3-D Technology and the Horror Genre

3-D technology has been around for many years.  It all started in the early 1920s with 3-D release of The Power of Love.  During the 1940s, 3-D began picking up speed. The main reason for this is that theaters needed a way to increase ticket sales because most people decided to stay home and watch television.  They used the 3-D technology to differentiate the cinemas from home theaters.

Throughout the early 1950s there were many horror and science fiction films released in 3-D with the golden era of 3-D beginning in 1952.  The first horror film to be released in 3-D was House of Wax in 1953.  The following year, Creature from the Black Lagoon was released.  The end of the golden era came in 1955 with the release of Revenge of the Creature, a sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon.

3-D was all but dead in Hollywood until the early 1980s, when studios saw the potential for success.  Films in three notable series where then released in 3-D, Friday the 13^th Part 3, Amityville 3-D and Jaws 3-D.  These films were successful enough to spawn sequels, but not to help 3-D survive longer.  By the mid 1980s, the genre was dead once again.

During the 1990s, 3-D made another return to theaters.  The most notable horror film was Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, released in 1991.  The film’s final 10 minutes were shot in 3-D and when the lead actress put on her 3-D glasses the audience are suppose to put theirs on.  Also during the 1990s, IMAX technology was gaining popularity while 3-D was becoming more mainstream, but 3-D horror was all but dead once again.

That was until 2009, when studios began expanding beyond family friendly movies.  The My Bloody Valentine remake became the first horror film and the first R-rated film to be released with RealD technology.  RealD technology has since become the most popular 3-D technology. 

RealD Cinema Systems are leased to theaters that show 3-D movies as well as alternative 3-D content.  RealD’s technology has also been used in piloting the Mars Rover, heads-up displays in military jets and robotic medical procedures.