*** THE BEST HORROR- 1960's! ***

THE BEST HORROR FILMS OF THE SIXTIES


1960-1969

This was the golden Age for the big three horror production houses, AIP, Amicus and Hammer. With these studios we would see the talents of Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Vincent Price. We would also see the birth of the gore film with Herschell Gordon Lewis. The period would also see some of the best films of Alfred Hitchcock, Mario Bava, Roman Polanski and a multitude of quickie horror films by Roger Corman. We would also see the first film of George Romero and the rise of Italian Zombie copycats.


Birds, The (1963)

Hitchcock had a thing for finding new talent, a young blonde named Tippi Hedron can thank Hitch for putting her in the role that would forever shake our belief in man’s superioity on Earth. The Bird’s is a unique story, it starts out as a simple chance meeting between a man and woman. Her curiosity in this handsome stranger would have her follow him home to a sleepy port city of Bodega Bay. With her arrival begins the real story, a strange series of bird attacks that seem deliberate. The two do meet up and the chemistry between them is quite funny at times. When a birthday party is suddenly interrupted by a series of attacks the real action unfolds. The whole town is held hostage by millions of attacking Sea Gulls who appear out of nowhere and unleash a hell of fury. With the family trapped in the house and held siege we see the love develop between the two as their guard is dropped and emotions flare. The bird attacks are a real treat and one can revel in the fear caused by seemingly harmless animals. Hitchcock had a way of taking normal people and having them encounter abnormal situations. The movie does not explain why the attacks occur and the ending leaves the viewers wary as their is no normal "The End". Maybe the ending is even more real then we would like to hope for.
Now where's that bad ole putty-tat!

Black Sunday (1961) Italy

A witch is burned at the stake wearing an awfully painful looking mask and then returns a hundred years later to exact revenge. The witch is now a vampire and with her servant bid the devils wishes and takes the form of a princess who happens to resemble her. This film was the first and best of Italian maestro Mario Bava and with his excellent cinematography and hauntingly shot in black and white, Black Sunday was both a cult and critical hit. The film was subsequently retitled a number of times for the international market and was picked up by the American International Picture Company (AIP) who botched it slightly with some revisions but more or less left a brilliant film. An outstanding first film from one of the great Italian horror masters who would deliver a number of other horror classics.

Carnival of Souls (1962) US

A Church organist survives a car crash and finds herself followed from Kansas to Utah by a pale faced stranger. The woman has a hard time relating to people around her and is strangely drawn to a crumbling pavilion. The film is both haunting and influential, being a low budget shot by an amateur director make it even more of a horror treasure. Although it was lost in obscurity it has found a whole new audience with showings at art house festivals and video. A unique and really creepy movie that is best known as an inspiration for Night of The Living Dead. One wonders what other great creepy movie await a new audience….
I recently purchased a copy of this wonderful movie for $5. It is such a great film that I must require each of you to watch it before you go any further.

Conqueror Worm, The (1968)

Vincent Price turns in a wonderful performance as a real life witch hunter Matthew Hopkins. His accusations would terrorize and bring fear to the citizens of 17th century Puritan England. As the witch hunter, Hopkins knows what he is doing is wrong but feels his evil and greed are serving a higher purpose. This was the last film of Michael Reeves and in it he contrasts the beautiful scenery of rural England with the bloody violence of the very religious inhabitants. AIP retitled the film and tried to market it under it series of Edgar Allen Poe stories. You know they can never leave a wonderful movie alone, lord knows what they would have done with Psycho.

Day of the Triffids, The (1963)

As absurd a title as it is this is a classic shocker that carried over from the alien/communist craze of the fifties. The whole planet is left blind after a comet flies by Earth. In its wake is the blinded population left to fend for themselves with all sorts of serious implications. An accident victim who was bandaged in the eyes has his vision and discovers a shocking aftereffect of the comet, spores that create a creeping plant monster. The plants seem intelligent and he eventually finds a small group of survivors and holes up in a house. As they try to cope with the recent events the plants converge upon the villa, with only an electrified fence keeping it at bay. How long will the fence hold up? Will they have enough power? What sounds like an absurd Saturday matinee is actually a well made movie adapted from the novel by John Wyndham. I guess a little weed killer might be on store……

Haunting, The (1963)

Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House proved to be major force in the world of the ghost story and with its adaptation to film we have what may well be the all time best haunted house story. The movie is one of the last in the classic school of fright were the imagination is what gets you. With its gothic scenes and excellent use of shadow, The Haunting is that rare movie that delivers and continues to do so without having to rely on cheap gimmicks or gratuitous gore. A researcher invites a group of people to stay in the Hill House to determine if it is indeed haunted. We have two woman, one an unmarried spinster, the other a free spirited lesbian. Both woman have had psychic occurrences in the past and the spinster seems to have been taken by the house, her purpose in life is complete as she looks forward to becoming its care taker. Yet the house does posses her and in a tragic turn of events claims yet another victim. Whether the house is haunted is undeniable, the actual spirits are not seen but make their presence felt in some of the most frightening scenes involving the classic school of "Let the imagination scare you" that filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock were best noted for. The photography and setting are wonderfully distorted and used to create a sense of fear and terror. It is undeniable that this movie is one of the best made films in the Horror genre and regretfully we may never see another like it in our world of FX and all out gore. I highly recommend this movie to any movie buff to help show what real terror is all about.
Alright, go rent it and see for yourself why I feel it is the best!

House of Usher (1960) aka The Fall of The House of Usher

This was the first of a cycle of adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories by Roger Corman. Vincent Price plays Roderick Usher, the lord of a crumbling manor who wishes to hold his family together just as long as he can. His younger sister lives with him and tensions arise when her fiancee appears. The house literally falls apart around them as the strong wills of Usher and the fiancee clash. As with many of his later Poe adaptations, Corman would make good use of available sets and shoot great films with such skill and carefully rework a lot of footage in his later films. Vincent Price is his usual excellent self, even when he is off camera. Good photography, score and the venerable Price make it a worthwhile feature.

Innocents, The (1961)

First-rate thriller based on Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, with Kerr as governess haunted by specters that may or may not be real. The apparitions invading the house result in her terrorizing the children in what she believes are made up stories. Unlike The Haunting, The Innocents shows appartitions to avoid possible conflicts with actual ghosts and those of a psychological nature. Script by William Archibald and Truman Capote, brilliantly realized on film. James's short story remade in 1992.

Kwaidan (1964) Japan

With a title translated as "Ghost Story" this Japanese production made use of traditional folk tales to spin visions of terror and fear. Kwaidan presents four tales featuring a samurai, a minstrel, a runaway husband and a traveler. Each film gives a great feel of the supernatural and makes great use of atmosphere and setting to bring the viewer a genuine feeling tale of terror and shock. Although a flop in Japan the movie would later attain cult and critical success outside of Asia. In its American release they left one story out to cut down on time as this is a long movie, pity that they cut a movie that is such a masterpiece of horror. Thanks to the Cannes film festival we can admire this film in its glory.

Little Shop of Horrors, The (1960)

Gotta love those low budget Roger Corman movies and Little Shop is a prime example of what it takes to make a great movie for such little money. Filmed in a surprising 2 days, this movie is a simple boy meets girl, boy meets killer plant story. Seymour is a lonely orphan living in skid row, he works in a flower shop and has a unique hobby in plant hybrids. The result is a Venus flytrap like plant he names Audrey II, after the pretty girl he works with. Well it seems Audrey II has a craving for blood, and when Seymour can’t provide enough of his own blood he goes out and commits some klutzy murders to feed Audrey II. To help move the story along we see a slew of kooky characters including a flower eater and a young Jack Nicholson as the masochistic dental patient Wilbur Force. The success of this low budget cult hit would lead to a successful stage show and ultimately a 1986 movie which featured Rick Moranis and Ellen Green as Audrey. All versions are very well made yet kudos go to the original for the sheer originality and great production values. Feed me Seymour!

Masque of the Red Death, The (1964)

Roger Coman best known for cheap and quickie movies used his influence to put out a number of well made stories based on Edgar Allen Poe tales. Vincent Price stars in this one as the evil Prospero, an Italian prince who worships the devil. With the towns people dying of the "red death", the king seals himself and his folowers in the castle and ride out the plaque. While thousands die outsdie, a lavish masquearde is held complete with music and costume. Prospero notices an odd charcghter and when confronted the red stranger reveals a most frightening form as his followers fall to the deadly plaque. Roger Corman made good use of the standing set from Beckett to produce this film in a mere six weeks. The productions values are top notch and acting is quite good for its budget, espicailly Price. As with many of his Poe production this film actually combines a number of Poe stories (Hop Frog, Red Death) and with this film Corman would deliver his best of the Edgar Allen Poe series. Acting nods to Hazel Court who almost upstages Price. A recommended delight!

