Some greathorrormovies predate the burst of color filmmaking as the predominant form of cinema and are still scary watches even for modern audiences. The horror genre is one of the oldest kinds in film, an early source of chills and thrills on the big screen. In modern discussions though, people often only go back to the ’70s and ’80s when talking aboutclassic horror movies. Despite this, there are some black and white horror films from the old golden era of the genre are still quite compelling.
It is a misconception that horror movies from that time aren’t as technically strong as today’s movies because of the technological advancements in modern filmmaking. If anything, the unique and imaginative techniques employed by the pioneers of the genre to create terrifying atmospheres and visuals add to the charm of black-and-white vintage horror cinema.Modern remakes of such classic horror moviesoffer perspective on the creativity of the filmmakers who managed to create thosehorror movies that have stood the test of timewithout all the resources available to modern creatives.
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Cat People
Cat People (1942) is a horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur that follows the story of Irena Dubrovna, a Serbian immigrant in New York City who believes she is cursed to transform into a panther when aroused or angry. The film stars Simone Simon and explores themes of repressed sexuality and fear, utilizing shadows and suggestion to create an atmosphere of unease and suspense.
A classic example of suspense in film,Cat Peopleis a black and white horror movie that’s still unsettling. When RKO Studios was close to closing, they approached Val Lewton. Although he hadn’t become the producer-extraordinaire that the world remembers him as today, he was entrusted with the task of creating a horror movie on a low budget that would be commercially successful in a market dominated by Universal Movie Monsters.Cat Peopleis the first horror movie he ever produced, andit’s so good that it saved RKO Studios. It also practically gave birth to the jump scare.
The first collaboration between director Jacques Tourneur and producer Val Lewton,Cat Peoplehas left an indelible mark on the horror genre. While it’s technically a B-movie, it features the use of clever art-house techniques. Due to the low budget, the director and producer had to employ a suggestion-over-show strategy. They couldn’t create horrifying visuals, and dialogue describing horror detracts from the scare factor. Instead, they use off-screen elements to create horror.Cat Peopleis also highbrow in its sensibilities, as it explores sexual repression as one ofthe classic horror movies with hidden LGBTQ themes.
Directed by F. W. Murnau
Nosferatu
Nosferatu is a 1922 German silent horror film directed by F.W. Murnau, loosely based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The film tells the story of Count Orlok, a vampire who moves from his castle in the Carpathian Mountains to a German town to spread terror and death.
Since its announcement last year, thehighly anticipatedNosferaturemakestarring Bill Skarsgård and directed by Robert Eggers has been the only thing that horror movie fans can talk about. The theatrical release lived up to people’s expectations too, with some viewers claiming it’s even improved upon the original. Regardless, it’s important to recognize what a stroke of genius the originalNosferatuis.It’s a stroke of luck that the film survived the court-ordered burning of all copiesafter Stoker’s estate sued them because horror films would be different today withoutNosferatu’s influence.
10 Classic Horror Movies That Still Need A Prequel
Classic horror films have had an incredible influence over the modern landscape of cinema, but many of these films have yet to get a prequel story.
Made at the peak of German expressionism, Murnau’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’sDraculawas made using revolutionary means at the time, combining movie sets and live location shoots to add a layer of realism to the vampire protagonist and his myth. Moreover, Murnau and his cinematographer Fritz Wagner usedlighting and framing techniques popular with spiritualist photographyto add an air of fearsome gravitas to the character of Count Orlok, who looks truly terrifying.Nosferatuis also an early use of horror for social commentary. From filming and editing techniques to narrative design,Nosferatuchanged horror filmmaking forever.
Directed by Don Siegel
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a science-fiction horror film directed by Don Siegel. The story follows Dr. Miles Bennell, who discovers that the residents of his small town are being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates. As the phenomenon spreads, Bennell desperately tries to uncover the truth and warn humanity about the impending invasion. The film is noted for its themes of paranoia and loss of identity amidst growing societal fears.
The 1978 remake ofInvasion of the Body Snatchersby far the more popular version of the story and is widely considered to be the stronger of the two. However, Don Siegel’sInvasion of the Body Snatchersplays an important role in cinema history. While the association was never fully established or confirmed by the creatives involved, the film is a clearcommentary on people’s political beliefs during the heights of the Cold War, when it came out. Interestingly, it can be interpreted as anti-communist or as anti-McCarthyist, depending on the reading of the protagonist’s plight.
