Horror Classics 101 - Where to Begin?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by MikePh, Oct 26, 2003.

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  1. MikePh

    MikePh Forum Resident/Song and Dance Man Thread Starter

    Horror Classics 101 - Where to Begin and End?


    I recently saw the film "Gods & Monsters," which peaked my interest, but
    it's also an appropriate time of year for me to ask for help with this one. I'd like to begin a Horror-Thriller film collection.

    Keep in mind that i currently really have little or any, having collected other types of movies, I'm only now seeing the light. All I really have are a few Hitchcock DVD's.

    So, from the classics to present day, which are the essential (or near-essential) items I should look for? Even "A" or "B" grade films that are noteworthy for their humour, special effects (or sexiness ):cool: would be welcomed if more than a few of you agree.

    Examples of what I like OR am curious about:

    -DRACULA (Which is the best early Dracula [Yr/Director] ?
    -Best Vincent Price films?
    -Psycho - have it, love it
    -Race With The Devil - (Great 70's TV movie w/Peter Fonda I saw as a kid and it scared the bejesus out me)
    -American Werewolf in London - great makeup for 80's
    - Vampires - ????
    -Embrace Of The Vampire - [Alyssa Milano - you know;) ]
    -Seven - Have it, Love it


    My DVD has all-region capability, so don't hold back.

    Thanks in advance,
    MICHAEL
     
  2. MagicAlex

    MagicAlex Gort Emeritus

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Here's a great place to start:

    [​IMG]

    There's a used set at Amazon here for $115:

    Universal's Classic Monster Collection

    If you don't want the whole set they are also available individually.

    Dracula/Frankenstein/The Mummy/The Invisible Man/The Bride of Frankenstein/The Wolf Man/The Phantom of the Opera/The Creature from the Black Lagoon
     
  3. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    fright night
    halloween I
    friday the 13th I
    texas chainsaw massacre
    evil dead
     
  4. Jimbo

    Jimbo Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Zero/Zero Island
    The Haunting (1963)
    The Exorcist
    Phantasm
    The Nightmare Before Christmas
    House on Haunted Hill (the remake was pretty good, too)
    Salem's Lot (very scary for a made-for-TV film)
     
  5. MagicAlex

    MagicAlex Gort Emeritus

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Don't overlook the wonderful works of the British company Hammer Films . I used to love watching friday night fright flix when I was a kid and I really got into the Lee & Cushing Dracula movies from Hammer.

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Ed Bishop

    Ed Bishop Incredibly, I'm still here

    Dario Argento's SUSPIRIA. If that doesn't take your sleep, nothing will!:eek: :eek:


    ED:cool: :D
     
  7. guy incognito

    guy incognito Senior Member

    Location:
    Mee-chigan
    IMO, the finest horror film ever made. It does perfect justice to Shirley Jackson's story.

    Other horror/thriller essentials:

    The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari (Robert Wiene, 1919)
    Der Golem (Paul Wegener, 1920)
    Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau, 1922)
    The Phantom of the Opera (Rupert Julian, 1925)
    Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoulien, 1931)
    Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931)
    Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931)
    M (Fritz Lang, 1931)
    Freaks (Tod Browning, 1932)
    Island of Lost Souls (Erle C. Kenton, 1932)
    The Mummy (Karl Freund, 1932)
    The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932)
    Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932)
    The Invisible Man (James Whale, 1933)
    The Mystery of the Wax Museum (Michael Curtiz, 1933)
    The Black Cat (Edgar Ulmer, 1934)
    Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935)
    Mad Love (Karl Freund, 1935)
    Son of Frankenstein (Rowland V. Lee, 1939)
    The Wolf Man (George Waggner, 1941)
    The Cat People (Jacques Tournier, 1942)
    I Walked With A Zombie (Jacques Tournier, 1943)
    The Uninvited (Lewis Allen, 1944)
    Dead of Night (various directors, 1945)
    The Thing (Christian Nyby, 1951)
    House of Wax (Andre De Toth, 1953)
    The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953)
    Creature from the Black Lagoon (Jack Arnold, 1954)
    Them! (Gordon Douglas, 1954)
    Diabolique (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955)
    The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
    Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel, 1956)
    Curse of Frankenstein (Terence Fisher, 1957)
    Curse of the Demon (Jacques Tournier, 1957)
    The Fly (Kurt Neumann, 1958)
    Horror of Dracula (Terence Fisher, 1958)
    Black Sunday (Mario Bava, 1960)
    The Fall of the House of Usher (Roger Corman, 1960)
    Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960)
    The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961)
    The Pit and the Pendulum (Roger Corman, 1961)
    Carnival of Souls (Hurk Harvey, 1962)
    The Masque of the Red Death (Roger Corman, 1964)
    Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 1965)
    Night of the Living Dead (George Romero, 1968)
    Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968)
    Targets (Peter Bogdonovich, 1968)
    Antefatto (Mario Bava, 1971)
    The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)
    Black Christmas (Bob Clark, 1974)
    The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974)
    The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1974)
    The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1975)
    They Came From Within (David Cronenberg, 1975)
    Carrie (Brian DePalma, 1976)
    Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977)
    Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)
    Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufman, 1978)
    Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)
    Dawn of the Dead (George Romero, 1979)
    Nosferatu the Vampyre (Werner Herzog, 1979)
    The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
    An American Werewolf In London (John Landis, 1981)
    The Howling (Joe Dante, 1981)
    Scanners (David Cronenberg, 1981)
    Poltergeist (Tobe Hooper, 1982)
    A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984)
    Re-Animator (Stuart Gordon, 1985)
    Aliens (James Cameron, 1986)
    The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986)
    The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991)
    Seven (1995)
    Scream (Wes Craven, 1996)
    The Others (Alejandro Amenabar, 2001)
    28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2002)

