| |
In assembling this cogent compendium,
the B Monster turned once again to a peerless team of
pundits comprised of film scholars and industry professionals.
Some made it short and sweet. Some waxed enthusiastically
effusive (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Michael F. Blake
Emmy-winning
makeup artist (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) and author
of the Lon Chaney Trilogy
1. Bride of Frankenstein
2. Frankenstein
3. Freaks
4. Mystery of the Wax Museum
5. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
6. Werewolf of London
7. Dracula
8. Invisible Man
9. The Omen
10. The Wolf Man
Ted Bohus
Editor, publisher
SPFX Magazine, director The Deadly Spawn, The
Regenerated Man
1. The Exorcist
2. King Kong
3. Curse of the Demon
4. Horror of Dracula
5. Bride of Frankenstein
6. Jurassic Park
7. Night of the Living Dead
8. The Haunting
9.House on Haunted Hill
10.Sound of Music
John Brunas
Co-author, Universal
Horrors (McFarland & Co.)
1. Curse of the Cat
People
2. Black Cat
3. Psycho (1960)
4. Bride of Frankenstein
5. I Walked With a Zombie
6. Frankenstein
7. The Uninvited
8. Horror of Dracula
9. Dracula's Daughter
10. Carnival of Souls
Michael Brunas
Co-author, Universal
Horrors (McFarland & Co.)
1. The Black Cat
2. Frankenstein
3. Bride of Frankenstein
4. The Body Snatcher
5. The Haunting
6. Cat People
7. King Kong
8. Psycho
9. Walking Dead
10. Son of Frankenstein
Jim Clatterbaugh
Editor, publisher
Monsters From the Vault
1. Bride of Frankenstein
(1935)
2. Frankenstein (1931)
3. Evil Dead 2 (1987)
4. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
5. Horror of Dracula (1958)
6. King Kong (1933)
7. I Walked With a Zombie (1943)
8. Re-Animator (1985)
9. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
10. Fright Night (1985)
Kevin Clement
Editor, Chiller
Theatre Magazine and the Jerry Garcia of Monsterdom
1. Bride of Frankenstein
2. The Wolf Man
3. Frankenstein
4. Eyes Without a Face
5. The Haunting
6. The Innocents
7. Black Sunday (Bava)
8. Silence of the Lambs
9. Psycho
10. Last Man on Earth
Leonard Hughes
Washington
Post theater critic
1. Night of the
Living Dead
2. Halloween
3. Little Shop of Horrors (the
musical)
4. The Exorcist
5. Creature From the Black Lagoon
6. King Kong (1933)
7. (tie) The Werewolf (1956) I Was a Teenage
Werewolf
8. The Birds
9. Ghostbusters
10. Jaws
Tom Johnson
Co-author Hammer
Films: An Exhaustive Filmography and Peter Cushing:
The Gentle Man of Horror and His 91 Films, author Censored
Screams (All from McFarland & Co.)
1. The Body Snatcher
2. Horror of Dracula
3. Frankenstein
4. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
5. Curse of the Demon
6. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
7. The Black Cat
8. The Pit and The Pendulum
9. Curse of Frankenstein
10. The Mummy (1959)
Charles Kilgore
Charles Kilgore
covers exploitation movies for ecco, the world of bizarre
video, which he also publishes. He's also written
for Psychotronic Video, Filmfax, Cult Movies,
and Slaughterhouse magazines.
In chronological order:
1. The Unknown
(1927)
2. The Black Cat (1934)
3. The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)
4. I Walked With A Zombie (1943)
5. Eyes Without A Face (1959)
6. Peeping Tom (1960)
7. Psycho (1960)
8. Onibaba (1964)
9. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
10. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Harris Lentz
Author Science
Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits
(2 vols., 2 supplements) complete revised edition coming
next year; annual series Obituaries in the Performing
Arts, The Biographical Dictionary of Professional
Wrestling (All from McFarland & Co.). Monthly obit
column Classic Images magazine.
1. King Kong (1933)
The first, and best,
of the giant monster movies.
2. The Uninvited (1944)
A compelling chiller
with a great cast and a strange hint of mimosa.
3. The Haunting (1963)
One of the few films
that still gives this jaded horror veteran goosebumps.
4. The Invisible
Man (1933)
Stylish classic
with Claude Rains giving a great performance.
5. Godzilla (1955)
Moody and atmospheric,
which is hard to accomplish when your leading man is a giant
lizard (re: Godzilla [1998] "I knew Godzilla
-- Godzilla was a friend of mine -- and you, sir, are no
Godzilla!")
