Anyone who says that Vampyr is among their favorite horror films is either infinitely more sensituive than me, attuned to a different wavelength, or lying. I’ve watched it several times, and find it a chore. It’s got some great imagery (the point-of-view burial, the shadows that move by themselves and show what’s really going on, and which Coppola stole for his version of “Dracula”), but it’s tedious, impossible to follow, and makes little or no sense. The print quality is terrible, and it looks as if it was filmed in one language and released in another, with subtitles in a third. It claims to be based on Sheridan le Fanu’s “Carmilla”, but bears absoluttely no resemblance to that story at all.
My favorites (although YMMV, depending on your definition of “horror”. I wouldn’t classify “King Kong” that way, for instance. Or “The Thing”)
**Psycho
Dracula** with Bela Lugosi. Despite all its flaws – and it has many ludicrous ones, like those damned armadillos – Bela Lugosi is overall the best Dracula.
Count Dracula – The Jess Franco/Christopher Lee version. Yes, Jess Franco. But only the first 1/3 to 1/2 of it. I stumbled across this the first time without knowing what it was, and it blew me away. The first part is absolutely faithful to Bram Stoker, and beautifully played, without going overboard like Coppola did. But it gets dumb later on.
Terror of Frankenstein/Victor Frankenstein – indy production (not the Hammer film) that is remarkably faithful to the book, and feels right.
House on Haunted Hill – not really scary (unless you’re five), but a wonderfully cheesy 1950s William Castle haunted house romp. And it stars Vincent Price!
The Call of Cthulhu – finally, a decent Lovecraft movie. The premise is that it chronicles the events decribed at the time it was published, so it’s a silent film.
Bride of Frankenstein – Weird and fascinating riff on the Frankenstein legend.
I love the Roger Corman 1960s Edgar Allen Poe flicks, even though they’re ludicrously overdone and not all that faithful (Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone, who starred in them, actually did some wonderful audio recordings of the same stories, which are still available on CD). The Raven is a reasl hoot, but not really horror. In the same vein, have a look at Elvira’s Haunted Hills. It’s not just a collection of innuendo-laden boob jokes. They do a wonderful job of spoofing the Corman Poe films, and pay a lot of attention to details. And i love the way the House of Usher sinks into the earth exactly like the Titanic sinking in Cameron’s film.
