Horror movies pre-date color screens and audio in film, going back to the early 1910’s. As long as recorded story telling has existed, talented performers have strived to spook, disgust and horrify the minds and souls of theatergoers around the world.
Related:Best Studio Ghibli Movies, Ranked
From monsters and the supernatural to the terrible things human beings can do to each other, scary stories and disturbing characters have influenced the art of storytelling and have built a legacy that stands tall to this day. Some of these frightening films have lived on longer than the actors and crew that brought them to life, and continue to be seen and remembered by new generations of writers and creators that carry the torch of their influence.If you’re a horror fan looking for something truly vintage to enjoy, these classic movies are perfect.
10House of Wax (1953)
The early 1900’s couldn’t escape the remake phenomena, but with game-changing innovations in film-making and a nonexistent home video market, it was more reasonable. House of Wax stars the beloved Vincent Price as Professor Jarrod, owner of a wax museum that his business partner wishes to destroy to build a better exhibit from the insurance money. Enraged when he’s caught in the museum the night of his associate’s arson attempt, Jarrod is driven to make an even better exhibit out of real bodies. It’svery dark indeed.
Jarrod is a sympathetic villain that was wronged unjustly, and the slow reveal of his awful descent is chilling to witness. House of Wax is everything horror should be, and it wears its high production values on its sleeve in every shot.
9Re-Animator (1985)
Jeffrey Combs' performance as a scientist here is one of his finest. Re-Animator is a deeply dark comedy about a man who finds a formula that can cheat death, but not in the way he had hoped. Herbert West is close to a scientific breakthrough as he attends medical school, and his devotion to finding the perfect mixture of his reagent to properly revive the dead drives him to do awful things in the name of progress.
Related:Best DreamWorks Animated Movies, Ranked
From returning cats to life to animating severed limbs and the bodies of murder victims, West unleashes the undead on the city’s unprepared population. He has an ever-increasing apathy to the horrors he’s caused, too. The hilarious meets the disturbing as his machinations breed chaos in suburban America, and Re-Animator will have viewers coming back for more.
8The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
A scientist is revived after being executed by a court for murdering his lab assistant, who was testing his revival machine that can bring back the dead. Infuriated at having been condemned and his scientific genius overlooked, Doctor Savaard vows revenge against the court that killed him. He hangs half the jury, before bringing the surviving jurors and the judge to a booby-trapped house to taunt and slaughter them.
Boris Karloff is given time to shine outside of monster makeup, flexing his acting prowess and delivering a powerful performance alongside his peers and a formidable script. For a bite-sized bout of scientific folly, The Man They Could Not Hang is the perfect picture.
7Halloween (1978)
The birth of a cinematic legend, Halloween sees Michael Myers return to his childhood neighborhood after escaping confinement to resume his killing spree. His primary target (and best chance at being stopped) is Laurie Strode, a high school student who finds herself and her friends in Michael’s sights. Many conventions of the slasher genre were established by Halloween, and the inhuman behavior of Michael, the violent deaths of teenage victims and last-girl-standing main character are all present and accounted for.
Related:Best Enemy Designs In Horror Games, Ranked
Michael Myers is one of the fiercest humanoid slasher villains in all of cinema, and his first appearance is a powerful one, leaving audiences just as on edge as his victims. If trick or treating isn’t the right mood for you, watching Halloween in the dark of night is the perfect way to celebrate the spooky occasion if you partake.
6Dracula (1931)
One of the all-time classics, and the birth of today’s interpretation of the archetypical vampire. Loosely following the plot of Bram Stoker’s novel, a group of wandering tourists are given lodging (and are later hunted) by Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula, a hypnotic, blood-sucking vampire.
Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of the undead Count would cement the public perception of a vampire forevermore, with the echoing laugh and lavish-caped costumes becoming the default image of the fanged undead. While not the first vampire film, nor even the first to be based on the classic novel, Universal’s Dracula is a slow, entrancing buildup of suspense and dread.
5The Mummy (1932)
One of two roles that would make Boris Karloff an eternal legend among Hollywood actors, and one of his finest performances. Archeologists unearth the mummified body of the ancient Egyptian priest Imhotep, who is still alive after centuries of burial and seeks to reunite with his reincarnated lover, Helen. Working in secret under an assumed identity for years after his re-awakening, Imhotep plots the happy ending he had planned to live out with his wife back in the days of the pharaohs.
Related:Best DC Movies To Watch on HBO Max
Imhotep is often overlooked, even within the genre of Mummy movies. This is a shame, given his unique and captivating tale of love lasting throughout the ages and the lengths man will go through for those they cherish. Slow-paced, enticing and heart-wrenching, atrue horror classic.
4Horror of Dracula (1958)
A line of British retellings of classic horror stories, and the rise of new horror icons for the 1950’s and 60’s. Horror of Dracula is a more violent, visceral interpretation of Bram Stoker’s original novel, and able to do more with practical effects than Universal could in the early 30’s.
Christopher Lee’s Dracula ranks alongside Lugosi’s as a silent yet bloodthirsty and physically imposing vampire, working opposite Peter Cushing’s Van Helsing. Both actors, of course, are icons of the era, truly bringing their A-Game to the color screen. Disturbing, violent and visually captivating, Horror of Dracula is a powerful entry in the world of vampire cinema, and its eerie beauty cannot be overstated.
3The Invisible Man (1933)
A darkly comedic twist on a simple concept, The Invisible Man is one of the few classic horror villains that viewers may find themselves truly rooting for. When a lab experiment turned Doctor Jack Griffin invisible, the scientist is slowly corrupted by the power an invisible person can wield over the world. What follows is cartoonish villainy and brilliantly ludicrous hijinks of the highest order.
One of the earliest horror-comedy movies from a major studio, The Invisible Man is a villain audiences can love and hate at the same time, endlessly entertained by his outlandish speeches and childish pranks. If pure horror isn’t up your alley, The Invisible Man can provide much-needed levity and laughter along with its spookier moments.
2The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Expert role reversal and Broadway level performances elevate a good script into the stuff of legend. The Curse of Frankenstein uses the age of colored film to breathe life into the European architecture and steampunk laboratories that the Frankenstein story is known for.
Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing take on new roles, showing themselves again to be as a dynamic duo of acting titans. Lee’s monster is more subdued and realistic (for a mix-match pile of human remains being forced to live), and Peter Cushing’s Doctor Frankenstein is a self-righteous scientist ultimately hoisted by his own petard. A cold and eerie re-telling of the Mary Shelley novel, that basks in the uneasy tension of every scene.
1Frankenstein (1931)
The beginning of it all, and a cornerstone of horror movies and cinema as a whole. So many ideas that are taken for granted were established in this film, including the cackling scientist, eerie castle, sinister assistant and a neck-bolted, pale monster. The atmosphere is slow and the acting dramatic (remnants of the stage-play format that had been the default for centuries), which adds a dream-like quality to every scene and set. The atmosphere and set design compliments the professional cast extremely well, and has helped cement Frankenstein as one of the finest films ever made.
