Best Old Horror, Supernatural, & Thrillers (1910s-1960s)
Note: When I say a movie is the first (the first vampire movie, the first werewolf movie, etc.) I mean the oldest surviving full-length movie (at least 1 hr. long).
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- DirectorFrancesco BertoliniAdolfo PadovanGiuseppe de LiguoroStarsSalvatore PapaArturo PirovanoGiuseppe de Liguoro1911 silent film and Italy's first full-length feature film, loosely adapted from "Inferno", the first canticle of Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy". It chronicles Dante's travel through the Circles of Hell, guided by the poet Virgil.This is an adaption of Inferno by Dante Alighieri.
It's also the second full-length movie in history! (The third if you count lost films. * )
* The first two were the lost film Les Misérables (1909) and the still-existing film Life of Moses (1909). Life of Moses isn't commercially available, but The Library of Congress does have the movie. The Inferno (1911), on the other hand, is easy to find online and on DVD.
This movie is ok. It has all the horrific imagery from Inferno, to satisfy your horror movie needs. However, it doesn't talk about the actual point of the story, which is that Dante is becoming a better person so that he can go to Heaven someday and be with Beatrice. The only mention of this in the movie is that one intertitle says, "He sees the summit of a mountain lighted up by the sun. This is the hill of salvation which he endeavors to ascend." He reaches the summit of the mountain at the end of the movie.
Warning:
Brown face - A white guy plays The Prophet Muhammad.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorLeedham BantockStarsSeymour HicksWilliam LuggLeedham BantockMiserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley, who tries to help him change his selfish ways and redeem his soul by showing him how much his greed has cost him and will continue to cost him if he doesn't atone. An early silent adaptation of the classic story, this version differs from others in that Marley also acts as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.This is the best silent adaption of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
The ghost haunting parts are short, but the important parts before and after Scrooge meets the ghosts are there. So it focuses on the heart of the story.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsHenry B. WalthallSpottiswoode AitkenBlanche SweetPrevented from dating his sweetheart by his uncle, a young man turns his thoughts to murder.This is ok. If you want something spooky playing in the background, this will suffice.
On one hand, it's 20 minutes longer than it should be. Every scene is way too long and repetitive. It tries to be a thriller (before thrillers were invented), but it's only slightly suspenseful. You mostly just want it to hurry up and move on to the next scene.
On the other hand, it's a pretty interesting and pretty strange movie. Guilt drives The Nephew (he isn't named) insane and we see his hallucinations. Henry Brazeale Walthall is really what makes this movie. He plays The Nephew as equal parts normal, creepy, and funny. He keeps you engaged throughout the movie and you root for him.
Warning:
Negative stereotypes - The Italians servants are depicted very negatively. They're sloppily dressed (ex. didn't shave), they day drink, and one of them blackmails The Nephew.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsMusidoraÉdouard MathéMarcel LévesqueAn intrepid reporter and his loyal friend battle a bizarre secret society of criminals known as The Vampires.This is just ok. It's not quite a thriller but it laid the groundwork for thrillers. It's not suspenseful but it is violent. Musidora's wild, unhinged performance as a gangster single-handedly carries the miniseries.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorFrank PowellStarsTheda BaraEdward JoséMabel FrenyearA married diplomat falls hopelessly under the spell of a predatory woman.This is the first vampire movie. The Vampire is a psychic vampire, rather than a blood-drinking vampire.
The movie is rather depressing. But it's also kind of fun, because of Theda Bara's wild, unhinged performance as The Vampire.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorYakov ProtazanovStarsTamara DuvanIvan MozzhukhinVera OrlovaWhile hosting a game of cards one night, Narumov tells his friends a story about his grandmother, a Countess. As a young woman, she had once incurred an enormous gambling debt, which she was able to erase by learning a secret that guaranteed that she could win by playing her cards in a certain order. One of Narumov's friends, German, has never gambled, but he is intrigued by the story about the Countess and her secret. He soon becomes obsessed with learning this secret from her, and he starts by courting her young ward Lizaveta, hoping to use her to gain access to the Countess.An adaption of the short story The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin.
This is ok. The ending is good. Not much happens before that, though. The acting is good and the sets and costumes are good, so I do still enjoy it when nothing's really going on. If you want something spooky playing in the background, this will suffice.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorErnst LubitschStarsPola NegriHarry LiedtkeEmil JanningsA girl is kidnapped and held captive in an ancient Egyptian temple. She is rescued and flees to England, but soon finds that her mysterious captor is still haunting her.This is the first mummy movie.
