Well, it's getting close to Halloween and I find it only appropriate to talk about some of my all time favorite horror films. When the term "horror film" comes to mind, there is a distinct diversity of what kinds of creatures and killers pop into our heads. There could be Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Norman Bates and so much more. But the horror films I like are the classic horror films that really put the genre into the mainstream pop culture for the first time. So let's dive right into this special Halloween themed blog spot, because there is certainly a lot of cool stuff to talk about.
Nosferatu
When it comes to vampire films, the first things that pop into our heads are the 1931 film with Bela Lugosi, the Castlevania game series and the horribly despicable Twilight films. But the film that really put vampires on the spot for the first time was Nosferatu, a silent horror masterpiece from 1922. Though the film is based off of Bram Stoker's Dracula, the film makers could not get the rights to the novel, and thus characters and settings are renamed, the most obvious is Count Orlok instead of Count Dracula. Other than that, this film is just as fun as it is creepy. Though it is a silent film and the basics of both film and novel adaptation were in infancy, it is mind-boggling to see all the weird shadows and creepy things that come out of nowhere in the film, the most iconic scene is when Count Orlok is walking up the stairs. But this film is horrifying, and goes to show that for 1922, they could produce a vampire film that would chill to the bone. This film has gone through many restorations throughout the years, but the most iconic in my opinion is the original stream from 1922, and if you want to see the horror for what it really was, I really recommend it. Also check out the film Shadow of the Vampire, a 2000 film starring William Dafoe as Max Schrek, who in the film was a real vampire, though in real life he was not.
Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man
Now if John Johnston made this, it would be the best thing since sliced bread. Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man serves as a sequel to the 1941 film The Wolf Man, and it is the fifth film to be based upon Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Ironically, the film stars Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's Monster, a role that he originally turned down for the 1931 film by James Whale. Either way, the feeling for both The Wolf Man and Frankenstein are prominent in this film, and they both deliver some cool action scenes, particularly when battling each other. Lon Chaney Jr., son of the Man With 1,000 Faces is once again great as Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, and delivers that horrifying Wolf Man posture that only he can pull off. Though the film is not as good as The Wolf Man or Frankenstein, it has a nice monster-mash feeling to it and leaves you with a pretty satisfying feeling inside, though some of the sub-plots are a little off. But this is something that could easily bring an extra dollar to the box office of today. I mean think about it. A remake of Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man done right could actually be a big hit, without all that CGI junk and crappy stunt doubles.
The Hammer Horror Films
Rebooting all the classic horror films such as Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy, the Hammer Horror films launched the careers of some of the greatest actors in all film, such as Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. With so many films to choose from, it's hard to give a scenario of each one of them, but I will say, if your a person who doesn't like a lot of blood in films, these movies are not for you. Not only does Dracula get burned, stabbed with a stake, stabbed with a cross, stabbed with a shovel, shot into ice, he melts into a mutilated muppet! But some of the characters in these films suffer a horrible demise, the most epic is when Dracula violently stabs a young girl with a knife. But these films are a lot of fun to watch, each one focusing on a whole slot of interesting characters. Christophere Lee plays Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and Imhotep the Mummy, and Peter Cushing plays Dr. Van Helsing and Dr. Victor Frankenstein, perhaps the best actor ever to play him. And unlike the Universal Frankenstein films which focus on Frankenstein's Monster, these films focus on Dr. Frankenstein, a murderous, psychopathic, raving lunatic that rapes, kills and robs to get his way. Ironically, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing would go on to play in Star Wars films, Lee's character of Count Dooku a direct inspiration from Count Dracula. And David Prowse, who portrayed Frankenstein's Monster in Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell, went on to play Darth Vader, the most feared villain in all of cinema.
The Creature From The Black Lagoon
One of the first 3-D films ever to be released, The Creature From The Black Lagoon focuses on a group of individuals who fall prey to the perils of the evil Gillman, a human sized frog like creature who can breath underwater as well as out. It's incredible what they were able to do in 1954, such as shooting the creature swimming underwater and making him jump upon the boat with such a heavy costume on. The action scenes in this movie are great. Seeing everyone band together to rid of the Gillman is interesting to watch, and it's also interesting to see the scenes where the Gillman claims victims. For the 1950s, a decade of B-films with giant explosions and cosmic creatures from outer space, it is an interesting flick that is often considered the last of the great Universal horror film era. The film is followed by 2 sequels and a planned remake, and the Gillman even makes a appearance in the 1980s film, The Monster Squad.
King Kong
Holy jeez! This could very well be the best film ever made. Though not considered a horror movie in some people's books, it involves a monster terrorizing the city and duking it out with the most feared creatures in all the world. It is astonishing what they were able to do for 1933 standards. The stop motion and incredible fighting scenes are exemplary to watch, and would beat out the fake looking quality of CGI any day. I enjoy the character development in this film as well. The relationship between Anne Darrow and Kong is some of the best chemistry on film, a direct inspiration from Beauty in the Beast. Seeing Kong put people into his mouth and break the jaw of a giant snake is an incredible sight, and would really set the standards of many other films to come in the field of stop motion and animatronics. Many remakes, reinterpretations and sequels would follow in the many years to come. From Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, the crappy 197os remake and the epic remake by Peter Jackson, King Kong has been to the edge of the Earth and back and delivered some of the best adventure stories of all time. Now if only those Japanese films from the 1930s could be found, and the holy grail of King Kong films could finally be restored.