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Horror Fans of the sixties had some pretty great horror movies from the likes of AIP, Hammer and Hitchcock. Yet what if a movie could be made using very little money, no name stars, simple sets and a daring set of producers who wish to make a really creepy movie. Shot entirely on location in Pennsylvania a young Director by the name of George Romero would forever change the name of horror. Night of The Living Dead starts out with a brother and sister visiting a grave of their mother. Both seem preoccupied with other matters and we get some great teasing from the brother to his sister. Just then they are attacked by a stranger who seems to be in a dazed state. Barbara soon runs away and heads to a lonely farm house. Here she meets Ben and a small group of stragglers. No one is aware of what is occurring and there is a lot of confusion at hand. Ben takes command and has everyone board up the house, yet he has friction with the family man who is more concerned with saving his own hide. That night is filled with every imaginable horror, many die ands there is very much gore and such not seen out of a HG Lewis movie. The climatic finale is both intense and disheartening, yet that’s life! Never in the annals of movie history has one movie made such an impact on the horror scene, not really released in o the mainstream Night of the Living Dead existed on the art house and cult movie circuit until it was discovered and put into major release. Even to this day it still remains one of the best and scariest movies ever made. Followed multiple sequels, countless Italian copycats and whole generation of remakes. This is the quintessential zombie movie and we are quite pleased to have had the pleasure.

Onibaba (1965) Japan aka Devil Women

Like the engaging Kwaidan, Onibaba is a Japanese period piece that uses eerie scenery to spin a creepy tales of terror. It seems that there is a terrible thing happening to deserting samurai warriors. The coward samurais yield a bounty for a pair of women who sell the armor for profit, while they dump their bodies in a nearby pit. Yet when the young woman falls for one of the intended victims her mother in law devises a scheme to scare the young man away. She takes a demon mask from one of the dead soldiers and puts it on, however the plan horribly backfires and the mask is permanently attached to the woman. The attempt to smash the mask reveals the real terror underneath….. Onibaba is an engaging and well made film that uses good imagery and eerie plot to spin a tale of sinister dealing and the price one pays for their evil deeds. The marshy plains, overgrown weeds and sharp moonlit evenings lend heavily to the well staged ambushes by the two women which are filmed with absolute mastery. Well worth the trouble in locating this obscure Japanese chiller.
Its a shame we don't see too many of these foreign films at Blockbuster.

Pit and the Pendulum, The (1961)

Vincent Price plays a Spanish lord who is visited by his brother in law and told of his sisters death. The sister is actually alive and schemes with her lover to drive her brother mad. Well Price has the upper hand and makes good use of the torture devices built by his father who was an inquisitor during the Spanish Inquisition. All three actors seem out of water as Price is somewhat hooky, John Kerr very wooden and Barabara Steele is underused. What save the film is Corman excellent use of creative sets, great photography and some decent special effects that make the film look more expensive then it was. Kudos go to the title scene, gotta love that swinging blade and Prices sinister taunting.

Psycho (1960)

A whole library has been written about this film and even after 35 years it continues to shock and entertain just as much as it did when Alfred Hitchcock first spoke of the Bates Motel. Everyone knows the story, a young beautiful woman has just embezzled a large sum of money, she drives away and stops at an off the road inn where she meets the shy Norman. In the short time after we meet Norman we notice him to be a bit weird, speaking of his mother. To many viewers this was a standard crime story, but were they ever in for a shock. In what has to be the most infamous and eventful scenes in cinema history we see the main character go down with the quick flash of a blade and a scream that would run down our spines. The movie then shows its true colors, Is Norman the killer or is it his mother? The sister pays a visit to determine what happens and we then encounter the second gruesome murder, as an investigator wanders too far into the house. The final climax would forever leave an impression of fear and shock to audiences of all ages. Psycho was such a dramatic film that Hitchcock refused to let critics review it for fear of giving away its climax, and he even went as far to demand viewers not to divulge it. This was very much the same technique used a decade before on Diabolique which was an inspiration for Psycho. One thing was for certain, Psycho was both a critical and financial success. Spawning so many imitations and a few decent sequels in the 80's. Curiously, Robert Bloch wrote the story based on the accounts of serial murderer Ed Gein, which was also the inspiration for Tobe Hopper’s classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Either way we can thank Hitchcock for giving us one of the best horror movies ever.
Anyone out there who feels this movie is not the best horror film should be sent to the Bates Motel!

