I feel like lists such as these are better at highlighting gaps in my knowledge of the genre rather than being an authoritative selection. I remember as a teenager seeing the appendix to Stephen King's 'Danse Macabre' where he highlighted outstanding titles in the genre from the 1950 to 1980 period and seeking out as many as possible. It gave me a pretty good grounding in Horror flicks and over the next decade or so I became more familiar with the genres landmarks, franchises, disgraces, oddities and outliers. It seems to be a field that fires the imagination of certain filmmakers, an outlet for a darker, mischievous side that other types of film don't allow.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of classics are on here. However, I've had to exclude many essential films from here simply because there wasn't enough space for all of them. Limiting my selection to 100 films was surprisingly difficult. Various films on here could be seen as a representative for other titles. Night of the Living Dead spawned several excellent sequels but none of them could quite match the impact that the original had on me. The Curse of Frankenstein was the first of remarkable series of Hammer films by director Terence Fisher and star Peter Cushing. Likewise Roger Corman's cycle of Poe adaptations produced several genre classics but I decided to settle for just one on here as a gateway to a remarkable series. Whistle and I'll Come to You was the first of numerous superb ghost story adaptations that were made for British television from the late 1960s to the end of the 1970s. The Stalls of Barchester, A Warning to the Curious, The Signalman, Casting the Runes and Schalcken the Painter would also merit inclusion here. As much as I love Dario Argento's Suspiria, I like the 1980 sequel Inferno even more, which allowed for another compromise on my part. One hundred titles sounds like a lot but I was surprised by how many cherished movies I had to exclude to produce a list that was emblematic of both the genre and my own personal tastes. My own personal favourites from within the list are marked with an asterisk (*).
Unsurprisingly, a lot of classics are on here. However, I've had to exclude many essential films from here simply because there wasn't enough space for all of them. Limiting my selection to 100 films was surprisingly difficult. Various films on here could be seen as a representative for other titles. Night of the Living Dead spawned several excellent sequels but none of them could quite match the impact that the original had on me. The Curse of Frankenstein was the first of remarkable series of Hammer films by director Terence Fisher and star Peter Cushing. Likewise Roger Corman's cycle of Poe adaptations produced several genre classics but I decided to settle for just one on here as a gateway to a remarkable series. Whistle and I'll Come to You was the first of numerous superb ghost story adaptations that were made for British television from the late 1960s to the end of the 1970s. The Stalls of Barchester, A Warning to the Curious, The Signalman, Casting the Runes and Schalcken the Painter would also merit inclusion here. As much as I love Dario Argento's Suspiria, I like the 1980 sequel Inferno even more, which allowed for another compromise on my part. One hundred titles sounds like a lot but I was surprised by how many cherished movies I had to exclude to produce a list that was emblematic of both the genre and my own personal tastes. My own personal favourites from within the list are marked with an asterisk (*).
As with my year by year top ten database the idea is for this list to evolve over time so there will be additions and removals.
All the Colours of the Dark (Sergio Martino, 1972)
Audition (Takashi Miike, 1999)
*The Avenging Conscience (D.W. Griffith, 1914)
The Beyond (Lucio Fulci, 1981)
The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963)
*The Black Cat (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1934)
*The Black Cat (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1934)
Black Christmas (Bob Clark, 1974)
Black Moon (Roy William Neill, 1934)
Black Sabbath (Mario Bava, 1963)
*Black Sunday (Mario Bava, 1960)*Blood and Black Lace (Mario Bava, 1964)
Blood and Roses (Roger Vadim, 1960)
Bluebeard (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1944)
The Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935)
*The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920)
*Carnival of Souls (Herk Harvey, 1962)
Il caso Valdemar (Gianni Hoepli & Ubaldo Magnaghi, 1936)
*Cat People (Jacques Tourneur, 1942)
The Changeling (Peter Medak, 1980)
*Carnival of Souls (Herk Harvey, 1962)
Il caso Valdemar (Gianni Hoepli & Ubaldo Magnaghi, 1936)
*Cat People (Jacques Tourneur, 1942)
The Changeling (Peter Medak, 1980)
*Chime (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2024)
Corridors of Blood (Robert Day, 1958)
*Creature from the Black Lagoon (Jack Arnold, 1954)
*Creature from the Black Lagoon (Jack Arnold, 1954)
Creepy (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2016)
*Cure (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1997)
The Curse of Frankenstein (Terence Fisher, 1957)
*Dagon (Stuart Gordon, 2001)
*Dead of Night (Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden & Robert Hamer, 1945)
