While they are old, they still hold up as terrifying horror movies.
Almost every moviegoer loves the chills and thrills that come with the horror genre. Whether it’s a cult classic slasher film or a suspenseful ghost story, horror movies typically have something for every film fanatic out there. The genre has been around since the early days of cinema and initially took on a life of its own with Universal Pictures’ iconic monster movies like Frankenstein and Dracula and borrowing from the pages of critically acclaimed authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and H.G. Wells.
Since then, the horror genre has come a long way, but while many classic horror films are idolized and admired today, including The Invisible Man starring Claude Rains and Alfred Hitchcock‘s Psycho, there are plenty of underrated titles like The Innocents and Night of the Demon, that fail to land on horror fans’ radar. When it comes to the array of notable pictures from the Golden Age of Hollywood, these are the 10 most underrated classic horror films, ranked!
10 ‘Peeping Tom’ (1960)
Directed by Michael Powell
Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) is an aspiring filmmaker in London who has an unusual obsession with fear and, out of curiosity, he starts making various movies featuring shots of his victim’s terrifying final moments. As he lives a double life as a serial killer, he meets and begins dating a young woman, Helen Stephens (Anna Massey), but his new relationship is jeopardized as the police slowly begin to close in on Mark.
According to Collider’s Raquel Hollman, Peeping Tom is the ultimate found footage feature noted for its intense close-ups and unconventional opening which, instead of building up to the killer’s heinous crimes, throws audiences immediately into the bloody mix of seduction and murder. Initially, the film earned negative reviews from critics, mainly for its gruesome subject matter and violence, but in recent years, Peeping Tom has been regarded as a cult classic masterpiece and is credited as one of the first contemporary slasher films.
9 ‘The Spiral Staircase’ (1946)
Directed by Robert Siodmak
Helen (Dorothy McGuire) is a young mute woman who has worked for several years at a mansion in New England, but when a serial killer begins targeting women with afflictions and continues to evade local authorities, she plans to leave the house for her own safety. Before she’s able to get out of town, the killer closes in on her and as she tries to escape with her life, she discovers that the killer is someone she has known all along.
The Spiral Staircase is a gripping who-dun-it, with an effective blend of the horror and film noir genres starring George Brent, Rhonda Fleming, and Ethel Barrymore. Noted as a prime example of 1940s horror in Recovering 1940s Horror Cinema: Traces of a Lost Decade by Anne Golden, The Spiral Staircase earned positive reviews from critics, who praised the upstanding performances by the overall cast and the film’s unwavering level of suspense. While some might feel as though the identity of the killer is obvious, The Spiral Staircase manages to pull out one final trick with a rare, but climatic finale that sets it apart from other classic horror films.
8 ‘The Black Castle’ (1952)
Directed by Nathan H. Juran
When two friends of Sir Ronald Burton (Richard Greene) go missing, he visits their last location, the castle of Count Carl von Bruno (Stephen McNally), under an alias and searches for any trace of his friends. While he conducts his investigation, he learns that his friends fell victim to the Count’s plan of revenge and, now stuck in the trap himself, he must find a way out before it’s too late.
The horror melodrama, The Black Castle, includes every element of a classic gothic horror film and was one of Universal Pictures’ last old-fashioned costumed pictures. The film features noteworthy art direction and cinematography paired with a more than capable cast who successfully deliver a ghoulish tale of murder and revenge. With horror legend, Boris Karloff, among the cast, The Black Castle delivers exceptional chills with a twist of ghostly terror and frights, ranking it as one of the most underrated classic horror films.
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7 ‘The Uninvited’ (1944)
Directed by Lewis Allen
Dial M for Murder star, Ray Milland, stars in the underrated horror mystery, The Uninvited, as a composer, Rick Fitzgerald, who, while vacationing off the English coast with his sister, Pamela (Ruth Hussey), discovers an abandoned 18th century house and decides to purchase it. The owner (Donald Crisp) informs the siblings that the home used to belong to his daughter, who tragically passed away, but despite the objections of his granddaughter, Stella (Gail Russell), he agrees to sell it. As Rick and Pamela move in, they quickly find themselves fighting off ghostly spirits with the help of Stella.
The Uninvited is a haunting film based on the 1941 novel, Uneasy Freehold, written by Dorothy Macradle, and was part of a string of supernatural movies that first began to appear in the mid-1940s. Milland and Hussey are a convincing duo, but Russell delivers an elusively charming performance that keeps audiences guessing about her intentions from beginning to end. The film earned positive reviews from critics, who almost unanimously agreed that while The Uninvited features several clichés and well-covered gimmicks, it still amounts to a good jump scare feature.
6 ‘The Old Dark House’ (1932)
Directed by James Whale
During a terrible thunderstorm in Wales, Philip Waverton (Raymond Massey), his wife, Margaret (Gloria Stuart), and their friend, Roger (Melvyn Douglas), get lost in the storm while driving and seek shelter in a desolate country home owned by the Femm family. The weary travelers are hesitantly welcomed into the Femm’s home, but as they get to know their hosts, they realize there’s something off about them and when they’re joined by a chorus girl (Lillian Bond), things begin to take an unexpected and terrifying turn.
