Post by mikef6 on Aug 7, 2017 15:14:03 GMT
I have plenty of recommendations of great scary movies but I don't know if they would apply to the category that, in modern parlance, is called "horror." The classic era has plenty of fine films of psychological horr--, scariness and suspense - both supernatural and psychotic - that is mainly ignored by today's watchers of scary stuff. Indeed, the only so-called "slasher" I can recommend is John Carpenter's original "Halloween" (1978).
Remember that the origin of the word "horror" comes from the same root as "horrible" meaning "revolting," "disgusting." "Terror" on the other hand, comes from the same root as "terrible" but in its original meaning of "awesome" or "overpowering" ("terrible swift sword"). Modern horror is a scam. It takes up the root meaning (horrible) and passes off revolting and disgusting as "scary." Don't be fooled. The two are completely different things.
For a different experience, try to find these titles on TCM, streaming, or at your public library. Give some of them a try.
The Old Dark House / James Whale (1932)
White Zombie / Victor Halperin (1932)
The Bride Of Frankenstein / James Whale (1935)
Dracula’s Daughter / Lambert Hillyer (1936)
I Walked With A Zombie / Jacques Tourneur (1943)
Dead Of Night / Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer (1945)
The Picture Of Dorian Gray / Albert Lewis (1945)
The Spiral Staircase / Robert Siodmak (1945) (1945 was a scary year)
Psycho / Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
The Birds / Alfred Hitchcock (1963)
I Tre Volti Della Paura (Black Sabbath) / Mario Bava (1963)
Onibaba / Kaneto Shindô (1964)
Kaidan / Masaki Kobayashi (1964)
Alien / Ridley Scott (1979)
Remember that the origin of the word "horror" comes from the same root as "horrible" meaning "revolting," "disgusting." "Terror" on the other hand, comes from the same root as "terrible" but in its original meaning of "awesome" or "overpowering" ("terrible swift sword"). Modern horror is a scam. It takes up the root meaning (horrible) and passes off revolting and disgusting as "scary." Don't be fooled. The two are completely different things.
For a different experience, try to find these titles on TCM, streaming, or at your public library. Give some of them a try.
The Old Dark House / James Whale (1932)
White Zombie / Victor Halperin (1932)
The Bride Of Frankenstein / James Whale (1935)
Dracula’s Daughter / Lambert Hillyer (1936)
I Walked With A Zombie / Jacques Tourneur (1943)
Dead Of Night / Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer (1945)
The Picture Of Dorian Gray / Albert Lewis (1945)
The Spiral Staircase / Robert Siodmak (1945) (1945 was a scary year)
Psycho / Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
The Birds / Alfred Hitchcock (1963)
I Tre Volti Della Paura (Black Sabbath) / Mario Bava (1963)
Onibaba / Kaneto Shindô (1964)
Kaidan / Masaki Kobayashi (1964)
Alien / Ridley Scott (1979)