What classic horror would you recommend for a newbie?

[heebiejeebies]

Although I am a horror fan in general, classic horror is the one part of the genre I've always had a problem with. I'm a fan of some movies (The Haunting, Psycho, etc.), but those seem to be the ones that "everyone" has seen. What would you recommend for someone like me who really wants to appreciate classic horror but has problems with it?

[alkytrio666]

Well, first of all, we need to identify those problems in order to find your classic nitch.



But to start out, I highly recommend checking out:

-Cat People (1942)

-Carnival of Souls (1962)

-The Body Snatcher (1945)

-Doctor X (1932)

[Despare]

Last Man on Earth and The Abominable Snowman are both fun but what kind of horror films do you like now? If you like the more disturbing and graphic stuff I'd say Freaks, if you enjoy "psychological horror" I'd check out Repulsion, and if you're into Asian horror I would give Kwaidan or Onibaba a shot. Alky's picks are also spot on, don't miss out on those.


Oh and the Universal Monster series as well as Hammer's horror stuff, more good ones.

[Roderick Usher]

and

Freaks

The Bride of Frankestein

The Mummy (1932) an oft-overlooked masterpiece of creeping mood

Night of the Living Dead

and the following Thrillers

Gaslight

Shadow of a Doubt

Diabolique (1955)

[BlackSunProductions]

Carnival of Souls
The Mummy's Curse
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Nosferatu

[ManchestrMorgue]

Mad Love
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
The Old Dark House
Freaks
Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde (1932 with Frederick March)
Doctor X
Dr Cyclops
White Zombie
I Walked with a Zombie


(A random assortment)

[alkytrio666]

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Nosferatu


Both excellent films, but I don't know if it'd be good to start him off with them. For some people those are a little trickier to watch.

[phantomstranger]

Dracula (1931)
Frankenstein (1931)
Bride Of Frankenstein
The Mummy
Creature From The Black Lagoon
Horror Of Dracula
The Exorcist
Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
The Cat People
Curse Of The Demon
Son Of Dracula
The Wolf Man
Psycho

[BlackSunProductions]

Both excellent films, but I don't know if it'd be good to start him off with them. For some people those are a little trickier to watch.

Probably, however I got hooked on them when I started writing my own electronica score for them. Had to put that project off for when I have more free time.

[heebiejeebies]

Thanks for the wealth of possibilities. I'll have to keep my eyes open the next time I hit the rental store.

@alkytrio666 - I don't know why I have a hard time with classic horror. It's not the black-n-white format, the old style special effects, etc. Maybe I just haven't watched the right ones.

@Despare - I basically like any and all horror: splatter, psychological, Asian, etc. I've seen Kwaidan at the video store but always passed it by. I guess I'll have to give it a go.

[Bee-otch]

Phantasm

The Omega Man

The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane

Bad Ronald

Devil Dog: Hound Of Hell

Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Suspiria

... to name a few of my favorite classic horror that I would recommend.

[alkytrio666]

Phantasm

The Omega Man

The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane

Bad Ronald

Devil Dog: Hound Of Hell

Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Suspiria

... to name a few of my favorite classic horror that I would recommend.
I don't think any of those are the type of horror classic he/she's looking for.

I believe we're talking <1970s.

[Cadaver]

House of Wax (1953)
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1966)

[hammerfan]

You could also try any of the Hammer films.

@Cadaver: Fearless Vampire Killers is one of my all-time favorites!

[Cadaver]

You could also try any of the Hammer films.

@Cadaver: Fearless Vampire Killers is one of my all-time favorites!
Mine too. I love watching it, the mood and feeling of the whole movie is just so damn cool.

[neverending]

I would also recommend any of the Universal Fankenstein films, and:

The Invisible Man - plenty of action and killings and an incredible performance from Claude Rains.

Island of Lost Souls- again lots of action and great performances from some of the best actors of the day.

or for some wacky weird 60's horror, try X - THE MAN WITH X-RAY EYES!

[alkytrio666]

[QUOTE=neverending;532522]

The Invisible Man - plenty of action and killings and an incredible performance from Claude Rains.

Island of Lost Souls- again lots of action and great performances from some of the best actors of the day.QUOTE]

Wow! You have impeccable taste, my friend.


The Invisible Man is awesome. Thirty years ahead of its time, maybe more.

