# TOP Classic Horror Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096 "2006-05-17T13:00:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snot-rag\_Cookes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Snot-rag\_Cookes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snot-rag_Cookes)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/1 "2006-05-17T13:00:55Z")
I have been searching the internet for the TOP classic horror movies and its incredible the (lack of) consistency I see. When I say the TOP CLASSIC HORROR…I am referring to movies and characters that you could never forget. For instance…THE SHINING. Jack Nicolson…who could ever forget that one? Or PSYCHO. Tony Perkins. What other HORROR movies can you think of that are CLASSICS? ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/2 "2006-05-17T13:04:06Z")
_Frankenstein_, Boris Karloff _Dracula_, Bela Lugosi _Horror of Dracula_, Christopher Lee _Curse of Frankenstein_, Peter Cushing _The Wolfman_, Lon Chaney Jr Should I go on ? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/3 "2006-05-17T13:10:26Z")
**Dracula**. For all its faults, the original Tod Browning/Bela Lugosi version. I once spent an evening watching every version of Dracula I could get my hands on, and Bela was far and away the best. He’s been impersonated and parodied so much that he’s become a cliche, but he’s really the only one who convinced me that he really was an ancient Eastern European Undead Count. Lugosi didnm’t originate the role, even in the Deane/Balderston play, but he made it his own. I watched this version again just a couple of days ago, and I have to give Browning more credit than I used to – his camera isn’t as staic and dull as I’d recalled (although he could’ve been more aggressive – see the Spanish-language version, shot at th same time on the same sets). I’m even willing to forgive him for his on-set opossums and armadillos. A _very_ influential and important film, and an entertaining one. **frankenstein** – not even close to the book, but the James Whale/Boris Karloff version has been monumentally important and influential, and a good flick entirely on its own. and you have to include the first sequel, **Bride of Frankenstein** as well. ---
**Author:** ![Snot-rag\_Cookes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Snot-rag\_Cookes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snot-rag_Cookes)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/4 "2006-05-17T13:14:50Z")
> [@detop](#): > > _Frankenstein_, Boris Karloff > _Dracula_, Bela Lugosi > _Horror of Dracula_, Christopher Lee > _Curse of Frankenstein_, Peter Cushing > _The Wolfman_, Lon Chaney Jr > Should I go on ? I disagree with your choices…I don’t think these are “CLASSICS” with the exception of Frankenstine with Boris. That was a good one to mention. What about Soylent Green or The Blob? Would you consider these to be Sci-Fi or HORROR? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/5 "2006-05-17T13:21:43Z")
For the IMDB: [http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Genres/Horror/average-vote](http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Genres/Horror/average-vote) 1. Psycho (1960) 2. Alien (1979) 3. Diaboliques, Les (1955) 4. The Shining (1980) 5. Aliens (1986) 6. Jaws (1975) 7. Faust (1926) 8. Cabinet des Dr. Caligari., Das (1920) 9. The Night of the Hunter (1955) 10. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Myself: 1. Exorcist 2. Alien 3. The Shining ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/6 "2006-05-17T13:58:37Z")
Chronologically: **The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari** – one of the first pure horror films, and one which still packs a punch today. **Bride of Frankenstein** – Better than the original, which was good enough, but a bit slow. The sense of humor and religious images (including monster = Christ) really makes this one work. **Dead of Night** – First-class anthology film. The frame tale is subtle, but shocking. **Les Diaboliques** – Definitely a great shocker. _ **But stay away from the remake!!!** _ **The Creature from the Black Lagoon** – subtle and atmospheric horror. Jack Arnold is a forgotten genius of SF/horror cinema. See it in 3D for best effect. **Psycho** – the grandfather of all slasher films, and still the best by far. **[The Tenant](http://www.sff.net/people/rothman/GBF/tenant.htm)** – Wierd little psychological horror film by Roman Polanski. Polansky also deserves mention for **Repulsion** and **Rosemary’s Baby** (which you need to see before you see **The Tenant** – they aren’t sequels, but seeing Rosemary will make the other film more enjoyable and scary). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/7 "2006-05-17T14:52:07Z")
Snot-rag Cookes writes: \> I have been searching the internet for the TOP classic horror movies and its \> incredible the (lack of) consistency I see. Why should this be surprising? There is _always_ a lot of variation in the choice of the best for something where that choice is a matter of opinion. Horror movies are no different. We can recommend our own favorites in this thread, but they will still be our own choices and may not match your tastes. \> I disagree with your choices. There isn’t much point in our giving you our personal favorites if you’re just going to say that you disagree with them. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/8 "2006-05-17T16:47:17Z")
