Christian Metz: Theory Of Genre Development

Metz believed that genre develops through four stages:

• Experimental - Bulding blocks for future horrors to go by. Early stages of horror setting up the general codes and conventions of the horror genre.
  
• Classic/Classical - Movies that have followed the general guidelines set out in the experimental stage.
  
• Parody - Movies that mock the genre, usually turned into comedy.
  
• Deconstruction - Movies that pick that take codes and conventions from the Horror and Thriller genre and combine them into one movie
  

These horror films:

• Se7en
• Frankenstein
• Dracula
• The Blair Witch Project
• The Sixth Sense
• Carry On Screaming
• Nosferatu
• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
• Scary Movie
• Abbot + Costello Meet Frankenstein
• Scream

Are all classed to be of the Horror Genre. Metz classified these into the four different stages of Genre Development.

Experimental

• Nosferatu
• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Classical

• Dracula
• Frankenstein

Parody

• Carry On Screaming
• Abbot + Costello Meet Frankenstein

Deconstruction

• Se7en
• Scream
• The Sixth Sense
• The Blair Witch Project