Who coined the term splatter film?
George A. Romero coined the term "splatter cinema" to describe his own film Dawn of the Dead. The related term "splatter movies" was later popularized by John McCarty's 1981 book of the same name.
Questions about Splatter film
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What was the first splatter film?
Blood Feast (1963), directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis, is widely considered the first splatter film. Made for an estimated $24,500, it took in an estimated $7 million in the 15 years following its release.
What were video nasties and how did they relate to splatter films?
Video nasties was a label used by the British press for splatter and horror films that were banned or restricted under the Video Recordings Act, sponsored by Member of Parliament Graham Bright. The Act established a system of censorship and certification for home video in the UK, resulting in the outright banning of many splatter films.
How profitable were torture porn films like Saw and Hostel?
Saw, made for $1.2 million, grossed over $100 million worldwide. Hostel, which cost less than $5 million to produce, grossed over $80 million. By 2009, the Saw series had become the most profitable horror film series of all time.
What is splatstick and which directors worked in that style?
Splatstick is defined as physical comedy involving dismemberment. Peter Jackson directed two early examples, Bad Taste (1987) and Braindead (1992), in New Zealand. The style is particularly common in Japan, with films such as Robogeisha, Tokyo Gore Police, and The Machine Girl.
What are the earliest origins of splatter film imagery in cinema?
D. W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916) is credited with introducing gore to cinema, featuring two onscreen decapitations and a scene of a spear driven through a soldier's abdomen. Griffith drew on the tradition of French Grand Guignol theatre, which staged realistic scenes of blood and carnage for live audiences.