6. Attack of
the Crab Monsters
(1957)
Well, you asked
for my favorites, not necessarily the best -- there's just
something kind of fun about giant crabs eating people's
heads to steal the memories (narrowly edges out It Conquered
the World for my mandatory Corman pick).
7. The Mummy (1959)
Haven't seen the
film in years, but it was my favorite Hammer flick and terrified
me as a child. This mummy didn't shamble.
8. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
For my money, the
best of the Universal classics -- literate, witty, moving
and frightening.
9. The Cat People (1942)
I'm a fan of most
of Val Lewton's flicks, but this one's my favorite.
10. Rosemary's
Baby (1968)
Beats out The
Exorcist and The Omen for my favorite devil flick.
11. Blood of
Ghastly Horror
(1970) ( aka Man with the Synthetic Brain, Psycho A Go-Go!,
The Fiend With the Electric Brain, Echo of Terror, etc.)
Oh, I'm sorry, you only
wanted ten.. anyway, the film stinks, I just like all
the titles.
Bob Madison
Author Dracula:
The First 100 Years (Midnight Marquee Press)
I decided the best way
to go about it was to be a completely objective film buff,
and not a horror or science fiction fan. Most "classics"
in these genres are only relative classics -- while Pet
Semetary, for example, may be an excellent horror film,
it wouldn't, objectively, rank with mainstream cinematic
classics, such as Sunset Boulevard or The Grapes
of Wrath. With
that in mind, I asked myself what films in the horror and
science fiction field were meritorious, regardless of however
I feel about (or what they do for) the genre. This made
selection much easier. Not only was it easier to discard
potential films from the list, but I had to struggle to
make 10 for each category! (I had also toyed with the idea
of including the 10 Worst for each, but it was too daunting
a task!)
1. The Black Cat
2. Bride of Frankenstein
3. Dead of Night
4. Freaks
5. Halloween
6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
7. Masque of the Red Death
8. Nosferatu (1922)
9. Psycho (1960)
10. Rosemary's Baby
John Morgan
Film composer,
fashion plate, and producer of Marco Polo's Classic Film
Music Series.
In no particular
order:
1. Bride
of Frankenstein
2. Son of Frankenstein
3. Curse of the Demon
4. Dead of Night
5. The Invisible Man
6. Burn Witch, Burn
7. The Uninvited
8. The Wolf Man
9. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
10. I Walked With a Zombie
Michael H. Price
Director of
the Gourmet
Cinema project in Fort Worth's Sundance Square entertainment
district and author of quite a few books on our movie heritage.
His latest, with frequent collaborator George E. Turner,
is a revamped and expanded edition of their pioneering Depression-era
history Forgotten Horrors (Midnight Marquee Press).
Some conventionally
accepted high points of the genres may occur here, but
it scarcely matters whether they do. My greater point
has been to single out prophetic or singularly resonant
examples wherever they crop up, and this leads to the
occasional extreme of placing a fundamentally inept or
superficially ludicrous film on a "best" list.
I genuinely believe that Victor Adamson's The Rawhide
Terror, as recently rediscovered, is a seminal horror
film, despite its being not only a "horse opera,"
but also hastily made and but vaguely coherent. And I
Married a Monster from Outer Space has over the long
haul been popularly judged by its title alone, and never
mind the mature thematic content, the sharp speculative
angles, or the
essential film noir attitude.
1. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
2. Nosferatu (1921)
3. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
4. Eyes Without a Face (1959)
5. The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
6. Freaks (1932)
7. The Rawhide Terror (1934)
8. Rabid (1976)
9. Hangover Square (1945)
10. The Locket (1946)
Fred Olen Ray
Director, Invisible
Mom, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Dinosaur Island, Attack
of the 60 Foot Centerfold
In no particular order,
but make of it what you will:
1. Abbott & Costello
Meet Frankenstein
2. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
3. House of Frankenstein
4. Attack of the Giant Leeches
5. Son of Dracula
6. Giant From the Unknown
7. The Evil Dead
8. Night of the Living Dead
9. The Haunting
10. The Wasp Woman
Gary Don Rhodes
Film
historian, documentary filmmaker, adjunct lecturer at the
University of Oklahoma. Author of Lugosi (McFarland,
1997) and White Zombie: Anatomy of a Bela Lugosi Horror
Film, with a Biography of Director Victor Halperin (McFarland,
1999).
