Top 10 Vintage Horror Movies
3. Poltergeist (1982):
Steven Spielberg’s attempt at horror paid off in spades in Poltergeist. While, admittedly, its special effects don’t hold up as well as some other movies of the same decade, this film does manage to hold its own over time and remains one really creepy supernatural horror movie. Much like a great recipe, this baby has all the necessary ingredients: From a desecrated Indian burial ground to a creepy little girl that sees ghosts to an even creepier paranormal investigator, this movie may read as a stereotypical ghost story… but that is only because it was this movie that set the standard for all the supernatural horror that came after it. It is the original recipe fried chicken of the horror genre. Lacking any major plot holes, a common crime committed in the genre, Poltergeist has become a true horror classic.
2. The Shining (1980):
When Stanley Kubrick decides to do a horror film, people take notice, and rightfully so. Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, Kubrick created a masterpiece. However, he could not have achieved this without Jack Nicholson’s stellar performance as Jack Torrance. The story focuses on Torrance, his wife, and small psychically-abled child Danny. Taking on the role of caretaker for the remote Overlook Hotel during its off season, writer Jack becomes increasingly unhinged in this haunted hotel with a murderous history. This movie, like most of Kubrick’s works, is on most cult classic movie lists and with good reason. Famous for his unique camera work, Kubrick manages to scare the audience in often the simplest of ways. From long shots of hallways to sweeping views from high above the Overlook Hotel, he creates an incredible sense of desolation, loneliness, and fear. This movie is a true vintage classic, and without it we might never have known how murder is spelled backwards…. redrum, folks… redrum.
1. Carrie (1976):
When horror enthusiasts are asked what movie introduced them to the genre, Carrie, is an oft heard response. Brian De Palma’s horror classic is another film based on a Stephen King novel. The movie’s titular character is a psychic and highly disturbed young girl who is incessantly bullied in school. Living with a mother who makes Mommy Dearest look like a contender for mother of the year, Carrie White is pushed to the limit – with frightening results. With arguably one of the greatest jump-scares of all time, Carrie forever made us think twice about putting flowers at a grave.
