202. (+12) Maniac

William Lustig

1980 / USA / 87m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, Abigail Clayton, Kelly Piper, Rita Montone, Tom Savini, Hyla Marrow, James L. Brewster, Linda Lee Walter, Tracie Evans

“Lustig’s film depicts this lunatic in a somewhat compassionate light, making sure to complement Zito’s grisly slayings with moments of schizophrenic introspection as he mumbles to himself about the childhood abuse that scarred his psyche. Spinell and C.A. Rosenberg’s script, however, stops short of trying to elicit outright sympathy, a wise decision given Zito’s bloody habit of stabbing whores in seedy motel rooms – an act that, like so many of his killings, has an overt sexual component – and shooting lovers at point blank range with a shotgun (leading to horror make-up expert Tom Savini’s infamous exploding head cameo). Spinell’s committed performance as the slovenly, misogynistic fiend has a frenzied intensity that only somewhat compensates for the implausible plot, which eventually involves Zito’s relationship with a way-out-of-his-league photographer. But as a grimy snapshot of early ‘80s Manhattan and an unapologetically twisted study in pathological murderousness, Maniac still exhibits a hideous pulse.” – Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Genres: Horror, Splatter, Psychological Horror, Slasher

204. (-21) Son of Frankenstein

Rowland V. Lee

1939 / USA / 99m / BW / Gothic | IMDb
Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Josephine Hutchinson, Donnie Dunagan, Emma Dunn, Edgar Norton, Perry Ivins, Lawrence Grant

“Boris Karloff’s man-made monster is revived in the castle of Frankenstein to provide material for another adventure of the ogre. Basil Rathbone, son of the scientist-creator, returns from America to the family estate, becomes intrigued with the dormant ogre and revives him with idea of changing the brute nature within. There are secret passages and panels; surprise opening of doors; and well-timed sound effects to further create tense interest. For offering of its type, picture is well mounted, nicely directed, and includes cast of capable artists.” – Variety Staff, Variety

Genres: Gothic Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller

206. (+114) Yabu no naka no kuroneko

Kaneto Shindô

AKA: Kuroneko

1968 / Japan / 99m / BW / Jidaigeki | IMDb
Kichiemon Nakamura, Nobuko Otowa, Kei Satô, Rokko Toura, Kiwako Taichi, Taiji Tonoyama, Hideo Kanze, Eimei Esumi, Shôji ôki, Kentarô Kaji

“Shindô eventually buries viewers in the sprits’ ghastly abode, a suffocating set piece bathed in the shadows of bamboo reeds. Most films would be content to drop you in the middle of the forest, and this one does thrive on the basic, primal isolation of the situation (it also helps that there’s really only one other major location, so the audience truly does feel cut off). However, Kuroneko is especially atmospheric in its choice of locales, as the remote hut is an extension of its wraithlike inhabitants. The film’s most memorable shot seems like a simple establishing shot of the hut; however, one can see that it’s subtly gliding among the bamboo grove, as if it exists outside of space and time. A brief but vital scene, it perfectly captures the understated, unnerving creepiness of the film.” – Brett Gallman, Oh, The Horror

208. (+142) Cure

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

AKA: The Cure

1997 / Japan / 111m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Kôji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa, Yoriko Dôguchi, Yukijirô Hotaru, Denden, Ren Ohsugi, Masahiro Toda, Misayo Haruki

“Writer/Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is not a Japanese David Fincher, while Fincher makes “Seven” seem cool, Kurosawa makes “Cure” real. This is not an over-stylized film. We see the murders like a witness, with far away static shots. When the detective is investigating, we are his partner and we stay a few paces away just listening. The film’s score is nearly non-existent, the scenes are filled with ambient sound, the rumbling of the ocean or a dryer. “Cure” is a movie to get lost in. From the very beginning we’re thrown into something where we’re never quite sure what is going on. It is wonderful to feel misplaced, knowing that this will not end with a foreseeable plot twist. There is no clear-cut conclusion. The film is not wrapped up in a nice neat little package. Kurosawa shows us a glimpse into this strange world and then pulls away, leaving us to figure out the answers, answers that may never come.” – Ross Williams, Film Threat

210. (-1) Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles

Neil Jordan

1994 / USA / 123m / Col / Vampire | IMDb
Brad Pitt, Christian Slater, Virginia McCollam, John McConnell, Tom Cruise, Mike Seelig, Bellina Logan, Thandie Newton, Lyla Hay Owen, Lee E. Scharfstein

“For all its queasy scenes of rat-eating and throat-slashings, “Interview” isn’t a horror movie. It’s not meant to scare, because we’re asked to identify with the vampires, not their victims. The dramatic problem Jordan can’t quite surmount is that there isn’t a whole lot at stake. Can a murderer hold on to his scruples, or will he succumb to the emptiness of immortal vampire life? Yet I found myself admiring Jordan’s brave attempt to translate Rice’s kinky fatalism to the screen. This is not a movie that holds up under daytime logic. It’s about seduction, and either you succumb to its inky entrapments or you resist. When its mojo was working, I was happy to be had.” – David Ansen, Newsweek

Genres: Vampire, Drama, Southern Gothic, Gothic Horror, Period Drama

212. (+23) Sinister

Scott Derrickson

2012 / USA / 110m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Fred Dalton Thompson, James Ransone, Michael Hall D’Addario, Clare Foley, Rob Riley, Tavis Smiley, Janet Zappala, Victoria Leigh

“Put them all together and they make Sinister the horror film to beat this Halloween: scary and suspenseful without insulting our intelligence. The underlying concept proves sound, the development deftly avoids genre cliché, and the twist builds upon what came before instead of trying to blow our minds at any cost. It pulls threads from earlier horror movies like Ringu and The Shining, but remains beholden to none of them: creating an atmosphere that, while not completely original, remains resolutely its own. And good God, it actually comes from an original script. In an era (and a genre) littered with sequels, Sinister should be commended for standing by its ideas. It’s scary as fuck too: the only criteria that really matters for a movie like this.” – Rob Vaux, Mania

