your favorite oldtime horror flick

[Filmasong]

I was watching a Frankenstein flick and smiling, i know they are corny by today's standards but we still enjoy em, my fav is[the wolfman-1941]and lon chaney jr ain't bad in it either, what's your fav from these golden oldies?

[MechaGodzilla]

How old are we talking, pre-'70s? Pre-'60s?

Staying in the first half of the 20th century, I'm particularly fond of Nosferatu, The Phantom Carriage, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein (my favorite of all the Universal horror/monster films). I wouldn't even describe them as corny personally, I think they still hold up.

[Todd Tomorrow]

If we draw the line at the start of the 60s, which was the decade that rang in the modern horror film with Rosemary's Baby and Night of the Living Dead, then for me it's the Val Lewton horror films of the 40s like Cat People and The Seventh Victim. Though I enjoy the Universal films, I like the Lewton films for the way they deal with the psychology of their "monsters" and the way they suggest rather than show, which then was revolutionary. The contemporary ones are really a mixture of horror and film noir, two of my favourite genres. I also love the Mamoulian Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde which still feels strikingly modern. Of the Universal films Bride of Frankenstein is the best. The Night of the Hunter verges on being a horror film and is one of my all time favourites.

[The Great Owl]

I'll go with the Val Lewton horror films, especially Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, and The Seventh Victim, for pre-1960. The original 1956 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is another great flick.

My all-time favorite horror film, though, is Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

[Gerby]

The Old Dark House (1932)
The Black Cat (1934)
The Devil's Hand (1943) - made by Jacques Tourneur's father Maurice Tourneur.
The Black Pit Of Dr M (1959) - a Mexican Gothic horror masterpiece.

[Impossible]

Village of the Damned and Psycho.

[Mandalorian]

Psycho, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and possibly Creature from the Black Lagoon with a few rewatches. I saw the latter for the first time last month, and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

[Jasonic]

The Uninvited
Frankenstein
The Bride of Frankenstein
The Wolfman
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

[Michael24]

Of the Universal Monsters, I really love Creature from the Black Lagoon. Wasn't fond of Dracula or The Mummy when I first saw them, but have been meaning to give them another look, along with finally checking out Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein and The Wolf Man.

Sticking with pre-70s horror, some other favorites off the top of my head are Horror of Dracula, The Devil's Bride, House of Wax, House on Haunted Hill, The Last Man on Earth, Strait-Jacket, Black Sunday, Carnival of Souls (would love to see this on Blu-ray) and, of course, Psycho.

[octagon]

The Haunting might not be quite 'old time' enough but if it fits, it wins.

If not, I dunno...Dracula or Invasion of the Body Snatchers, probably.

[Abby is Q]

I love the first three Frankenstein movies, with Bride of Frankenstein being one of my top 5 favorite horror movies.

Dracula, The Wolf Man, and The Invisible Man are great too. If we go into the fifties, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is another big favorite.

[Foggy]

The Innocents, if it's "oldtime" enough.

[Coenskubrick]

If Psycho counts, definitely Psycho.

[ZoetMB]

"The Bride of Frankenstein" is the one for me. It's certainly not scary by modern standards (it wasn't even scary in the 1960s), but it looks absolutely gorgeous, it's quite sophisticated (and funny), the performances are wonderful, the special effects were great for their time and director James Whale stuck in a lot of inside jokes (and the film itself is subject to varying interpretations).

[The Debts]

Would M count? If not, I'd go with Psycho.

[MechaGodzilla]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

"The Bride of Frankenstein" is the one for me. It's certainly not scary by modern standards (it wasn't even scary in the 1960s), but it looks absolutely gorgeous, it's quite sophisticated (and funny), the performances are wonderful, the special effects were great for their time and director James Whale stuck in a lot of inside jokes (and the film itself is subject to varying interpretations).

Was it even particularly scary in the '30s? I mean, maybe it was, I have no idea how audiences reacted to it back then, but that film is filled to the brim with humor. Honestly, it feels more like a comedy than horror to me. It's very witty, and funny even today.

[Abby is Q]

Originally Posted by MechaGodzilla

Was it even particularly scary in the '30s? I mean, maybe it was, I have no idea how audiences reacted to it back then, but that film is filled to the brim with humor. Honestly, it feels more like a comedy than horror to me. It's very witty, and funny even today.

Compared to the first Frankenstein, no. It's not very scary. Especially with Una O'Connor. Ugh...

Pretorius is a creepy guy though, but the movie is more about character depth, which is why I think it comes off so funny. Humanizing the monster made the movie more humorous. But some of the same themes that made the first movie scary are carried over (reanimating the dead and madmen wanting godlike power), which probably made the movie a little unnerving at the time.

[Mystic]

The Haunting
Carnival of Souls
House of Wax
The Uninvited
Isle of Lost Souls

[Astro Zombie]

Dracula and Psycho

[R1978]

If we are talking actual horror and that is somewhat disturbing, it would be very few indeed from old or new.

Before I would have said The Haunting, now it would be the Innocents. Both are old enough, not too known ( the later less known anyway ), both capture what I consider to be disturbing elements and atmosphere on film that if someone were to watch them alone in the dark with the sound cranked for the first time, it's possible they would play on their senses enough that it would be the closest thing a "horror" movie could do to scaring someone.

I give the Innocents the edge due to the story and what is "implied" in the story without spoiling anything.

Over the years I have watched an absurd number of horror flicks ranging from the start of cinema up till now, ignoring the reality found footage crap which I would rather cut my eyes out than waste my time on. While many of those horror film eras all have their little charm and entertainment value, I cannot recall ever seeing one that actually "disturbed me" or had enough impact that I could say "this movie is a true horror movie", I think perhaps hellraiser 1 might come a little close back when it was new as the gore and style and atmosphere was quite serious compared to the ultra lame teen slasher flicks.

I grew up in the 80s but was exposed to all film genre of many eras ( especially obscure ww2 titles ) and I think due to the time, with horror movies becoming far more gore extreme and "adult" many of the pre 80s horror movies lost their edge in terms of "shock or gore", with that said even today my personal favorite horror films would fall under just about anything Vincent Price ( especially EAP stories ), far too many Hammer titles to name, and many Mario Bava flicks, I would honestly claim that these eras and titles very much so fall under and capture a psychological horror and visual style that its virtually gone today, I mainly watch them for the story and sets and passion they put into that vs the mindless gore we have today that is neither shocking anymore or even entertaining, it's outright boring and so is the reality found film crap.

The Innocents is a very rare case for a few reasons.

1 The story itself, if we take it as literal, vs hmm I don't want to spoil it but if we take it as literal vs her imagining it all. It's far more disturbing than anything I can think of today. Anyone who has seen it, the kiss scene for example, and what is actually implied with the children and what they are a "doing".

2 The film even today is dark but beautiful, almost art like in many respects and certain well done shots that make you think and question things.

3 Out of most movies from this era, the acting is done well enough that it does not really fall under "cheesy" or what one would expect of that era, considering some of the lines, reactions and acting of other titles of that era, both within horror and outside of it.

For these reasons I feel it's stood the test of time and would have similar effects on people today as it may have had then.