# Classic old "horror" movies aren't scary --were they ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 26, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622 "2007-05-26T17:24:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/21 "2007-05-26T23:51:29Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] A good question. Some other speculations: Is it possible that having read and heard so much about those old classics spoiled them for you? So that when you finally saw them for yourself, you knew what was coming, knew what to expect, and it killed the suspense and the scare? [/QUOTE] That’s a possibility I hadn’t considered; that, or maybe I got my expectations so keyed up that the movies were anticlimactic. > [@](#): > > Is it possible that some of the conventions of older films, like being in black and white, which their original audiences would have taken for granted and not really noticed, got in the way for you and affected your suspension of disbelief? I don’t really think so…I like the look and feel of black and white photos and films quite a lot, and there are numerous b&w fright flix I respond to very well…_Curse of the Demon_, the original _Night of the Living Dead_, and _The Haunting_ are the first three that spring to mind. One convention of older movies that does bother me, though, is the bloodless violence. You know --someone’s shot, he just keels over without a mark on him, like the soundwave killed him. Someone else is stabbed and there’s a dagger sticking out of her dry, unstained blouse. The “horribly mangled body” of the monster’s latest victim is seen to be totally unmarked. That always struck me as being both dishonest and chicken. I require a bit more realism in presentation than that. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/22 "2007-05-26T23:53:39Z")
_In olden days a glimpse of stocking Was looked on as something shocking; Now Heaven knows, anything goes._ ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/23 "2007-05-26T23:53:57Z")
[QUOTE=ouryL] You had a copy of the first \*Famous Monsters Of Filmland \*? :dubious: [/QUOTE] I ain’t **that** old! ---
**Author:** ![Revedge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecae2f/32.png) [@Revedge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revedge)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/24 "2007-05-27T00:00:41Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] If I am ever in charge of a child’s movie watching,… & by high school graduation, he’ll get Re-Animator! [/QUOTE] And after college Graduation, Ren and Stimpy! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/25 "2007-05-27T00:24:33Z")
[QUOTE=Revedge] And after college Graduation, Ren and Stimpy! 😃 [/QUOTE] Just the earlier seasons. I wouldn’t afflict the last couple on anyone. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/26 "2007-05-27T01:15:57Z")
[QUOTE=DLuxN8R-13] I ain’t **that** old! [/QUOTE] But I am ☹ I had a copy of the second issue until my dog peed on it. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/27 "2007-05-27T02:49:44Z")
My SO, who was born in 1943, saw a re-release of King Kong when he was about 6 or 7 (in a theatre - in NYC). For the longest time, when he would go up & down the stairs of his Bronx apartment building, he would crawl under the windows on the landings so that Kong couldn’t reach him. 😛 VCNJ~ [QUOTE=pinkfreud] My father, whose name was Archie, was a youngster when the original _King Kong_ was released. According to my grandma, Archie nagged and begged and pleaded to see this much-ballyhooed movie. Finally the parents caved in, although they were concerned about the frightful nightmares that might be stirred by the sight of Kong. Since grandma had no interest in such things, she sent grandpa to the theater with the kid. Both grandpa and young Archie enjoyed _King Kong_ immensely. Archie slept peacefully afterwards, but in the middle of the night my grandpa awoke screaming “The ape! The ape!” [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/28 "2007-05-27T04:10:51Z")
**The Tingler** was on OnDemand recently. Black and white, no real violence…and still a creepy movie. Thankfully it’s never been remade. So that’s an oldy but a goody. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/29 "2007-05-27T06:32:09Z")
I think the censorship code in place in the US from 1934-1965 or so was a real problem for horror filmmakers and limited them greatly in what they could do. They were pretty much limited to suspense and psychological horror, so guys like Lawton and Tourneir got very good at those forms. They couldn’t show anything gory, hell, they had to imply violence of any sort for the most part. And the good guys always had to win in the end. Like most of the stuff made during that period, it was like watching a 100-pound overweight man run a 400-yard-dash. Such a competitor might do very well, considerig he’s carrying 100 pounds of lard with him, but he’s not going to set any records or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/30 "2007-05-27T11:58:28Z")