Good luck trying to find Island of Lost Souls, though!

[neverending]

[QUOTE=neverending;532522]

The Invisible Man - plenty of action and killings and an incredible performance from Claude Rains.

Island of Lost Souls- again lots of action and great performances from some of the best actors of the day.QUOTE]

Wow! You have impeccable taste, my friend.


The Invisible Man is awesome. Thirty years ahead of its time, maybe more.

Good luck trying to find Island of Lost Souls, though!

You know who I love watching in those old Universal films is Una O'Connor. She spiced up a lot of films with her unique presence, including this one and Bride of Frankenstein.

[alkytrio666]

You know who I love watching in those old Universal films is Una O'Connor. She spiced up a lot of films with her unique presence, including this one and Bride of Frankenstein.
Absolutely...her performances were over-the-top, but they really worked! Her obnoxious scream works so well in both of those creature features, and her roles in both flicks are memorable. She had a very enjoyable screen presense.

[Doc Faustus]

Black Sunday, 2000 Maniacs, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Ju-On, Night of the Living Dead

[ThrillerWriter666]

I've been lurking for a while so I hope it's okay if I jump in here and second "House of Wax". Very atmospheric and a great plot. (It inspired one of my thrillers)

The old Joan Crawford movie "I Saw What You Did" (1965). Campy and creepy and lots of fun.

"The Bad Seed". (1956?) Maybe not technically a horror, but still a cool movie.

[Shadow]

Cool thanks all. This thread was just what I was looking for. I am a newbie to Classic Horror films also. Well a newbie in general lol.

[Papillon Noir]

I would also recomend:

Eyes Without a Face (Les Yeux Sans Visage) (1960)

House on Haunted Hill (1958)

[crabapple]

You can't go too far wrong with "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" (1968) ...gives you some classical tropical island horror atmosphere mixed with nudity, gore, tribal dances and a horrible slobbering monster. Trash does not get better than this.

http://www.cinefania.com/pics/1b/posters[2...]/28162.jpg

(Christopher Lee is actually in "Blood Demon," and not in "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" as the ad seems to suggest.)

[The_Return]

You can't go too far wrong with "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" (1968) ...gives you some classical tropical island horror atmosphere mixed with nudity, gore, tribal dances and a horrible slobbering monster. Trash does not get better than this.

http://www.cinefania.com/pics/1b/posters[2...]/28162.jpg

(Christopher Lee is actually in "Blood Demon," and not in "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" as the ad seems to suggest.)

Man, that sounds awesome...just put it on my Ziplist!

[crabapple]

Dude...the recent DVDs of "Mad Doctor" start out with the "Green Blood Ritual" thing which is a short film clip showing young people drinking green liquid out of test tubes...in the drive-in theatres, you were given a plastic packet and encouraged to drink the "green blood potion" and recite the "Oath of Green Blood" ... this opening speech is beyond belief, it is just crazy:

"The Green Blood potion has been known to passionately affect some people after drinking it...others describe a feeling of the Supernatural Conscience(sic) entering their being...Now, get your sample of the Green Blood potion ready, and recite the Oath of Dr. Lorca aloud with me: I, a living breathing creature of the cosmic entity, have now chosen to be among those who are allowed to drink of the mystic emerald fluids herein offered! I join the Order of Green Blood with an open mind, and through this liquid's powers am now safely able to view the Unnatural Green Blooded Ones without fear of contamination! Now: Drink your sample of Green Blood, and it is guaranteed that you can NEVER turn into a GREEN-BLOODED MONSTER!"

[crabapple]

It was probably corn syrup and some green food color...they had some company make these packets which were supposedly like ketchup packets. Sam Sherman, whose company released the film stateside, decided to drink one of the packets of liquid and it made him feel ill.

[Horror1979]

The Terror Starring Jack Nicholson. Boris Karloff and Dick Miller.

[Roderick Usher]

The Thing From Another World

[DEATHH DREAMS author]

Tomb of the Blind Dead, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie. You should go to Netflix and search within their classic horror, especially the foreign horror section...

[Ash's_evil_hand]

There's a 1945 Ealing film called 'Dead of Night'.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037635/

This is one of my favourite films ever. People I know who would never go near a pre-1980s film have all agreed, this is a great film.