Repulsion (1965)

This was the first English language film by Roman Polanski and it would be a memorable one at that. The story is a unique and powerful tale of isolation and intense sexual repression. A woman is left alone in her flat and the paranoia that develops leads to massive delusions and psychotic tendencies. Her hallucinations are marked with paranoid fantasies that lead her to homicidal tendencies. When she is visited by friends her fear transpires into actions that are quite shocking. She is met by her boyfriend and landlord and both fall to her paranoid delusions. When her sister returns she is found catatonic, the flat a mess and laying next to her two victims. Repulsion is a cinematic triumph for director Roman Polanski, the movie is stylish and creative in its portrayal of a maddening paranoia. The result is one of shock and utter terror. Considered by many to be the best psychological terror film next to Psycho. A must see for those who demand quality terror!

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

What price is someone willing to pay for fame and glory in the film industry. Well it seems that Guy is willing to give up the soul of his first born. A young and pre-Woody Mia Farrow plays a lovely housewife who finds her hubby hanging around a spooky collection of people who are awaiting her baby’s arrival. Rosemary does a little research and is shocked to discover that her child is to be the anti-Christ. Gimmick filmmaker William Castle produced this film which was based on the novel by Ira Levin and directed by Roman Polanski. In the course of the film we watch Rosemary’s delight turn into utter shock as her child is taken from her and told it has died. Strangely her maternal bond leads her to the coven of followers and it is here her worst nightmare is made even more unimaginable. Her child is alive and has the eyes of his father, Satan that is. Ruth Gordon won an Oscar for her role as on of the coven. A classic that predates the more gore infested Omen and Exorcist in the demonic possession genre.

Spirits of the Dead (1968)

Spirits of the Dead Three separate Poe tales are adapted by three unique directors, impossible to describe, delightful to watch, done with skill and flair by three top directors.

Targets (1968)

Peter Bogdanovich would make his directorial debut in a film that would wonderfully blend old world horror with that of the modern horror. Boris Karloff plays an aging horror star who is disgusted with the way horror has changed and how the real world seems even scarier. At the same time a young man goes on a crazy shooting spree, he is indeed the very real monster that Karloff fears. The climax has the mad killer shooting up the premiere of Karloff’s last film. Peter Bogdanovich delivers what may be his best film and creates a masterfully suspenseful film that carries a strong anti-gun message while giving Boris Karloff and excellent send off. Karloff is both heartbreaking and quite funny in his portrayal of an aging horror star of the golden age. The parallels to Charles Whitman with the killer seem all too real in a movie that speaks out on the real terror that await us in a world with sicko nut cases running free and loose.

Village of the Damned (1960)

Excellent adaptation of John Wyndham novel The Midwich Cuckoos. One night a whole English town is left unconscious for 12 hours, shortly afterward it is discovered that a large number of women are pregnant. When the time comes all women give birth at about the same time to blonde, emotionless children. They are raised as normal children but they soon display superior intelligence and telekinetic powers. Who knows what evil plans lurk in their twisted little blonde heads??? Very sharp, engaging and eerie thriller which proves that little blonde children should not play together, followed by the equally engaging Children of The Damned.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962)

One wonders what become of those child stars of the early days of cinema, yet with today’s tales child stars gone bad this film seems so much more in touch. Betty Davis and Joan Crawford appear very much against type in a film that would forever change our view of these two cinema queens. Baby Jane was a darling child star who delighted many fans with her cute looks and wonderful singing voice, yet in her home life we saw a spoiled brat who deserved no attention. Her sister was the real star, an early screen queen who played a few memorable roles until a horrible accident crippled her for life. The two sisters live together and both seem sardonic about the mistakes of the past. Jane cares for Blanche but her grasp on reality seems to fade as she commits cruel acts of terror on her sister. It is then learned that Blanche plans on putting Jane into an institution, yet Jane is wise on this and plots to torture her sister. The results are quite shocking and intense. Jane has really fallen off the deep end and seems obsessed with making a comeback as Baby Jane…..Go figure! Her rapid fall into delusion would lead to her committing a number of brutal acts, then we are told the truth of the accident by Blanche and we the audience are set back in our sympathy for Blanche. The intense jealousy of Jane ultimately leading to her final act of murder. Although the movie at times seems cliché it still maintain a air of terror and wild paranoia. From its graphic scenes of physical abuse to its strange finale, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane takes its audience down a creepy road of fear and revelation into a world where Hollywood success can drive one to complete insanity. A must see.
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