CINEMATIC HISTORY:
20th CENTURY HORROR
Horror emerged as a prominent genre in the 20th century, and was often a cinematic space in which Black people were cast as monsters. However, Black creatives were increasingly able to use the genre’s themes and tropes to explore the horrors of racism and the lived experience of Black communities. Early entries include voodoo zombie films such as White Zombie and I Walked with a Zombie, which examine the legacy of slavery and postcolonial anxieties in films set on Caribbean plantations. Later Blaxploitation films sought to capitalise on the growing interest in and appeal of Black characters and stories, while films such as Night of the Living Dead and Candyman emerged as enduring masterpieces of the genre starring Black performers. Below is a selection of notable horror films produced in the 20th century. Please be aware that some of these films contain racist content and we have noted elements that might be disturbing or offensive to viewers. We have also highlighted significant accomplishments by Black filmmakers and performers.
The Birth of a Nation, dir. D.W. Griffith. 1915.
Watch the full film on the Internet Archive.
The Birth of a Nation is an adaptation of Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel The Clansman, and while it is lauded for its technical innovation it is also been denounced for its racism and is considered to be the most controversial film ever made in America. The narrative focuses on the KKK as a group that champions white supremacy and protects white women from Black characters, who are mostly played by white actors in Blackface and are portrayed as morally degenerate, unintelligent and sexually aggressive. The Birth of a Nation was incredibly popular among white audiences, but Black communities and groups across America protested the film. For example, the NAACP organised a campaign to get the film banned for its racist content and contested that it would inflame racial violence. Ultimately this campaign was unsuccessful, and these concerns were realised as riots broke out in several cities across the United States while racial violence by against Black people increased following its release, and counties that hosting screenings saw a fivefold increase in lynchings. The film’s controversial and racist legacy continues. In the 1970s, Klansman David Duke used the film to recruit new members to the KKK, but more recently, in 2016 Nate Parker reclaimed the title through his film, The Birth of a Nation which challenges racism and white supremacy.
Hellbound Train, dir. Eloyce and James Gist. 1930.
Watch the full film on the Library of Congress.
Written, directed and produced by African American evangelists Eloyce and Jame Gist, the 1930s silent film Hellbound Train (also Hell-bound Train) is an early example of Christian scare films. The pair used cinema as a way to spread their ministry, and would often screen their films such as Hellbound Train in churches accompanied by a sermon. In the film, the Devil is shown as an engineer on a train destined for hell presiding over the sins of the Jazz Age; and every time a new sinner – from thieves and drunks, to cheats and even jazz lovers – gets onboard the train, the Devil celebrates.
Ingagi, dir. William Campbell. 1930.
Watch the full film on the Internet Archive.
Originally marketed as an ethnographic documentary, Ingagi is a 1930 pre-Code pseudo-documentary that claims to depict a tribe in the Belgian Congo. The film includes various white supremacist stereotypes as it focuses on the Black tribe women (who are played by American women in Blackface and often depicted completely naked) and their worship of gorillas or “Ingagi”, and suggests that virgin women are given to the gorillas or the “Ingagi” as sex slaves. The film was eventually pulled from circulation due to an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission that revealed it to be fraudulent and misleading. Now, the film is widely viewed as both ridiculous and racist.
White Zombie, dir. Victor Halperin. 1932.
Watch the full film on the Internet Archive.
Released in 1932 and based on William Seabrook’s 1929 novel The Magic Island, White Zombie is a pre-Code horror film often considered to be the first feature length zombie film. Set in Haiti in 1932, this is a film all about racial and postcolonial anxieties. The film stars horror icon Bela Lugosi as Murder Legendre, a voodoo zombie master who controls a crew of enslaved zombies that work on his sugarcane-mill. Financially White Zombie was a success, although reviews were mixed, and the film went on to be one of the few American horror films approved by the Nazi Party to be shown in Germany. Now the film’s zombie workers are considered to be an allegory for colonialism and class exploitation.
