This March marks the centenary of 1922’s Nosferatu, the granddaddy of horror cinema, which will be commemorated by a limited theatrical run. You can read Keiron Self’s review here, while Hannah Collins looks through time at 10 of the century’s most important horror films, and where you can watch them, below.
DRACULA (1931)
While Nosferatu is pure vampy horror, Tod Browning and Garrett Fort’s first sound film adaptation is where Bram Stoker’s creation was given the iconic look and feel the monster has become synonymous with. A star-making turn for the also iconic Bela Lugosi in a film considered to be formatively genre-defining for horror cinema, in general, from then on out.
Watch it on YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV+.
CAT PEOPLE (1942)
When a jealous wife starts to believe sexual stimulation can transform her into a panther, French director Jacques Tourneur’s feline femme fatale is born. Cat People gave rise to a slew of copycat seductive monstresses and established cities, rather than rural or suburban areas, as appropriate supernatural settings – Rosemary’s Baby and Candyman would follow suit. (The 80s remake features a cracking David Bowie theme song.)
Watch it on BBC iPlayer.
PSYCHO (1960)
It’s impossible to talk about horror cinema without talking about this Hitchcock classic. Based on Robert Bloch’s novel, Psycho changed the genre forever with a real serial human killer at its centre rather than a fictional creature, making it arguably the earliest ‘slasher’ film. Both stylish and sensational, it led the way for an artsy horror renaissance in the 60s.
Watch it on YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ or the BFI Player.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
George A. Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead is not only one of the most influential zombie films ever made, but it also helped pave the way for independent filmmakers like John Carpenter, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, Brian De Palma, and more. Dismissed for its gore initially, it has since become beloved for its groundbreaking effects, social satire and suspense-building.
Watch it on BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV+.
THE EXORCIST (1973)
A film for which urban legends around its production and release have made its very existence as ‘cursed’ as its contents. Directed by William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist became the blueprint for every possession movie, the highest-grossing horror ever (until 2017’s It) and the first to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.
Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
HALLOWEEN (1978)
Not only did synth master John Carpenter pick up the baton from Psycho for Halloween, codifying the profitable slasher genre, he also cast Hitchcock’s scream queen Janet Leigh’s daughter to play ‘final girl’ Laurie Strode, Jamie Lee Curtis. Without silent, faceless serial killer Michael Myers there’d be no endless sequels, Freddy, Jason – or Freddy vs. Jason.
Watch it on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or StarzPlay.
SCREAM (1996)
Not content with giving the world jokester dream demon Freddy Kruger, horror legend Wes Craven revived the flagging slasher genre in the 90s with Scream, a postmodern franchise whose self-referentiality both celebrated and skewered tired horror tropes. That, along with its blood and guts, score and celebrity cast, make it one of the teen horror category’s best.
Watch it on YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV+.
AUDITION (1999)
From the same Japanese company that made J-Horror classic Ring, Audition might be far lesser-known but played an important role, unfortunately, in inspiring the grim ‘torture porn’ films of the 00s, like Saw and Hostel. What makes Audition shocking to this day is that, unlike its American imitators, it’s a slow-burner: you won’t see the violence coming until it’s too late.
Watch it on YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV+.
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999)
Though not the first to do so, The Blair Witch Project is credited with reigniting the use of so-called ‘found footage’ in horror and suspense films. Simulating a trio of student filmmakers’ non-returnable trip to the woods, its documentary style was cheap to produce and innovatively marketed online, making it one of the most profitable indie movies ever.
Watch it on Netflix, YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV+.
GET OUT (2017)
The ‘elevated’ horror trend of now encompasses films from the likes of Blumhouse and A24, with Jordan Peele’s directorial debut at its forefront. The brilliance of Get Out is its mix of folk horror, noir and social commentary, propelling it to become a box office and cultural phenomenon, and establishing Peele as one of the most exciting creators working today.
Watch it on YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV+.
The hi-def restoration of Nosferatu is available on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment. The film will also return to UK cinemas for special one-day screenings from Fri 25 Mar. Info: here
words HANNAH COLLINS
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