Halloween is just the day after tomorrow and the old movie channels have just been full of horror movies, old, new, and somewhere in between. Over the years some very good horror movies have been made but lately most of them are psychological horror movies (Psycho and other slasher films) or science fantasy horror (Alien, The Fly, and so on). The various film renderings of Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are either science fantasy or psychological depending on what you think is happening in the story.
Here are some of the films that I think represent the very best in supernatural horror, divvied up by sub-genre.
Ghosts
Strong acting from Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, and Cornelia Otis Skinner. This picture thrust the lovely newcomer Gail Russell into the limelight. Atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife.
The Haunting (1963)
Another strong cast featuring Claire Bloom, Julie Harris, and Lois Maxwell just as she became indelibly associated with the Moneypenny character in the James Bond pictures. As a lagniappe this picture also includes one of the greatest voices in show business: Valentine Dyall. If you don’t jump as Claire Bloom and Julie Harris are huddled together, I feel sorry for you—you’re just too jaded.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
M. Night Shymalan’s genuinely original screenplay ensures his position in cinema history. More standout performances from Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, and the incredible Toni Colette.
Vampires
Dracula (1931)
Tod Browning’s brilliant production—accept no substitutes. The wonderful stylized sets and direction meld perfectly with Bela Lugosi’s eerie, learned phonetically (he spoke no English at the time) dialogue.
Dracula (1958)
The first of the long run of Hammer vampire films starring Christopher Lee. Garish color, shapely ladies, strong character acting.
Near Dark (1987)
Just when you thought that Hammer had tapped out the entire sub-genre, this wonderful, truly scary updating comes along.
Werewolves
The Wolf Man (1941)
The great Claude Raines and a poignant portrayal by Lon Chaney, Jr. (Creighton Chaney) gives what would otherwise be a fairly pedestrian treatment dimension.
Wolf (1994)
It isn’t often that a cast with this much heft appears in the genre.
Wolfen (1981)
A remarkably plausible treatment of the theme with strong acting and direction.
Mummies
The Mummy (1931)
Zita Johann’s odd, exotic beauty and Boris Karloff’s wonderful uncanny acting still make this the best of all mummy movies.
The Mummy (1959)
Hammer Films’s version of the story with the regular Hammer production values and cast members.
Zombies
I Walked With a Zombie (1943)
Produced by Val Lewton, directed by Jacques Tourneur, this re-telling of Jane Eyre as a horror movie remains the best of all zombie pictures.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The original low-budget flesh-eating zombie picture. This picture is actually science fantasy but no list of zombie pictures would be complete without it.
Demons and Devils
The Demon (1957)
If this picture had been left as director Jacques Tourneur had intended it wouldn’t have been supernatural horror at all. It would have been psychological horror but it’s still a great picture if only for his moody direction.
The Exorcist (1973)
Really, truly scary. Great voice-over by Mercedes McCambridge. Have I mentioned that one of my high school teachers was part of the team in the original exorcism case on which this movie was based?
Others
Black Sunday (1960)
Italian movie starring the great Barbara Steele in a dual role as a vengeful witch and her look-alike descendant.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Proof positive that you can still make a great horror movie without acting or a budget.
Night of the Eagle (1962) AKA Burn, Witch, Burn
I include this picture because it’s the best cinematic version of Fritz Leiber, Jr.’s fantastic novel Conjure Wife, the all-time best novel of modern day black magic.
I welcome your suggestions in the comments.
I enjoy the list. I haven’t seen a few of them, but I love the Universal monsters and Hammer horror films, even if I can’t always explain.
I see no Frankenstein monsters, so I assume they fall on the science fantasy side of the aisle. I’m not sure I agree, Frankenstein strikes me as pure gothic horror, but here are a few I might add (in addition to Bride of Frankenstein):
House on Haunted Hill (1958)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Omen (1976)
Nosferatu: The Vampyre (1979)
Evil Dead (1979)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Company of Wolves (1984)
Fright Night (1985)
Mummy (2001)
I should add American Werewolf in London (1981). I probably have a few here with a strong humor element, particularly Fright Night, but I think there is a thin line between horror and humor.
I’ve never cared for Rosemary’s Baby. I’m not sure why. Possibly Mia Farrow.
Company of Wolves and Fright Night, definitely. I think the 2001 Mummy is wonderfully entertaining but it’s not a really good picture. It is what it is.
Evil Dead is hard to place. It’s remarkably well-made for how it was made. In most other respects it’s really awful. Sort of a guilty pleasure.
I’m not a fan of A Nightmare on Elm Street. It’s a creative concept but the acting, and direction are really awful.
By and large the pictures listed in my post have larger qualities. Many are actually about something. The Sixth Sense, for example, has layers like an onion. A very complex picture but very entertaining for all that.
BTW, I think The Bride of Frankenstein is an absolutely fabulous picture. Beautifully shot. But I’m wary of classifying it as supernatural horror. More science fantasy. Sometimes it’s hard to draw the line.
For example, how is The Color Out of Space, filmed as Die, Monster, Die! classified?
