Day 11: Psycho

11. Psycho (1960)
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam

With the shower that shocked the world, today's post may have been the birth of the slasher but also a landmark film regarding style, story and especially violence. Possibly the greatest or at least most memorable film from film auteur Alfred Hitchcock Psycho, based off the novel by Robert Bloch, is a flawless piece of suspense with a timeless feel, still pulsating with plenty of scares and edge of your seat moments.

Inspired by a handful of 50s B-movies by Roger Corman and William Castle, that despite poor reviews had become hits, Hitch decided it was time to reinvent himself by making a low budget, black and white, suspense thriller that would prove to be his darkest film yet.

Hiring a rookie screenwriter Joseph Stefano to pen the controversial novel, the studio folks were skeptical about Hitch's risky venture into low budget violence with Paramount even refusing to finance the picture. So Hitch went to Universal studios, assembled a small crew from his show Alfred Hitchcock Presents and went out to make movie magic.. I'll bet Paramount were kicking themselves later.



Following the story of Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) who after stealing $40,000 from her office flees to California, we are submerged into a stylish and tense world of dishonest people and devious deeds. Then while traveling one night through a heavy rain, Marion decides to take a detour at the Bates Motel where nothing is quite as it seems. Owned by a young innocent man by the name of Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) who claims to live at the motel with his mother, there's just something a bit off about young Norman and the mood at Bates Motel and that's when everything gets out of control. With one of the most shocking twists in film set surprisingly in the middle, this is a creepy unpredictable suspense story. Not to mention the great supporting cast that pops in here and there including; Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John McIntire and Simon Oakland who are memorable additions to this disturbing story.

The score by frequent Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann is a terrifying piece of orchestral stings and screeching while the cinematography is artistic perfection. How could we go without mentioning the legendary shower scene, one of the most unique sequences in film history. Story-boarded by graphic designer Saul Bass with a little bit of mystery behind who directed it, the shower scene, which contains an impressive 50 cuts, is one of the most inventive scenes you'll ever see in a movie and is to this day is still highly effective.

I could talk about Psycho all day but I got to draw the line somewhere. If you like psychological thrillers and haven't seen this than your probably a psycho yourself, so you should definitely check this out you wont regret it.

Fright Fact: First American film ever to show a toilet flushing on screen

Horror Highlight: I think you guess what I'm gonna post here

Day 10: House on Haunted Hill

10. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Dir William Castle
Cast: Vincent Price, Carolyn Craig, Elisha Cook Jr, Carol Ohmart...

One of the only movies that I own a shirt of depicting the film's poster, this off the wall 50s cult classic is probably just as notable as the film's legendary director William Castle, the king of the gimmick. Whether it was handing out life insurance policies to audiences before seeing his 1958 film Macabre or floating inflatable skeleton's above audiences seeing the film we speak of today, the eccentric Castle loved to spook people with a great enthusiasm and left behind some pretty entertaining horror flicks, especially with this 1959 film.

Set around the scenario of a small group of people being challenged to stay in a haunted house to receive $10,000. House on Haunted Hill is more or less a big excuse to set up all sorts of scares involving; ghosts, murders and other terrors, but hey I ain't complaining. This movie is just good old fashioned fun and highly entertaining for fans of vintage horror. The highly talented Vincent Price leads a fun ensemble cast into plenty of twists and turns leaving for a surprisingly unpredictable viewing experience.



William Castle's low budget B-movies weren't great cinematic achievements but he did what he loved and it really rubs off an the audience. There's been some pretty crappy remakes of some of his films such as this one and 13 Ghosts (1960) but no way are those films half as memorable as an campy Castle outing. And even if these films were somewhat cheesy it was always a treat to see a talent like Vincent Price capture us with his serio-comic attitude and classic eerie speaking voice. SImply put this is what effective B-movie horror is all about.

Fright Fact: Inspired Alfred Hitchcock to make Psycho

Horror Highlight:All I could find were 10 minutes scenes from the movie, so I'll just give you the trailer.

Day 9: The Creature from the Black Lagoon

9. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Dir: Jack Arnold
Cast: Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno

Now I often given this film a pretty hard time. I think it's cheesy, melodramatic and somewhat dry, but you just can't deny it's importance in the genre and for it's showcase of another classic Universal Monster.

Directed by veteran horror/sci-fi director Jack Arnold, this 50s Universal monster movie made quite a splash scaring audiences back in 1954 due do it's terrifying title creature known as "The Creature" or sometimes "Gill Man". With a fantastically crafted monster suit I guess this film didn't need much else to win over the heart's of horror fans.