The Emperor Jones, dir. Dudley Murphy. 1933.
Watch the full film on the Internet Archive.
Adapted from Eugene O'Neill's 1920 play of the same title, The Emperor Jones is a pre-Code tragedy that tells the story of Brutus Jones, a Black man who escaped from prison and ends up on Caribbean island where he dethrones the ruler and becomes “Emperor”, before being hunted by the native islanders. Brutus Jones is played by Paul Robeson, who also starred in the title role in both US and UK stage productions. The film was partly shot in Haiti and includes several shots of an African ritual dance. However the “n” word frequently appears in the dialogue of the film and the play, and the inclusion of this word has consistently faced criticism so much so that in the original 1920 stage production leading actor Charles Sidney Gilpin substituted this word with “negro”.
King Kong, dir. Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack. 1933.
Watch the full film on the Internet Archive.
The 1933 pre-Code horror film King Kong is the first instalment in the King Kong franchise. The narrative centres on a giant ape named Kong, who is captured on an island shaped like a skull, shackled and taken to New York city where a photograph flash causes him to violently rampage through the city. The final scene famously sees Kong on top of the Empire State building, holding Ann–a woman he has bonded with–before being killed by gunfire and plummeting to his death. The film was popular and critically well-received, but has since faced criticism regarding racial stereotypes of both the native islanders on Skull island and also of Kong himself. The depiction of Kong has been compared to the visual representation of people of African descent as ape-like monsters, while his relationship with the white woman Ann has also been similarly critiqued for symbolising fears surrounding miscegenation and interracial romance.
Black Moon, dir. Roy William Neill. 1934.
Watch the full film on YouTube.
Adapted from a short story by Clements Ripley, Black Moon is a 1934 pre-Code American horror film that explores voodoo curses. The film centres on Juanita (Dorothy Burgess), a young girl who flees from her family’s island plantation after her parents are killed in a voodoo ritual, only to find herself later compelled to return with her family. Back on the island, she takes up the role of voodoo priestess. Clarence Muse, who was the first African American actor to star in a major studio film in a major role, also stars in the film as "Lunch" McClaren.
Drums O' Voodoo (also known as Louisiana or She Devil), dir. Arthur Hoerl. 1934.
Watch the full film on YouTube.
Written by J. Augustus Smith–a Black American actor, playwright and screenwriter–and adapted from his 1933 play Louisiana, Drums O’Voodoo is a 1934 horror film all about voodoo. Smith founded the New Negro Repertory Theater Group, and the original stage production of Louisiana featured an all-Black cast who were members of his group. For the film, the cast members reprised their roles including Smith himself. Smith plays a Southern Baptist preacher, Amos Berry, who teams up with a local voodoo priestess, Auntie Hagar (Laura Bowman) in order to protect their town.
Son of Ingagi, dir. Richard C. Kahn. 1940.
Watch the full film on the Internet Archive.
Directed by Richard C. Khan who, though white, often worked with all-Black casts, Son of Ingani is a 1940 American horror film that is the first science fiction horror film to feature an all-Black cast. Despite the title, the film is not a sequel to the earlier horror film Ingagi (1930), but instead is an adaptation of Spencer Williams’s House of Horror, and Williams also wrote the screenplay for the film.
The Blood of Jesus, dir. Spencer Williams. 1941.
Watch the full film on the Internet Archive.
Written, directed and starring Spencer Williams, The Blood of Jesus is a 1941 independent horror film also considered to be a race film (films produced between 1915 and the 1950s primarily for Black audiences). The narrative takes place in a small, rural American village where a baptist woman is accidentally shot by her atheist husband and is sent to a crossroads where she is tempted by the devil. Alongside traditional cinema screenings the film was also shown in Black churches, and the film’s soundtrack features hymns and African American spiritual songs including “Amazing Grace” and “Go Down Moses”. In 1991, The Blood of Jesus was added to the U.S. National Film Registry, becoming the first race film to do so.
The Lucky Ghost, dir. William Beaudine. 1942.
