Techno-horror is a subgenre of
horror fiction
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...
that focuses on concerns and fears of
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
. The stories are often
cautionary tales created during periods of rapid technological advancement expressing concerns about privacy, freedom, individuality, and wealth disparity. These stories often include
dystopia
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
n settings.
Criteria
Techno-horror focuses on how technology is either a direct force of evil, indirectly causes bad things to happen, or how it can be manipulated by people in positions of power to do evil things. Techno-horror relies heavily on elements of
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
or
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
, which set it apart from the
techno-thriller
A techno-thriller or technothriller is a hybrid genre drawing from science fiction, Thriller (genre), thrillers, spy fiction, action (fiction), action, and War novel, war novels. They include a disproportionate amount (relative to other genres) o ...
genre.
Examples
The overthrow or destruction of the human race by
AI is a classic example. Others include radiation based terror where toxic waste from technology or radio-waves create mutants and monsters out of humans, or in the case of the 1968 film ''
Night of the Living Dead
''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven peop ...
'', radiation from a stray nuclear experiment causes the dead to rise.
Another prominent example, sourced especially from
J-horror
Japanese horror is horror fiction derived from popular culture in Japan, generally noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre differing from the traditional Western representation of horror. Japanese horror tends ...
, involves classical terrors (such as ghosts, spirits, curses, etc.) propagating, traveling, or communicating via hi-tech media: computer networks, cell phones, cameras etc. Here, modern technology is not a threat on its own, but rather a new conduit for various dark forces. The subgenre is notably most popular in the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, with little prominence elsewhere.
Tony Magistrale
Anthony Samuel Magistrale is a professor in English at the University of Vermont since 1983. He received a Bachelor of Arts, B.A. in 1974 from Allegheny College, and from the University of Pittsburgh an Master of Arts, M.A. in 1976 and a PhD in 19 ...
, ''Abject Terrors: Surveying the Modern and Postmodern Horror Film'', 200
p. 82
/ref> This sub-genre of Techno-horror was likely influenced by stories of EVPs.
Films
*'' The Day the Earth Stood Still
''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (a.k.a. ''Farewell to the Master'' and ''Journey to the World'') is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Renn ...
'' (1951) and ''Forbidden Planet
''Forbidden Planet'' is a 1956 American science fiction film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack, and directed by Fred M. Wilcox (director), Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on an original film story ...
'' (1956) are some of the earliest known of this genre.
*''Midnight Lace
''Midnight Lace'' is a 1960 American neo noir mystery thriller film directed by David Miller and starring Doris Day, Rex Harrison, and John Gavin. The plot centers on a woman who is threatened by an anonymous stalker but has a hard time convi ...
'' (1960)
*''Night of the Living Dead
''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven peop ...
'' (1968)
*'' Colossus: The Forbin Project'' (1970)
*''The Stepford Wives
''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife and young mother who suspects that something in Stepford's environment is changing the wives fr ...
'' (1975)
*''Scanners
''Scanners'' is a 1981 Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan. In the film, "scanners" are psychics with unusual telepathic ...
'' (1981)
*''Poltergeist
In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descr ...
'' (1982)
*''Videodrome
''Videodrome'' is a 1983 Canadian Science fiction film, science fiction body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring James Woods, Sonja Smits, and Debbie Harry. Set in Toronto during the early 1980s, it follows the CEO o ...
'' (1983)
*''The Terminator
''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whos ...
'' (1984)
*''C.H.U.D.
''C.H.U.D.'' is a 1984 American science fiction horror film directed by Douglas Cheek, produced by Andrew Bonime, and starring John Heard, Daniel Stern, and Christopher Curry in his film debut. The plot concerns a New York City police officer a ...
'' (1984)
*''Deadly Friend
''Deadly Friend'' is a 1986 American science fiction horror film directed by Wes Craven, and starring Matthew Laborteaux, Kristy Swanson, Michael Sharrett, Anne Twomey, Richard Marcus, and Anne Ramsey. Its plot follows a teenage computer prodi ...
'' (1986)
*''Chopping Mall
''Chopping Mall'' is a 1986 American techno-horror film co-written and directed by Jim Wynorski, produced by Julie Corman, and starring Kelli Maroney, Tony O'Dell, John Terlesky, Russell Todd, Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, and Barbara Crampton. It f ...
'' (1986)
*'' The Fly'' (1986)
*''Robocop
''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferre ...
'' (1987)
*'' Tetsuo: The Iron Man'' (1989)
*''The Lawnmower Man
"The Lawnmower Man" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the May 1975 issue of ''Cavalier'' and later included in King's 1978 collection '' Night Shift''.
Plot summary
Harold Parkette is in need of a new lawn mowing service. The ...
'' (1992)
*'' Ringu'' (1998)
*'' Existenz'' (1999)
*''The Matrix
''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...
'' (1999)
*''Pulse
In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...
'' (2001)
*'' The Ring'' (2002)
*'' Shutter'' (2004)
*''White Noise
In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used, with this or similar meanings, in many scientific and technical disciplines, ...
'' (2005)
*''Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, know ...
'' (2012)
*''Elysium
Elysium (, ), otherwise known as the Elysian Fields ( grc, Ἠλύσιον πεδίον, ''Ēlýsion pedíon'') or Elysian Plains, is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philos ...
