Horror Films That Still Creep All These Years Later...
 

The truth is, what scared the pants off of everyone in 1931 will hardly keep a 10 year old kid awake at night these days. Frankenstein is now fun, and the polite warning at the beginning is now almost funny.

But while those classics aren't necessarily scary anymore, quite a few still retain elements of "creepy" in terms of image or environment. And that is probably why we love them. I won't attempt to rank them, but here are some of my favorites.

The Phantom of the Opera (1925) - For me it isn't the unmasking scene that shocked so many. The ones that make a deeper impression are the Death Mask (probably no more film besides the Wizard of Oz had a more dramatic b/w to color transition) at the party and the even more powerful "snorkling phantom" roaming the underground caverns.

Nosferatu (1922) - This film is pretty much creepy personified. While Bela Lugosi would go on to define the image of a "vampire" for most of the 20th century, Count Orlok scared us in a way the Hungarian master never could and in a way that wouldn't happen again until 1979 with Salem's Lot when Barlow taught the children of that generation why vampires are scary.

The Walking Dead (1936) - An interesting horror/gangster hybrid where Karloff manages to outcreep his monsters like Frankenstein (I know that isn't the monsters name but it has become common usage) and The Mummy. An early proto zombie who may or may not be supernatural seeks justice against the gangsters who set him up for his own death. Reminded me a little bit of Thirteen Women (1932) starring Myrna Loy.

Anyway those are the ones that come to mind for me. Please add your own nominations.

Night Of The Hunter

Added to my Netflix queue. Looks interesting. I just recently started getting into the Noirs, I never quite took to them before with the exception of a few films like the original Postman. Being a Lillian Gish fan this might be one to add to the DVD library.

The Tall Man still creeps me out...25 years and counting!

While I wouldn't qualify that one as a "classic horror film" due to it's age, that is definitely a creepy one from the modern genre. Truly bizarre film with the whole alien planet work camp plot line but the Tall Man and the flying ball are the stuff of nightmares.

Btw, Phantasm was 1979 so we are at 32 years and counting.

I meant the Tall Man has been creeping me out for 25 years......Sorry I didn't see it on the fucking day it was released you pretentious douche bag.

The Innocents, for sure.

Wow. I thought you had simply made a mistake about the release date and/or how long it had been since seeing it as a kid or something like that.

I wasn't trying to be pretentious or a douche bag. Nice attitude you got there.

The Haunting.....

Nosferatu still creeps me out. Something about the silence and the way Orlok would just appear in the distance standing there still freaks me the fuck out.