The Hays Code and studio intervention ruined the ending that Siegel had originally intended for the movie, and the 1978 remake significantly improves on it to create one of the most spine-chilling conclusions to any sci-fi horror movie.
The infamous ending of Siegel’s version has been a point of contention for viewers over the years because it removes the pessimistic power of the original conclusion. However,the film’s exploration of the dangerous power of paranoia still makes it impactful. The use of filming techniques common to the noir genre to film science fiction and create horror was a revolutionary strategy at the time. There’s even a central romance that’s deceptively compelling. This unprecedented blending of various genres makes it thebest horror movie of the ’50s decade.
Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
Diabolique
Diabolique is a French psychological horror film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. The story revolves around two women, Christina, the wife of the cruel and abusive headmaster of a boarding school, and Nicole, a teacher who is also involved with him. The two women form an unlikely alliance to murder the cruel man, but their plan takes an unexpected turn, leading to a series of eerie and terrifying events.
The most Hitchcockian film that Hitchcock didn’t make, Henri-Georges Clouzot’sDiabolique, follows two women as they plan out and successfully execute the murder of a man who has scorned and manipulated them both. Highly influential on the thriller genre,Diaboliqueremaisn a revolutionary horror movie where a woman and her husband’s mistress stand in solidarity with each other, which subverts expectations even today.
[Diabolique] uses the characters' personalities and their growing tensions to create a gothic atmosphere out of their shared paranoia.
Horror and mystery blend together seamlessly inDiaboliqueto create a horrifying film out of a noir premise. The second half of the film is a masterclass in horror filmmaking, as it uses the characters' personalities and their growing tensions to create a gothic atmosphere out of their shared paranoia. The chemistry between the two female leads is palpable, but unfortunately never consummated.Diaboliquealso refined the detective formula by exploring the process of investigation instead of focusing on the whodunnit aspect of the murder.
Directed by Tod Browning
Freaks
Freaks is a 1932 horror film directed by Tod Browning. It centers on a circus trapeze artist who agrees to marry the leader of a group of side-show performers. As the plot unfolds, the performer’s friends realize her intentions are driven by a desire for his inheritance.
One of the most divisive films of all time,Freaks, which was once banned in Britain for 30 years and practically ended Tod Browning’s career as a filmmaker, is much less exploitative than its viewers first claimed when it was released. Since it predates the Hays Code, Browning was able to use full freedom as a director andemploy horror movie techniques that wouldn’t be seen for yearsafterward. He employed real carnival workers, and was accused of dehumanizing the people with disabilities whose demonization he intended to criticize withFreaks.
Tod Browning is perhaps best known as the director of 1931’sDracula, which established Bela Lugosi in the pop culture lexicon as the defacto version of the iconic vampire.
However, the film is genuinely empathetic in its narrative, and the public reaction is a classic example of a knee-jerk reaction. The audiences at that time weren’t used to seeing such sights at the cinema, and their own bias led to the widespread dislike for the movie, which ultimately led to the ban. Today,Freaksis seen as a film about people reclaiming their identities, which were used as excuses to discriminate against them and ostracize them.
Directed by James Whale
Frankenstein
Frankenstein is a 1931 horror film directed by James Whale, based on Mary Shelley’s novel. The story follows Dr. Henry Frankenstein, a scientist obsessed with creating life from dead tissue, leading to the birth of a monstrous being. Colin Clive stars as Dr. Frankenstein, while Boris Karloff delivers a standout performance as the creature, whose existence brings unintended consequences. The film is a seminal work in early horror cinema.
One of the earliestmovie characters to help reshape genre expectationswas Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein from James Whale’s 1931 movie of the same name. Monster movies are often characterized by destructive villains who have no redeeming qualities, and even the ones who serve as cautionary tales, may elicit pity, but rarely empathy.Frankenstein’s protagonist is decidedly different, as Karloff plays him as a child who struggles to gauge his own strength until it’s too late.
Jacob Elordi
Guillermo Del Toro’sFrankenstein
While it’s still a horror movie, the monster inFrankensteinis actually Dr. Viktor Frankenstein who brought the creature to life. The film even plays out like a coming-of-age drama with horror sensibilities, particularly in the gothic atmosphere. The narrative focus lies on the tragic nature of the creature’s interactions with mortals, especially the heartbreaking scene with the little girl. It’snot a fast-paced monster movie, but a revisionist horror film that weaves a tale of loneliness and destructive nature of exploitative experimentation.
