Metz Theory

In 1974 Christian Metz wrote the book 'Language and Cinema' which looked at the evolution of film genres. With this he suggested four genre stages:

1) The Experimental
2) The Classic
3) The Parody
4) The Deconstruction


(Christian Metz)


The experimental stage was the phase of early films which explored and experimented with horror films in its narratives.



The classic stage was the phase of films which established the narrative convention of the horror genre, it was it's most successful and defining period.



The parody phase of films mimic the horror genre in some comical way.



Finally, deconstruction films take elements of the horror genre and amalgatmate them into a verying sub genre.