10 Classic Horror Movies To Impress The Movie Buff In Your Life – Screen Rant

Like most people, all a movie buff really wants from a gift or suggestion is for some honest personal thought to be put into it. But we all feel the desire to not only impress the recipient but to give them something that theyll genuinely enjoy on its own merits.

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With this in mind, here we have ten great jumping-off points for anyone looking to impress the horror movie buff in their life. Its a wide genre, with many different sides to access it from, but at least one of these terrific classics should satisfy the most discerning of self-proclaimed film snobs. Even the ones so extreme that they'll turn their nose up atThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari for being too mainstream.

Erik Blombergs delightful Finnish oddity follows a woman who, in pursuit of igniting her husbands passions in their frozen landscape, makes a deal with a local shaman. Her wish is fulfilled at the cost of transforming her into a vampire who lures men to their deaths in the guise of an irresistible white reindeer.

In terms of wildly uniqueNordic horror experiences that have survived into the modern era, theres little that rivals The White Reindeer. Its power to transport the viewer into an eerie dreamworld of classic horror folktales is relatively unmatched.

A perfect example of just how enjoyable a knockoff can be. The Legend of Hell House was adapted for the screen by prolific writer Richard Matheson from his own 1971 novel.

The novel itself was already clearly a riff on Shirley Jacksons classic The Haunting of Hill House and, in losing all of the subtlety within Jacksons novel and Robert Wises equally-iconic 1963 film adaptation The Haunting, an intoxicating level of macabre fun is found in the old ghost story which often strays into the aesthetics of a haunted house theme park ride.

In between the two defining movies of both director James Whales career and horror movies of that era, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, he released several movies, including his equally infamous take on The Invisible Man. The almost-lost gem of that period, however, was a reteaming with Boris Karloff for another gothic literary adaptation.

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The Old Dark House is, on the surface, a breezy horror-comedy filled with the wit and semi-Expressionistic flair of Hollywood of that time. But, beneath it, is a much more realized Expressionisticview of post-WW1 disillusionment which, arriving as sentiment in Germany was shaping into the beginnings of the Second World War, appears all the more poignant.

Brian De Palmas first major foray into the thriller genre began one of the most important journeys in20th century American cinema. Similar to his contemporary, Martin Scorsese, De Palma began injecting a distinctly Italian style into his movies which, in this case, figures like Dario Argento were popularizing in the European scene at the same time.

Sisters showcases both De Palmas anarchic sense of humor as well as the origin of some of his visual trademarks, such as his distinctive use of split-screens and deep focus. Giallo fans are sure to have a blast with this one.

There are a number of Jacques Tourneur movies from the 40s and 50s that will instantly ingratiate someone with a classic movie buff and I Walked with a Zombie is unquestionably one of them. Its sometimes missed as it sits in the shadow of his very highly-regarded movie Cat People from the previous year and also the equally-magnificent The Leopard Man, which came out just over a week later in 1943.

Tourneurs pioneering use of camera trickery with light and shadow was at its eeriest in this story of family shame, superstition, and slavery on a Caribbean island.

When catering to a fan of all things slasher and schlock then look no further than Narciso Ibez Serradors The House That Screamed.

This early splatter movie, set in a 19th-century French boarding school for girls, joyously straddles the line between elegance and exploitation with some impressive camera work and production design coupled with the gore and shock value of a B-movie favorite. Great, or even good, copies arent that easy to track down but its worth the digging for a genre fan.

Though generally still considered a classic in its native Norway, Kre Bergstrms oddly chilling, somewhat-supernatural, murder-mystery is seldom discussed elsewhere in the world.

A strong vein of psychoanalytical drama runs through this story of middle-aged friends getting together at a secluded cabin in the woods. The storys riffing on the whodunit genre, and a pervading sense of dark humor, add to its cultural distinctiveness and a constantly shifting tone. In conjunction with the nightmarish tranquility of the visuals and music, it makes for one uncannily creepy tale.

Whilst by no means a conventional filmmaker the majority of the time, the colorfully crazy slasher Lisa and the Devil remains one of the strangest entries in the back catalog of the legendary Mario Bava as well one of the most underrated.

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This may partially be a lasting symptom of it being butchered by lackluster reshoots for its US release and retitled as The House of Exorcism in an attempt to capitalize on the craze surrounding The Exorcist. Both cuts come packaged together now, which creates an interesting level of context. Its obvious which is the only one really worth watching though.

Thought to be a lost film for decades, Teinosuke Kinugasas silent black and white masterpiece was arguably half a century ahead of its time and is another underrated example of the clear influence that the German Expressionist movement had on the horror movie genre.

This story of a janitor at a mental asylum, and his relationship to one of the patients, painted a complex portrait of the effects and stigmas of mental health that still looks stunning nearly 100 years later. While prints are fairly common in this day and age, the long time that the movie spent out of circulation resulted in the loss of its intertitles but, with perhaps some prior reading up on the plot, the absence of them adds to A Page of Madness free-flowing and hallucinatory overall effect.

William Peter Blatty was a fairly prolific novelist and screenwriter who is most remembered for his production of, and Oscar-winning screenplay for, the 1971 film adaptation of his novel The Exorcist. He also, however, directed two feature films. The latter, an adaptation of his sequel novel to The Exorcist which was released as Exorcist III, is, again, the most remembered. But his directorial debut, also an adaptation of one of his own novels, remains the truly superior cult movie experience.

The Ninth Configuration, about a group of insane military personnel living in a makeshift asylum within a remote castle, spits in the face of classification in a fascinating way. In keeping with Blattys style, the whole movie is dialogue-driven and bursting with engrossing philosophical debates but Gerry Fishers cinematography isnt slacking off at all. With a veritable Avengers of cult movie actors in the ensemble, The Ninth Configuration is one of the most uniquely funny and unnerving times you can have while watching a movie.

NEXT: 10 Horror Movies With Low Rotten Tomatoes Scores That Are Actually Great

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Mark is a freelance copywriter and copyeditor. When not writing or editing, he can most likely be found complaining about movies on Twitter.

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10 Classic Horror Movies To Impress The Movie Buff In Your Life - Screen Rant