The Old Dark House is a hidden horror gem based on the 1927 novel, Benighted, written by J.B. Priestley and also stars Boris Karloff and Charles Laughton. Unfortunately, The Old Dark House was not a commercial success and when Universal lost the rights to Priestley’s work, it eventually fell out of circulation. Deemed a lost film, it was discovered years later by director, Curtis Harrington and, with the help of George Eastman House, the film was restored and has since earned astounding critical acclaim. Despite its initial failure, The Old Dark House is now deemed an essential cult classic and a must-see for any diehard horror fan.
5 ‘The House of the Seven Gables’ (1940)
Directed by Joe May
Based on the 1851 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of Seven Gables stars George Sanders and The Prince of Horror, Vincent Price, as brothers, Jaffrey and Clifford Pyncheon who come from a family consumed by misfortune which for centuries have been blamed on a so-called family curse. When their father announces that he is going to sell the home to pay off the family’s debt, Jaffrey has different plans for the property and after a scuffle leads to his father’s death, he frames his brother for the murder.
Price and Sanders are sublime in the horror period picture, The House of Seven Gables, which meticulously toes the line between supernatural and reality as audiences are torn between believing the validity of a potential family curse or if it’s just simply pure greed. At the time of the film’s release, Price and Sanders, who were relatively unknown, received positive reviews for their performances, leading to a significant boost in both of their blossoming careers. While The House of Seven Gables may lean more towards mystery than horror, it still conjures up enough suspense and terror to satisfy any horror fan.
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4 ‘The Seventh Victim’ (1943)
Directed by Mark Robson
When a young woman, Mary (Kim Hunter), learns that her older sister, Jacqueline (Jean Brooks) has gone missing, she departs from her boarding school and travels to New York City to try and find her. Once there, she arrives at her sister’s apartment, finding various clues pointing to potential foul play and, with the help of a psychiatrist (Tom Conway), Mary is drawn further into a dark web of the city’s underworld that eventually leads her to a satanic cult.
The Seventh Victim wasn’t a hit at the box office and initially earned mixed reviews, but the film does a fantastic job of gradually building up the suspense of the plot, starting with a humble, quiet beginning to a hair-raising finale. According to the Los Angeles Times, The Seventh Victim might prove disappointing to those who enjoy hardboiled mysteries, but there are enough thrills and chills to make up for it. The Seventh Victim may not have initially been a hit, but in recent years, it has been reevaluated as one of the most underrated horror films of its time.
3 ‘Wait Until Dark’ (1967)
Directed by Terence Young
Classic actress and icon, Audrey Hepburn, stars in the horror psychological thriller, Wait Until Dark, as a blind young wife, Susy, whose husband, Sam (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.), brings home a doll one day which he was given by a woman at the airport. Unbeknownst to them, the doll contains bags of heroin and when Sam has to leave for business, the doll’s intended receivers make their move to retrieve it. When they discover Susy is all alone, a suspenseful game of cat and mouse ensues, terrorizing the poor woman to her core.
Known for her light-hearted, bubbly roles, Hepburn goes against type in this underrated classic horror film which also stars Alan Arkin as the ruthless criminal leader, Harry Roat. With nail-biting intensity and Hepburn’s honest performance, Wait Until Dark revitalizes the age-old theme of a helpless woman against unfavorable odds tailored with juicy moments of authentic psychological horror. While Wait Until Dark originally earned mixed reviews from critics, it still earned Hepburn an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and currently holds a fresh score of 96% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
2 ‘Night of the Demon’ (1957)
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Dana Andrews stars in the British horror film, Night of the Demon, as an American psychologist and professor, John Holden, who arrives in London for a conference only to discover that his colleague who he was supposed to meet with was killed in a freak accident. He learns that his colleague had recently been investigating a satanic cult led by Dr. Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis) and others speculate that he may have gotten too close. Even though Holden is skeptical, he picks up where his friend left off and uncovers a world that makes him question everything he knows about science and faith.
Released in the United States as Curse of the Demon, Night of the Demon is an adaptation of the 1911 short story, Casting the Runes, written by M.R. James. Considering the time of the film’s original release, the special effects aren’t top-notch and the final reveal of the creature has been criticized, but despite its shortcomings and only being a slight commercial success, Night of the Demon is considered to be one of the greatest horror films of all time. In 2019, Oscar-winning director, Martin Scorsese, included Night of the Demon in his list of 11 scariest movies of all time.
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1 ‘The Innocents’ (1961)
Directed by Jack Clayton
In the gothic psychological horror film, The Innocents, Deborah Kerr stars as a young woman, Miss Giddens, who takes a job as a governess for two young children who are under the care of their uncle (Michael Redgrave). As Giddens begins to notice strange occurrences around the large home, the children, Miles and Flora (Martin Stephens, Pamela Franklin), try to convince her that the place is haunted, and as they begin to show unusual behavior, Giddens starts to believe that there are supernatural forces at work.
Based on the 1898 novella, The Turn of the Screw, written by Henry James, The Innocents is ranked as one of Truman Capote‘s best adaptations and admired primarily for Kerr’s dangerously dark and wicked performance. While the film initially earned mixed reviews, The Innocents has since earned immense praise from film critics and filmmakers, including Guillermo Del Torro, who cites the film as inspiration for his 2015 gothic horror film, Crimson Peak. The Innocents is a stylishly crafted ghost story and a first-rate thriller, making it one if not the most underrated classic horror films of all time.
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This article was originally published on collider.com