The Classic Horror Thread

Sarah@Cult Labs · #1 30th December 2007, 05:28 PM

So we've discussed what slick horror (if any) people on the Shameless forums enjoy, now I'm interested in what classic horror people enjoy. By "classic" I guess I'm mostly referring to those films released from the 1920s up until around the 1950s.

I particularly love the Val Lewton RKO flicks from the 1940s like Cat People, I Walked With A Zombie and The Body Snatcher but I'm also a sucker for the good old Universal monster movies. My particular favourites are Son Of Dracula and Son Of Frankenstein. I'm also pretty keen on the sci-fi/horror films of the 1950s like The Incredible Shrinking Man and It Came From Outer Space. The original House Of Wax is another firm favourite.

As you can probably tell from my avatar, though, my ultimate favourite is the German Expressionist classic, Nosferatu!

So are there any classic horrors that you guys love? Or is it gore all the way?

vincenzo · #2 30th December 2007, 06:23 PM

Big fan of the Universal & RKO days here too. There's something about those movies that remains genuinely atmospheric to this day.

bedorca · #3 31st December 2007, 11:25 AM

I agree that Nosferatu is one of the greatest horror movies ever. I also love the Quatermass Experiment for real atmosphere.

Almar@Cult Labs · #4 3rd January 2008, 10:59 AM

There's nothing better than a creaky dusty portmanteau of stories from Hammer and especially Amicus. I adore Vault of Horror (although for some reason my old VHS looks better than the DVD!) - it's the spooky atmosphere that they seemed to be able to generate. That and you get proper veteran actors who will treat a role seriously no matter how naff the storyline and effects resulting in effective chills.

vincenzo · #5 3rd January 2008, 11:04 AM

Best to hold on to the Vipco video/DVD release of Vault Of Horror. The new release by MGM features the uncut Tales From The Crypt but the cut U.S print of Vault Of Horror (with the freeze frame endings) for some peculiar reason.

Almar@Cult Labs · #6 3rd January 2008, 11:09 AM

Yeah I'd read about that DVD. I guess materials must be tough to find for that film - certainly the Vipco master isn't up to much - must be an old 1-inch. What I couldn't understand was that the old Vipco VHS sleeve for Vault was fine so why they didn't at least re-use that rather than the odd block letting gold and black DVD covers they started favouring.