The Classic Horror Slasher Zombie Movie Thread (See first post)
 

What I thought would be cool is to have a thread devoted to classic horror. However so as not to clash with other threads already up and running let's not include films that have mummies, Vampires, werewolves or other gothic elements. What do people think? Is there enough out there to sustain such a thread?

Val Lewton Horror Collection

The Curse of the Fly Thread

The Blind Dead Thread

The Amicus Thread

The Val Lewton Thread

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919)
Cat & The Canary (1927)
White Zombie (1932)
The Ghost Breakers (1940)
The Uninvited (1944)
The Cat People (1945)
Dead of Night (1945)
The Queen of Spades (1949)
Diabolique (1955)
Indestructible Man (1956)
Night of the Demon (1957)
Les yeux sans visage (1959)
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Ghost Story of Yotsuya (1959)
Black Sunday (1960)
The Innocents (1960)
Jigoku (1960)
The Haunting (1963)
Blood & Black Lace (1964)
Onibaba (1964)
Curse of the Fly (1965)
Repulsion (1965)
Kuroneko (1968)
Whistle and I’ll Come to You (1968)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Tomb of the Blind Dead (1971)
Frenzy (1972)
Last House on the Left (1972)
The Exorcist (1973)
Don’t Look Now (1973)
The House in Nightmare Park (1973)
The Crazies (1973)
The Legend of Hell House (1973)
Lisa & the Devil (1973)
Sisters (1973)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Black Christmas (1974)
Black Christmas (1974)
Texas Chainsaw Gang Massacre (1974)
Kwaiden (1974)
The Tenant (1976)
Carrie (1976)
Signalman (1976)
Rabid (1977)
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Suspiria (1977)
The Fury (1978)
Halloween (1978)
Alien (1979)
The Brood (1979)
The Driller Killer (1979)
The Fog (1979)
Salem's Lot (1979) (TV)
When a Stranger Calls (1979)
Zombi 2 (1979)
Dressed to Kill (1980)
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
The Beyond (1981)
The House by the Cemetery (1981)
Dead and Buried (1981)
The Prowler (1981)
Scanners (1981)
Ghost Story (1981)

When A Stranger Calls (1979) has quite a few effective moments and a creepy atmosphere so is well worth a look. There is a remake about to be released here (already released in America).

Black Christmas (1974) is an extremely good slasher and should be in anyone's Top 10 of the genre. Again, there is a remake in the works (done by Glen 'X-Files/Final Destination' Morgan so could be interesting).

The Exorcist (1973). Not a lot to say about this one that hasn't already been said.

From more modern fare I (personally) would include Scream, Urban Legend and Saw.

Not sure if the above are what you had in mind though.

Thanks, that's a good start. I forgot all about The Exorcist.

April Fools Day

Sleepaway Camp

Are these the sorts of films you are after?

I was thinking of films more like Zombi 2 (1979) rather than just slasher films.

Yeah, you need some Fulci and Zombi 2 is a great place to start. The R1 Shriek Show 2-discer is the way to go if you want extras, or if not there's a version from Blue Underground sans extras. Both versions have great anamorphic transfers.

I dunno if it's still available but ABUS put out a double feature Fulci set of The Beyond/The House By the Cemetery. Might be worth checking that one out too.

If you don't mind going European, the Italians have been making their own brand of slasher for years.
Their giallo films (Wikipedia entry) come inbetween murder mysteries and slashers. While the killers are human and their murders often shown in gory detail, their identities remain hidden until the big twist at the end.
I can only offer a review of the later Terror at the Opera (1987), but the wikipedia entry lists many more films worth checking out if you are interested.

Some other gory euro-horrors I can offer reviews of are
The Church (1987) and Rojo Sangre (2004).

The Sleepaway Camp Trilogy mentioned is a good set if you want some light hearted (but not parody) slasher movies, and the AB R1 and R2 boxsets are okay (although not completely uncut). I highly recommend Fulci's Zombi 2 (1979), I found this superior even to Romero's zombie films as a straight forward horror film. While Romero's survivors are relatively safe in their house/mall/bunker, Fulci's zombie survivors are continually on the run, few places to hide on a desolate island.