No particular order;
years given to distinguish when more than one version
exists:
1. The Shining (1980)
2. The Haunting
3. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
4. Bride of Frankenstein
5. Dead of Night (1945)
6. Nosferatu (1922)
7. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
8. Halloween (1978)
9. White Zombie
10. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919)
David J. Schow
Screenwriter
of The Crow and a bunch of other movies, Crypt
Orchids and a bunch of other books, and just completed
(about five minutes ago) a massive new edition of his much-coveted
Outer Limits Companion, which you can see by CLICKING
HERE.
1. Creature From
the Black Lagoon
2. Alien (only
the original)
3. Repulsion
4. Psycho (the original, dammit!)
5. La Casa Dalle Finestre Che Ridono (Pupi Avati)
6. In a Glass Cage
7. Black Sunday (Bava)
8. The Night Stalker (+ sequel and series)
9. The Mummy's Tomb
10. Dawn of the Dead
Bryan Senn
Bryan
Senn is the author of the books Drums of Terror: Voodoo
in the Cinema (Midnight Marquee Press), Golden Horror:
A Critical Filmography of Terror Cinema, 1931-1939 (McFarland
& Co.) and co-author of Fantastic Cinema Subject
Guide (McFarland & Co.) VISIT
BRYAN'S WEB SITE
My favorites are those
I'll watch at the drop of a hat (or click of the remote);
they're not necessarily the BEST, mind you, but the movies
I enjoy the most.
1. The Black Cat
(1934)
Multi-layered, perverse, and always fascinating.
2. The Old Dark House
(1932)
Quirky, acerbically funny, and one of the best character
studies in the genre.
3. The Body Snatcher
(1945)
Karloff's finest hour (and 17 minutes).
4. Young Frankenstein
(1974)
Simply the funniest horror comedy ever.
5. The Haunting (1963)
One of the scariest films ever made (and director Robert
Wise didn't even SHOW anything!); the "Who was holding
my hand?!" scene STILL gives me a cold chill every
time.
6. King Kong (the 1976 Dino DeLaurentis classic)
-- okay, I'm kidding; OF COURSE I mean the 1933 original,
the greatest adventure film of all time (and YES it is
a horror movie -- just ask one of those half-eaten or
foot-stomped natives!).
7. Targets (1968)
One of the most effective and disturbing blendings of
reel and real horror.
8. The Ghost Breakers
(1940)
Bob Hope at his funniest (and a movie I invariably watch
when I'm home sick -- no, I don't know why).
9. I Walked With
a Zombie (1943)
Poetry in (horror) motion.
10. From Dusk 'til
Dawn (1996)
Yeah, I know it didn't get the greatest reviews, but I found
it a hoot -- witty, exciting, and two-films-in-one!
Gary J. Svehla
Editor,
publisher Midnight Marquee Press
1. Bride of Frankenstein
2. Horror of Dracula
3. Brides of Dracula
4. Curse of the Demon
5. The Haunting
6. Cat People
(Val Lewton)
7. The Mummy (1933)
8. Black Sunday
9. Frankenstein (1931)
10. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Fredric March)
Tony Timpone
Editor, Fangoria,
world's best-selling horror magazine, author Men,
Makeup & Monsters (St. Martin's Press)
1. Psycho (1960)
2. Bride of Frankenstein
3. The Exorcist
4. Jaws
5. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
6. The Omen
7. Alien
8. Rosemary's Baby
9. Horror of Dracula
10. Cat People (1942)
George E. Turner
Co-author Human
Monsters (Kitchen Sink Press), Forgotten Horrors
(Midnight Marquee Press)
I think a horror picture
should qualify on the basis of its relative excellence
as a motion picture rather than "how scary it is"
or its ability to "gross one out." This may
seem ironic, as I've worked on a number of the blood-fests
myself. Similarly, most of the sci fi pics, including
such sacred cows as 2001 and Gross Encounters,
are too pretentious and self-indulgent (directorially)
for my simple tastes.
1. King Kong (1933)
2. Bride of
Frankenstein
3. Frankenstein
4. Son
of Frankenstein
5. Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
6. Hunchback
of Notre Dame (1939)
7. Hunchback
of Notre Dame (1923)
8. Phantom
of the Opera (1925)
9. Horror of
Dracula
10. White
Zombie
Will "The Thrill" Viharo
Midnight Lounge movie host, swingin' scribe,
creator of Vic Valentine, Private Eye, contributor Filmfax,
Outre magazines. E-MAIL
WILL | VISIT
WILL'S SITE
Are these the best of
all time? Maybe not. Just my personal favorites, no apologies
offered -- or required.
