12 Great underrated horror films
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- DirectorReginald Le BorgStarsBasil RathboneAkim TamiroffLon Chaney Jr.Sir Joel Cadman, a mad scientist, kidnaps his victims and cuts open their brains in an effort to discover a means to cure his wife's brain tumor.As far as I'm concerned, the true herald of the late 50's horror renaissance. Basil Rathbone is outstanding. A precursor to the Hammer Frankenstein films as well as various medical horrors like "Eyes without A Face".
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsRobert LoweryVirginia GreyBill GoodwinAn unsuccessful sculptor saves a madman named "The Creeper" from drowning. Seeing an opportunity for revenge, he tricks the psycho into murdering his critics.A darkly comic satire of the 1940's art scene. Genuinely funny comedy relief, quotable dialogue and a great performance by Martin Kosleck elevate this to being Universal's last great 40's film. Rondo Hatton's lack of acting ability actually makes the film creepier.
- DirectorNathan JuranStarsRichard GreeneBoris KarloffStephen McNallyMan investigates the disappearance of two of his friends who were the guests of a sinister Austrian count.As close to a fairy tale, or at least, a Radcliffean Gothic novel, as you can get on film. Universal should have done a whole series of these.
- DirectorFreddie FrancisStarsPeter CushingRon MoodyHugh GriffithParis, 19th century. A man who has been raised by wolves works at a zoo. But on full moon nights he transforms into a dangerous beast. Professor Paul is in charge of hunting him down as the young man develops an obsession for a prostitute.The acting is mostly dull, the story is a stack of cliches, and the whole thing has a cheap look, probably because it was cheap. And yet, every time I see it I enjoy it more. It just works...somehow.
- DirectorStephen WeeksStarsChristopher LeePeter CushingMike RavenIn the Nineteenth Century, in London, the psychologist Charles Marlowe researches a new drug capable to release inhibitions and uses his patients as guinea pigs. He discusses the principles of Freud with his friend Dr. Lanyon and decides to experiment his drug in himself. He becomes the ugly and evil Edward Blake and his friend and lawyer Frederik Utterson believes Blake is another person that might be blackmailing Charles. Meanwhile Charles loses control of his transformation.Dry, but still the most faithful adaption of the book.
- DirectorWilliam A. FrakerStarsRobert ShawSally KellermanMary UreA disturbed young girl starts believing that there is something very sinister at work after her estranged father visits her at her mother and grandmother's house with the woman he plans to marry.A "Psycho" ripoff? Sure. But I don't see anyone bothering Brian De Palma over pulling the same crap. Great performances and cinematography save it.
- DirectorLew LandersStarsBela LugosiFrieda InescortNina FochWhen an errant bomb unearths the coffin of a vampire during the London Blitz, a gravedigger unknowingly reanimates the monster by removing the stake from his heartEverything you wanted from Universal's crossover movies but never got.
- DirectorEdward DeinStarsEric FlemingMichael PateKathleen CrowleyWhile a malady is claiming the lives of young women in a Western town, a sinister gunslinger-for-hire Drake Robey is really a vampire, and it's up to Preacher Dan to save the town and girlfriend Dolores Carter.Sh!tty sets don't stop this from being one of the few western/horror hybrids that work. Amazingly accurate to actual vampire folklore.
- DirectorStuart WalkerStarsClaude RainsDouglass MontgomeryHeather AngelAn opium-addicted choirmaster develops an obsession for a beautiful young girl and will not stop short of murder in order to have her.Not horror, but often misclassified as. Either way, it's well worth a watch. Claude Rains should have won an oscar for this.
- DirectorVernon SewellStarsBoris KarloffChristopher LeeMark EdenRobert Manning visits the remote country house where his brother Peter was last seen. While his host seems outwardly friendly and his niece more demonstrably so, Robert detects a feeling of menace in the air.This film can't decide if it's a thoughtful, dreamlike art-film a'la Mario Bava or a sleazy AIP drive-in flick. Has one of the greatest LOLWUT? endings of all time.
- DirectorJack CurtisStarsMartin KosleckByron SandersBarbara WilkinA group of young adults trapped on a desert island find the water inhabited by a violent form of flesh-eating organisms.Some of the funniest dialogue I've ever heard in a film, a love-story subplot that is actually well-written, a premise that is actually somewhat feasible and another great Martin Kosleck performance make this a low-budget masterpiece. Probably the goriest film ever made when it was released.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsMelissa Sue AndersonGlenn FordLawrence DaneAt the snobby Crawford Academy, Virginia's group of friends start to go missing years after horrible events that happened to her as a child around her birthday.My favorite 80's slasher flick. Who cares if the twist ending is stupid? More popular slasher flicks have had dumber twists. This is otherwise probably the most intelligent slasher film of it's era, thanks to direction by J. Lee Thompson and great performances by Melissa Sue Anderson & Glenn Ford. The kills are also great.