Der Todesking/The Death King (Jorg Buttgereit, 1990)
The Demon (Brunello Rondi, 1963)
Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955)
The Demon (Brunello Rondi, 1963)
Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955)
Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931)
*Dreams in the Witch House (Stuart Gordon, 2005) Exorcist II: The Heretic (John Boorman, 1977)
The Exorcist III (William Peter Blatty, 1990)
The Exorcist III (William Peter Blatty, 1990)
Eyes Without a Face (Georges Franju, 1960)
The Fall of the House of Usher (Jean Epstein, 1928)
The Fearless Vampire Killers (Roman Polanski, 1967)The Fall of the House of Usher (Jean Epstein, 1928)
The Fog (John Carpenter, 1980)
*Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931)
*Freaks (Tod Browning, 1932)
The Ghost of Yotsuya (Nobuo Nakagawa, 1959)
God Told Me To (Larry Cohen, 1976)
Gremlins (Joe Dante, 1984)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (Tommy Lee Wallace, 1982)
The Haunting (Robert Wise, 1963)
The Ghost of Yotsuya (Nobuo Nakagawa, 1959)
God Told Me To (Larry Cohen, 1976)
The Golem: How He Came Into the World (Carl Boese, Paul Wegener, 1920)
The Gorgon (Terence Fisher, 1964)Gremlins (Joe Dante, 1984)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (Tommy Lee Wallace, 1982)
The Haunting (Robert Wise, 1963)
Häxan (Benjamin Christensen, 1922)
*Hour of the Wolf (Ingmar Bergman, 1968)
House (Nobuhiko Ôbayashi, 1977)
I Bury the Living (Albert Band, 1958)
*I Walked with a Zombie (Jacques Tourneur, 1943)
I Was a Teenage Werewolf (Gene Fowler Jr., 1957)
*Inferno (Dario Argento, 1980)
The Invisible Man (James Whale, 1933)
The Invisible Man (James Whale, 1933)
*Island of Lost Souls (Erle C. Kenton, 1932)
*Isle of the Dead (1945, Mark Robson, 1945)
*Kill, Baby... Kill! (Mario Bava, 1966)
*Kotoko (Shinya Tsukamoto, 2011)
*Isle of the Dead (1945, Mark Robson, 1945)
*Kill, Baby... Kill! (Mario Bava, 1966)
*Kotoko (Shinya Tsukamoto, 2011)
The Last Man on Earth (Ubaldo Ragona, Sidney Salkow, 1964)
The Leopard Man (Jacques Tourneur, 1943)
Let's Scare Jessica to Death (John Hancock, 1971)
Loft (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2005)
Love Massacre (Patrick Tam, 1981)
Mad Love (Karl Freund, 1935)
La Main du Diable (Maurice Tourneur, 1943) *Martin (George A. Romero, 1977)
*The Masque of the Red Death (Roger Corman, 1964)
*The Masque of the Red Death (Roger Corman, 1964)
Matango (Ishiro Honda, 1963)
Midwinter Sacrifice (Gösta Werner, 1946)
*Mother Joan of the Angels (Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1961)
Murders in the Rue Morgue (Robert Florey, 1932)
Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987)
*Night of the Demon (Jacques Tourneur, 1957)
Night of the Eagle (Sidney Hayers, 1962)
*Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968)
*Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau, 1922)
*Nosferatu, Phantom Der Nacht (Werner Herzog, 1979)
*An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (Robert Enrico, 1961)
*The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932)
Opera (Dario Argento, 1987)
*An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (Robert Enrico, 1961)
*The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932)
Opera (Dario Argento, 1987)
A Page of Madness (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)
The Phantom of the Opera (Rupert Julian, 1925)
Phenomena (Dario Argento, 1985) The Plague of the Zombies (John Gilling, 1966)
Possession (Andrzej Żuławski, 1981)
*Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
*Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968)
*Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
Pulse (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2001)
*Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 1965)*Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968)
Salem's Lot (Tobe Hooper, 1979)
*Séance (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2000)
The Snow Woman (Tokuzo Tanaka, 1968)
Sombre (Philippe Grandrieux, 1998)
Son of Frankenstein (Rowland V. Lee, 1939)
The Sorcerers (Michael Reeves, 1967)
Splatter: Naked Blood (Hisayasu Satō, 1996)
*Spontaneous Combustion (Tobe Hooper, 1989)
*The Tenant (Roman Polanski, 1976)
The Testament of Doctor Cordelier (Jean Renoir, 1959)
*Spontaneous Combustion (Tobe Hooper, 1989)
*The Tenant (Roman Polanski, 1976)
The Testament of Doctor Cordelier (Jean Renoir, 1959)
*The Thing from Another World (Christian Nyby, 1951)
*Toby Dammit (Federico Fellini, 1968)
Two Orphan Vampires (Jean Rollin, 1997)
*The Uninvited (Lewis Allen, 1944)
*The Unknown (Tod Browning, 1927)
*Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932)
*The Unknown (Tod Browning, 1927)
*Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932)
*Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983)
Village of the Damned (Wolf Rilla, 1960)
The Whip and the Body (Mario Bava, 1963)
Whistle and I'll Come to You (Jonathan Miller, 1968)
The White Reindeer (Erik Blomberg, 1952)*White Zombie (Victor Halperin, 1932)
*X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (Roger Corman, 1963)
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| Vampyr (1932, Carl Theodor Dreyer) |
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