[zwoti]

There's a 1945 Ealing film called 'Dead of Night'.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037635/

This is one of my favourite films ever. People I know who would never go near a pre-1980s film have all agreed, this is a great film.


yep, it made it onto the unsung 100 films

http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26771



write a blurb for it (save me the work)

[Ash's_evil_hand]

yep, it made it onto the unsung 100 films

http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26771



write a blurb for it (save me the work)

I may well do that. It's been a few years since I watched it, but I think it's just been released onto DVD and I can get it for around £7 - a bargain.

[Doc Faustus]

I should add to this list:
Mad Love, Night of the Hunter, Vampyr, Kiss of the Vampire

[alkytrio666]

I should add to this list:
Mad Love, Night of the Hunter, Vampyr, Kiss of the Vampire
Night of the Hunter is brilliant. Creepy as fuck.


I like the new avatar, Doc.

[Doc Faustus]

Thanks. I'm surprised Vampyr doesn't get brought up much. It's remarkable.

[alkytrio666]

Thanks. I'm surprised Vampyr doesn't get brought up much. It's remarkable.
I've actually never seen it, but I'll make it a point to do so soon.

[Doc Faustus]

Good to hear. The atmosphere in it is quite surreal and chilling. The video in the Ring has some similarities to it.

[trick]

i dont know what other pepole have told to watch and im a nebie to but i would check out the orginaly thing from rko
creature form the black lagoun triolgy any hammer film with peter cushion and chritopher lee and if you can handle silent filems any thing form lon chany sr

[mordrid]

The Masque of Red Death with Vincent Price

[trick]

The Masque of Red Death with Vincent Price

morbid brings up a good point any thing with vincent price is hardcore

[Doc Faustus]

Gojira and Beast From 20,000 Fathoms are also must sees.

[trick]

return of the vampier with bela lugiose its way better tgen dracule and a must see

[Hamburger]

these have probably been said already but ill chime in with my 2 cents.

House on HAUNTED Hill
Carnival of Souls
LAST Man on Earth
Attack of the Giant Leeches - good stuff

[Ash's_evil_hand]

If you liked The Haunting, I'd strongly recommend The Innocents (1961) and The Uninvited (1944)

[AsylumSeeker]

Heebie I was the same way. I find that pretty much anything with Vincent Price (well, with the exception of the Dr. Phibes movies) is a guaranteed kick. Sometimes watching the originals to which you've seen the remake can be good to grab you while the style gets under your skin. Good ones are House on Haunted Hill and House of Wax.

If you are also a reader, the book tie-in for The House of Usher, the Hound of the Baskervilles, The Masque of the Red Death, and way too many others to list had this great man.

[HollywoodGoth]

@Despare - I basically like any and all horror: splatter, psychological, Asian, etc. I've seen Kwaidan at the video store but always passed it by. I guess I'll have to give it a go.

Prepare to be disappointed. KWAIDAN is the kind of move likely to turn you off classical horror - beautifully shot, but long-winded and tedious. It's not necessarily bad, but it is an aquired taste. Not something I would recommend to someone who is trying to sample some titles to whet his interest.

[rusty06]

Haven't read it here yet and maybe it is considered sci-fi but still

IT, the terror from beyond space
There's just something irresistable about a monstermovie with IT as the title.
From hell it came is another great title but the movie itself, although I liked it a lot, is for fans only.
The classic THEM is also very good!

Classic horror is often an acquired taste though and the only option is watching them and not giving up to easily, you never know wich one you're going to like. But once you get a taste for it there's a lot to be discovered.

[Marya Zaleska]

I would choose these.

The Night Of The Demon
The Incredible Shrinking Man
Dracula's Daughter
I walked With A Zombie
The Bride Of Frankenstein

and one of the scariest ever The Exorcist!

[phantomstranger]

All of the classic Universal Studio films:

Dracula (1931)
Dracula's Daughter
Son Of Dracula

Frankenstein
Bride Of Frankenstein
Son Of Frankenstein

Creature From The Black Lagoon
The Wolf Man

The Mummy (1932)

[Doc Faustus]

Tales of Terror, A Bucket of Blood

[crusher310]

I would also recomend:

Eyes Without a Face (Les Yeux Sans Visage) (1960)

House on Haunted Hill (1958)


I would definitely recommend eyes without a face--it's one of the most overlooked horror films of all time.