1. I Was a Teenage
Werewolf (1957)
Paul Dunlap's score, Gene Fowler's direction, Michael
Landon's performance, Joseph LaShelle's photography, and
my own tortured adolescence make this the most memorable
and enduring B monster movie of my weird little life.
And they did it in just five days. (Earth took seven,
though.)
2. I Was a Teenage
Frankenstein (1957)
Gotta have it. One of my favorite makeup jobs of all times,
cheap jack as it was. Whit Bissell repeats his mad doctor
stint from Werewolf. Another great Dunlap score.
Love the scene with the blonde. Best line: "Speak!
You've got a civil tongue in your head, I know you have,
because I sewed it back myself!"
3. Blood of Dracula (1957)
Completes the AIP teen monster trilogy, this time with
a doll. Drips atmosphere if not blood. Sadly eerie Dunlap
score. Bullet bras abound. Love it, love it, love it.
4. The Creature Walks
Among Us (1956)
I love having the minority opinion. The Creature is my
favorite movie monster, and this is my favorite in the
series. It's simply the most compelling, with the Creature
at his most sympathetic as well as scary. Great rampaging
finale. And set in my adopted neighborhood (the SF Bay
area). It's the one I watch the most, that's how I know
I dig it the most.
5. Creature From
the Black Lagoon
(1954)
Jack Arnold gave us the ultimate 50s rubber suited monster,
with one of the sexiest B movie babes, Julie Adams, as
his love interest. The Gill Guy even won the adoration
of Marilyn Monroe (and if you're a true film buff you
know damn well what I'm referring to, I won't debase myself
by directly referring to it). The suit remains unsurpassed,
as does the incredible underwater photography.
6. Revenge of the
Creature (1955)
More thrills, kills, and spills. I always loved it when
an exotic monster went rampaging through modern civilization,
and the Gill Guy's attack on Florida, beginning with his
escape from captivity, remains a high point in the annals
of B monsterdom. Plus John Agar's in it. Too much, baby,
too much.
7. The She-Creature
1956)
AIP's ripoff of the Creature is nonetheless an
atmospheric gem and a classic on its own, featuring B
monster maker Paul Blaisdell's greatest creation. Theremin
on the soundtrack (courtesy of Ronald Stein)! And Marla
English still haunts my dreams.
8. The Hideous Sun
Demon 1959)
Robert Clarke is one of the nicest guys in the world.
When I met him I couldn't believe he was the same monster
who squashed that rat with his bare hands. This daylight
twist on lycanthropy has it all, baby: the titular beast,
a busty boozy blonde bimbo, gangsters, sci-fi psychobabble,
loads of low-rent period ambiance, and Robert Clarke going
slowly insane before our eyes. And then there's that mess
in his pants ...
9. From Hell It Came
(1957)
Tiki
jungle masterpiece. Theremin. Walking tree that looks
like a reject from Oz, courtesy again of Mr. Blaisdell.
I first saw it on TV when I was five or so and it left
an indelible impression that only grows deeper over time.
If I had such a thing as a "guilty pleasure,"
this would be it. But I'm proud of it. Got nothin' to
hide. Tabonga rules!
10. Daughter of Horror (1955)
Possibly the most amazing flick ever made. A surreal film
noir horror movie. You'd never guess that was Ed McMahon
narrating it. Literally a nightmare on film. It's the
purest example of pop cinematic pulp I've ever seen. It
looks like all those lurid paperback covers of the period,
and feels like it, too.
Bill Warren
Author
of Keep Watching the Skies and accumulator of aloha
shirts.
If asked at another time
to make a list of the top ten horror movies, it would probably
be different from the one below. For example, I cannot decide
if Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast is really horror
or not; if it is, it should be on the list.
1. Alien
2. Bride of Frankenstein
3. King Kong
4. I Walked With a Zombie
5. Bram Stoker's Dracula
6. Horror of Dracula
7. Rosemary's Baby
8. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
9. The Body Snatcher
10. The Fly (1986)
11. Psycho (1960)
Tom Weaver
Co-author
Universal Horrors (McFarland & Co.), author Science
Fiction and Fantasy Film Flashbacks (McFarland &
Co.), Mutants, Monsters and Heavenly Creatures (Midnight
Marquee Press).
Alphabetically:
1. The Black
Cat (1934)
2. Curse of the Demon (1958)
3. Diaboliques (1955)
4. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
5. Frankenstein (1931)
6. The Haunting (1963)
7. Island of Lost Souls (1933)
8. The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
9. Nosferatu (1922)
10. Psycho (1960
|
