That's not it. I think it's called Cat People? Does that ring a bell?

Yes!

That was made in 1942 by Val Lewton.

It's been a long time since I saw it. It was remade in the 80s.

is scary good?
 

Are vampires supposed to be scary? I like a vampire movie where the theme is more like Seduction. Slaughter of the Vampires is kind of "the vampire as homewrecker."

Hammer films knew perfectly well how to be erotic in "Horror of Dracula" but they seem to have eventually forgotten. I hated it when the girl kept waking up screaming in The Vampire Lovers. I mean, I like it more when the vampire's victim seems to be having a good time, like, when the vampire bite her, her facial expression changes from fear and surprise to "Ooh,I really dig this."

If you notice, in the later Hammer movies, the vampire's hypnotic powers are strangely unreliable. The victim keeps falling out of hypnosis at the wrong time (i.e., before the vampire's bite.)

Flames are really cold, my friend, and they cut, like knives!

more on old dark house
 

Yes, the old dark house is certainly the original "old dark house" movie! I especially like the pyromaniac brother...what was his name?
Boris Karloff's part in small but I am always greatful for a Karloff appearance. Even in a cheap crummy movie, Karloff's presence gives it a touch of class.

Frustratingly, when my cable lists The Old Dark House it always turns out to be the crummy remake from the 1960s.

show or suggest?
 

Mentions of The Cat People often ignite an endless debate on whether it's better to show or suggest in horror movies. Stephen King's answer in his book Danse Macabre is basically "it depends on the circumstances."
I think that showing the demon adds a lot to Curse of the Demon even though Jacques Tourneur didn't want to do it.

could it be this cat movie?
 

Maybe it was The Cat People. That movie has a heavy rep.
Or Curse of the Cat People. That isn't really a sequel to the Cat people at all. It wasn't even a horror movie. But it's a charming movie.
And there's Cat Girl, starring Barbara Shelley.

Agreed on both accounts. What a shot in Curse of the Demon! Cat People and The Thing both work.

Dracula overrated?
 

Yes, I agree that Dracula, where movie direction is concerned, can't be called a classic. It's just part of horror film history. Did you know? David Manners got paid 4 times as much for playing Harker as Lugosi did for playing Dracula, because at the time Manners was much better know.

For a vintage horror movie that really is a classic, try Frankenstein, and then The Bride of Frankenstein.

Dracula (1931) has it's defects, it can be slow and stagey in places. But if you look at the beginning of the film, with the incredible sets of Dracula's castle, all of those scenes, then throughout the film, add the scenes with Lugosi/Dracula, Edward Van Sloan/Van Helsing and Dwight Frye/Renfield, I think you have a true classic.

I think the first two Frankenstein's aren't without similar issues, including in one case, some silliness.