Watch the full film on the Internet Archive.
The Lucky Ghost (also known as Lady Luck) is an American horror comedy released in 1942. Mantan Moreland and F.E. Miller, popular Black actors and comedians, star in the film as two down-on-their-luck friends who end up mixed up with gambling, gangsters and ghosts. The film offers a comedic glimpse into 1930s African American gambling culture, and lives up to its tagline, “THRILLS! CHILLS!”
I Walked with a Zombie, dir. Jacques Tourneur. 1943.
Explore clips and still shots via Criterion Collection.
I Walked with a Zombie is a 1943 horror film that is in part an adaptation of Inez Wallace’s short story of the same name, and also partly a reworking of Charlotte Brönte’s Jane Eyre. The narrative takes place in a Caribbean sugar plantation where a Canadian nurse, who is caring for the plantation owner’s wife, witnesses voodoo rituals and zombies. While contemporary reviews of the film were mixed, it has been critically reconsidered in recent years particularly through its use of zombies to symbolise the horrors of enslavement.
Zombies on Broadway, dir. Gordon Douglas. 1945.
Also known as Loonies on Broadway, Zombies on Broadway is a 1945 American zombie comedy film. It centres on two men who are tasked with finding a real zombie for the opening of Zombie Hut, a new gangster-run, zombie-themed nightclub in Broadway. The pair eventually turn to Professor Renault (Bela Lugosi), a mad scientist who has been creating zombies on a Caribbean island. Darby Jones stars as Kalaga the zombie, a role similar to his previous performance as the zombie Carrefour in I Walked with a Zombie (1943), and like this earlier film, the zombies depicted in Zombies on Broadway also exemplify the horrors of plantation life and enslavement.
Night of the Living Dead, dir. George A. Romero. 1968.
Watch the full film on YouTube.
George A. Romero’s 1968 film Night of the Living Dead revolutionised the zombie film as he moved away from earlier zombie films like White Zombie and I Walked With a Zombie built on concepts of Haitian folklore and voodoo, and instead devised an undead, flesh-eating ghoul. While earlier “voodoo zombies” are typically controlled by a (white) master–mirroring enslavement on American plantations–Romero’s zombies have no master. The hero of the film, Ben, was originally conceived as a white man, but Romero eventually cast Black actor Duane Jones in the role. In this period it was rare to see Black men cast in leading roles like this, but Romero has stated that Jones was the best man he auditioned, and that he changed no lines of dialogue in the film for Jones. Since its release, critics like film historian Robin Wood have interpreted the film as a commentary on racism, the Civil Rights movement and marginalised groups living in 1960s America.
Blacula, dir. William Crain. 1972.
Directed by William Crain, Blacula is a 1972 American blaxploitation horror film that centres on Mamuwalde (William Marshall), an 18th-century African prince-turned-vampire. Mamuwalde seeks out Dracula for help, but is instead turned into a vampire, cursed with the name “Blacula” and sealed in a coffin, where he remains imprisoned until 1972 in modern day Los Angeles. Though the film’s initial release was met with mixed reviews, it sparked a wave of Black-themed horror films–including a sequel released in 1973 titled Scream Blacula Scream–and has since been characterised as essential viewing for anyone interested in blaxploitation.
The Thing with Two Heads, dir. Lee Frost. 1972.
The Thing with Two Heads is a 1972 blaxploitation film that merges science fiction and comedy with Black characters and themes. The film centres on Dr. Maxwell Kirshner (Ray Milland) and his experimentation on animals and African American convicts who can choose to donate their living bodies to science in order to escape the electric chair. Dr Maxwell is hoping to save himself through these experiments because he is dying, but one day he wakes up to discover his head transplanted onto the body of Jack Moss, a Black convict.
Blackenstein, dir. William A. Levey. 1973.
Watch the full film on YouTube.