Genres: Supernatural Horror, Mystery, Haunted House, Found Footage Horror, Psychological Horror, Crime, Snuff Film, Analog Horror, Digital Horror

214. (+16) The Hunger

Tony Scott

1983 / UK / 97m / Col / Vampire | IMDb
Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Cliff De Young, Beth Ehlers, Dan Hedaya, Rufus Collins, Suzanne Bertish, James Aubrey, Ann Magnuson

“It’s a largely sensual movie, in both senses of that word: it is about experiencing moments communicated through just about every means other than sensible character psychology. I can easily understand why somebody would find the movie accordingly hollow and annoying in its hip violence, but for horror to have this kind of impressionist impact, it must be doing something great, even if that something isn’t quite in line with the film’s intimations that it wants to be about human experiences of sex and longing (the “hunger” of the title”). It’s one of the most viscerally impressive horror movies of the ’80s, it plays the “tragic sexual vampire” card without defanging the monsters, and it’s consistently gorgeous – I can’t quite decide whether The Hunger is successful at being the exact film it sets out to be, but it is a very successful film of some sort, and that’s close enough.” – Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

Genres: Vampire, Romance, Gothic, Erotica, Gothic Horror, LGBTQ

216. (-73) Pit and the Pendulum

Roger Corman

1961 / USA / 80m / Col / Gothic | IMDb
Vincent Price, John Kerr, Barbara Steele, Luana Anders, Antony Carbone, Patrick Westwood, Lynette Bernay, Larry Turner, Mary Menzies, Charles Victor

“If Pit and the Pendulum doesn’t manage to be quite as impressively atmospheric as its predecessor, it’s perhaps because the original story doesn’t have the same sense of universal corrosion as Poe’s work – and this is maybe for the best, given that Poe’s sense of a rotten world came from a rather dark place in his brain, and it speaks well of Matheson and Corman that they weren’t able to attain the same sense of hopelessness. Still, Pit and the Pendulum captures exactly its predecessor’s greatest achievement: it is every bit a B-movie, with all the directness and lack of pretense that implies, and yet it is treated with absolute care and gravity by people anxious to do right by Poe’s incontestably sincere approach to his tales of the weird and uncanny.” – Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

Genres: Gothic Horror, Mystery, Medieval, Mystery, Psychological Horror

218. (+26) From Beyond

Stuart Gordon

1986 / USA / 85m / Col / Body Horror | IMDb
Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ted Sorel, Ken Foree, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Bunny Summers, Bruce McGuire, Del Russel, Dale Wyatt, Karen Christenfeld

“From Beyond is an updated adaptation of an old H. P. Lovecraft tale about those malignant creatures that share our world, unseen, existing in their fourth dimension just waiting to get back into ours. With the help of computer technology and something called a ”resonator,” Dr. Pretorious has provided the means by which these beings can return… The film’s most spectacular moments belong to the sebaceous cyst school of special effects, pioneered in ”Alien” and in the films of David Cronenberg: lumps, on or in various parts of the body, which swell up and then burst to reveal something oozily unspeakable within.” – Vincent Canby, New York Times

220. (+249) When a Stranger Calls

Fred Walton

1979 / USA / 97m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Carol Kane, Rutanya Alda, Carmen Argenziano, Kirsten Larkin, William Boyett, Charles Durning, Ron O’Neal, Heetu, Rachel Roberts, Tony Beckley

“The ultimately slow-moving film is book-ended by some truly classic horror movie moments, but if you’re expecting a teen-slasher, you’re better off call-waiting for the remake. When A Stranger Calls is dated — no *69 back then, nothing but pencils and erasers to do your homework with — but that’s in large part what makes it work so well as a “What would you do?” psychological thriller.” – Staci Layne Wilson, Horror.com

222. (-7) Dèmoni

Lamberto Bava

AKA: Demons

1985 / Italy / 88m / Col / Splatter | IMDb
Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey, Karl Zinny, Fiore Argento, Paola Cozzo, Fabiola Toledo, Nicoletta Elmi, Stelio Candelli, Nicole Tessier, Geretta Geretta

“Sure, when you break it down nothing about this movie (co-written by Dario Argento) makes a lick of sense, but none of that matters at all because Bava throws so much unmitigated carnage, and havoc, and blood, and rage, and sheer terror at the screen that it just becomes a minute flaw. In the midst of these clawed, mindless, merciless, cunning monsters mutilating and tearing their poor human victims to pieces one is either too excited or horrified at the madness ensuing on screen that you never once stop to think “Wait–where is the goddamn story?” It doesn’t matter at all. Lamberto Bava is one of the few directors who have gotten away with creating a horror film with zero plot because the special effects and tension and mayhem are so well played and so brilliantly crafted that it becomes utterly irrelevant. For a low budget movie from the eighties, the make up is phenomenal and these monsters look absolutely bloodcurdling as if transferred from our worst nightmares and fears.” – Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed

Genres: Splatter, Supernatural Horror, Body Horror, Zombie

224. (-111) Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam

Carl Boese & Paul Wegener

AKA: The Golem

1920 / Germany / 91m / BW / Fantasy | IMDb
Paul Wegener, Albert Steinrück, Lyda Salmonova, Ernst Deutsch, Hans Stürm, Max Kronert, Otto Gebühr, Dore Paetzold, Lothar Müthel, Greta Schröder

“Paul Wegener directs and stars in an enduring example of German Expressionist horror, based on an ancient Jewish myth. A mystical rabbi brings a monster to life in a bid to save Prague’s Jews from the Holy Roman Empire. Like FW Murnau’s Nosferatu, Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari and Lang’s Metropolis, Wegener’s film is a vivid piece of darkly toned fantasy that exerted a powerful influence over both European cinema and Hollywood. James Whale’s 1931 Frankenstein is only the most obvious example of Der Golem’s visual and thematic legacy. Incorporating animation and eerie, coloured tints, Der Golem is striking to look at. ” – Jon Fortgang, Channel 4

