I’m not a horror movie fan,but when I counted the horror movies in Criterion Collection,I surprisingly found that I owned and watched two thirds of them.From the earliest movie in the whole collection(Haxan) to one of the latest released film in the set(Antichrist),Criterion collects more than 30 horror gems from different decade and culture.If you are tired of monsters and zombies,this list may bring you something new to experience in the horror world.Before all those horror movie lists flood in around Halloween,let’s do some warmups for the horror carnival.
Antichrist Lars von Trier 2009 Denmark
Lars von Trier’s dark and disturbing fairy tale of possessed human mind and battle of sexes,the love-making scene is one of the most controversial movie scene in recent times.
The Blob Irvin S. Yeaworth 1958 United States
Classic Hollywood sci-fi horror movie with a monster you may have never seen before.”Beware of the Blob!”.
Carnival of Souls Herk Harvey 1962 United States
One of the most successful small budget classic horror movies,a creepy scary story that inspired Romero’s famous zombie movie Night of the Living Dead.Criterion has included both the original theatrical version and director’s cut version in the package.
Diabolique Henri-Georges Clouzot 1955 France
Arguably “French Hitchcock” Henri-Georges Clouzot’s best work,a highly suspenseful horror thriller that inspired Hitch made his masterpiece – Psycho,Criterion upgraded it to Blu-ray format last year.
Empire of Passion Nagisa Oshima 1978 Japan
Released as a double bill with Japanese New Wave auteur Nagisa Oshima’s notorious In the Realm of the Senses,this film took a different approach to present the extremity of love and passion,a beautiful haunting ghost story that will stay in your head for a long time.
Eyes Without a Face Georges Franju 1960 France
An atmospheric horror gem with an effective score that would make you sick to your stomach, the short film Blood of the Beasts included in the DVD is nothing less horrifying.
Fiend Without a Face Arthur Crabtree 1958 United Kingdom
A groovy sci-fi/horror hybrid that reflected the fear of nuclear power in the late 1950s,Criterion also released a monster set which includes The Haunted Strangler, Corridors of Blood, First Man into Space, and The Atomic Submarine,horror classics that from Gordon Films.
Haxan Benjamin Christensen 1922 Denmark
As one of the earliest movies in the horror genre,Haxan’s daring cinematography and documentary style keeps its effect up-to-date,if you want to know more about the tales of witches and Satan in Middle Age,this is the film you need to check out.
House Nobuhiko Obayashi 1977 Japan
Everything you expect to appear in a Japanese horror film are all here.Soon after its Master of Cinema release,House started to receive tons of loves from horror fans in UK,the later Criterion release satisfied those American horror lovers.
Kwaidan Masaki Kobayashi 1965 Japan
The title is the very definition of Japanese ghost stories, adapted from traditional kwaidans,the film consists of four haunting stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat,both cinematography and score are first class for a horror movie.
The Night of the Hunter Charles Laughton 1955 United States
Gothic horror at its best,Charles Laughton’s directorial debut proved that horror movies can be shot without monsters and ghosts,Robert Mitchum’s role remains one of the most terrifying villain of all time.
Onibaba Kaneto Shindo 1964 Japan
A very unique Japanese war movies under the mask of horror,eerie and dark,this unforgettable folktale is one of the best that explores the human survival instinct.
Peeping Tom Michael Powell 1960 United Kingdom
One of the weirdest movie about making a movie,an unique British horror film that captures the essence of human mental illness,it gives you shivers until the last minute.
Repulsion Roman Polanski 1965 United Kingdom
Beautiful woman is dangerous,hysterical beautiful woman is fatal.I believe you won’t dream of living with Catherine Deneuve in the same room again after seeing this film.
Rosemary’s Baby Roman Polanski 1968 United States
Though not released yet,this horror classic was always the most wanted one by fans in the collection,the reason is simple,people can’t make such good horror pictures again nowadays.
The Silence of the Lambs Jonathan Demme 1991 United States
Probably the most famous horror classic in this list,the Criterion edition DVD is already out of print,but Dr. Hannibal is never out of our mind.
Sisters Brian De Palma 1973 United States
A scary suspense film with the score of Hitchcock’s veteran collaborator Bernard Herrmann,Brian De Palma’s early experiment of varies film techniques and attempt on the horror subject never looks so good on a Criterion DVD.
Vampyr Carl Th. Dreyer 1932 Denmark
One of the creepiest vampire film you can’t live without in Halloweens,Carl Theodor Dreyer achieved his ideal effects without any CGIs,that is a lesson for any subsequent horror movie directors to learn.
The Vanishing George Sluizer 1988 Netherlands&France
An ignored horror gem that might be forever forgotten without a Criterion release,the build-up of character and plot is a little bit slow,but if you can stay to the end,it will scare the hell out of you.
Videodrome David Cronenberg 1983 Canada
As one of the most influential sci-fi horror film in the 1980s,Cronenberg’s provocative work brings to a world that people get absorbed by technology,a mind-blowing film that will make you think a lot.
Over to you,what have you seen in this list?What other classic horror movies that should be picked up by Criterion Collection?
Read more Halloween lists on Taste of Cinema by clicking the pumpkin image below!