    And, if you like a little comedy with your scares:

    Arsenic and Old Lace (Frank Capra, 1944)
    Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Charles Barton, 1948)
    Plan 9 From Outer Space (Edward D. Wood, 1959)
    Little Shop of Horrors (Roger Corman, 1960)
    The Fearless Vampire Killers (Roman Polanski, 1967)
    The Abominable Dr. Phibes (Robert Fuest, 1971)
    Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, 1974)
    The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975)
    The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick, 1993)
    Cemetary Man (Michele Soavi, 1994)
     
  8. ascot

    ascot Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    My personal favorites are still the original "Night of the Living Dead", "The Exorcist", and pretty much anything by Hitchcock.
     
  9. Ken_McAlinden

    Ken_McAlinden MichiGort Staff

    Location:
    Livonia, MI
    For a crash course, how about:

    20s
    Phantom of the Opera

    30s
    Dracula (Browning)
    Frankenstein (Whale)
    Bride of Frankenstein (Whale)
    The Invisible Man (Whale)
    Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Mamoulian)
    Freaks (Browning)

    40s
    Dead of NIght (Various)
    The Wolf Man (Waggner)
    Cat People (Tourneur)

    50s
    Les Diaboliques (Clouzot)
    Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Siegel)
    The Thing from Another World (Nyby)
    Horror of Dracula (Fisher)
    Night of the Demon (Tourneur)
    Them! (Douglas)

    60s
    Psycho (Hitchcock)
    Rosemary's Baby (Polanski)
    The Innocents (Clayton)
    The Haunting (Wise)
    Night of the Living Dead (Romero)
    Kaidan (Kobayashi)
    Black Sunday (Bava)

    70s
    Halloween (Carpenter)
    The Exorcist (Friedkin)
    Don't Look Now (Roeg)
    Alien (Scott)
    Dawn of the Dead (Romero)
    Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Hooper)
    Deep Red (Argento)

    80s
    Evil Dead (1&2) (Raimi)
    Nightmare on Elm Street (Craven)
    Re-Animator (Gordon)
    Friday the Thirteenth (Cunningham)
    The Thing (Carpenter)
    Spoorloos (The Vanishing - original) (Sluizer)
    The Shining (Kubrick)

    90s
    The Silence of the Lambs (Demme)
    Scream (Craven)
    Sixth Sense (Shyamalan)
    Braindead/Dead Alive (Jackson)
    Ringu (Nakata)
    Nattevagten (Original Nightwatch) (Bornedal)
    Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetary Man) (Soavi)

    Regards,
     
  10. guy incognito

    guy incognito Senior Member

    Location:
    Mee-chigan
    Ah, a couple of glaring omissions from my list. Excellent choices!
     
  11. Paul C.

    Paul C. Senior Member

    Location:
    Australia
    Great lists Guy and Ken.... I would second a selection of Touneur films. One that has always stuck in my mind was "The Seventh Victim".

    I'd also second:

    Rosemary's Baby
    Don't Look Now
    The Thing (Carpenter)

    And I would add:

    Eyes Without a Face (French, I think from the early 60s)
    The Believers (with Martin Sheen)
    The Dead Zone (the movie with Christopher Walken)
     
  12. guy incognito

    guy incognito Senior Member

    Location:
    Mee-chigan
    I've never seen Don't Look Now. Is it available on DVD?
     
  13. Ken_McAlinden

    Ken_McAlinden MichiGort Staff

    Location:
    Livonia, MI
    Don't Look Now was released in DVD Region 1 a year or so ago from Paramount. It doesn't say it on the packaging, but it is the uncut European version which has never been released on home video in the US before. Don't make a big deal out of it, or some censorship group will ruin it for everyone. :shh:

    The video transfer is very nice, and extras include only a trailer. The DD2.0 mono audio suffers a bit from that NR that Paramount seems to like to apply, but other than that, it is pretty good.

    I believe it was recently repriced to a $15 MSRP, so you should be able to find it cheap.
    [​IMG]
    Regards,
     
  14. b&w

    b&w Forum Resident

    I second this recommendation. It's an excellent movie and has two amazing acting jobs in it. Well worth the $15 even its that price.
     
  15. b&w

    b&w Forum Resident

    Hehe..what a twisted and great piece of cinema. I wonder why Rupert never talks about it when he's interviewed..lol...
     
