The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Häxan (Witchcraft Through the Ages) (1922) are still eerie if not disturbing.
Doesn’t matter – the first time you see that thing off in the distance (when the guy’s standing at his garage) and coming fast, it’s scary as hell.
Unless I’m thinking of a different movie.
Because of this thread I’ve bought Island Of Lost Souls, White Zombie and Murders In The Rue Morgue (three-in-one) DVD.
I already have Freaks, Nosferatu and The Haunting.
heh. i’m one of the rare creatures of the X chromosome persuasion who loathes chick flicks and would rather watch stuff get blown up. that preference extends to old sci fi and horror movies.
frankly, i haven’t seen either of those films since i was in my tweens - and that was quite some time ago. i was never a fan of the moreau films and remakes either, but hopefully someone else does know.
IIRC, not that the audience can see, but Dr. Moreau notices it and says, “It’s the stubborn beast-flesh creeping back! We must operate again!” Or words to that effect. Lota screams and struggles at the news – apparently Dr. Moreau has never heard of anesthesia.
Curiously, why Moreau wants to turn animals into half-humans (when we already have a perfectly serviceable and generally less expensive way to make humans) is never explained – maybe it is in Wells’ novel?
my bad. yes. the haunting. i didn’t realize i’d written in the title to jackson’s book - also a good read if you haven’t ever picked it up. quite a departure from the film.
i love the original house on haunted hill, but found hell house to be just awful. there were one or two fairly interesting scenes in it, but for the most part - at least for me - it was just poorly-executed 70s schlock.
back to the subject of this thread; i thought of two more:
x the unknown and the quatermass xperiment. both are 50s british sci fi, and each has a scene that never fails to give me the chills.
in x, the scene i always think of is the one where the young boy has come to the moors to see if old tom is making moonshine in the tower. he’s been dared by a friend to do this, and instead he comes across something a whole lot scarier than old tom. the entire scene is shot without dialogue, and the lighting and shadows and soundtrack is very freaky.
in quatermass the astronaut has vanished from the private clinic where he’d been stashed after being recovered from his downed spacecraft. the scene i’m talking about takes place in the london zoo. again, there is no dialogue, it’s all light and shadow and sound. it’s night, and the animals are going bersek. the camera slowly dollies in on what appears to be a copse of innocuous-looking bushes, but as the camera gets closer and closer, you see… something:
eyes.
but they aren’t human any more. :eek:
i have copies of both and i’ve lost track how many times i’ve watched them over the years. even now, they are two of my most favorite films.