High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A list of horror films released in the 1930s. The American horror film was properly created in the 1930s, most notably the Universal Horror film productions. A number of Hollywood actors made a name for themselves in horror films of this decade, in particular Bela Lugosi (Dracula, 1931) and Boris Karloff (Frankenstein,1931). Films of this era frequently took their inspiration from the literature of gothic horror and more often dealt with themes of science versus religion rather than supernatural themes.