Dave, I should have first acknowledged that you had already skimmed some of the best movies off the top. The Haunting is my favorite ghost/haunted house movie, and the Wolf Man is my favorite of the original Universal Monster movies (unless sequels are counted, then its Bride of Frankenstein). I personally don’t feel there is a definitive Dracula movie, but I think there are several great ones, including a few of the Hammer movies w/ Christopher Lee, Lugosi in the original, and the Spanish version also shot in 1931.
None of the Mummy movies ever really did anything for me, so the modern adventure/ horror seemed a good way to go. I agree Nightmare is higher on concept than execution.
I’ve not seen Die Monster, Die, but I’ve read the Lovecraft. I understand the line you are drawing, so I’m giving you a bit of a hard time. Though I think if you rewatch the Wolfman (1941), you might agree that science (psychology) is a significant underlying theme there as well. I initially had listed Freaks (1932), was unsure how to categorize it, but decided it was sui generis.
I’m reminded that I should add Pan’s Labyrnith (2006) and the Devil’s Backbone (2001) to my list.
I agree with PD that The Haunting of Hill House and The Company of Wolves are both good.
For more modern movies I recommend
The Others
The Possession of Emily Rose
The Grudge
I’d add to your list:
The Omen
The Others
Suspiria — storyline, etc. are weak, but the sensory experience (use of color & camerawork, music, etc.) are absolute artistry.
The Devil’s Backbone
The Ring
The Eye
And how could you possibly forget… The Shining!!
1408 wasn’t bad, either…
What does everyone think? Any other good suggestions along these lines?
Agreed on The Devil’s Backbone. I agree that the production values of Suspiria are good. The picture, not so much. The Japanese version of The Ring would be a possibility, the American, no. I thought The Eye was a pretty good concept but just so-so.
I struggled with The Shining. Is it supernatural horror?
I haven’t seen 1408 yet.
I think the adaptations of Stephen King novels are, basically, just okay with the possible exception of Carrie (which isn’t supernatural horror).
Thanks, Dave!
I agree that Stephen King doesn’t translate well onto film at all. After seeing Kubrick’s version of The Shining, it seemed so muddled to me that, though not at all a Stephen King fan, I went out & bought the book just so I could figure out what the heck was supposed to be going on. And yes, it is absolutely supernatural. In fact, the book is *entirely* supernatural — thus the title, “The Shining.” At first, I wondered if Kubrick was trying to leave this an open question in his movie, but in fact he didn’t leave even the supernatural question entirely ambiguous, which is exactly what caused his storyline to feel disjointed. Halloran explains the Shining at the beginning of the film, & we wonder if Jack is imagining the woman in that room — but it’s the same room Halloran warned against, & how could Danny & his father both have hallucinated the same woman? And the ghosts of the girls are the murdered sisters the manager mentioned at the beginning, too. We know for certain that it’s not all in Jack’s head when Grady actually physically lets him out of the pantry. It might have worked better if Kubrick had left it just ambiguous enough for us not to know whether it was a supernatural story or a story about a father gone mad, but he didn’t. The book was a story about a boy who “shined” so hard that he was like the key to a wind-up clock, giving the hotel & its spirits the power to come alive. They played on the father’s weaknesses in an attempt to get him to murder the boy, because then the boy’s power would be absorbed into the hotel. It’s why even the mother, who lacks the shine, has started to see ghosts by the end — but in the film, that part doesn’t make as much sense.
Anyhow… sorry for the long ramble. Must be b/c it’s Halloween! That movie just always frustrates me because I feel like it could’ve been one of the best, scariest horror movies of all time… Jack & Wendy were horribly cast, though. Nicholson just seems like a nut from the get-go, which makes it far less scary than it could have been.
Anyhow, what I love about supernatural horror is when the author’s “hypothesis” is tight, when it works. I still think “The Others” is one of the best ghost movies out there.
Happy Halloween. 🙂
Daaaavid!! How could anyone not like Rosemary’s Baby??? Even if you don’t like Mia Farrow in anything else, she’s fabulous in that—and you can’t get any better than Ruth Gordon as Minnie Castevets!! Aieeee! I like Evil Dead also—-and remember, Evil Dead 2 is basically the original Evil Dead, made with a higher budge—plus Army of Darkness is a great sequel.
If we include Frankenstein movies–and I know it’s not a horror movie—we have to include Young Frankenstein…….or is that Frahnkensteen…..?
Hi There,
Two films not on the list but – I feel – should be are…
Night of the Demon – Jacques Tourneur 1957
Legend of Hell House – John Hough 1973
Best wishes
Where is Poltergeist? the first one – not the other 2.
I’m looking for the title of that about evil contained in a glass under a church and was spinnning around, it was green in color. At the end, one of the characters silhoutte was shown entering the cgurch when they were leaving. It was more of a supernatural type genre movie. I’m banging my head against the wall trying to remember the name of that movie. Please help!
I was wondering about your take on the updates version of A TALE OF TWO SISTERS. THE UNINVITED has been listed as supernatural horror, but I think it falls more on the thriller genre.
I believe you’re thinking about the 2009 picture The Uninvited. The picture on my list is the 1944 picture.
I don’t know anything about A Tale of Two Sisters or its remake.