Genres: German Expressionism, Fantasy, Horror, Medieval

226. (+252) Long Weekend

Colin Eggleston

1978 / Australia / 97m / Col / Natural Horror | IMDb
John Hargreaves, Briony Behets, Mike McEwen, Roy Day, Michael Aitkens, Sue Kiss von Soly

“Under Eggleston’s moody direction, even the most minute of sounds is over-amplified to explosive volume and the voyeuristic camerawork tends to be from the ground up, as though from the point-of-view of lurking critters – so that the wilderness locations, for all their natural beauty, seem to brim with the tension of unbearable foreboding. Neither Hargreaves, nor Behets, shrink from the narcissistic unpleasantness of their characters, in what are bravely unflattering performances. Best of all is the ending, which, though shockingly abrupt, is, within the film’s elaborate nexus of motifs, totally, perfectly right, only to be topped by a final, fern-laden image that is haunting enough to do Andrei Tarkovsky proud.” – Anton Bitel, Eye For Film

228. (+369) Silent Night, Deadly Night

Charles E. Sellier Jr.

1984 / USA / 79m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Robert Brian Wilson, Britt Leach, Nancy Borgenicht, H.E.D. Redford, Danny Wagner, Linnea Quigley, Leo Geter

“Silent Night, Deadly Night is a really decent slasher movie that is more than just a “tab-a into slot-b” horror. It delves deep into the mind of our protagonist and it raises interesting questions about nature vs. nurture and how this can effect the mind of someone who is already troubled. Billy may be doing the killings, but the true villain of the film is Mother Superior who shows no compassion for Billy’s troubled past. Watching his parents get murdered by a guy dressed as Santa was certainly the catalyst for Billy’s troubled childhood, but it is Mother Superior’s teachings that he’s dishing out – just on a more violent scale. Because of this, Silent Night, Deadly Night is a lot different to the slasher movies that were out at the time as it focused more on the psyche of its killer as opposed to just putting a guy in a mask and giving him killing implements.” – Luke Owen, Luke Writes Stuff

Genres: Slasher, Christmas, Psychological Horror, Exploitation, Psychological Thriller

230. (-54) Spider Baby or, the Maddest Story Ever Told

Jack Hill

AKA: Attack of the Liver Eaters

1967 / USA / 81m / Col / Black Comedy | IMDb
Lon Chaney Jr., Carol Ohmart, Quinn K. Redeker, Beverly Washburn, Jill Banner, Sid Haig, Mary Mitchel, Karl Schanzer, Mantan Moreland

“Jack Hill’s Spider Baby, or the Maddest Story Ever Told (1968) is first and foremost an oddity. It’s exploitation schlock horror that revels in its own schlockiness, and seems perfectly aware that it’s—in normal terms—a bad movie. Aspects of it are crude to the point of being amateurish. The film is clunky enough that it looks like a bargain basement offering from about 10 years earlier (granted, it was made four years before it was released). Yet, either in spite or because of these things, Spider Baby has an irresistable charm. This, after all, is not only a movie in which Lon Chaney, Jr. gives the best performance (roll that around in your mind), but one for which he sings the title song.” – Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress

Genres: Horror, Black Comedy, Gothic Horror, Cannibal, Southern Gothic, Hixploitation

232. (-19) The Blob

Chuck Russell

1988 / USA / 95m / Col / Body Horror | IMDb
Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch Jr., Jeffrey DeMunn, Candy Clark, Joe Seneca, Del Close, Paul McCrane, Sharon Spelman, Beau Billingslea

“Isolationism and false security are as much the targets of the ’88 model blob as hobos and horny jocks. For Russell and screenwriter Frank Darabont (whose The Majestic probably could’ve used an extended cameo by the flesh-eating distention), all are red herrings, and all meaning ascribed unto the attacks is strictly external to the creature itself, which only wants to eat people, and messily at that; the film belongs to the spectacular end of a special-effects era prior to the advent of CGI, and the half-campy, half-terrifying blob attacks are invariably lurid fun. Its attacks are rationalized through the corrupt filter of organized religion, though the blob is still a biological phenomenon, much like the disease that inspired so many activists to wear pink and take to the streets in protest over a needlessly politicized epidemic. Yes, the movie is more overt fun than the others of its ilk, but it tellingly ends with a holy man all too thrilled to deliver credit for the scourge directly to God’s doorstep.” – Eric Henderson, House Next Door

Genres: Body Horror, Science Fiction, Alien Invasion, Splatter, Teen Movie, Black Comedy, Giant Monster

234. (+145) Kill List

Ben Wheatley

2011 / UK / 95m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Harry Simpson, Michael Smiley, Emma Fryer, Struan Rodger, Esme Folley, Ben Crompton, Gemma Lise Thornton, Robin Hill

“It often looks like a film by Lynne Ramsay or even Lucrecia Martel, composed in a dreamily unhurried arthouse-realist style that is concerned to capture texture, mood and moment. Perhaps inspired by Thomas Clay’s The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael, Wheatley has set out to supersaturate ostensible normality with a flavour of evil. In many scenes he succeeds impressively. It’s not entirely clear if Kill List is more than the sum of its startlingly disparate parts, or if the ending lives up to the promise of something strange and new, but its confidence is beyond doubt.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Genres: Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Psychological Horror, Folk Horror, Family Drama, Psychological Drama, Vigilante

236. (+241) Nekromantik

Jörg Buttgereit

1987 / Germany / 75m / Col / Exploitation | IMDb
Bernd Daktari Lorenz, Beatrice Manowski, Harald Lundt, Colloseo Schulzendorf, Henri Boeck, Clemens Schwender, Jörg Buttgereit, Holger Suhr, Volker Hauptvogel

“Watching Nekromantik felt like being an accomplice to a crime. Guilty by association. The film has the same transgressive, sub-cultural feel as amateur porn or extremist political broadcast. Engineered purposefully to shock and challenge notions of taste and conformity, Buttgereit’s film feels political in itself. A provocation from the fringes to remind us the world is a volatile place, filled with unpleasant things. To deny the dark half of both our nature and all nature is to put oneself to sleep. Buttgereit’s film wakes you up, not with breakfast but with a direct, sharp slap.” – Peter Cox, The Lost Highway Hotel