There are loads more horror films out there, I barely scratched the surface. Hopefully, someday I will get around to talking about more because believe me, there are tons more, but for now, I just wanted to give you a look at some of my favorite horror films that have redefined the history of films forever. And of course, people like their horror films done in different ways, either with a lot of gore, a lot of silly, choppiness and bad story, and just plain rapid slashing action. But we must remember the films that started it all, a set the ground for all the horror films to come.
Nosferatu
When it comes to vampire films, the first things that pop into our heads are the 1931 film with Bela Lugosi, the Castlevania game series and the horribly despicable Twilight films. But the film that really put vampires on the spot for the first time was Nosferatu, a silent horror masterpiece from 1922. Though the film is based off of Bram Stoker's Dracula, the film makers could not get the rights to the novel, and thus characters and settings are renamed, the most obvious is Count Orlok instead of Count Dracula. Other than that, this film is just as fun as it is creepy. Though it is a silent film and the basics of both film and novel adaptation were in infancy, it is mind-boggling to see all the weird shadows and creepy things that come out of nowhere in the film, the most iconic scene is when Count Orlok is walking up the stairs. But this film is horrifying, and goes to show that for 1922, they could produce a vampire film that would chill to the bone. This film has gone through many restorations throughout the years, but the most iconic in my opinion is the original stream from 1922, and if you want to see the horror for what it really was, I really recommend it. Also check out the film Shadow of the Vampire, a 2000 film starring William Dafoe as Max Schrek, who in the film was a real vampire, though in real life he was not.
Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man
Now if John Johnston made this, it would be the best thing since sliced bread. Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man serves as a sequel to the 1941 film The Wolf Man, and it is the fifth film to be based upon Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Ironically, the film stars Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's Monster, a role that he originally turned down for the 1931 film by James Whale. Either way, the feeling for both The Wolf Man and Frankenstein are prominent in this film, and they both deliver some cool action scenes, particularly when battling each other. Lon Chaney Jr., son of the Man With 1,000 Faces is once again great as Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, and delivers that horrifying Wolf Man posture that only he can pull off. Though the film is not as good as The Wolf Man or Frankenstein, it has a nice monster-mash feeling to it and leaves you with a pretty satisfying feeling inside, though some of the sub-plots are a little off. But this is something that could easily bring an extra dollar to the box office of today. I mean think about it. A remake of Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man done right could actually be a big hit, without all that CGI junk and crappy stunt doubles.
The Hammer Horror Films
Rebooting all the classic horror films such as Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy, the Hammer Horror films launched the careers of some of the greatest actors in all film, such as Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. With so many films to choose from, it's hard to give a scenario of each one of them, but I will say, if your a person who doesn't like a lot of blood in films, these movies are not for you. Not only does Dracula get burned, stabbed with a stake, stabbed with a cross, stabbed with a shovel, shot into ice, he melts into a mutilated muppet! But some of the characters in these films suffer a horrible demise, the most epic is when Dracula violently stabs a young girl with a knife. But these films are a lot of fun to watch, each one focusing on a whole slot of interesting characters. Christophere Lee plays Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and Imhotep the Mummy, and Peter Cushing plays Dr. Van Helsing and Dr. Victor Frankenstein, perhaps the best actor ever to play him. And unlike the Universal Frankenstein films which focus on Frankenstein's Monster, these films focus on Dr. Frankenstein, a murderous, psychopathic, raving lunatic that rapes, kills and robs to get his way. Ironically, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing would go on to play in Star Wars films, Lee's character of Count Dooku a direct inspiration from Count Dracula. And David Prowse, who portrayed Frankenstein's Monster in Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell, went on to play Darth Vader, the most feared villain in all of cinema.
The Creature From The Black Lagoon
One of the first 3-D films ever to be released, The Creature From The Black Lagoon focuses on a group of individuals who fall prey to the perils of the evil Gillman, a human sized frog like creature who can breath underwater as well as out. It's incredible what they were able to do in 1954, such as shooting the creature swimming underwater and making him jump upon the boat with such a heavy costume on. The action scenes in this movie are great. Seeing everyone band together to rid of the Gillman is interesting to watch, and it's also interesting to see the scenes where the Gillman claims victims. For the 1950s, a decade of B-films with giant explosions and cosmic creatures from outer space, it is an interesting flick that is often considered the last of the great Universal horror film era. The film is followed by 2 sequels and a planned remake, and the Gillman even makes a appearance in the 1980s film, The Monster Squad.
King Kong
Holy jeez! This could very well be the best film ever made. Though not considered a horror movie in some people's books, it involves a monster terrorizing the city and duking it out with the most feared creatures in all the world. It is astonishing what they were able to do for 1933 standards. The stop motion and incredible fighting scenes are exemplary to watch, and would beat out the fake looking quality of CGI any day. I enjoy the character development in this film as well. The relationship between Anne Darrow and Kong is some of the best chemistry on film, a direct inspiration from Beauty in the Beast. Seeing Kong put people into his mouth and break the jaw of a giant snake is an incredible sight, and would really set the standards of many other films to come in the field of stop motion and animatronics. Many remakes, reinterpretations and sequels would follow in the many years to come. From Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, the crappy 197os remake and the epic remake by Peter Jackson, King Kong has been to the edge of the Earth and back and delivered some of the best adventure stories of all time. Now if only those Japanese films from the 1930s could be found, and the holy grail of King Kong films could finally be restored.
There are loads more horror films out there, I barely scratched the surface. Hopefully, someday I will get around to talking about more because believe me, there are tons more, but for now, I just wanted to give you a look at some of my favorite horror films that have redefined the history of films forever. And of course, people like their horror films done in different ways, either with a lot of gore, a lot of silly, choppiness and bad story, and just plain rapid slashing action. But we must remember the films that started it all, a set the ground for all the horror films to come.
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