A History of Horror
| A History of Horror | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Mark Gatiss |
| Directed by | John Das (2 episodes) Rachel Jardine (1 episode) |
| Starring | Mark Gatiss |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Michael Poole |
| Producer(s) | Rachel Jardine John Das (series producer) |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | BBC Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Four |
| Picture format | 16:9 1080i |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 11 October – 25 October 2010 |
A History of Horror (also known as A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss) is a 2010 three-part documentary series made for the BBC by British writer and actor Mark Gatiss. It is a personal exploration of the history of horror film, inspired by Gatiss' lifelong enthusiasm for the genre.
The documentary was directed by John Das (episodes one and three) and Rachel Jardine (episode two); series consultant was actor and film historian Jonathan Rigby. The series was initially broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Four from 11 to 25 October 2010. Each of the three episodes lasted 60 minutes.
It received strong reviews from the British press, the Irish press and independent review sites.
In the first episode, Gatiss explores the Golden Age of Hollywood horror, or the Universal era, the 1920s to 1940s. He looks at the silent film The Phantom of the Opera (1925), starring Lon Chaney, the first great horror talkie Dracula (1931), starring Béla Lugosi, and the later release of James Whale's Frankenstein (1931), featuring Boris Karloff. He focuses in particular on Son of Frankenstein (1939), a personal favourite which he feels has been neglected.
The episode includes interviews with John Carpenter, Sara Karloff, Gloria Stuart, Carla Laemmle, Donnie Dunagan, and Sheila Wynn (Lugosi's co-star in a 1951 Dracula tour).
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