Alien (1979) The Birds (1963) Bride of Frankenstein (1935) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Carrie (1976) Cat People (1942) Dracula (1931) Eraserhead (1978) The Exorcist (1973) Eyes Without a Face (1959) Faust (1926) Frankenstein (1931) Freaks (1932) House of Usher (1960) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) Island of Lost Souls (1933) I Walked With a Zombie (1943) Jaws (1975) Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971) Mad Love (1935) The Night of the Hunter (1955) Night of the Living Dead (1968) Nosferatu (1922) The Phantom of the Opera (1925) Psycho (1960) Repulsion (1965) Rosemary’s Baby (1968) The Shining (1980) The Tell-Tale Heart (1953) The Thing From Another World (1951) The Tingler (1959) Vampyr (1932) Then there are those movies that lie on the borderline between horror, science fiction, and fantasy: Blade Runner (1982) King Kong (1933) The Lost World (1925) Planet of the Apes (1968) ---
**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 17, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/9 "2006-05-17T17:57:58Z")
_Gojira_. **Not** with Raymond Burr. Got to see it on the big screen, at our local Arthouse cinema. Sweet, and really creepy. ---
**Author:** ![RumMunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@RumMunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RumMunkey)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/10 "2006-05-17T18:16:33Z")
Friday the 13th? Nightmare on Elm Street? ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/11 "2006-05-17T19:16:29Z")
> [@Snot-rag Cookes](#): > > I disagree with your choices…I don’t think these are “CLASSICS” with the exception of Frankenstine with Boris. That was a good one to mention. > > What about Soylent Green or The Blob? Would you consider these to be Sci-Fi or HORROR? I guess we will have to agree that we disagree. The two Hammer movies ARE classics, because when they came out, horror movies were lower than whale shit as a genre. Hammer studios (and more especially director Terence Fisher) reinvented the genre. As for _The Wolfman_, it supplied the best known image of the werewolf today. If you ask the average Joe to describe you a werewolf, it probably will be something along the lines of Lon Chaney Jr’s Larry Talbot. In regard to your questions, _Soylent Green_ is science-fiction, more precisely a dystopic version of the future. As for _The Blob_ it is a mix of horror and SF. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/12 "2006-05-17T19:16:33Z")
Really, you have to be more specific. There’s people like me, who think Freddy Krueger and the like shouldn’t even be counted as real horror, but maybe under a new subcategory called “gore”. There’s very little plot and most of the story revolves around cheap scare tactics. I prefer what is called suspense, and thus my list would be filled with suspenseful movies where the whole movie is one big mindfuck (sorry - the best word I could think of) and blood and gore is kept to a minimum. Too much blood and gore can inure you, too. Then there’s the old Boris Karloff ones that many people think are classics of all time that I just think are boring and unmemorable. So no matter what the list is it’s subject to opinon! If you broke it down a little more: 10 Most Classic Top 10 Gore Top 10 Horror Top 10 Suspense Top 10 Science Fiction/Horror Maybe it would work. But you see how much more work it becomes! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/13 "2006-05-17T19:34:01Z")
> [@](#): > > As for The Wolfman, it supplied the best known image of the werewolf today. If you ask the average Joe to describe you a werewolf, it probably will be something along the lines of Lon Chaney Jr’s Larry Talbot. Although Lon Chaney Jr.'s Larry Talbot was the best-known, the modern image of the Werewolf/wolfman as a hairy guy with wolf-like features (rather than someone who turns into a wolf) dates back to the earlier Universal film **The Werewolf of London** , with Henry Hull (and Warner Oland) playing wolfmen. > **[Werewolf of London (1935) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027194/)** > > Werewolf of London: Directed by Stuart Walker. With Henry Hull, Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson, Lester Matthews. After botanist Wilfred Glendon travels to Tibet in search of a rare flower, the Mariphasa, he returns to a London haunted by murders that... ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/14 "2006-05-17T22:32:46Z")
You and I know that **Cal**. 😉 But for the **average** Joe, the classic werewolf is the one by Lon Chaney Jr, even if he doesn’t know the name of the actor or the title of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-classic-horror-movies/357096/15 "2006-05-17T22:45:32Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > 10 Most Classic :rolleyes: I speak good Engrish.