1. Psycho (1960)
2. Peeping Tom (1960)
Released in 1960, the same year as Psycho, Peeping Tom has been endlessly compared to that film for over five decades. Both have been argued to be the first slasher film. Whereas Psycho was a runaway success, English auteur Michael Powell’s psychological drama about a serial killer who murders women while using a portable movie camera to record their terrorized dying expressions was a notorious bomb. Though Powell’s technical mastery was undeniable and he was previously thought of as one of the nation’s finest filmmakers, critics of the time trashed Peeping Tom for what was perceived as sadism and depravity; Powell’s career never recovered.
3. Freaks (1932)
Here’s another one of the most important horror films ever made, and another one that ruined the director’s career. Following the enormous success of 1931’s Dracula, studio filmmaker Tod Browning was given the freedom to make whatever he wanted. He did, and Freaks was horrifying in ways 1932 couldn’t handle. The story of a heartless woman who swindles a wealthy midget into marriage, and thusly becomes the target of violent revenge by the man’s sideshow performer friends, Freaks was so shocking that a woman in the first test screening threatened to sue MGM because she claimed the film caused her to have a miscarriage. The studio drastically cut the film, down from 90 minutes to just over an hour, removing most of the film’s grisly final act.
4. The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
Shot at the same time and on the same RKO sets as 1933’s King Kong, using many of that film’s cast and crew, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s adaptation of Richard Connell’s short story got away with a considerable amount of violence because it was released right before the Hays Censorship Code went into effect in 1934. The film stars Joel McCrea and Fay Wray as castaways who are hunted for sport by a madman on his jungle island. Though this is equal parts horror and adventure film, images like a severed trophy head submerged in water are alarming even by today’s standards.
5. Eyes Without a Face(1960)
1960 was one hell of a year for iconic horror films. Georges Franju’s haunting French thriller Eyes Without a Face (Les yeaux sans visage) is about a mad doctor who kidnaps young women, incidentally killing them as he attempts to find a new face for his daughter who was disfigured in a car accident for which he was responsible. The film’s centerpiece is a graphic, unflinching depiction of a heterograft—a face transplant. When the movie premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival, seven people fainted, to which Franju famously responded, “Now I know why Scotsmen wear skirts.” Eyes Without a Face was butchered in editing, given an English re-dub and retitled The Horror Chamber of Doctor Faustus [interesting title because there’s no one named Doctor Faustus in the movie] for its initial 1962 stateside release, one half of an exploitation double bill with something called The Manster. Over the years, critics have accepted the film’s considerable artistic merits; in 2003 Eyes Without a Face was released uncensored in American theaters to universal acclaim. For even more timeless horror recommendations, check out our ranking of the 151 best horror movies of all time. What do you think of our list of horror classics? What are you watching to get in the Halloween spirit? Let us know in the comments!
