Top 30 Classic Horror/Monster (1920's-80's)
My own personal list. For the top ten films in the list I will give a brief summary of the movies and why I picked to help make my point. Please enjoy, and give feedback whether you liked or not. Also feel free to put any movies of this category that you enjoyed that you thought should have been on the list.
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- DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveMae ClarkeBoris KarloffDr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.I chose this for number 1 out of pure nostalgia. For being the very first horror movie I ever saw (at the age of five), and even one of the very first movies I've seen in my life. Today it might seem a little dated, but there is no doubt that it has acceptional acting and amazing dark atmosphere that draws you into the movie itself.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsMax SchreckAlexander GranachGustav von WangenheimVampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.My favorite silent film of all time, I first saw this after getting into a conversation with my history teacher about historical movies. He told me to give this a watch and I'm glad I did. Even if you took the text cards out of the movie you could still understand what was happening from the fluent portrayal of body language by each character.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsKenji SaharaYumi ShirakawaAkihiko HirataA mining engineer investigates the deaths of his colleagues, discovering prehistoric nymphs and a creature capable of flying - and wrecking havoc - at supersonic speeds.Ironically this movie didn't captivate me. "Then why is this #3 on the list?" You might ask. Well I saw this with a group of friends when we were bored one evening and decided to pop in a cheesy movie. As I watched, I noticedthe american dubbed voice acting was terrible, but as a creator of short films I admired it for how it was made. I loved the special effects, and use of extrememly accurate miniatures. Not necessarily a "great" movie but a movie can always be great as an experience without being a great movie.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira TakaradaAfter a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.How couldn't I include this movie in this list? It's a landmark film in both scifi and horror. The use of low angles shot upwards really creates a feeling of how small and and measley the view is compared to the king of the monsters
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.One of the first movies to actually scare me in a sense, Alien is a wonderful scifi and horror experience. The scenario of being trapped in a confined area with a killer on the loose is played out very well. The movie feeds off of and ounce of claustrophobia the audience may have.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.I think this movie explains for itself why it's a great movie. It shows how a budget of 375,000, a small cabbin in the woods, and a lot of creativity can be combined and turned into a masterpiece.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsRichard CarlsonJulie AdamsRichard DenningA strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization for study.I can sum up this movie in just four words. Greatest creature design EVER!
- DirectorTod BrowningKarl FreundStarsBela LugosiHelen ChandlerDavid MannersTransylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.What can be said that has not already been said about this movie? It's a landmark film and perfects almost everything that it has to show. The gothic architecture, the incredible acting, and of course Bela Lugosi himself all contribute to why I love this movie.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.Some people may argue that 2001: a Space Odyssey is Stanley Kubrik's masterpiece. I disagree, A Clockwork Orange is a fantastic creation of it's original novel. It's a movie that takes a treat wack at psychological terror.
- DirectorIshirô HondaTom MontgomeryStarsTadao TakashimaKenji SaharaYû FujikiA UN reporter covers the appearance of a prehistoric monster that emerges from hibernation, while a pharmaceutical company seeks publicity with a monster of their own.It's a movie that could only be created from the mind of a complete genious of film advertising. Combining two of history's greatest monsters in one epic film of total cheesiness. Great movie to watch with friends.
- DirectorKarl FreundStarsBoris KarloffZita JohannDavid MannersA resurrected Egyptian mummy searches Cairo for the girl he believes to be his long-lost princess.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsClaude RainsWarren WilliamLon Chaney Jr.Larry Talbot returns to his father's castle in Wales and meets a beautiful woman. One fateful night, Talbot escorts her to a local carnival where they meet a mysterious gypsy fortune teller.
- DirectorRoy William NeillStarsLon Chaney Jr.Ilona MasseyPatric KnowlesThe resurrected Wolf Man, seeking a cure for his malady, enlists the aid of a mad scientist, who claims he will not only rid the Wolf Man of his nocturnal metamorphosis, but also revive the frozen body of Frankenstein's inhuman creation.
- DirectorFred F. SearsStarsHugh MarloweJoan TaylorDonald CurtisExtraterrestrials traveling in high-tech flying saucers contact a scientist as part of a plan to enslave the inhabitants of Earth.
- DirectorEugène LouriéStarsPaul HubschmidPaula RaymondCecil KellawayA ferocious dinosaur awakened by an Arctic atomic test terrorizes the North Atlantic and, ultimately, New York City.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsFurankî SakaiHiroshi KoizumiKyôko KagawaAn expedition to Infant Island uncovers a native tribe and twin tiny fairy priestesses of a mythical deity, who sets out to rescue the pair after they are kidnapped by a greedy businessman.
- DirectorSean S. CunninghamStarsBetsy PalmerAdrienne KingJeannine TaylorA group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampJohnny DeppRobert EnglundTeenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDavid EmgeKen ForeeScott H. ReinigerDuring an escalating zombie epidemic, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter and his TV executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.
- DirectorRoland WestStarsGeorge BerangerCharles HerzingerEmily FitzroyA masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorizes the guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer.
- DirectorPaul WegenerCarl BoeseStarsPaul WegenerAlbert SteinrückErnst DeutschIn 16th-century Prague, a rabbi creates the Golem - a giant creature made of clay. Using sorcery, he brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.
- 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.
- DirectorJosé Mojica MarinsStarsLuiz Sérgio PersonVany MillerMário LimaThree episodes: A dollmaker whose dolls are eerily human, a tale of necrophilia, and a doctor proves love is dead.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
- DirectorNoriaki YuasaStarsEiji FunakoshiHarumi KiritachiJunichiro YamashitaFrom out of the arctic comes a gigantic flying, fire-breathing turtle that sets its sights on destroying Tokyo.
- DirectorViktors RitelisStarsMichael GoughYvonne MitchellSharon GurneyA mother and daughter hatch a scheme to murder their family's domineering and sadistic patriarch.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsOnslow StevensJohn CarradineLon Chaney Jr.The Wolf Man and Count Dracula beg Dr. Edelman to cure them of their killing instincts but Dracula schemes to seduce the doctor's nurse.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsPeter CushingChristopher LeeYvonne FurneauxIn 1895, British archaeologists find and open the tomb of Egyptian Princess Ananka with nefarious consequences.