238. (+408) Pâfekuto burû

Satoshi Kon

AKA: Perfect Blue

1997 / Japan / 81m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki ôkura, Yôsuke Akimoto, Yoku Shioya, Hideyuki Hori, Emi Shinohara, Masashi Ebara, Kiyoyuki Yanada

“This striking picture… [pulls] off the rare trick of telling a story worth doing in live action while managing visual effects only possible in the cartoon medium… Though it’s a neat woman-in-peril thriller, this is most striking as a look into the life of a Japanese media sensation, used up at the end of her teens, and squashed into a tiny apartment with her goldfish and too many ghosts. The film even goes so far as to expose the bizarre streak of paedophilia in Japanese pop culture, whereby it’s all right for a doll-like girl child to be a fantasy object but a sexual woman is shockingly transgressive. Perfect Blue is scary, funny, poignant and thoughtful, but also delivers thriller set-pieces that rank with the best of De Palma or Argento” – Kim Newman, Empire

240. (+112) Altered States

Ken Russell

1980 / USA / 102m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid, Thaao Penghlis, Miguel Godreau, Dori Brenner, Peter Brandon, Charles White-Eagle, Drew Barrymore

“The film’s real hook was—and is—the fantasy scenes, and these hold up remarkably well 30 years after the fact. There’s a true sense of wonder, awe and terror to them, and Russell—working with the biggest budget of his career—allowed his imagination to run wild. In fact, Altered States became a cult classic on this basis alone, being particularly cherished by the late-night stoner crowd, who had timed the film so they could sneak out for another toke or two during the dialogue scenes. While that’s amusing, it’s also rather unfortunate, because it obscures the fact that the film itself is pretty darn impressive on a number of other levels and has a cumulative emotional punch that’s quite unexpected.” – Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress

242. (+69) A Quiet Place

John Krasinski

2018 / USA / 90m / Col / Post-Apocalyptic | IMDb
Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cade Woodward, Leon Russom

“While it is mostly devoid of dialogue, it is a film rich in subtle textural detail. From the sand-strewn paths on which the family carefully tread to their simple white-light/red-light warning system, the visual tapestry of their everyday life is a constant reminder of how they cope with their predicament… despite its well-played jump scares, it operates at a deep emotional level. Aside from the fleeting appearance of an ill-fated elderly couple, there are no other human characters on screen; this apocalyptic tale is told entirely through the prism of a single family, one struggling to cope not only with actual monsters, but also with insidious personal demons of grief, blame and guilt.” – Nikki Baughan, Sight & Sound

Genres: Post-Apocalyptic, Horror, Thriller, Survival, Alien Invasion, Drama, Family Drama, Home Invasion

244. (-36) Frailty

Bill Paxton

2001 / USA / 100m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe, Matt O’Leary, Jeremy Sumpter, Luke Askew, Levi Kreis, Derk Cheetwood, Missy Crider, Alan Davidson

“A resoundingly old-fashioned and well crafted study of evil infecting an American family, “Frailty” moves from strength to strength on its deceptive narrative course. Though Brent Hanley’s script feels like it’s based on an account of white Anglo-Saxon serial killers run amok in middle America, it’s a genuine invention that has its cinematic roots in the rich soil plowed by such disparate works as Charles Laughton’s “Night of the Hunter” and Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Pic’s dark-night-of-the-soul mood derives from the former, while the latter inspired the notion that the family that kills together stays together. Final effect is of a timeless work that could have been made at any point in the past 20 years.” – Robert Koehler, Variety

Genres: Psychological Thriller, Southern Gothic, Psychological Horror, Family Drama, Drama, Low Fantasy, Vigilante

246. (-24) Gwoemul

Joon-ho Bong

AKA: The Host

2006 / South Korea / 120m / Col / Monster | IMDb
Kang-ho Song, Hie-bong Byeon, Hae-il Park, Doona Bae, Ah-sung Ko, Dal-su Oh, Jae-eung Lee, Dong-ho Lee, Je-mun Yun, David Anselmo

“The mood shifts wildly between comedy, horror, serious drama, and action – but Bong always seems in control and by the end leaves one feeling satisfied (though not overstuffed) with the results as it’s both exciting and ballsy. Even our protagonists have an endearing everydayness about them which makes them easy to root for. In spite of its assorted lumpy bits, this is a far more successful monster movie than any creature feature Hollywood has churned out in a LONG time.” – Garth Franklin, Dark Horizons

Genres: Giant Monster, Drama, Black Comedy, Satire, Thriller, Family Drama, Natural Horror

248. (+141) Under the Skin

Jonathan Glazer

2013 / UK / 108m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay, Dougie McConnell, Kevin McAlinden, D. Meade, Andrew Gorman, Joe Szula, Krystof Hádek

“Glazer reportedly spent ten years developing Under the Skin, and some aspects of it are so immaculately realized that they seem eerily inevitable. The audio design immerses the listener, its layered soundscapes suggesting how overwhelmed the alien might feel on earth. Glazer disorients the viewer through his use of the Steadicam, exploiting its uncannily smooth movement to suggest, as Stanley Kubrick did in The Shining, the perspective of a superhuman voyeur. The most impressive effects come during the seduction sequences, as Glazer creates the blank, ever-shifting environment of a nightmare… Like its protagonist, Under the Skin effectively draws us in while managing to stay beyond our grasp.” – Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader

Genres: Psychological Drama, Science Fiction, Extraterrestrial, Psychological Horror, Surrealism, Slow Cinema, Cosmic Horror, Alien Invasion, Erotic Thriller

250. (+218) Mil gritos tiene la noche

Juan Piquer Simón

AKA: Pieces

1982 / USA / 85m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Frank Braña, Edmund Purdom, Ian Sera, Paul L. Smith, Jack Taylor, Gérard Tichy, May Heatherly, Hilda Fuchs

