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1960s
13. PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (1965)
An early contribution by Mario Bavo, an Italian director that would go on to create the Giallo subgenre of horror. Though the acting, effects, and score feel like a holdover of low-budget 50s sci fi films, this Italian production adds a few unique elements that place it with one foot in the past, one in the future. First off, the costume design remains amazing, even to this day. I adore the spacesuits in this movie. And its backed by a rather interesting concept, one I'm surprised hasn't gotten a modern remake. Finally, the "Gothic SciFi" setting design is a very cool blend of pulp cover aesthetics with Hammer Horror visuals. Highly recommend if you don't mind a heaping helping of old school Velveta.
12. MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1963)
A visual feast, worth seeing for the costume design and one of Vincent Price's most iconic performances. Plus, medieval horror films are a greatly under-rated genre.
11. CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962)
A surreal nightmare of a film, this plays out like an extended episode of the Twilight Zone mixed with a sort of proto-Jacob's Ladder. The strength of Candace Hilligoss's manic performance carries the audience through a David Lynchian plot.
10. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
I'm not much of a fan of Zombies, generally find them the least interesting of movie monsters, and as a horror fan, gore is really the aspect of the genre that holds the least interest to me, and primarily all that Zombies have to offer (besides the metaphors for Communism or Consumerism). But the original Night of the Living Dead, which shares credit with Matheson's I Am Legend for essentially creating the Zombie Apocalypse genre wholesale, is a masterpiece. Even to this day , the ending hits like a brick.
Though it won't make the Top 13 List for that decade, I quite enjoyed the 70's remake as well.
9. VIY (1967)
This Russian folklore horror film about witches, featuring one of the few onscreen appearances of the Baba Yaga, is a visual feast, featuring a creativity of visual design rarely seen outside of German impressionist films of the silent era.
8. THE CONQUEROR WORM (1968)
Better known as "The Witchfinder General", this is another command performance by Vincent Price at the peak of his career, and one of the first films to really delve into the brutality of the English Witch trials. Price's character is so disgustingly villainous, and the utter brutality of events leads to an almost Lovecraftian finale with the survivors driven to the brink of madness. The film is generally considered the innovator of what in recent years has been dubbed the Folk Horror genre.
7. EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1960)
Holy crap is this an F-ed up film. After his daughter is horrifically transfigured in a car accident, a plastic surgeon goes to the most disturbing lengths you can imagine to procure her a new face. How this got past the censorship board of era is anyone's guess, as it would be pushing boundaries even today. Obviously the gore isn't shown, but you know what's going on, and it's disturbing on multiple levels. It's because of this film that I know what the term "heterograft" means.
6. WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967)
I feel like this is a forgotten classic, and Audrey Hepburn's best overall performance of her career. It's essentially the story of a Blind woman targetted by criminals, and it reaches Hitchcockian-heights of suspenseuntil the dramatic final confrontation between her, alone in her apartment, with a killer.
5. PSYCHO (1960)
Speaking of Hitchcock, Psycho isn't my favourite film of his (that would be Vertigo), or even my favourite film in the Psycho series, but you can't talk about this decade in horror without acknowledging it's massive effect on the genre and the echoes that reverbaerated through cinema for decades to come. There's no point on me selling you on this film, so I'll just throw in some weird random trivia: this was the first Hollywood studio film to feature a toilet onscreen.
4. JIGOKU (1960)
For the majority of this film's runtime, it plays out like a gritty noir crime tragedy (albiet filtered through a Japenese lens). There's infidelity, revenge, accidental deaths, intentional deaths, secret witnesses, more revenge, money, suicide, and organized crime. It all could very easily be the plot of a Scorcese film or season of the Sopranos. But it's the films final act that puts it firmly in the realm of a masterpiece of horror, as it goes where no Scorcese would ever go. When the protagonists of our film finally die, they are literally sent to Hell, and we get a Dante-esque tour of the 8 Hells of Japanese mythology that borders on Clive Barker levels of messed up.
3. SECONDS (1966)
A heady science fiction film about a secret group that offer their clients a unique service - they give middle-aged men who are unsatisfied with their lives the opportunity to have theirDeath faked, as they undergo surgery to be remade into their idealized self and given a chance at a new life. If you haven't seen it, I don't want to ruin a thing by saying any more, other than it is a film that will haunt you long after it's over. Instead I'll leave you with this song that perfectly encansuplates the feelings the film evokes:
2. THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (1965)
A Russian doll of a film that begins with two soldiers during the Napoleonic films finding a manuscript in a deserted gothic mansion that tells the story of man who lived there years ago, who travelled the countryside plagued by spirits, encountering various characters who tell him stories, and characters within those stories tell stories, and all of this interreates until you reach some Inception-type multi-layered narrative about narratives within narratives. It is, admittedly, more contemplative than scary, like Bergman's The Seventh Sign, but it is one of the greatest films ever made, rich enough for multiple rewatches to peel away the different layers of meaning.
1. THE COLLECTOR (1965)
Based on the infamous novel by John Fowles, this is a deep psychology dive into the mind of a sociopath, portrayed immaculately by Terance Stamp. Terrance plays a young man who lives alone and collects butterflies. Socially inept, he craves some sort of cure for his loneliness, but lacks the empathy and social intuition to connect with people, and so he hatches a scheme to "collect" a young woman, kidnapping her and imprisoning her, attempting to forge some sort of relationship with her, as she navigates his unpredictable moods, and inhuman mix of courtesy and cruelty. Humanity lies just beyond his grasp and his victim's tortures are as pathetic as they are horrifying. not because he is malicious, but because of his complete lack of understanding. Her harrowing ordeal is made all the worse as we as the audience are made silently complicet as The Collector remains our PoV character throughout. This is the kind of film that leaves a brand on your soul.
13. PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (1965)
An early contribution by Mario Bavo, an Italian director that would go on to create the Giallo subgenre of horror. Though the acting, effects, and score feel like a holdover of low-budget 50s sci fi films, this Italian production adds a few unique elements that place it with one foot in the past, one in the future. First off, the costume design remains amazing, even to this day. I adore the spacesuits in this movie. And its backed by a rather interesting concept, one I'm surprised hasn't gotten a modern remake. Finally, the "Gothic SciFi" setting design is a very cool blend of pulp cover aesthetics with Hammer Horror visuals. Highly recommend if you don't mind a heaping helping of old school Velveta.
12. MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1963)
A visual feast, worth seeing for the costume design and one of Vincent Price's most iconic performances. Plus, medieval horror films are a greatly under-rated genre.
11. CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962)
A surreal nightmare of a film, this plays out like an extended episode of the Twilight Zone mixed with a sort of proto-Jacob's Ladder. The strength of Candace Hilligoss's manic performance carries the audience through a David Lynchian plot.
10. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
I'm not much of a fan of Zombies, generally find them the least interesting of movie monsters, and as a horror fan, gore is really the aspect of the genre that holds the least interest to me, and primarily all that Zombies have to offer (besides the metaphors for Communism or Consumerism). But the original Night of the Living Dead, which shares credit with Matheson's I Am Legend for essentially creating the Zombie Apocalypse genre wholesale, is a masterpiece. Even to this day , the ending hits like a brick.
Though it won't make the Top 13 List for that decade, I quite enjoyed the 70's remake as well.
9. VIY (1967)
This Russian folklore horror film about witches, featuring one of the few onscreen appearances of the Baba Yaga, is a visual feast, featuring a creativity of visual design rarely seen outside of German impressionist films of the silent era.
8. THE CONQUEROR WORM (1968)
Better known as "The Witchfinder General", this is another command performance by Vincent Price at the peak of his career, and one of the first films to really delve into the brutality of the English Witch trials. Price's character is so disgustingly villainous, and the utter brutality of events leads to an almost Lovecraftian finale with the survivors driven to the brink of madness. The film is generally considered the innovator of what in recent years has been dubbed the Folk Horror genre.
7. EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1960)
Holy crap is this an F-ed up film. After his daughter is horrifically transfigured in a car accident, a plastic surgeon goes to the most disturbing lengths you can imagine to procure her a new face. How this got past the censorship board of era is anyone's guess, as it would be pushing boundaries even today. Obviously the gore isn't shown, but you know what's going on, and it's disturbing on multiple levels. It's because of this film that I know what the term "heterograft" means.
6. WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967)
I feel like this is a forgotten classic, and Audrey Hepburn's best overall performance of her career. It's essentially the story of a Blind woman targetted by criminals, and it reaches Hitchcockian-heights of suspenseuntil the dramatic final confrontation between her, alone in her apartment, with a killer.
5. PSYCHO (1960)
Speaking of Hitchcock, Psycho isn't my favourite film of his (that would be Vertigo), or even my favourite film in the Psycho series, but you can't talk about this decade in horror without acknowledging it's massive effect on the genre and the echoes that reverbaerated through cinema for decades to come. There's no point on me selling you on this film, so I'll just throw in some weird random trivia: this was the first Hollywood studio film to feature a toilet onscreen.
4. JIGOKU (1960)
For the majority of this film's runtime, it plays out like a gritty noir crime tragedy (albiet filtered through a Japenese lens). There's infidelity, revenge, accidental deaths, intentional deaths, secret witnesses, more revenge, money, suicide, and organized crime. It all could very easily be the plot of a Scorcese film or season of the Sopranos. But it's the films final act that puts it firmly in the realm of a masterpiece of horror, as it goes where no Scorcese would ever go. When the protagonists of our film finally die, they are literally sent to Hell, and we get a Dante-esque tour of the 8 Hells of Japanese mythology that borders on Clive Barker levels of messed up.
3. SECONDS (1966)
A heady science fiction film about a secret group that offer their clients a unique service - they give middle-aged men who are unsatisfied with their lives the opportunity to have theirDeath faked, as they undergo surgery to be remade into their idealized self and given a chance at a new life. If you haven't seen it, I don't want to ruin a thing by saying any more, other than it is a film that will haunt you long after it's over. Instead I'll leave you with this song that perfectly encansuplates the feelings the film evokes:
2. THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (1965)
A Russian doll of a film that begins with two soldiers during the Napoleonic films finding a manuscript in a deserted gothic mansion that tells the story of man who lived there years ago, who travelled the countryside plagued by spirits, encountering various characters who tell him stories, and characters within those stories tell stories, and all of this interreates until you reach some Inception-type multi-layered narrative about narratives within narratives. It is, admittedly, more contemplative than scary, like Bergman's The Seventh Sign, but it is one of the greatest films ever made, rich enough for multiple rewatches to peel away the different layers of meaning.
1. THE COLLECTOR (1965)
Based on the infamous novel by John Fowles, this is a deep psychology dive into the mind of a sociopath, portrayed immaculately by Terance Stamp. Terrance plays a young man who lives alone and collects butterflies. Socially inept, he craves some sort of cure for his loneliness, but lacks the empathy and social intuition to connect with people, and so he hatches a scheme to "collect" a young woman, kidnapping her and imprisoning her, attempting to forge some sort of relationship with her, as she navigates his unpredictable moods, and inhuman mix of courtesy and cruelty. Humanity lies just beyond his grasp and his victim's tortures are as pathetic as they are horrifying. not because he is malicious, but because of his complete lack of understanding. Her harrowing ordeal is made all the worse as we as the audience are made silently complicet as The Collector remains our PoV character throughout. This is the kind of film that leaves a brand on your soul.