The best spooky vintage movies
It's Halloween, my friends! If you're like me and are scared of your own shadow, love all things vintage, and want to get into the Halloween spirit, this list is for you! (Also for anyone else. Anyone can read this. Please read my blog. Share with your friends. *sobs*)
(Content note: none of these movies are actually scary (except Eyes Without a Face). Maybe for kids under 13 it could be questionable depending on the kid, but really, they're all solidly PG.)
A Page of Madness (1926)
This is a silent Japanese film about a lady in an asylum, so BOY is it weird. However, it's very atmospheric and good to put on in the background while you sip your pumpkin spice lattes with friends or whatever.
Carnival of Souls (1962)
This is possibly one of my ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE vintage movies of ALL TIME. WATCH IT NOW. I LOVE IT. It's so eerie and probably the creepiest I've ever seen a vintage movie get. The atmosphere is on point and it doesn't drag out like some of the other vintage movies I've seen.
As per the plot, it's about a lady who survives a seemingly unsurvivable car crash before moving for a job to play the organ in church. She has this weird guy following her, and sometimes everyone stops moving and no one can hear her. She's also mysteriously and irresistibly drawn to an abandoned carnival outside of town limits....
House On Haunted Hill (1959)
A whodunit with ghouls, this is your quintessential vintage Halloween movie. A millionaire promises $10,000 for whoever can survive the night in his haunted house, and, of course, the bodies start dropping like flies. Creepy basements, trap doors, gruesome deaths, it has everything.
Rebecca (1940)
While I enjoyed the book more than the movie, Hitchcock did a fantastic job with the adaptation. It's a slow build, throwing together a dead, overbearing wife with a creepy housekeeper and a dark, brooding secret.... (Mwhahaha!) Another one of my favourites.
And Then There Were None (1945)
If you haven't had anything to do with Agatha Christie thus far, then what are you doing with your life??? The plot twists! The suspense! Bodies dropping left and right, red herrings, and an inescapable island with a madman! Someone's playing a gruesome game and it seems as though no one will survive! GO WATCH THIS IMMEDIATELY!
This is one of those movies that you watch and laugh because filmmaking 50 years ago was not the same as it was today. The acting and plot are so terrible that it's actually brilliant.
You may or may not have seen the Netflix adaptation that was released last year. I promise this version is a whole lot less scary. The main character is utterly annoying but the plot is pretty decent. My sister showed me a few clips from the Netflix version (I haven't seen it because I'm way too scared) and it looks like they were faithful to the parts that worked and upped the terrifying factor for the parts that weren't scary. Would recommend, especially if you've seen the modern adaptation.
(Content note: none of these movies are actually scary (except Eyes Without a Face). Maybe for kids under 13 it could be questionable depending on the kid, but really, they're all solidly PG.)
A Page of Madness (1926)
This is a silent Japanese film about a lady in an asylum, so BOY is it weird. However, it's very atmospheric and good to put on in the background while you sip your pumpkin spice lattes with friends or whatever.
Carnival of Souls (1962)
This is possibly one of my ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE vintage movies of ALL TIME. WATCH IT NOW. I LOVE IT. It's so eerie and probably the creepiest I've ever seen a vintage movie get. The atmosphere is on point and it doesn't drag out like some of the other vintage movies I've seen.
As per the plot, it's about a lady who survives a seemingly unsurvivable car crash before moving for a job to play the organ in church. She has this weird guy following her, and sometimes everyone stops moving and no one can hear her. She's also mysteriously and irresistibly drawn to an abandoned carnival outside of town limits....
House On Haunted Hill (1959)
A whodunit with ghouls, this is your quintessential vintage Halloween movie. A millionaire promises $10,000 for whoever can survive the night in his haunted house, and, of course, the bodies start dropping like flies. Creepy basements, trap doors, gruesome deaths, it has everything.
Rebecca (1940)
While I enjoyed the book more than the movie, Hitchcock did a fantastic job with the adaptation. It's a slow build, throwing together a dead, overbearing wife with a creepy housekeeper and a dark, brooding secret.... (Mwhahaha!) Another one of my favourites.
And Then There Were None (1945)
If you haven't had anything to do with Agatha Christie thus far, then what are you doing with your life??? The plot twists! The suspense! Bodies dropping left and right, red herrings, and an inescapable island with a madman! Someone's playing a gruesome game and it seems as though no one will survive! GO WATCH THIS IMMEDIATELY!
Psycho (1960)
As with all of Hitchcocks' work I wish he would have cut half an hour of content in order to up the suspense, but other than that this is an absolute classic. (I was possibly yelling at the TV about how they were disposing of the body wrong, but I'm not a murderer, promise.)
The Creature of the Black Lagoon (1954)
Eyes Without a Face (1960)
This is the one exception to the Not-Scary Rule. Spoilers ahead. The daughter of a rich doctor got into an accident and had her face torn off, so the doctor kidnaps young girls and surgically removes their faces. Yes, it shows the whole procedure. The scene is only five minutes long and my sister didn't think it was that gross, but I couldn't watch. It was actually terrifying and disgusting.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1931)
This movie is so old that it was fascinating to watch as purely a history lesson. Some parts are kinda gross in terms of how women were portrayed but hey, you get that in modern movies too. (*sigh*)
The Haunting (1963)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Another one of my absolutely favourites. This is one of the first zombie movies ever and it follows a cast of characters hiding out from the Flesh-Eaters in an abandoned farmhouse. It features one of the first-ever African Americans to lead a film, and the ending will definitely have you shaken.
Let me know if you've seen any of these and what you thought!
Hm, these look interesting. I've only seen Psycho, but I really like the sound of those first two! I might have to give them a try soon. Love the list!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with A Page of Madness, it's extremely weird (but in a nice sort of way, if that's possible).
DeleteI'm surprised The Blob (1958) didn't make the cut... the special effects were incredible! Also, does Little Shop of Horrors not count because of the musical classification? Or too modern?
ReplyDeleteThey wouldn't have made the cut because I haven't seen those yet! I'll definitely check them out though, I may or may not watch vintage horror movies all year round and was in a need of a few suggestions. Thanks so much!
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