The movie is ok. The main problem is that it doesn't bother to explain the strange supernatural stuff. But I'll explain it for you so you can just enjoy the movie.
I interpreted it as Ma and Radu are corporeal ghosts. The tomb is said to be haunted and it seems that they are the part of the soul that remains when a person dies (ancient Egyptians called it the ba). There is a painting of Ma that cannot be destroyed because it would kill her as well. The painting of Ma is not unlike paintings of people in ancient Egyptian tombs. To deface those was to destroy the soul (the ka). The movie is weird because the humans think that Ma and Radu are alive. But they're not. The only lifelike thing about them is they can be physically touched and can leave the tomb. But that makes sense because the ba can consume food (in some fashion, perhaps by eating it or perhaps by consuming the energy from it) and can roam the world.
Warning:
Brown face - Two of the four main characters are white people playing Middle Easterners.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorHans MierendorffStarsHans MierendorffOtto WertherAgnes StraubThe Devil takes a trip disguised as a tinker. He meets Frau Ane, farmer Asmus' wife, who yearns to have a baby but in vain. So the devil takes advantage of Frau Ane's motherly inner desire by making a deal with her.This movie is ok. It's a fun time.
The movie opens with intertitles explaining some backstory. This is because the beginning of the movie no longer exists. The opening intertitles say that the three nearby villages agreed that the new church should be built equidistant from each town. That location is within Asmus and Ane's farm, but Asmus refuses to give up his land. Then the movie starts and Ane makes a Faustian bargain with Satan.
This is actually not a spoiler - it was all a dream. For once, that isn't an annoying ending, because they tell you that it's a dream at the beginning of the movie.
This movie is kind of cheesy, kind of boring, a bit dark, and kind of fun.
What it has going for it is the unusual amount of sensuality for an old movie. It's basically flapper porn. Ane is a wild and unhinged woman (in the dream) who shows a lot of cleavage and has sex with Satan in the woods. We also see female demons frolicking in the woods, showing tasteful nudity. The whole movie, I felt like the message was, "Don't do witchcraft... [wink] "
Studio: indie movie - DirectorRichard OswaldStarsAnita BerberConrad VeidtReinhold SchünzelA demon, a reaper, and the ghost of a prostitute read gothic short stories and act them out.Studio: indie movie
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsOssi OswaldaHermann ThimigVictor JansonForced into marriage by his uncle, a man decides to fool him by marrying a life-like mechanical doll instead.This is a fantasy movie and a VERY dark comedy. It's also nightmare fuel because the leading lady pretends to be a sex robot and the creepy way she looks/acts is the stuff of horror movies. It is a weirdly funny movie though.
Warning: Jokes about suicide
Studio: indie movie - DirectorOscar MicheauxStarsIris HallWalker ThompsonLawrence ChenaultRacists learn that the land a negro owns lies over a vast oil field, and threaten his life when he refuses to sell.This is a movie about a white-passing Black man and a white-passing Black woman who pretend to be only white and thus think they can't legally be together. It's a really important topic and more people should watch this movie.
I assume the reason that this has a low rating is because the footage of the climax (the KKK going after the Black characters) no longer exists. But that's kind of a plus because we don't need to see the traumatizing violence against Black people onscreen.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorPaul WegenerCarl BoeseStarsPaul WegenerAlbert SteinrückErnst DeutschIn 16th-century Prague, a rabbi creates the Golem - a giant creature made of clay. Using sorcery, he brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.This is the first movie about someone creating a monster.
This movie is absolute nightmare fuel. Movies had just been invented, so imagine this being the first movie that you ever saw. You'd never want to see another movie again!
Studio: indie movie - DirectorRobert WieneStarsFern AndraHans Heinrich von TwardowskiErnst GronauGenuine is an ancient and cruel divinity, who seduces men and induce them to kill as a proof of love.An early vampire movie. Genuine is a psychic vampire, rather than a blood-drinking vampire. Fern Andra's wild, unhinged performance as Genuine single-handedly carries the movie.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorJohn S. RobertsonStarsJohn BarrymoreMartha MansfieldBrandon HurstDr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.An adaption of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.
This is a classic Universal Monsters universe movie.
This is the first mad scientist movie.
The first evil possession movie.
The first body horror movie.