Hoping to capitalise on the earlier success of Blacula, Blackenstein (also known as Black Frankenstein or Blackenstein the Black Frankenstein) is a 1973 blaxploitation film that loosely reworks Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein with Black characters. Set in contemporary America, it centres on African American soldier Eddie Turner (Joe De Sue). When Eddie steps on a landmine in Vietnam, his physicist fiancé Doctor Winifred Walker (Ivory Stone) seeks out the help of the white Doctor Stein (John Hart). Blackenstein did not meet the success of its predecessor, Blacula, and continues to be widely criticised.
Ganja & Hess, dir. Bill Gunn. 1973.
Ganja & Hess is a 1973 horror film written and directed by Bill Gunn, an African American novelist, actor and director. This is a vampire film, and it stars Duane Jones in the leading role following his success as Ben in Night of the Living Dead (1968). Here, Jones plays a wealthy Black anthropologist, Dr. Hess Green, who becomes a vampire after being stabbed with a ceremonial dagger belonging to the Myrthians, an ancient African nation who also drink blood. In 1973, Ganja & Hess was selected as one of ten best American films of the decade at the Cannes Film Festival, and later in 2014 Spike Lee remade the film as Da Sweet Blood of Jesus.
Abby, dir. William Girdler. 1974.
Watch the full film on YouTube.
Capitalising on the popular blaxploitation trend that emerged in the 1970s, Abby is an American blaxploitation film that focuses on Abby Williams (Carol Speed), a young woman who becomes possessed by a Yoruba spirit or orisha called Eshu. Released in 1974, the film was an immediate popular and financial success, but it was quickly pulled from the cinemas when Warner Bros. filed a copyright violation and accused the film of plagiarising their 1973 horror film, The Exorcist. While Warner Bros. won their case, one major difference between the films is the use of the Yoruba religion in Abby. This is in part owing to William Marshall, who stars as Bishop Garret Williams in the films, who added certain elements from the Yoruba religion to the film.
Sugar Hill, dir. Leon Ichaso. 1974.
Turning to zombies and voodoo, Sugar Hill (also known as The Zombies of Sugar Hill) is a 1974 blaxploitation film that gestures back to the classic zombie conceptualisation popularised in the 1930s and 1940s. The plot centres on Diana "Sugar" Hill (Marki Bey) who seeks out a former voodoo queen named Mama Maitresse (Zara Cully) to help her take revenge on the men that killed her boyfriend.
Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde, dir. William Crain. 1976.
Watch the full film on YouTube.
Directed by William Crain and following the success of his previous film Blacula, Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde is a 1976 American blaxploitation horror film that reworks Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Professional football player-turned-actor Bernie Casey stars in the title role as Dr. Henry Pride, who transforms himself into a white Frankensteinian monster as a result of his unethical experiments, and subsequently embarks on a murder spree throughout Los Angeles. Dr Pride’s unethical experiments are born out of his work to find a cure for cirrhosis of the liver, and this part of the film has been compared to the Tuskegee syphilis experiments where a group of almost 400 Black men participated in a government medical study between 1932 and 1972, but where not informed of the nature of the experiment or that they would be infected with syphilis and not treated. More that 100 men died as a consequence of these experiments, and in his book, Educational Institutions in Horror Film: A History of Mad Professors, Student Bodies, and Final Exams, Andrew L. Grunzke has noted the similarities between the horrors of the Tuskegee experiments and the horrors of Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde, further stating that an “African American doctor willing to violate those ethical rules created a highly charged situation”.
J.D.'s Revenge, dir. Arthur Marks. 1976.
Released in 1976, J.D.’s Revenge (also known as The Reincarnation of J.D. Walker) is an American blaxploitation horror film that follows Isaac "Ike" Hendrix (Glynn Turman), a young law student who becomes possessed by the restless spirit of J.D. Walker (David McKnight) following hypnosis. Walker was a hustler during the Second World War who was murdered after he witnessed the shooting of his sister, and he slowly takes over Ike’s body in order to pursue his revenge.
White Dog, dir. Samuel Fuller. 1982.