“Throughout the course of the narrative we’re given absurd red herrings, hammy acting, and bad dubbing all set to the tune of pure nihilistic gore and grue that involves the shadowy figure mutilating these women in the most horrific ways imaginable and stealing parts of their bodies. The mystery leads us down many roads and suspects where Simon plays with the audiences perceptions and allows them a guess or two with tricky camera shots and slight of hand, but by the time the climax rolls around it’s clear he’s just given up and is intent on making the most out of this insane scenario while making his stamp on the horror genre living in cult infamy. “Pieces” is such a fun little blood soaked gem, you’ll be surprised if you don’t see it again immediately after to catch its little nuances.” – Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed

252. (+251) Beetle Juice

Tim Burton

1988 / USA / 92m / Col / Fantasy | IMDb
Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Annie McEnroe, Maurice Page, Hugo Stanger, Michael Keaton, Rachel Mittelman, Catherine O’Hara, J. Jay Saunders, Mark Ettlinger

“”Beetlejuice” is an extraspectral experience, a wonderfully wacko look at the hereafter’s relationship with the here and now. It’s a cartoon view of the afterlife landscape, where the living haunt the dead and death’s no escape from life’s little irritants – like waiting rooms and elevator music. Tim Burton, the Disney animator who directed “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” is the mind behind this stylish screwball blend of Capraesque fantasy, Marx Brothers anarchy and horror parody. And Michael Keaton is the juice that makes it go. He’s a stand-up zombie as the revolting free-lance bio-exorcist hired to help Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin, playing the Maitlands, a couple of flummoxed young newly deads… It’s strong on lines and situations, but absolutely, happily preposterous. And the moral is a fairy-tale bromide played for laughs: You can’t escape your problems.” – Rita Kempley, Washington Post

Genres: Fantasy, Comedy, Haunted House, Horror Comedy, Gothic, Black Comedy, Stop-Motion, Absurdist Comedy, Gothic Horror, Body Horror, Family Drama

254. (+4) Blue Velvet

David Lynch

1986 / USA / 120m / Col / Mystery | IMDb
Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Hope Lange, Dean Stockwell, George Dickerson, Priscilla Pointer, Frances Bay, Jack Harvey

“The most brilliantly disturbing film ever to have its roots in small-town American life. Shocking, visionary, rapturously controlled, its images of innocence and a dark, bruising sexuality drop straight into our unconscious where they rest like depth charges. Lynch has become a master at giving form to what is not permitted – rage, revulsion, our darkest imaginings – and by making them tangible, lets us acknowledge them… “Blue Velvet” takes us behind the working-class American facade, beneath the Technicolor grass, literally underground to the churning turmoil of black, shiny beetles below.” – Sheila Benson, Los Angeles Times

256. (+54) Children of the Corn

Fritz Kiersch

1984 / USA / 92m / Col / Supernatural | IMDb
Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, R.G. Armstrong, John Franklin, Courtney Gains, Robby Kiger, Anne Marie McEvoy, Julie Maddalena, Jonas Marlowe, John Philbin

“So Children of the Corn is goofy and campy, but it’s also awesome. The atmosphere is killer, evoked by some eerie shots of cornfields both in the daytime and at night – and it’s surprising how scary this is even when most of the film takes place during the day. The kids, while not GREAT actors, do get the job done and manage to come off as legitimately creepy rather than just silly. The main characters are both good, with real personalities and as an added bonus, they actually DO things rather than just letting things HAPPEN to them, which is a big problem a lot of horror movies have. By avoiding that pitfall, this movie has a lot of drive and momentum and remains consistently exciting all throughout its duration.” – Lawrence Griff, Doc Universe

Genres: Supernatural Horror, Folk Horror, Evil Children

258. (+122) Angst

Gerald Kargl

1983 / Austria / 87m / Col / Crime | IMDb
Erwin Leder, Robert Hunger-Bühler, Silvia Rabenreither, Karin Springer, Edith Rosset, Josefine Lakatha, Rudolf Götz, Renate Kastelik, Hermann Groissenberger, Claudia Schinko

“Kargl’s genius here is to show everything in real time, with numerous close-ups and diegetic sound. Viewers get to experience none of the pleasure (whether guilty or gleefully acknowledged) that comes from watching stylized, aestheticized killing—replete with slow-motion camerawork, overlapping edits and a meticulously composed mise-en-scene. Instead, writer-cinematographer Zbigniew Rybczynski alternates close-up point-of-view shots of the victim and her attacker and some canted overhead shots besides, constantly altering our relationship to the action. We have no one to identify with, or rather, no one person with whom to identify, experiencing not only the old woman’s terror but the killer’s increasing excitement and determination as well.” – Steven Jay Schneider, CE Review

260. (+7) Lost Highway

David Lynch

1997 / USA / 134m / Col / Mystery | IMDb
Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, John Roselius, Louis Eppolito, Jenna Maetlind, Michael Massee, Robert Blake, Henry Rollins, Michael Shamus Wiles, Mink Stole

“In a way, most of Lynch’s films have always been about fantasy, art or some other equivalent thereof wringing out truths of our human nature… What Lost Highway does is tie that theme directly to film noir, and cinema in general, revealing how the tropes and archetypes of the genre and the medium are interlinked with human truths like guilt, sexual frustration, love, heroism, etc… but Lost Highway‘s melding of elements from other genres like science-fiction, fantasy, psychological thrillers, and more make it beyond subversive and downright ahead of its time. And Lost Highway is only the first movie of Lynch’s to incorporate the cinematic language into his stories.” – Christopher Runyon, Movie Mezzanine

262. (+80) Grave

Julia Ducournau

AKA: Raw

2016 / France / 99m / Col / Cannibal | IMDb
Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella, Laurent Lucas, Joana Preiss, Bouli Lanners, Marion Vernoux, Thomas Mustin, Marouan Iddoub, Jean-Louis Sbille

