwagon

and had a go at making their own horror film. They hired

Dracula director Todd Browning who created a film that was considered at the time

so shocking, so grotesque that test audiences reportedly ran screaming from the movie theatre

resulting in 30 minutes of footage being cut for the film's theatrical release. But even after the cuts and despite

having a 60 minute running time, the film gained a reputation around the world, one that

it still has today for being one of the most shocking

and extreme horror films ever made.

Join me as we continue our journey through the mind and body as we discuss Robert Viner's

the cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Todd Brownings freaks.

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