Set in the Amazon this film tells the story of a group expedition looking for a supposed "missing link" after an unidentifiable skeletal hand is discovered. Sailing aboard a tramp steamer, the group discovers the remains of an earlier research team and soon enough fall prey to the clutches of the lagoon's creepiest inhabitant "The Creature".



Now as cheesy or so-so as I may say this film is, I think a lot of classic horror fans could at least find some suitable entertainment here. Like I said the costume is fantastic so I guess you could say this film looks pretty good, as that was always an important aspect to Universal's monster movies. Why even Universal's worst were far better than most other horror movies of the time. So just because I don't really like it doesn't mean you shouldn't check it out, it was probably one of the last notable monster movies before sci-fi took over the rest of the decade.

Fright Fact: There's supposedly been a remake in the works for a while with a script penned by none other than Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) whose father was a co-writer on the original film.

Horror Highlight: any scene with that slimy creature, this was the best I could find.

Day 8: The Thing from Another World

9. The Thing from Another World (1951)
Dir: Christian Nyby, Howard Hawks (Uncredited)
Cast: Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Douglas Spencer, James Arness

With an almost ten year gap between this post and my last I thought I should explain myself. Seeing as there were so many films I wanted concentrate on further decades I decided to cut back significantly on the 40s, but I'd still like to pay my respects to some other films finishing off that decade, most notably a handful of the films produced by Val Lewton such as; Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and The Body Snatcher (1941), which was one of Robert Wise's first films. Anyways let's get on to our next frightening feature.

Breaking into the 50s we have one of the most influential sci-fi/monster movies to come out of the Atomic Age of film The Thing from Another World, produced, co-written and co-directed by veteran filmmaker Howard Hawks. Based off the 1948 short story by John W. Campbell Jr. The Thing from Another World tells the story of an Alaskan research group who after discovering a frozen extraterrestrial played by the intimidating 6'8ft tall James Arness, later of Gunsmoke fame, become pitted against this deadly vegetable man in some somewhat sticky situations.



A well produced film, The Thing from Another World is a finely crafted and sharp sci-fi thriller. Where as many other film's to come out of this blossoming genre were often cheesy and cheap looking pictures, this film was as fine as any other Hollywood project. With a large talented ensemble cast and some pretty creepy sequences this was pretty good considering all it aimed to be was a suitable monster movie.

Though probably overshadowed today by the fantastic 80s remake, there's still a lot to like in this vintage piece of sci-fi spookiness and worth a peek if your a fan of the remake.

Fright Fact:The scene in which The Thing is doused with kerosene and set ablaze is believed to be the first full body burn accomplished by a stunt man.

Horror Highlight: The final confrontation

Day 7: The Wolf Man

7. The Wolf Man (1941)
Dir: George Waggner
Cast: Lon Chaney Jr, Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Maria Ouspenskaya, Bela Lugosi

Skipping ahead to 1941 I'd like to acknowledge a few other horror films of the 30s and 40s.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1931)
The Mummy (1932)
The Invisible Man (1933)
The Black Cat (1934))
Werewolf of London (1935)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Son of Frankenstein (1939)

On to the subject of today's spooktacular post we have The Wolf Man another fine entry into the prestigious collection of Universal Monster movies. Starring the son of Legendary Horror star Lon Chaney, Creighton Chaney better known in his film career as Lon Chaney Jr. made his mark in film history as the doomed Lawrence Talbot who after being bitten by a werewolf became the victim of quite a monstrous curse. Also starring four time oscar nominee Claude Rains as Sir John Talbot, Evelyn Ankers as Gwen Conliffe and even an appearance by Bela Lugosi as a cursed gypsy appropriately named "Bela" The Wolf Man is not only one of Universal's most entertaining creature features but probably one of the finest werewolf movies ever made.

Just coming off of the success of his acclaimed role as Lenny in the Oscar nominated 1939 picture Of Mice and Men Lon Chaney Jr. had already become popular with audiences for his goofy kind of innocence but it wasn't until this flick that he forever became a horror movie legend. Now with that said this probably isn't the darkest piece of horror. As a matter of the character of Lawrence Talbot is more of comedic relief than anything with his endless worrying and fretting while Claude Rains is a nice touch of class.


The story here is a classic monster movie set up. Lawrence returning to his home country, hearing of an evil gypsy curse and then becoming the unfortunate victim of the dreaded curse. The atmosphere is a vintage horror feeling and Jack Pierce's makeup is excellent as usual.