  16. b&w

    b&w Forum Resident

    Magic is spot on also, this is a must own and a great foundation for anyone's dvd collection.
     
  17. b&w

    b&w Forum Resident

    I'll make one straight recommendation. Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock. There isn't anything overtly violent or scary about it, but its definitely an amazing psychological terror type of movie. Criterion has a really nice version on dvd. It gives me the willies every time I see it and I've watched it a lot.
     
  18. Paul C.

    Paul C. Senior Member

    Location:
    Australia
    Don't Look Now has also been released on DVD in the UK and Australia - I believe this differs from the US version as far as extras - but I'm not sure about the picture transfer. In Australia it's marketed as the 30th anniversary edition, with 1.78:1 widescreen 16:9 enhancement. Also has the Dolby 2.0 soundtrack. Extras include a theatrical trailer and a "Looking Back" 20 minute documentary about the film, with recent interviews with director and crew.

    On another note, I'd like to see more of Fritz Lang's American movies on DVD - in particular, "The House By the River", which is one of the creepiest movies I've seen.
     
  19. John Moschella

    John Moschella Senior Member

    Location:
    Christiansburg, VA
    Don't Look Now is my favorite horror type film. I think that Rosemary's Baby is also very good. I get a kick out of the Omen as well just for the cemetary scene.

    As far as monster movies go Frankenstein is the cream of the crop. I recently saw The Wolfman and thought it was terrible.
     
  20. chip-hp

    chip-hp Cool Cat

    Location:
    Dallas, TX
  21. Tony Caldwell

    Tony Caldwell Senior Member

    Location:
    Arkansas
    "The Night of the Hunter" 1955
    It is a great B&W film directed by Charles Laughton, and stars Robert Mitchum and Shelly Winters. One of my all time favorite films.

    "The Haunting" 1963
    The greatest haunted house movie ever made. Don't bother with the recent remake (unless you just want to watch Zeta Jones).

    Those two are the ones that I can recommend to anyone. Both are very well made in all respects. CLASSICS!!

    Other favorites of mine:

    The "Evil Dead" Trilogy...
    "Evil Dead" crazy!
    "Evil Dead II- Dead by Dawn" crazier!!
    "Army of Darkness" totally over the top!!!
    "Phantasm" 1979 everyone needs to see this at least once.
    "The Legend of Hell House" 1973 Richard Matheson!
    "Stir of Echoes" 1999 Richard Matheson does it again!
    "Beetlejuice" Richard Matheson...
    "Halloween" John Carpenter
    "The Craft" I have a thing for Fairuza Balk, plus the movie is pretty good
    "The Devil Rides Out" Christopher Lee and all kinds of devil goodies
    "A Nightmare Before Christmas" awesome stop action animation
    "The Fog" John Carpenter
    "The Thing" John Carpenter
    "The Others" Ah, Nicole. Sweet, sweet Nicole.
    "Sleepy Hollow" 1999 I like it better every time I watch it.
    "Candyman" is pretty spooky.
    "Alien" (just the first one)
    "A Nightmare on Elm Street" was a creepy low budget scarefest.
    "Sixth Sense"
    "The Ring" has some flaws, but if you can hang in there, it is fun.

    Vampires, Vampires, Vampires...
    "Salem's Lot" made for TV
    "Fright Night" fun stuff!
    "Dracula Prince of Darkness" Christopher Lee
    "Horror of Dracula" Christopher Lee
    "Glimpse the Buttocks of Dracula" just kidding
    "Shadow of the Vampire" 2001 w/ John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe
    "The Lost Boys" 1987 goofy fun
    "Vampire's Kiss" 1989 Nicholas Cage (see it just for the novelty of Cage's performance!! Very odd, very funny.

    Vincent Price movies...
    "House of Wax"
    "The Pit & the Pendulum" 1961
    "The Fall of the House of Usher" 1960
    "The Abominable Dr. Phibes"
    "Dr. Phibes Rises Again" 1972
    "Theater of Blood" 1973
    "Twice Told Tales" 1963
    "Tales of Terror" 1962
    "The Masque of the Red Death" 1964
    "The Oblong Box" 1969 w/Christopher Lee
    "Scream and Scream Again" 1969 w/ Cushing and Lee

    Some good sci fi and/or suspense type things...
    "Misery" the book is even better
    "Flatliners" has it's moments
    "Fallen" Denzel Washington
    "Dead Calm" (or how I fell in love with Nicole Kidman and stopped worrying about the bomb)
    "Jacob's Ladder" my wife hates it, but I disagree
    "Se7en" not for everyone
    "The Silence of the Lambs" maybe the best title of a movie, ever!
    "The Ghost and the Darkness" so sue me...
    "Arlington Road" I am not a Jeff Bridges fan, but this is well made.
    "Jaws" one of the best suspense films ever. IMHO

    I know there are other great ones, but I am very tired.

    But I will say this:
    Avoid "Darkness Falls" at all costs. I never in my life wanted a movie to end so badly in all my natural born life. Just make it stop.

    Or maybe Marky Mark's remake of "...Apes" damn dirty film!

    I sleep now,
    Tony
     
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