Ten classics for Halloween season
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- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsMax SchreckAlexander GranachGustav von WangenheimVampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.The first true horror film ever made and perhaps the greatest. While modern horror startles you with jump cuts and sound effects, this film slow burns mythic images of the greatest movie fiend ever into your psyche. It also introduced certain vampire conventions not present in the Dracula novel nor from vampire folklore. In some ways it's better than the novel, especially due to the heroine's ultimate act. There are several DVD versions, all with their strengths and weaknesses. The best region 1 versions appear to be the ones from Image Entertainment and Kino. The Industrial Remix version is pretty good too. The quality of the accompanying soundtrack music ranges from not bad to utterly irritating. The region 2 DVD versions are suposedly better, especially the ones from Germany and France.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsMichèle MercierLidia AlfonsiBoris KarloffBoris Karloff hosts a trio of horror stories concerning a stalked call girl, a vampire-like monster who preys on his family, and a nurse who is haunted by her ring's rightful owner.Beautiful, striking, atmospheric omnibus suspense from the great Italian horror director Mario Bava. Karloff is at his best in the middle section, and at his most amusing as the host. Some say the U.S. release version is preferable even though it was cut differently and somewhat censored; but most prefer the original Italian version, which I think is the version on the most recent region 1 DVD release.
- DirectorJack HillStarsLon Chaney Jr.Carol OhmartQuinn K. RedekerA caretaker devotes himself to three demented siblings after their father's death.If you prefer amusing, odd and rather demented horror for Halloween, this is a top choice. This mid-60s curiosity took a couple decades of late night TV airings to find an audience. Now it's the most cult of cult DVD re-releases due to its hilarious, and groovy/hip send-up of the Addams Family, though far more kinky and ironic. An influence on Tim Burton and John Waters? I'd be surprised if it weren't.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsPeter CushingChristopher LeeMichael GoughWhen Jonathan Harker rouses the ire of Count Dracula for accepting a job at the vampire's castle under false pretenses, his friend Dr. Van Helsing pursues the predatory villain.Hammer Studios from the UK made a bunch of good horror films beginning in the late 50s, and this is one of the best. Director Terence Fisher skillfully updates the Dracula story with a deft, British touch. As do Christopher Lee as the count and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, whose performances are perhaps the main ingredients to the film's lasting appeal. One of the best musical scores ever for a horror movie too, rivaling some of the scores used in Hitchcock films. For many, this is the best of the classic Dracula films.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsBoris KarloffMelvyn DouglasCharles LaughtonSeeking shelter from a storm, five travelers are in for a bizarre and terrifying night when they stumble upon the Femm family estate.For a classic Universal film, most would choose Bride of Frankenstein or The Mummy or Dracula or The Invisible Man or The Black Cat for Halloween. But this film has a bunch of people stranded in an old dark house with a raging storm outside. And it has that perfect early 30s Universal horror atmosphere. Boris Karloff doesn't appear in it very much, but when he does he and his mad volatility steal the screen. For me Karloff is the great screen actor of his era, and here you get just a glimpse of his power.
- DirectorRobert FuestStarsVincent PriceJoseph CottenVirginia NorthDoctor, scientist, organist, and biblical scholar Anton Phibes seeks revenge on the nine doctors he considers responsible for the death of his wife.Another film where horror and death are for our pleasure and amusement. As is the great Vincent Price. The humor here comes from Price's deadpan tongue-in-cheek murderousness and his awesome sense of style. There are a lot of Vincent Price films to choose for Halloween, but for my money this is the strangest and the most amusing. From AIP, the same budget studio that did the Roger Corman Edgar Allen Poe films of the 60s, also starring Price. Price makes the most entertaining of madmen.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsSimone SimonTom ConwayKent SmithAn American man marries a Serbian immigrant who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland's fables if they are intimate together.Gotta go with a Val Lewton film for Halloween, and I gotta go with his most famous film. Val Lewton's films are among the only horror films from the 1940s that have stood the test of time (with a few exceptions). It's the film noir quality of this film and other Lewton films that give them their unique atmosphere. The film exudes dangerous sexuality, and like many of the best horror films it is about a woman that can't be had and shouldn't be messed with. More than anything though is how strong, clever, moody and creepy this film is, its power perhaps even strengthened over time.
- DirectorVictor HalperinStarsBela LugosiMadge BellamyJoseph CawthornA young man turns to a witch doctor to lure the woman he loves away from her fiancé, but instead turns her into a zombie slave.This film is like an evanescent vapor of a dream. Who could hypnotize and charm unfortunate screen victims like Lugosi could? He is even better in this film than in Dracula, and the film may be too. It has an eerie lure that's hard to beat, feeling more like a silent film than a talkie. Set in Haiti and drawing from the Caribbean legends of the undead, they don't make films like this mood piece anymore and they never will.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsCharles LaughtonBela LugosiRichard ArlenA mad doctor conducts ghastly genetic experiments on a remote island in the South Seas, much to the fear and disgust of the shipwrecked sailor who finds himself trapped there.Good luck finding this film on DVD, if it exists. It's only one of the best horror films ever made. It fell out of circulation for decades due to its pre-Hayes code sexual suggestiveness, not to mention the political subtext. Only White Zombie and Freaks challenge this film as the best non-Universal horror films of the 1930s. Perhaps its the best of all of them. Charles Laughton is perfect as the madman tyrant Dr. Moreau; and Bela Lugosi is memorable as one of the animal savages, even if he's on screen only a handful of times. And who can forget the female lead in this film? Strangely disturbing, if you want to check out more classic horror, do what you can to find this film.
- DirectorEdward D. Wood Jr.StarsGregory WalcottTom KeeneMona McKinnonEvil aliens attack Earth and set their terrible "Plan 9" into action. As the aliens resurrect the dead of the Earth, the lives of the living are in danger.This may be the worst film ever made, but it's also one of the most entertaining. It's so unbelievably incompetent in its conception and execution that it practically creates a new art form -- a kind of b-movie, Halloween dada. Other bad films from the past are a chore to sit through. This one never gets old. To its credit, in spite of being the definitive bad movie, it's more watchable than many "good" films.