While the pacing is slow and the characters aren't developed (they're just kind of The Wife, The Research Partner, The Friend), this is a solid monster movie.
Studio: Paramount - DirectorEdward F. ClineBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonEdward F. ClineLuke the DogTwo inventive farmhands compete for the hand of the same girl.The Farmhand pretends to be a scarecrow to hide from the guys who are chasing him. A good short to watch during autumn.
Studio: Metro Pictures - DirectorRobert WieneStarsWerner KraussConrad VeidtFriedrich FeherHypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.This is the first evil hypnotist movie.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorRex IngramStarsAlice TerryRudolph ValentinoEric MayneAfter losing his father, a playboy moves in with his miserly uncle, who seeks to cheat him out of his inheritance.This is ok. If you want something spooky playing in the background, this will suffice.
It's a romance movie that has a creepy scene during the climax. Overall, the movie is kind of cheesy, kind of boring, and kind of spooky.
Studio: Metro Pictures - DirectorErnst LubitschStarsPola NegriVictor JansonPaul HeidemannA charismatic lieutenant newly assigned to a remote fort is captured by a group of mountain bandits, thus setting in motion a madcap farce that is Lubitsch at his most unrestrained.This romance movie takes place in a kooky fantasy world. Pola Negri's wild, unhinged performance single-handedly carries the movie.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorFritz LangStarsBernhard GoetzkeLil DagoverWalter JanssenWhen a woman's fiancé disappears, Death gives her three chances to save him from his fate.Warning:
Brown face & yellow face
Studio: indie movie - DirectorDudley MurphyStarsAdolph BolmRuth PageOlin HowlandIn Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre visual symphony, the desperate young lovers, Youth and Love try to evade Death's cold grip, as the terrible Black Plague devastates Spain.When silent movies first started adding sound, they started with just a little bit of sound, like sound effects.
This film short is a music video synchronized to the song Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns.
Warning:
Brown face - White actors play Hispanic characters.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorBurton L. KingStarsHarry HoudiniArthur MaudeAlbert TavernierA man who has been frozen in the Arctic ice for 100 years returns to civilization to find his lost love.A man is destined to save the reincarnation of his true love from ruination.
The movie is just ok but the central theme of love conquering death is a powerful one. Also, Harry Houdini does the cool escaping from a straightjacket trick.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsMax SchreckAlexander GranachGustav von WangenheimVampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.This is the first 'people get invited to a mansion but it's a trap' movie. I guess you'd call that a murder house movie?
Nosferatu is similar to Dracula but there's some big differences because Nosferatu is set in medieval times (instead of the Victorian era) and the lore is different.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorWallace WorsleyStarsLon ChaneyPatsy Ruth MillerNorman KerryIn 15th-century Paris, the brother of the archdeacon plots with the gypsy king to foment a peasant revolt. Meanwhile, a freakish hunchback falls in love with a gypsy dancer.An adaption of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo.
This is a classic Universal Monsters universe movie.
It's faithful to the novel, but it's a really depressing novel. Not exactly a fun movie to watch. The best adaption is The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) because it's funny, and the themes in the novel are too dark to digest without a lot of humor.
Warning:
Brown face - White actors play 'gypsies' from France. The movie plays into Romani stereotypes.
Studio: Universal - DirectorArthur RobisonStarsFritz KortnerRuth WeyherGustav von WangenheimA wealthy man invites the local wealthy bachelors over for a puppet show about men who covet another man's wife. The puppeteer is actually a witch and gives the men nightmares about what could happen if they date the lady of the house.An early 'people invited to a murder house' movie.
Studio: indie movie - DirectorHenry OttoStarsLawson ButtHoward GayeRalph LewisThe tactics of a vicious slumlord and greedy businessman finally drive a distraught man to commit suicide. The businessman is tried for murder, executed, and afterward swiftly taken by demons to the Hell where he will spend the rest of eternity.This is just ok. If you want something spooky playing in the background, this will suffice.
A demon shows a ruthless landlord what Hell is like, so that he can change his cruel ways before it's too late.
Not much happens in the scenes in Hell and we can't chew the scenery because the print quality is low. The most interesting thing about the movie is that it's full of beautiful quotes from the novel Inferno by Dante. Overall, the movie is kind of cheesy, kind of boring, and kind of spooky.
Warning:
Blackface - The butler is played by a white man in Blackface. He only has like two lines, but we can tell that he speaks in a stereotypically uneducated way and that he's a liar.
Studio: indie movie