“This exhilarating French-Belgian debut from writer/director Julia Ducournau is a feast for ravenous cinephiles, an extreme yet intimate tale of identity crises that blends Cronenbergian body horror with humour and heartbreak as it sinks its teeth deep into the sins of the flesh… Directed with the same cross-genre dexterity as Kathryn Bigelow’s seminal vampire western Near Dark, Raw is a thrillingly confident and vigorously executed work. From the chilling opening shot of a car crash to the woozy, single-take sojourns through drunken student raves, Ducournau and cinematographer Ruben Impens lead us effortlessly into Justine’s underworld. A tethered horse on a treadmill canters in slow motion through Justine’s tortured dreams, while scratching fits and metamorphosing sweats are captured from within the claustrophobic confines of imprisoning bed-sheets.” – Mark Kermode, The Observer

Genres: Coming-of-Age, Cannibal, Body Horror, New French Extremity, Black Comedy, Family Drama, Psychological Drama

264. (+124) Deliverance

John Boorman

1972 / USA / 109m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Ed Ramey, Billy Redden, Seamon Glass, Randall Deal, Bill McKinney, Herbert ‘Cowboy’ Coward

“‘Deliverance’ is a movie of contrasts, the primary one emphasizing the differences between modern Man, with his impulse to change things, and primal Nature, with its pristine beauty. Man chews up the landscape, as symbolized by the bulldozers and earth movers we see at the beginning, and spits it out. The four city slickers, eager to commune with what they view as the underlying structure of the universe, are ironic emblems of the modern world’s need to destroy for its own good. Despite their being a part of the root problem, they’re out to prove their understanding of the wild by taming a river, a river the state is about to dam up and spoil forever… At its most fundamental level ‘Deliverance’ is a story of survival, but it’s not just about surviving the hazards of the wilderness; it’s about surviving one’s own heart of darkness, about confronting one’s basest needs and accepting or rejecting them.” – John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis

266. (+109) The Monster Squad

Fred Dekker

1987 / USA / 79m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, Stephen Macht, Duncan Regehr, Tom Noonan, Brent Chalem, Ryan Lambert, Ashley Bank, Michael Faustino, Mary Ellen Trainor

“Although a heart felt tribute to the great movie monsters of filmland this little gem was especially appealing to an 80s kid because it dared to stick an affectionate middle- finger up at the stately Hammer Horror movies that were concurrently screened on our TVs ad nauseum. This movie opens with Van Helsing fucking up! It also depicts the classic character of the Wolf Man being kicked in the nuts! That singular boot to the balls kick starts the Squad’s ascendancy to a force to be reckoned with and also acted as the ultimate revenge for a legion of sleep deprived kids haunted by late night werewolf TV escapades.” – Dan Palmer, You’ve Got Red On You

268. (-52) The Dead Zone

David Cronenberg

1983 / USA / 103m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Dewhurst, Martin Sheen, Nicholas Campbell, Sean Sullivan, Jackie Burroughs

“It makes for gripping supernatural drama, all the more notable because it wasn’t quite what any of the principals had done before or since. Walken rarely gets a chance to play Ordinary Guy like he does here, while Cronenberg’s penchant for the weird and obtuse is abandoned without losing the exquisite sensibilities that make him such a great filmmaker. Even King moved in a slightly different direction with this one, staying away from straight-up horror for one of the first times in its career. It kind of sneaks up on you. This is not a noisy film, and won’t attract the kind of spotlights that an evil Plymouth or rabid St. Bernard might. But it delves deeper than they do for its ideas, and travels much further as a result.” – Rob Vaux, Mania.com

Genres: Low Fantasy, Drama, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Political Thriller, Psychological Drama

270. (+65) God Told Me To

Larry Cohen

AKA: Demon

1976 / USA / 91m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Tony Lo Bianco, Deborah Raffin, Sandy Dennis, Sylvia Sidney, Sam Levene, Robert Drivas, Mike Kellin, Richard Lynch, Sammy Williams, Jo Flores Chase

“A delirious mix of sci-fi, pseudo-religious fantasy and horror detective thriller, with Lo Bianco as the perfect existential anti-hero – a New York cop and closet Catholic, guiltily trapped between wife and mistress. His investigations into a bizarre spate of mass murders lead right to the top: Jesus Christ, no less, is provoking innocent citizens to go on a murderous rampage. God Told Me To overflows with such perverse and subversive notions that no amount of shoddy editing and substandard camerawork can conceal the film’s unusual qualities. Digging deep into the psyche of American manhood, it lays bare the guilt-ridden oppressions of a soulless society.” – SW, Time out

272. (+199) They Live

John Carpenter

1988 / USA / 94m / Col / Science Fiction | IMDb
Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George ‘Buck’ Flower, Peter Jason, Raymond St. Jacques, Jason Robards III, John Lawrence, Susan Barnes, Sy Richardson

“It’s an effective ploy, forcing us to confront certain basic facts about the state of the world around us without sounding preachy, and it articulates a decidedly working-class anger in response to social iniquity without sounding self-righteous. And it does all of this while retaining the surface appeal of its B-movie origins, frequently (and entertainingly) indulging in the seductive spectacle of ghouls and guns in combat—though always with ulterior motives.” – Calum Marsh, Slant Magazine

274. (+49) Honogurai mizu no soko kara

Hideo Nakata

AKA: Dark Water

2002 / Japan / 101m / Col / J-Horror | IMDb
Hitomi Kuroki, Rio Kanno, Mirei Oguchi, Asami Mizukawa, Fumiyo Kohinata, Yu Tokui, Isao Yatsu, Shigemitsu Ogi, Maiko Asano, Yukiko Ikari

“Nakata is a master of the uncanny, able to transform something as innocent as a little girl’s shoulder bag into an object to inspire terror. “Dark Water” positively oozes atmosphere, building up the tension slowly before allowing it to overflow into irrational shocks and strange epiphanies. Yet just beneath its surface horror this film conceals a deep reservoir of tragedy, addressing themes like family breakdown, isolation, abandonment, and – something of a taboo in Japan – the terrible legacy of mental illness. In the end, the keynote of “Dark Water” is not so much horror as an overwhelming sadness, in this masterpiece of tormented souls.” – Anton Bitel, Movie Gazette