Directed by Mark Robson
The Seventh Victim
The Seventh Victim is a 1943 horror film directed by Mark Robson, following a woman’s quest to find her missing sister in New York’s Greenwich Village. Her investigation leads her to a secretive Satanic cult, which may be connected to her sister’s unexplained disappearance.
Val Lewton’s time as a producer for RKO Studios gave birth to some of the most influential horror movies of all time, andThe Seventh Victimhas perhaps had the biggest impact of them all. While it conflates homosexuality with satanism, this has become the premise for the huge subculture of horror movies where religious deviance is conflated with queerness as a means of rejecting mainstream spirituality and its cis-heteronormative tendencies. The result is a deeply memorable and unsettling horror film.
The Seventh Victimis one of the first horror movies to feature fully realized female charactersand give them the space to voice their desires and act on them. The women inThe Seventh Victimare forces of nature, and since male participation doesn’t contribute meaningfully to their experiences, the film can also be read as a feminist rejection of patriarchal interpretations of womanhood. Much likeCat People, it also uses the power of suggestion to create moments of intensified horror for viewers that improve the viewing experience.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Psycho
In this now-iconic Alfred Hitchcock thriller, a secretary embezzles forty thousand dollars from her employer’s client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel. The place is run by a young man under the domination of his mother – and he soon turns out to be far more threatening than he appeared at first.
Arguably the most famous black and white horror movie, Hitchcock’sPsychostands out as an exemplary case of storytelling that changed filmmaking forever. With fast cuts and one of the greatest scores of all time,Psychois a case study ofhow to create paranoia as a cinematic devicefor viewers to find themselves in the protagonist’s shoes. It is safe to say thatPsychois definitively the most influential horror movie of all time and the crowning achievement of Alfred Hitchcock’s career as a director.
The growth of the slasher genre in the ’70s was clearly inspired byPsycho, which introduced the common filming tropes used to create the brand of suspense and horror common to the slasher.Marion Crane’s death after her shower is one of the most enduring and iconic images in horror cinemaand has gone down in history as the precursor of some of the most effective shock killings in horror movies.Psychoinspired a franchise of its own, and even a remake, but the1998Psychoproves why some remakesare a bad idea.
Eyes Without a Face
Humanity’s preoccupation with the perfect appearance has inspired fiction and fantasy over the ages, most recently in the form of the satirical body horror movie,The Substance, which won Demi Moore her first Golden Globe.Georges Franju’sEyes Without a Faceis an exploitation treatment of the same subject, telling the story of a doctor who experiments on helpless women lured to him by his nurse. With shocking imagery that instill deep fear, disgust, and sorrow,Eyes Without a Faceisn’t a typical exploitation film as it uses filming techniques more commonly found in art-house cinema.
10 Horror Movies That Deserve A Modern Reboot
Older horror movies can often feel outdated by today’s standards, which makes them perfect contenders for modern reboots if done right.
Since such surgical procedures as depicted inEyes Without a Faceare possible today, a modern reboot ofEyes Without a Facewould be interesting to see. However,the film explores the ethical dilemmas with unique tact and introspection. While the doctor’s motivation elicits empathy, his methods are so detestable and shocking that it’s easy to see howEyes Without a Faceis condemning him for not processing his guilt and grief in a more healthy manner.
Directed by Robert Wiene
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, directed by Robert Wiene, is a silent horror film from 1920 that tells the story of the mysterious Dr. Caligari and his somnambulist, Cesare, who is involved in a series of murders in a small German town. The film is notable for its expressionist style, featuring distorted sets and twisted visuals that reflect the psychological themes within the narrative.
Ages ahead of its time,The Cabinet of Dr. Caligariis the quintessential German expressionist film that explores the most scary source of horror possible — human beings' inability to trust their own senses when faced with inexplicable circumstances. Skewed perceptions of reality createa terrifying experience for character and viewer alike.The film creeps upon an unsuspecting viewer from all sides until they’re surrounded by jagged edges and sharp angles, caught in a labyrinth of fearsome architecture.
The high contrast color grading accentuates the delusional visuals and intensifies the experience.The fact that a black and white horror movie that’s over a century old can still inspire such fear without using any of the modern techniques is testament to the genius of the mind that conceived of and broughtThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligarito life. It will always belong in the pages of history as one ofthe scariest movies of all time, and proves how enduring the black and white era ofhorrorremains to this day.