[QUOTE=Electrical Storm] “Godzilla” (the original 1950’s film) was good, but not scary. [/QUOTE] No, _Godzilla_ was not the original film. _Godzilla_ is merely an edited version, with Raymond Burr spliced in, of the film _Gojira_. _Gojira_ is a much better film, & is very atmospheric. And it has a better plot. I have it on DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/31 "2007-05-27T12:28:10Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] No, _Godzilla_ was not the original film. _Godzilla_ is merely an edited version, with Raymond Burr spliced in, of the film _Gojira_. _Gojira_ is a much better film, & is very atmospheric. And it has a better plot. I have it on DVD. [/QUOTE] I have that DVD too! The American edit is actually **Godzilla: King of the Monsters**. Apparently, Toho Studios came up with the alternate name the first (unsuccessful) time they tried to sell the film to America. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/32 "2007-05-27T12:39:18Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] No, _Godzilla_ was not the original film. _Godzilla_ is merely an edited version, with Raymond Burr spliced in, of the film _Gojira_. _Gojira_ is a much better film, & is very atmospheric. And it has a better plot. I have it on DVD. [/QUOTE] And, of course, _Gojira_ is itself merely an edited version of the original film _Go Mifune_ which depicted the monster driving a gigantic race car. The original film was much better, but studio executives felt the movie was actually TOO terrifying, and ordered the scenes reshot. Originally Godzilla destroyed Tokyo by mowing down buildings with his car’s giant extensible saw blades. Also, the scene where Godzilla opened the trunk and discovered King Kong and Raymond Burr hiding inside was deemed too graphic for Japanese audiences. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/33 "2007-05-27T13:02:29Z")
[QUOTE=DLuxN8R-13] Someone else is stabbed and there’s a dagger sticking out of her dry, unstained blouse. [/QUOTE] And the knife is always right in the spine. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/34 "2007-05-27T15:34:32Z")
This isn’t as old as the movies mentioned upthread, but The Changeling with George Scott (1980) scared the bejeezus outta me and it didn’t show a single spook or monster - they were all implied through the use of strange noises and moving furniture. I think as long as somebody hasn’t already been jaded by todays gore and FX overloaded movies, it would still be just as scary. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/35 "2007-05-27T20:07:33Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] And, of course, _Gojira_ is itself merely an edited version of the original film _Go Mifune_ which depicted the monster driving a gigantic race car. The original film was much better, but studio executives felt the movie was actually TOO terrifying, and ordered the scenes reshot. Originally Godzilla destroyed Tokyo by mowing down buildings with his car’s giant extensible saw blades. Also, the scene where Godzilla opened the trunk and discovered King Kong and Raymond Burr hiding inside was deemed too graphic for Japanese audiences. [/QUOTE] \ . ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/36 "2007-05-28T05:19:50Z")
Don’t know if it’s true but I’ve heard that in the beginnings of the film era, there were a lotof novelty films, like just 10 minutes of a train approaching the camera, and that alone was enough to scare the audience (image of train coming towards you at high speed). Like special effects, what it takes to effect people keeps evolving. There’s also probably the element of that watching any seriously outdated movie, the general oddness of the film quality and way people speak, etc, can take you out of the film. Plus, people probably related to these movies as more like theatrical plays or novels, where you fill in a lot with your own imagination. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/37 "2007-05-28T05:52:54Z")
Excellent choice, **The Changeling**. It definitely holds up, unless you’re a gorehound. My kids used to scare each other by bouncing balls down the stairs. (I drew the line at tearing up the floors though.) ---
**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/38 "2007-05-28T07:58:29Z")
[QUOTE=Patty O’Furniture] This isn’t as old as the movies mentioned upthread, but The Changeling with George Scott (1980) scared the bejeezus outta me and it didn’t show a single spook or monster - they were all implied through the use of strange noises and moving furniture. I think as long as somebody hasn’t already been jaded by todays gore and FX overloaded movies, it would still be just as scary. [/QUOTE] I found it very scary and I grew up watching the gory slasher films of the '80s. Moving forward about twenty years, I also thought _The Others_ was very scary and atmospheric and it would easily have passed the Hays Code censors. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/39 "2007-05-28T11:33:51Z")
There are horror movies, and then there are monster movies. I guess \*\*The Tingler \*\*merges the two forms a bit. Some horror movies do not stand the test of time. I don’t think **The Exorcist** does. **The Changeling** does, and is the only movie where I’ve ever seen my husband jump in his seat. (We originally saw it in the theater.) And old black and white movie which is still creepy to me is [Carnival of Souls.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055830/) [Night of the Demon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050766/) is another one that still chills. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622/40 "2007-05-28T12:33:58Z")
I was thinking about this thread yesterday & it occurred to me that while I am sure that no-one seeing Karloff’s debut in FRANKENSTEIN thought “meh- he’s no Charles Ogle,” it’s quite possible that someone first seeing Lugosi’s DRACULA could think “meh- he’s no Max Schreck!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-old-horror-movies-arent-scary-were-they-ever/405622.md?page=3)