Genres: J-Horror, Haunted House, Drama, Mystery, Psychological Horror, Family Drama, Melodrama, Psychological Thriller

276. (+183) The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Jim Sharman

1975 / USA / 100m / Col / Musical | IMDb
Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Jonathan Adams, Peter Hinwood, Meat Loaf, Charles Gray

“There had never been – and, since its release, never has been – a movie like The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In terms of both the successfully over-the-top mixture of horror, camp, rock’n’roll, science fiction, sexual transgression, and purposefully bad B-movie dialogue within the film itself and the even more over-the-top behavior it has inspired in audiences during midnight screenings for decades, it is absolutely unique in the annals of cinema… it has not only become the ultimate cult object, but has been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the USA National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”” – James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

278. (+86) Us

Jordan Peele

2019 / USA / 116m / Col / Psychological | IMDb
Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon, Madison Curry

“Peele develops a genuinely thrilling, heart-in-the-throat-scary horror picture. The archly creepy doubles – called “the Tethered,” after the manner in which they are existentially bound to their above-ground versions, like shadows – are a monster worthy of the Universal logo that precedes the film’s opening titles. Peele exhibits a mastery of his camera, of managing suspense, and of teasing (and rewarding) the intimation of violence. He’s also an exceptionally talented director of actors. Nyong’o’s physicality in her dual role as both herself and her Tether is revelatory.” – John Semley, Globe and Mail

Genres: Psychological Thriller, Slasher, Home Invasion, Mystery, Black Comedy, Psychological Horror, Satire

280. (+23) Nightbreed

Clive Barker

1990 / USA / 102m / Col / Fantasy | IMDb
Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg, Charles Haid, Hugh Quarshie, Hugh Ross, Doug Bradley, Catherine Chevalier, Malcolm Smith, Bob Sessions

“One can hardly be too upset when a film is exuberant and grandiose in the way Nightbreed is; after all, Barker’s fiction (like Stephen King’s, now that I think of it—no wonder Barker earned an endorsement from the master) often sends audiences hurtling down rabbit hole after rabbit hole—it’s not enough for Nightbreed to focus on a secret society of monsters and its prophecies, so it follows that there would also be a bloodthirsty butcher from a slasher flick hunting them down. That the two modes sometimes find difficulty jelling seems besides the point—the film might be exhausting, but it’s equally as breathtaking whenever Barker really lets loose and indulges the most unhinged parts of his macabre id, where men and monsters spill each other’s bloods among gothic ruins.” – Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!

282. (+273) Cape Fear

Martin Scorsese

1991 / USA / 128m / Col / Thriller | IMDb
Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Martin Balsam, Illeana Douglas, Fred Dalton Thompson

“As originally directed by J. Lee Thompson, “Cape Fear” pitted the wholesome Bowdens against the unsavory Max, a convicted rapist intent on exacting revenge against Sam, who years earlier had testified against Max at his trial. Despite the sexy insolence of Robert Mitchum’s performance, that film’s struggle was essentially a one-note one between good and evil. Mr. Scorsese, not being prone to such oversimplifications, has done his best to muddy the waters… he has invested the Bowdens (now played by Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange) with a history of marital infidelity, turned their daughter into a rebellious nymphet, altered the circumstances of the rape trial and given Max’s vengeance a biblical dimension.” – Janet Maslin, New York Times

284. (-82) Dead of Night

Bob Clark

1974 / Canada / 88m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Richard Backus, Henderson Forsythe, Anya Ormsby, Jane Daly, Michael Mazes, Arthur Anderson, Arthur Bradley, David Gawlikowski

“Part of the reason that Deathdream has captivated audiences throughout the last thirty years is the understated and creepy way in which it unfolds. Although evident from the first few scenes, the film never explicitly reveals that Andy is actually dead until more than halfway through, adding a level of ambiguity to his sinister actions. This charges the film with a sense of mystery and encourages the audience to piece together the plot themselves. Although effective as a flat-out horror film, Deathdream was also one of the first films to be critical of the Vietnam War, focusing on the lingering effects of the conflict on soldiers returning to America. The stress disorders and drug addiction that many veterans experienced are alluded to, but more importantly, this film is filled with sense that the war has changed not only Andy, but the entire country. Ormsby’s screenplay portrays Andy as the ultimate corrupted innocent, a survivor (although not in the strictest sense of the word) of an experience that literally left him dead inside.” – Canuxploitation

Genres: Horror, Zombie, Canuxploitation, Vampire, Psychological Horror

286. (+57) Dead & Buried

Gary Sherman

1981 / USA / 94m / Col / Zombie | IMDb
James Farentino, Melody Anderson, Jack Albertson, Dennis Redfield, Nancy Locke, Lisa Blount, Robert Englund, Bill Quinn, Michael Currie, Christopher Allport

“However, Dead and Buried isn’t great simply because it’s a little unique; instead, it works because it’s just a solidly entertaining film featuring good performances and a sense of spooky mystery that pervades the entire thing. A morbidity that’s both sort of grim and cheeky hangs in the air; the stark violence is off-set by the presence of the quirky mortician and other folksy, small town charms. There’s a sense that something is just a bit off from the moment a photographer is savagely set aflame by a mob that seemingly materializes from nowhere. The film hides its cards well as more, similarly bizarre events happen that allow you to begin connecting the dots; it plays its best, most twisted hand last, though.” – Brett Gallman, Oh, The Horror!

