If you’re into the really old classics like Golden Age Horror, here are a good set from the ’20s that you can get into.
1920 - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
This particular split personality conundrum wasn’t introduced to the big screen in 1920. As a matter of fact, it made its debut as a silent film in 1908. The film starred Hobart Bosworth and Betty Harte and paved the way for over ten film adaptations. IMDB voted the 1920’s version fourth on the list from best to worst.
1922 - Nosferatu
Nosferatu is an all-around Transylvanian horror story; a vampire wants to buy a house, invites a couple over, tries to kill them, all the while his servant is preparing for him to move. Yes, that’s actually the plot. Silent movies now aren’t supposed to be scary however, it is super interesting to watch what they deemed horrific in the 1920s.
1927 - The Cat and the Canary
Last one from the Golden Ages I promise. It’s a cliche classic; a wealthy family member dies and the entire family wants to know where they stood in the will but here’s the twist - some crazy-ass person is on the loose and the damn lawyer just got killed.
1953 - House Of Wax
The 50’s started the whole contemporary horror movement and produced some really dope cinema. The plot of the movie begins with a simple crime two guys have a business but one of them decided to burn it down to collect the insurance funds. Easy enough but then there’s a twist. Years after the fire, Henry the sculptor ( played by Vincent Price - who’s basically been in everything horror) had his own little museum that had kept introducing new pieces around the same time people kept disappearing.
House Of Wax was a brilliant way to address the elephant in the room - the museum is pretty creepy.
1956 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Rotten Tomatoes gave this movie a well earned 5 tomatoes. The movie is, in its time, an innovative take on horror. It’s about a couple who realizes their family seems to be replaced. It’s definitely science-fiction vibes but still a horror none the less.
1958 - The Blob
The Blob just reminds me of one of those movies the standard 1950s “going steady” couple would watch during a movie that’s mocking a horror movie being watched by a 1950s couple who’s going steady. It’s definitely a drive-in type of movie. It’s such a classic story: Teenagers see something unbelievably weird, try to tell the adults who, of course, don’t believe them and then just take the matter into their own hands.
1959 - The House On Haunted Hill
This is another Vincent Price classic. He plays Fredrick Loren, an eccentric rich guy who has a strange proposal to survive a night horror and get ten stacks if you make it. (I legit would have done it for like $100 dollars). What Fredy doesn’t know is during this entire time his wife and her secret lover were planning on killing him and just taking all the cash instead. But it wasn’t going easy.
1980 - The Shining
Even though this movie is two and a half hours long it is worth every bit of it. Jack Nicholson is just incredible in everything he plays but when the role is the crazy writer he nails it effortlessly. Jack agrees to become a winter caretaker at a desolate hotel in west bumbafuck Colorado. He was hoping he could get a little creative but ended up getting crazy instead and tries to murder his whole family.
1982 - Poltergeist
The 1982 version is much better than the remake. Much better. The ’80s had a way of telling ghost stories. This one was another innovative take on how we communicate with the dead.
1984 - A Nightmare on Elm Street
Seriously, do I have to say anything about Wes Craven’s timeless masterpiece?
1985 - Fright Night
First of all, I personally think the best thing about this movie is the fact that the main character's name is Charlie Brewster. Charlie is basically the boy who cried wolf. He’s a horror junkie who finds out a vampire just moved in. When he tries to tell everyone no one believed him. Typical.
1992 - Candyman
Candyman is one of my favorite movies of all time. I remember watching it and actually being scared. Candyman is a cult classic that brings superstitions and folklore to life when a grad student ends up being stalked by a mysterious man who matches the description of the murderer.
1996 - Scream
What is a horror list without this movie?
You thought I was going to add Friday the 13th didn’t you. Tell me something, what's your favorite scary movie?
Sources: IMDB, Images: Pinterest, Rotten Tomatoes