I think this thread is a bloody brilliant idea (pun intended); it's something we've needed for a while :thumbs:

However, a gentle reminder that if we don't keep our discussion (largely) to films before this forum's cut-off date - around 1980 - mods will simply move it to the modern forum, and it's gory goodness will be lost to us ;)

The work of Mario Bava should not be forgotten. He directed some genuinely creepy films with arguably Blood and Black Lace (1964) and Black Sunday (1960) being his best. The House of Exorcism/Lisa and the Devil (1973), although hit and miss, is a definite curiosity and worth seeking out.

I've added the latest suggestions to the first post, all exempt for R-T-C's as they are way too far beyond 1980.

Did anybody pick up AB's first Box Of The Banned?

I've added a few more that come to mind, further to The Cat People, if you don't already have it The Val Lewton Horror Collection is an excellent collection of films, not so much a grissly but very atmospheric collection of films.

Not when some of the films are still cut.....makes you wonder why they bothered :shrug:

I've always thought Curse of the Fly (1965) the third and rather different installment in the 'Fly' series was a cut above it's two predecessors. Still not available over here but an R4 disc does exist. EZYDVD have it here

I've just noticed that this disc is a Fox Studio Classic so hopefully the transfer isn't at all bad. Also does that mean it will get a release over here as well as in R1 sometime soon?

It's not out in the FSC range in R1; but it is coming to R2 in July. See the Curse of The Fly thread.

Oops, forgot about the 1980 limit on this forum. Makes it kind of hard, since most of the goriest films were made post-1980.
Still, most of the giallo films were made in the 1970s, so they are still valid.

I know I originally said I was looking for gorey films but decided to change emphasis following some of the sugggestions and especially John's post. It's all non gothic classic horror.

A few from Mr De Palma - "Sisters", "Carrie", "The Fury" and especially "Dressed To Kill" are all absolutely essential.

You can add to those Hitchcock's last great movie "Frenzy", which is as near as dammit a British giallo, and Hammer's very weird, very unpopular but, I think, absolutely fascinating "Straight On Till Morning". There are some nice things in "And Soon The Darkness" as well, most of them belonging to Pamela Franklin.

Speaking of Ms. Franklin, give "Legend of Hell House" a try. It's a mess but a very entertaining one and Roddy McDowall is wonderful in it.

Polanski - Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby and The Tenant

Loads more but I'll have a think.

In the same vein as The Legend of Hell House, I keep hoping for a release of The House on Nightmare Park. Maybe Granada Ventures holds the rights?

1981 isn't out of this forum's mandate is it? If so it's a shame because The Beyond and The House by the Cemetery (both '81) catch Fulci at the height of his powers. Sure, the gore is excessive and things get very messy indeedy, but somehow they still manage to be strangely beautiful films. Kind of like dark, twisted fairy tales for adults. Zombi 2 is probably Fulci's most accessible and commercial film but The Beyond is his masterpiece, imo.

Gary Sherman's Dead and Buried (again '81) is a bit of an overlooked gem as well. Somehow it got caught up in the DPP controversy but don't let that put you off. It's a genuinely chilling, atmospheric ghost story. Similiar to John Carpenter's The Fog but with stronger violence.

Ones that I recommend (from the ones that I've seen):-
Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Scott's Alien (1979)
Cronenberg's Rabid (1977)
Cronenberg's The Brood (1979)
Carpenter's The Fog (1979)
The Exorcist (1973)
Carrie (1976)

I'd say 1981 was OK, it's just that R-T-C suggestions were from 1987 and 2004 which were far too late. Your suggestions are, I'd say were within an acceptable limit.

I've made a couple of links to the Blind Dead thread and the already running Curse of the Fly thread.

A few older films that are well worth a look if you can find them...

The Uninvited (1944) I remember seeing this when I was very young and being genuinely creeped out by it's atmosphere. I'd love to see it again to see if it still has the same power.

The Cat and the Canary (1939) Not out and out horror but one of the finest examples of the 'comedy/horror' genre, along with it's close relative The Ghost Breakers (1940) which reunited the two stars of the earlier film.

Dead of Night (1945) One of the best films produced by the renowned Ealing Studios, this is the one where several people meet in a farmhouse and recount their nightmares. Most famous segment is probably the 'ventriloquist's dummy' sequence starring Michael Redgrave but the whole film is superb and will send a chill down your spine.

More up to date and just making the date limit I would also recommend Ghost Story (1981) more for the casting and performances of several old timers as well as for the atmosphere it creates with it's impressive cinematography.