288. (+435) The Nightmare Before Christmas

Henry Selick

1993 / USA / 76m / Col / Musical | IMDb
Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens, Ken Page, Edward Ivory, Susan McBride, Debi Durst

“Only the deliciously demented imagination of Edward Scissorhands director Tim Burton could have come up with such a dark vision of the holiday season. Producing here, Burton called on the services of innovative animation director Henry Selick and composer Danny Elfman for this wonderfully weird fable. Packed with scary spooks, gags and dazzling décor, it enchants with every busy frame as spindly Jack Skellington, the mastermind behind Halloween, hijacks Christmas out of boredom, becoming a frightening Santa delivering nasty surprises instead of presents to terrified children. The film’s affectionate trashing of Christmas traditions is conceptually cunning and clever enough to please every generation, making it an unmissable treat that’s destined to become as great a yuletide favourite as The Wizard of Oz.” – Alan Jones, Radio Times

290. (-24) Theater of Blood

Douglas Hickox

AKA: Much Ado About Murder

1973 / UK / 104m / Col / Comedy | IMDb
Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews, Coral Browne, Robert Coote, Jack Hawkins, Michael Hordern, Arthur Lowe, Robert Morley

“The magnum opus of Vincent Price’s film career, this stylish, witty comedy horror boasts an irresistible premise, an inspired ensemble cast, fabulous music and first-rate production values. In a part he was born to play, Price is classically trained actor Edward Lionheart, who murders theatre critics using famous death scenes from Shakespeare’s plays as payback for being dismissive of his talents. Aided by his faithful daughter Edwina (Diana Rigg) and a group of tramps, Lionheart plans each killing with elaborate inventiveness and cunning disguise. Price does a superior job portraying an inferior actor and mines every nuance of tragedy and comedy with triumphant brilliance and delicious gusto. The result is enormously enjoyable.” – Alan Jones, Radio Times

292. (+232) Evil Dead

Fede Alvarez

2013 / USA / 91m / Col / Splatter | IMDb
Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore, Phoenix Connolly, Jim McLarty, Sian Davis, Stephen Butterworth, Karl Willetts

“Evil Dead is relentless. Once it starts, it never lets up. It becomes a constant barrage of gory fun, and in the spirit of the original, Alvarez and his team use make-up and real-world special effects rather than relying solely on CGI. Another distinctive and key part of the original series were the off-kilter and exaggerated camera angles. Alvarez adopts the film language of Raimi’s films, adds more to the bag of tricks, and keeps the sardonic attitude without necessarily being slapstick.” – Eric Melin, Scene Stealers

Genres: Splatter, Supernatural Horror, Body Horror, Survival

294. (+255) Gokseong

Hong-jin Na

AKA: The Wailing

2016 / South Korea / 156m / Col / Mystery | IMDb
Do-won Kwak, Jung-min Hwang, Jun Kunimura, Woo-hee Chun, Hwan-hee Kim, Jin Heo, So-yeon Jang, Han-Cheol Jo, Chang-gyu Kil, Do-Yoon Kim

“A tense blend of genres, The Wailing succeeds at combining a mood of deep unease with visceral gore, buddy cop comedy, and a hallucinogenic mix of horror tropes, and in this sense the film becomes a unique creation of its own, setting its terrible events against the gorgeous landscapes and mountains of South Korea. And although overlong and not without flaws, there is enough in The Wailing to warrant a viewing, and the subtle force of the film confirms Na Hong-jin’s reputation as a director to be reckoned with.” – Pamela Jahn, Electric Sheep

Genres: Mystery, Supernatural Horror, K-Horror, Thriller, Police Procedural, K-Horror, Folk Horror, Black Comedy

296. (-24) Blood Feast

Herschell Gordon Lewis

1963 / USA / 67m / Col / Splatter | IMDb
William Kerwin, Mal Arnold, Connie Mason, Lyn Bolton, Scott H. Hall, Christy Foushee, Ashlyn Martin, Astrid Olson, Sandra Sinclair, Gene Courtier

“When asked in a 1982 interview if he’d ever been offended by a film, John Carpenter opined, “Yes, I have. There was a movie called ‘Blood Feast’…” This notorious item, the work of cult favorite and “Godfather of Gore” Herschell Gordon Lewis, was the first real American splatter film (of course, foreign movies ranging from 1960’s Jigoku to the Hammer films all the way back to Un Chien Andalou had been distributing plasma for years). As such, it enjoys an avid following that has nothing much to do with its quality ? or lack thereof; in fact, its fans treasure its very dearth of professionalism.” – Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

298. (+157) Friday the 13th Part 2

Steve Miner

1981 / USA / 87m / Col / Slasher | IMDb
Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King, Kirsten Baker, Stuart Charno, Warrington Gillette, Walt Gorney, Marta Kober, Tom McBride, Bill Randolph

“Friday the 13th Part 2 is every bit as crude, senseless, and blunt as they accuse it of being, and it’s not surprising that discerning filmgoers with higher aspirations than the slasher genre offers would find it somewhat unnerving to be in a roomful of kids who seem to revel in make-believe bloodlust. Friday the 13th Part 2 cannot be defended intellectually, yet, the film’s very simplicity and directness gives it a kind of folkloric power, albeit power that works only if you give yourself over to it. If you do, it not only allows you to find a queasy sense of pleasure in being unashamedly goosed and grossed out, but also to ignore just how utterly nonsensical the film’s ending actually is.” – James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

300. (-160) The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Wallace Worsley

1923 / USA / 133m / BW / Drama | IMDb
Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Kate Lester, Winifred Bryson, Nigel De Brulier, Brandon Hurst, Ernest Torrence, Tully Marshall, Harry von Meter

“The storytelling is mix of the grandiose and the clumsy, with Chaney largely anchoring the film and the size and scope of the spectacle elevating production. The sets are magnificent, the biggest that Universal had built to date (the giant exterior of the cathedral and surrounding building remained standing for decades and were reused for Universal’s defining horror classics of the thirties)… Chaney’s make-up is spectacularly grotesque… But the make-up is only the surface. Chaney gave Quasimodo a dynamic physical life, scrambling down climbing ropes (he was at times doubled by a stunt man) or hanging from the bell rope like a big kid, and a childlike innocence that gave every emotion a purity and intensity that drove his loyalties.” – Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies

Genres: Melodrama, Period Drama, Medieval, Tragedy, Horror, Romance