Though as big a hit this was for Lon, it was also somewhat of his curse. Becoming typecast in the Wolf Man role, Lon would finish off the 40s constantly playing the role. He enjoyed some minor success in the 50s with supporting roles in a handful of notable pictures such as; High Noon (1952), Not as a Stranger (1955) and The Defiant Ones (1958) but would afterwards fall back into a collection of some less than stellar low budget productions. But that never hurt his horror movie icon status including; merchandise and even his image on a set of U.S. stamps in the 2003 Universal Monsters set, now that's an honor.

P.S. A remakes due out in April 2009 with Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins I saw a bootleg clip online and man it looks pretty cool, could it surpass the original? Hmmm, well only time can tell, see ya during the next full moon.

Fright Fact: Originally created as vehicle for Boris Karloff until Lon Chaney Jr was offered the part.

Horror Highlight: John Talbot Vs. The Wolf Man

Day 6: Bride of Frankenstein

6. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Dir: James Whale
Cast: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger Elsa Lanchester

I was really stuck here in what I'd post for today, I originally wanted to review The Mummy (1932) but failed to see it in time, then I considered James Whales' The Invisible Man (1933) until I figure "Hey what about Bride of Frankenstein (1935) now that's a great horror movie", so let's dig in.

Set right after it's predecessor Bride continues with the misadventures of the eccentric Henry Frankenstein joined by his former mentor Doctor Pretorius in an attempt to create their elusive monster a mate. We follow the monster's travels through the heartland of the country saving a young shepherdess, encountering scared and angry villagers and one particularly memorable scene between the monster and a blind hermit who teaches the monster speak words such as "good" and "friend".

Now I'll admit there are some rather strange segments such as Dr. Pretorius' miniature people creation, but it easily slides when it comes to such proficient monster moviemaking. The cast here is pretty strong, especially Boris who went from being an unknown in the first film, to the star of the second. Jack Pierce once again does a bang up job on makeup and with the creation of the Bride's look creates another iconic look for a Universal monster.



It's quite a pleasure to see even more of everyone's favorite classic monster and interesting to see how James Whale takes the first stories already complex themes to another level. Plus you know you've made a fine addition when fans are evenly split on which one film they find superior, I'll always be a bigger fan of the first film but this is one hell of a followup.

Fright Fact: 5'4" Elsa Lanchester was placed on stilts that made her 7' tall for her role as the Bride. While the bandages she wore were wrapped so tightly that she was unable to move and had to be carried around the studio.

Horror Highlight: had trouble finding a full scene, so here's the blind man scene.

Day 5: Frankenstein

5. Frankenstein (1931)
Dir: James Whale
Cast: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Boris Karloff

"It's Alive, IT'S ALIVE!" a line that always sends shivers down my spine when shouted by the manic Colin Clive as Dr. Henry Frankenstein. Not only a flawless piece of horror/science fiction but an early masterpiece in the dawn of talkies. Combine the theatrical direction of James Whale, with a talented cast, outstanding Universal sets and one of the most inventive novels of the 19th century and you have the stuff that dreams are made of. A stunning piece of science gone wrong and one of the most iconic portrayals of man playing god in any art-form.

Considered a terrifying film at the time of it's premier back in November of 1933, it's amazing that a film made 75 years ago can still leave an impact with film fans today. With memorable scene after memorable scene, including the memorable creation sequence and my personal favorite "flower scene". Frankenstein was not only a Hollywood hit but somewhat of a star-making role for then 40 something actor Boris Karloff who would go on to star in such notable films as; The Mummy (1932), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Invisible Ray (1936) and The Black Cat (1934) (Both with Bela Lugosi), Tower of London (1939) and the star of Peter Bogdanovich's fist film, the cult classic piece Targets (1968). There's just not enough words to describe the magic of Boris' screen presence or this film's many accomplishments.



I'm gonna keep this one brief and just tell you that this vintage piece of horror still holds up and I highly recommend you see it if you haven't.

Fright Fact: There's a whole bunch of interesting facts regarding this horror classic, but some of my favorites have to do with the creation of the monster, particularily Jack Pierce's fantastic makeup work.

- The monster was never described in the novel as having bolts in his neck or a flat top, this was purely Pierce's creation.
- The actual color of the monster's makeup was yellow, not green
- Boris Karloff offered to take out some of his bridge work to give the monster's mouth a sunken in look.
- The back brace Karloff wore as the monster gave him permanent back problems
- Thought to be very tall, Karloff actually wore large shoes for him to appear taller, in actuality he was 5'11ft.
- Would go on to wear the makeup three more times in; The Bride of Frankenstein (1935 and Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Horror Highlight: That freaky flower scene, it's only about the first minute of the clip so I don't expect anyone to watch the whole thing.