The 1982 American horror film White Dog adapts Romain Gary's 1970 novel of the same name. At the centre of the narrative is Keys (Paul Winfield), a Black dog trainer who is struggling to retrain a stray dog trained to attack and kill any Black person. The dog has been originally trained by a racist white man, and throughout the film the dog attacks and kills several Black people. Prior to the start of filming, the NAACP, the Black Anti-Defamation Coalition and civil rights leaders voiced concerns regarding the depiction of racism in the film and its potential to instigate racial violence. To assuage these concerns, Willis Edwards, vice president of the local NAACP chapter, and David L. Crippens, the vice president and stage manager of the local PBS affiliate were brought in as consultants during filming, but both men ended up with different opinions: while Edwards found the film inflammatory and believed it should never have been made, Crippens did not think the film racist at all. Due to the ongoing controversy surrounding the film, it was given only a limited release and received no promotion. However, even during this initial release and as the film continues to be revisited, it has been praised for its uncompromising depiction of racism.
The House of Dies Drear, dir. Allan Goldstein. 1984.
Watch the full film on YouTube.
Adapted from the children’s mystery novel of the same name by Virginia Hamilton, The House of Dies Drear is a 1984 haunted house film. At the centre of the film is the Dies Drear house in rural Ohio, which formerly belonged to abolitionist Dies Drear who used it as a station on the Underground Railroad during the American Civil War. The film follows a young Black man and his family as they move into the house and start to uncover the secrets, mysteries and ghosts hidden within.
Angel Heart, dir. Alan Parker. 1987.
Set in New York City and New Orleans in 1955, Angel Heart is a 1987 psychological horror film that adapts William Hjortsberg's novel Falling Angel (1978). The narrative follows a New York City private detective, Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke), as he investigates the disappearance of a singer, Johnny Favorite. His investigation leads him to New Orleans and takes an occult turn complete with satanic deals and voodoo. Lisa Bonet was cast in the film as Johnny Favorite’s mixed race daughter. This role included sexually explicit scenes, and Bonet’s casting proved to be controversial because she was mostly known and associated with her role on the family-orientated sitcom The Cosby Show.
The Serpent and the Rainbow, dir. Wes Craven. 1988.
Wes Craven’s The Serpent and the Rainbow is a 1988 American horror film that depicts zombies and the religion and culture of Haitian voodoo. The film is loosely based on the real-life experiences of ethnobotanist Wade Davis who investigated the story of Clairvius Narcisse (a man who claimed to have been turned into a zombie) and alleges in his non-fiction book The Serpent and the Rainbow: A Harvard Scientist's Astonishing Journey into the Secret Societies of Haitian Voodoo, Zombis, and Magic, that he was also poisoned, buried alive and then revived with an herbal brew.
Def by Temptation, dir. James Bond III, 1990.
Watch the film's trailer here.
Written, directed and produced by Black filmmaker James Bond III, Def by Temptation is a 1990 American horror film that follows a succubus as she preys on Black men in New York City. This is Bond’s directorial debut, and he also stars in the film as a minister-in-training alongside Cynthia Bond who plays the succubus named Temptation.
The People Under the Stairs, dir. Wes Craven. 1991.
The 1991 American horror comedy The People Under the Stairs is a satire on class, race, gentrification and capitalism. It follows residents of Los Angeles ghetto in the wake of news that they are being evicted, and as three individuals decide to break into the house of their wealthy, white landlords, the Robesons, in order to steal from them. The Robesons are criticised in the film because they are ruthless gentrifiers, but they also harbour another dark secret in their house. The film’s director, Wes Craven, has stated that the film was in part inspired by a real-life news story from 1978 where two African-American burglars broke into a California house, and ended up leading police to discover abused children who had been locked away by their parents. Reviewing The People Under the Stairs in the New York Times, Vincent Canby describes the film as an “affirmative-action horror”.
Candyman, dir. Bernard Rose. 1992.