The Prowler is a geat film, I have the Blue Underground disc that deserves top marks - Savinis effects and commentary are worth the price alone..

The 1979 Salems Lot deserves a mention..yes it's made for tv but it's still talked about to this day - sure everyone jumped when the vampire grabbed the kid running home

if your into B/W films I have one of the 50movie pack horror classics collections from TreeLine films , think it's all public domain stuff with some dubious pic n sound quality but it adds to the charm, spread over 12 disc's there's classics like House on haunted hill-The indestructible man with Lon chaney jr and White zombie with Lugosi, great stuff for a cheap n cheerfull set.

Hope this tread carry's on and grows

Also the excellent The Queen of Spades (1949) which is available as a double bill with Dead of Night

You appear to be missing THE HAUNTING (1963) and THE INNOCENTS (1961), which must be about the two best-regarded monochrome horror films apart from PSYCHO (1960, which also isn't on your list!) Not to mention LES YEUX SANS VISAGE (1958).

One of my personal favourites (and lots of other people on here love it too), though I'm never sure if it's really a horror film per se is DON'T LOOK NOW (1973) Oh, and what about THE WICKER MAN, which played on a double bill with Roeg's masterpiece? Plus another classic British horror film, WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1968).

Many people would probably argue that Wes Craven's LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972) and THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1977) belong on any list of classic 70's horror, but I wouldn't necessarily propose them myself ;)

Probably the best zombie film outside of the work of Romero and Fulci, THE LIVING DEAD AT THE MANCHESTER MORGUE (1974), and another film by a Spanish director working in England, the fantastic VAMPYRES (1974). And another great lesbian vampire classic, LES LEVRES ROUGES (1971).

Would the classic short BBC ghost films like WHISTLE AND I'LL COME TO YOU (1968), THE SIGNALMAN (1976), etc count?

There are also the classic Japanese horror films like KWAIDAN (1964), JIGOKU (1960), GHOST STORY OF YOTSUYA (1959), ONIBABA (1964) and KURONEKO (1968).

I'm sure there are many other examples. Many films I could mention (like selected Franco or Rollin pictures) wouldn't necessarily be classified as 'classic' by everyone, so I've tried to stick with undisputed classics of the genre.

I've updated thread 1

Don't see it mentioned yet, but I'd have thought Night of the Demon (1957) would fit in here.

Indeed; an absolute cracker - I think Jonathan Rosenbaum would probably dub it 'horror noir'.

I tried to find this thread earlier today but typing in 'horror' in the search engine produced no results (presumably because 'Horror/Slasher/Zombie' is seen as one word - might be better to edit that, Spectre07, to 'Horror / Slasher / Zombie'?). However, those interested in this thread will surely rejoice at this news.

BTW, following mention of the wonderful The Cat and The Canary, I wish someone would produce a worthwhile release instead of that murky PD transfer knocking around in R2. The Ghost Breakers on the other hand is an undiluted joy.

I've edited the title so hopefully it'll be easier to locate.

Great Thread -

I've been looking up horror films myself, bought this one the other day -

City Of The Living Dead

Haven't watched it yet, i'll let you know what I think of it! ;)

How about Tourneur's "I Walked With A Zombie", Carpenter's original "Halloween" and Ferrara's "The Driller Killer"?

There's a link to the Val Lewton Thread in the first post.

Good laugh. You won't watch it much more than once though. Get The Beyond. Brillaint horror film by the same director.

You've already got a couple of Mario Bava titles in the list but you really must have his greatest horror movie which is "Kill, Baby Kill" (1966). BTW, there are rumours afoot that Anchor Bay (US) are preparing to release a few Bava titles on DVD later this year. I hope they do a good job because I think his catalogue is in desperate need of some loving care and restoration.

Network has the 1977 Canadian portmanteu horror flick The Uncanny coming to R2 next month.

There ain't no gang in that dang title.
Still, it's a classic film.
TCM2 is...interesting, if I'm being nice. Very odd film.
TCM3 is decent enough, the best of the sequels.
TCM4 is a pile of ****.
The remake is awful and I have no doubt the prequel will be the same.

If the OP is intending to keep the first post updated, he needs to include:

Night Of The Living Dead
Dawn Of The Dead
Shivers
The Golem (the really old silent(?) film)