'' (2013)
*'' Ex Machina'' (2014)
*''Unfriended
''Unfriended'' is a 2014 computer screen supernatural horror film directed by Levan Gabriadze and produced by Timur Bekmambetov. The first feature film to be entirely set on a computer screen, it is produced in the so-called Screenlife format. T ...
'' (2015)
*''Host
A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it.
Host may also refer to:
Places
* Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County
People
*Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman
* Michel Host ...
'' (2020)
Sources:[Top ten techno horror films , Dazed]
/ref>
Video games
*''System Shock
''System Shock'' is a 1994 first-person action-adventure video game developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. It was directed by Doug Church with Warren Spector serving as producer. The game is set aboard a space s ...
'' (1994)
*''I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a post-apocalyptic science fiction short story by American writer Harlan Ellison. It was first published in the March 1967 issue of '' IF: Worlds of Science Fiction''.
It won a Hugo Award in 1968. The na ...
'' (1995)
*''Fallout
Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...
'' (1997)
*''Fatal Frame
''Fatal Frame'', titled in Japan and ''Project Zero'' in Europe and Australia, is a Japanese survival horror video game series created, published and developed by Koei Tecmo (originally Tecmo). Debuting in 2001 with the first entry in the seri ...
'' (2001)
*'' Enslaved: Odyssey to the West'' (2010)
*''Five Nights at Freddy's
''Five Nights at Freddy's'' (''FNaF'') is a media franchise created by Scott Cawthon. The first video game of the same name was released on August 8, 2014, and the resultant series has since gained worldwide popularity.
The main series consi ...
'' (2014)
*''DreadOut
''DreadOut'' is a survival horror video game from independent developer Digital Happiness for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and OS X. A port for PlayStation 4 was announced but never released. The story is about a group of high school students i ...
'' (2014)
*''SOMA
Soma may refer to:
Businesses and brands
* SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects
* Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems
* SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...
'' (2015)
*''Observer
An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment.
Observer may also refer to:
Computer science and information theory
* In information theory, any system which receives information from an object
* State observer in con ...
'' (2017)
Novels and literature
*''Nineteen Eighty-Four
''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
'' (1949)
*''I, Robot
''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines ''Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' betw ...
'' (1950)
*''Second Variety
"Second Variety" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in ''Space Science Fiction'' magazine, in May 1953. Set in a world where war between the Soviet Union and United Nations has reduced most of the ...
'' (1953)
*''I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a post-apocalyptic science fiction short story by American writer Harlan Ellison. It was first published in the March 1967 issue of '' IF: Worlds of Science Fiction''.
It won a Hugo Award in 1968. The na ...
'' (1967)
*''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' (retroactively retitled ''Blade Runner: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' in some later printings) is a dystopian science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in 1968. Th ...
'' (1968)
*''Christine
Christine may refer to:
People
* Christine (name), a female given name
Film
* ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei''
* ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name
* ''Christine'' (1987 fil ...
'' (1983)
*''Ghost in the Shell
''Ghost in the Shell'' is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on the seinen manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The manga, first serialized in 1989 under the subtitle of ''The Ghost in the Shell'' ...
'' (1989)
*''The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect
''The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect'' is a 1994 novella by Roger Williams, a programmer living in New Orleans. It deals with the ramifications of a powerful, superintelligent supercomputer that discovers god-like powers to alter reality whi ...
'' (2002)
*'' Crawlers: A Novel'' (2003)
*''Cell
Cell most often refers to:
* Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life
Cell may also refer to:
Locations
* Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery ...
'' (2006)
*'' Under the Dome'' (2009)
*''The Dark Net
''The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld'' is a 2014 nonfiction book by Jamie Bartlett. It is published in the United Kingdom by Heinemann, in the United States by Melville House Publishers, and in Australia by Random House. Bartlett discu ...
'' (2017)
See also
* Science fiction horror
This is a list of science fiction horror films.
0-9
*''4D Man'' (1959)
*'' 9'' (2009)
*'' 9'' (2019)
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
*''The Omega Man'' (1971)
*'' Outland'' (1981)
*''Outpost'':
**'' Outpost'' (2008) ...
* List of techno-thriller novels
This is a list of techno-thriller novels, novel series, and collections of linked short stories.
Significant techno-thriller authors and works
References
External links
‘Techno-thriller’ Novels and Recent American Intellectual History ...
* Technophobia
Technophobia (from Greek τέχνη ''technē'', "art, skill, craft" and φόβος ''phobos'', "fear"), also known as technofear, is the fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers. Although there are numerou ...
* Isekai
is a Japanese genre of speculative fiction—both portal fantasy and science fiction are included. It includes novels, light novels, films, manga, anime and video games that revolve around a person or people who are transported to and have to ...
* Tech noir
* Postmodern horror
Postmodern horror is a horror film related to the art and philosophy of postmodernism. Examples of this type of film includes George A. Romero's ''Night of the Living Dead'', Tobe Hooper's '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' and John Carpenter's lege ...
* Art horror
Art horror or arthouse horror (sometimes called elevated horror) is a sub-genre of both horror films and art-films. It explores and experiments with the artistic uses of horror.
Characteristics
Art-horror films tend to rely on atmosphere build ...
References
Further reading
*
{{Horror fiction
Horror genres
Fictional technology
1950s in film
1960s in film
1970s in film
1980s in film
1990s in film
2010s in film