Here are six classic horror films that are must-sees in my opinion. I always pick out one or two of these and rewatch them during the month of October. This year I will probably do The Wolf Man and The Mummy.
Category: Sci-fi
It’s hard not to have compassion for the Frankenstein monster. Boris Karloff does an amazing job working with his platform shoes and makeup. A scene that will always stick out for me is when he throws the little girl in the water. Heart-wrenching yet still terrifying, there will always be a special spot for Frankenstein for years to come.
Category: Vampires
The vampire movie that started it all, well the most popular early vampire movie that influenced a lot of stuff later. This classic Tod Browning film cemented the sexy vampire in horror films. Bela Lugosi with his mysterious eyes and foreign accent drew the audience in and never let them go. Still today we feel the wrath of the ‘sexy’ vampires in cinema. It has become so customary that vampires are regarded as sexually alluring in movies that it’s hard to find any truly terrifying (and not ‘woe is me’) vampires. Regardless of the legacy, nothing compares to the creepy castle Dracula and of course Dracula’s assistant Renfield.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7C7pX17aDs
Category: Supernatural/Curses
I love The Mummy, what a truly strange and scary movie. There is something alluring and yet disturbing about this story. To see a Mummy come to life, to know that curses have real power. The Mummy can be wrapped up with westerners fascination with Ancient Egypt and the mysterious Curse of King Tut’s Tomb 1923.
Category: Werewolves
One of my all-time favorite stories is The Wolf Man. I adore all things werewolf, they are one of my favorite creepy creatures. I really enjoy watching The Wolf Man and The Wolfman (2010) close to each other so I can analyze their similarities. It strikes me how each movie tells the story in their own way and of course in the style of their time. All in all, definitely prefer the complicated character of the werewolf to Dracula any day.
Compare to The Wolfman (2010)
Category: Creatures
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Oh yes, I bet some of the people who saw The Shape of Water (2017) last year decided to watch the 1954 Creature from the Black Lagoon. This creature is a whole lot of weird and I think has been unfairly neglected until last year. This water creature, mannish looking and frightening, pops up here and there (Hellboy’s Abe) but has never truly gotten a good amount of spotlight until now. What I do love about Creature from the Black Lagoon is that he is not afraid of coming aboard.
Category: Sci-fi/Aliens
I probably watch this movie about three or five times a year. I love this one because I think it is truly frightening, plus the Steve McQueen/Car stuff is pretty cool. What’s creepy about the blob is how it looks, not a monster with fangs, fur or glowing eyes but a mass of goo that will swallow you whole. The Blob’s blobbiness makes it an unsettling fright that is both entertaining and disturbing.
Thanks for reading, please feel free to leave comments/suggestions below!
Coming up next: Review of Haunted Nights (A Horror Writers Association Anthology)