The Best in Classic Horror [Pre-80’s]
by badscene | created - 04 Apr 2019 | updated - 6 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Devil Rides Out (1968)
G | 95 min | Horror
Devil worshipers plan to convert two new victims.
Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi, Leon Greene
Votes: 10,272
2. Witchfinder General (1968)
Unrated | 86 min | Drama, Horror
A young soldier seeks to put an end to the evils caused by a vicious witch-hunter when the latter terrorizes his fiancée and kills her uncle.
Director: Michael Reeves | Stars: Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Rupert Davies, Patrick Wymark
Votes: 12,226
3. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror, Thriller
A ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman
Votes: 139,209 | Gross: $0.09M
4. The Birds (1963)
PG-13 | 119 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette
Votes: 204,631 | Gross: $11.40M
5. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Approved | 82 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
While awaiting execution for murder, Baron Victor Frankenstein tells the story of a creature he built and brought to life - only for it to behave not as he intended.
Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: Peter Cushing, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart, Christopher Lee
Votes: 12,649 | Gross: $17.44M
6. Forbidden Planet (1956)
G | 98 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
A starship crew in the 23rd century goes to investigate the silence of a distant planet's colony, only to find just two survivors, a powerful robot, and the deadly secret of a lost civilization.
Director: Fred M. Wilcox | Stars: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens
Votes: 53,248 | Gross: $3.00M
7. The Thing from Another World (1951)
Approved | 87 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Scientists and American Air Force officials fend off a bloodthirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost.
Directors: Christian Nyby, Howard Hawks | Stars: Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, James Arness, Robert Cornthwaite
Votes: 33,402
8. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Approved | 75 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A millionaire offers $10,000 to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him and his wife.
Director: William Castle | Stars: Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal
Votes: 30,850
9. The Haunting (1963)
G | 112 min | Horror
Hill House has stood for about 90 years and appears haunted: its inhabitants have always met strange, tragic ends. Now Dr. John Markway has assembled a team of people who he thinks will prove whether or not the house is haunted.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn
Votes: 42,503 | Gross: $2.62M
10. Theater of Blood (1973)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
A Shakespearean actor takes poetic revenge on the critics who denied him recognition.
Director: Douglas Hickox | Stars: Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews
Votes: 12,285
11. Wake in Fright (1971)
R | 109 min | Drama, Thriller
After a bad gambling bet, a schoolteacher is marooned in a town full of crazy, drunk, violent men who threaten to make him just as crazy, drunk, and violent.
Director: Ted Kotcheff | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Gary Bond, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay
Votes: 13,972 | Gross: $0.05M
12. Them! (1954)
Not Rated | 94 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
The earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.
Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness
Votes: 24,203
13. Strait-Jacket (1964)
Approved | 93 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
After a twenty-year stay at an asylum for a double murder, a mother returns to her estranged daughter where suspicions arise about her behavior.
Director: William Castle | Stars: Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson, Howard St. John
Votes: 6,660
14. Village of the Damned (1960)
Not Rated | 77 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
In the English village of Midwich, the blonde-haired, glowing-eyed children of uncertain paternity prove to have frightening powers.
Director: Wolf Rilla | Stars: George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Martin Stephens, Michael Gwynn
Votes: 19,146
15. Burnt Offerings (1976)
PG | 116 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.
Director: Dan Curtis | Stars: Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith, Eileen Heckart
Votes: 13,616
16. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
GP | 96 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An American expatriate in Rome attempts to unmask a serial killer he witnessed in the act of an attempted murder - and is now hunting him and his girlfriend.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi
Votes: 24,105 | Gross: $0.42M
17. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Horror
Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land. Only a woman pure of heart can bring an end to his reign of horror.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor
Votes: 40,558
18. And Then There Were None (1945)
Approved | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Seven guests, a newly hired secretary and two staff are gathered at a manor house on an isolated island by an unknown absentee host and are killed off one-by-one. They work together to determine who the killer is before it's too late.
Director: René Clair | Stars: Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Louis Hayward, Roland Young
Votes: 16,650
19. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Passed | 134 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono, Wesley Addy
Votes: 61,923 | Gross: $4.05M
20. Dead Ringer (1963)
Approved | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The working-class twin sister of a callous, wealthy woman impulsively murders her out of revenge and assumes her identity. But impersonating her dead twin is more complicated and risky than she anticipated.
Director: Paul Henreid | Stars: Bette Davis, Karl Malden, Peter Lawford, Philip Carey
Votes: 6,439
21. Horror of Dracula (1958)
Not Rated | 82 min | Drama, Horror
When Jonathan Harker rouses the ire of Count Dracula for accepting a job at the vampire's castle under false pretenses, his friend Dr. Van Helsing pursues the predatory villain.
Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling
Votes: 27,987
22. The Old Dark House (1932)
Passed | 72 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Seeking shelter from a storm, five travelers are in for a bizarre and terrifying night when they stumble upon the Femm family estate.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Gloria Stuart
Votes: 13,108 | Gross: $0.03M
23. Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
Approved | 89 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery
While on the telephone, an invalid woman overhears what she thinks is a murder plot and attempts to prevent it.
Director: Anatole Litvak | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey
Votes: 12,559
24. Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964)
Not Rated | 83 min | Horror
Six people are lured into a small Deep South town for a Centennial celebration where the residents proceed to kill them one by one as revenge for the town's destruction during the Civil War.
Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis | Stars: Connie Mason, William Kerwin, Jeffrey Allen, Shelby Livingston
Votes: 5,287
25. The Last of Sheila (1973)
PG | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A year after Sheila is killed by a hit-and-run driver, her wealthy husband invites a group of friends to spend a week on his yacht playing a scavenger hunt mystery game. The game turns out to be all too real and all too deadly.
Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Richard Benjamin, James Coburn, James Mason, Dyan Cannon
Votes: 8,416
26. Carnival of Souls (1962)
Approved | 78 min | Horror, Mystery
After a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.
Director: Herk Harvey | Stars: Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger, Art Ellison
Votes: 27,834
27. Girly (1970)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Crime, Horror
A wealthy, fatherless British clan kidnaps bums and hippies and forces them to participate in an elaborate role-playing game in which they are the perfect family; those who refuse or attempt escape are ritualistically murdered.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Michael Bryant, Ursula Howells, Pat Heywood, Howard Trevor
Votes: 1,579
28. The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
PG-13 | 63 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
A psychotic big game hunter deliberately strands a luxury yacht on a remote island, where he begins to hunt its passengers for sport.
Directors: Irving Pichel, Ernest B. Schoedsack | Stars: Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks, Robert Armstrong
Votes: 14,016 | Gross: $0.97M
29. Curse of the Demon (1957)
Approved | 96 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
American professor John Holden arrives in London for a parapsychology conference, only to find himself investigating the mysterious actions of Devil-worshipper Julian Karswell.
Director: Jacques Tourneur | Stars: Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Maurice Denham
Votes: 15,515
30. Trog (1970)
GP | 93 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A sympathetic anthropologist uses drugs and surgery to try to communicate with a primitive troglodyte who is found living in a local cave.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Joan Crawford, Michael Gough, Bernard Kay, Kim Braden
Votes: 3,212
31. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Passed | 98 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Dr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde.
Director: Rouben Mamoulian | Stars: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart, Holmes Herbert
Votes: 15,813 | Gross: $2.79M
32. Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
Passed | 77 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
The disappearance of people and corpses leads a reporter to a wax museum and a sinister sculptor.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh
Votes: 6,831
33. Cat People (1942)
Not Rated | 73 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
An American man marries a Serbian immigrant who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland's fables if they are intimate together.
Director: Jacques Tourneur | Stars: Simone Simon, Tom Conway, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph
Votes: 26,004 | Gross: $4.00M
34. The Psychic (1977)
R | 90 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A clairvoyant woman discovers a skeleton in a wall in her husband's house, and seeks to find the truth about what happened to the victim.
Director: Lucio Fulci | Stars: Jennifer O'Neill, Gabriele Ferzetti, Marc Porel, Gianni Garko
Votes: 6,412
35. Caltiki, the Immortal Monster (1959)
Approved | 77 min | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi
A team of archaeologists in Mexico encounter an amorphous, blob-like monster that appears to be connected with the collapse of the Mayan civilization.
Directors: Riccardo Freda, Mario Bava | Stars: John Merivale, Didi Sullivan, Gérard Herter, Giacomo Rossi Stuart
Votes: 1,620
36. Time After Time (1979)
PG | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
H.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to the 20th Century when the serial murderer uses the future writer's time machine to escape his time period.
Director: Nicholas Meyer | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen, David Warner, Charles Cioffi
Votes: 20,647
37. Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
Not Rated | 133 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An aging, reclusive Southern belle plagued by a horrifying family secret descends into madness after the arrival of a lost relative.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead
Votes: 16,053 | Gross: $7.63M
38. It! (1967)
Unrated | 96 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
After one of their storehouses burns down, museum director Grove and his assistant Pimm find that everything, except for one statue, has been destroyed. Not long afterward, Grove is found ... See full summary »
Director: Herbert J. Leder | Stars: Roddy McDowall, Jill Haworth, Paul Maxwell, Aubrey Richards
Votes: 1,541
39. Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
115 min | Crime, Drama
A medium and her husband stage a kidnapping in order for her to pretend to solve the crime and achieve fame.
Director: Bryan Forbes | Stars: Kim Stanley, Richard Attenborough, Margaret Lacey, Marie Burke
Votes: 7,463
40. The Uninvited (1944)
Passed | 99 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
A composer and his sister discover that the reason they are able to purchase a beautiful gothic seacoast mansion very cheaply is the house's unsavory past.
Director: Lewis Allen | Stars: Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, Donald Crisp, Cornelia Otis Skinner
Votes: 12,468
41. See No Evil (1971)
GP | 89 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A young blind woman is pursued by a maniac while staying with family in their country manor.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Mia Farrow, Dorothy Alison, Robin Bailey, Diane Grayson
Votes: 4,102 | Gross: $1.32M
42. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Horror
Doctor, scientist, organist, and biblical scholar Anton Phibes seeks revenge on the nine doctors he considers responsible for the death of his wife.
Director: Robert Fuest | Stars: Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Virginia North, Terry-Thomas
Votes: 16,684 | Gross: $0.55M
43. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Not Rated | 75 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Baron Henry Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson
Votes: 53,281 | Gross: $4.36M
44. Wait Until Dark (1967)
Approved | 108 min | Thriller
A recently blinded woman is terrorized by a trio of thugs while they search for a heroin-stuffed doll they believe is in her apartment.
Director: Terence Young | Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
Votes: 33,746 | Gross: $17.55M
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