Bernard Rose’s 1992 American slasher film Candyman is now regarded as a cult classic. The film adapts Clive Barker’s 1995 short story “The Forbidden”, transporting Barker’s class conscious narrative from Liverpool in Britain to Cabrini-Green, a public housing development in Chicago, USA, and focusing on the intersection of class and race in America. Tony Todd stars as the film’s antagonist, Daniel Robitaille, also known as Candyman, who haunts Cabrini Green following his violent murder in the 19th century. Todd went on to reprise his role in three sequels, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995), and Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999), and, most recently, the 2021 Candyman directed by Nia DaCosta.
Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight, dir. Ernest Dickerson. 1995.
Directed by Ernest Dickerson, the 1995 Black horror comedy film Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight is the first feature length film presented by HBO’s series, Tales from the Crypt. The film features the Crypt Keeper, who introduces the supernatural tale in which demons attempt to procure a key containing the blood of Christ. Jada Pinkett Smith stars as the film’s hero, and Dickerson has stated that he was happy to direct the “first film where an African-American woman saves the world”.
Tales from the Hood, dir. Rusty Cundieff. 1995.
Released in 1995, Tales from the Hood is an anthology horror film directed by Rusty Cundieff. Alongside the frame narrative, the film comprises four stories set in the hood that explore different aspects of horror that impact Black communities. This includes police corruption, domestic abuse and gang violence told through tales of zombies, monsters and haunted plantations. There have since been two sequels, Tales from the Hood 2 which premiered in 2018 and Tales from the Hood 3 which stars Tony Todd and was released in 2020.
Vampire in Brooklyn, dir. Wes Craven. 1995.
Starring Eddie Murphy and Angela Bassett, Vampire in Brooklyn is a 1995 American horror comedy. The film was produced by Murphy and his two brothers, Vernon Lynch and Charles Q. Murphy, who also wrote the story together. Taking place in Brooklyn, an old ship crashes into a dockyard, bringing with it a millennia-old vampire Maximillian (Eddie Murphy), a boat full of dead corpses, and his bloodthirsty appetite. Upon its release the film was largely panned, but it has since become a cult classic.
Eve’s Bayou, dir. Kasi Lemmons. 1997.
Set in 1962 Louisiana, Eve’s Bayou is a 1997 Southern Gothic drama starring Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield and Jurnee Smollett. Eve’s Bayou is written and directed by Kasi Lemmons and the film also marks her directorial debut. The plot centres on a prosperous Creole-American community whose respectable facade is built upon secrets, lies, infidelity and witchcraft, a facade that starts to shatter for ten-year-old Eve Batiste after she witnesses her father’s infidelity. Lemmons has stated that she was inspired to write the story after a childhood trip to Louisiana, which is unique in America for being one of the few places that slaves could buy their own freedom, and where free people of colour could be granted citizenship. Since its release, the film has received multiple accolades and awards. In 1997, the film won Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards and Lemmons was also awarded Outstanding Directorial Debut from the National Board of Review Awards. Debbi Morgan, Jackson and Smollett also won awards for their roles in the film. Later, in 2008, Eve’s Bayou was included in the Time's list of the 25 most important films on race.
Blade, dir. Stephen Norrington. 1998.
Based on the Marvel Comics character Blade whose first appearance was in the July 1973 comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10, Blade is a 1998 American superhero film with a vampiric twist. Wesley Snipes stars in the title role as Blade, a human who possesses vampire strengths but not their weaknesses, known as a Dhampir, and who fights against vampires. The film was commercially successful, and was in fact Marvel’s first successful film. It was followed by two sequels, Blade II (2002) and Blade: Trinity (2004).
Beloved, dir. Jonathan Demme. 1998.
Adapting Toni Morrison’s 1987 novel of the same name, Beloved is a 1998 American Gothic horror film starring Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and Thandiwe Newton. Set in the wake of the American Civil War, the plot centres on Sethe (Winfrey), a formerly enslaved woman who is haunted by an angry spirit and the reincarnation of her daughter, Beloved. The film and cast received several nominations including an Oscar nomination for Best Costume design, and Glover won the NAACP award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture.
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