Best Decade For Horror Movies?
 

The 70s video-nasty era does it for me (Chainsaw Massacre, Living Deads, Halloween, Hills Have Eyes, Last House On The Left, Excorcist, The Crazies, Omen, Shivers, Rabid, Phantasm, Salem's Lot, many many more).

Without a doubt the 70's I'd say. At that time the old-school horror flicks of the 60's and 50's were all that people had seen, but movie technology was starting to develop more and well, the timing was right for such films as Jaws (had a huge horror impact) and Amityville Horror etc. Quite simply, certain movies in the 70's scared the CRAP out of people, making most of those older films seem campy. Not all, but most.

Horror films during the 70's just seemed to have a much higher horror impact on people. Once it got into the 80's people were already becoming desensitized from it all... with the Jasons and the Freddy's and the Pinheads etc. By the 90's, forgetaboutit. Movies today have to really push the boundary into newer ground if they want to have any kind of horror impact, at least on those who are regular fans of it.

Yep, this is true. Filmmakers used familiar settings, everyday people, and created horrific situations that could happen in reality. Gone were the castles, mutants and crazy martians of the 50s and 60s (inspired by the fear of space travel and atomic bombs). The Viet Nam war gave us real terror on tv and, thus, in the theatres : Jason, Michael, A Shark, a family of incestuous rapists and cannibals.

I think the 90s got this one.

the fact that you left out the 30s prove you dont know much about horror. ;)

the 30s invented "zombies" you cant leave out the 30s.

i watch 30's horror regularly as it is clearly the best time for good horror

this is the dvd i put on last night while in bed.

DEAD MEN WALK (1943)

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0035784/

That film so creeped me out the first time I saw it. :thumbsup It's in my top 5 films of all times, not just horror.

I'd have to think for awhile, but some of my other 70's favorites off the top of my head:

The Car
The Legacy (1978, also known as The Legacy of Maggie Walsh)
What's the Matter with Helen?
Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
The Night Stalker (TV movie)
Tales from the Crypt (original, 1972)

A favorite from the 60's: Picture Mommy Dead
A favorite from the 80's: Videodrome (what a twisted flick!)

Cronenberg makes movies that get guys laid.

Videodrone rules.

so my morning personality doesnt make me seem like an asshole, this line isnt to be taken in a bad way ;)

i am a horror movie review machine.

i love every decade, they are all worthy and without any of them horror would not be what it is.

todays horror is mostly trash.

70's and 80's!

flicks like Dario Argento's Suspiria remain timeless, while they could spend 60 million on a horror movie toda and it cant even compare.

take Freddy vs Jason for example.

know the part where the black chick is giving freddy lip? walking backwards talking shit?

that shouldnt be in a horror film, that is hollywood and coming from someone who lives near the hollywood horror prop houses, hollywood is crap.

everything they make is shit.

Damn.. I think I'll rent it tonight.

I saw Shivers yesterday, it was quite funny. :1orglaugh

Damien/Omen is great, but then Hollywood syndrome sets in, what happend with #4?

If you like older thrillers, there's some free ones HERE.

i have multiple dvd versions of most of those :1orglaugh ;)

i collect horror, in a freakishperverted kind of way.

its all i watch really. its gotten to the point wqhere i am watching 2 black and white horror movies daily.

i have watched all the color i need

Oh come on.. The 80's had its classics as well.. It wasn't just about slasher movies like Freddy and Jason.

Evil Dead 1 and 2
From Beyond
Re-Animator
Hellraiser
Poltergeist (I was 8 when it came out and what a mistake I made to see it)
Even American Werewolf in London was great

i just re-checked. I think i have every one of those on DVD, and as mentioned, some like NOTLD I have 3 different DVD versions.

Dimentia 13 same thing, multiple copies.

I buy a lot of horror "dvd collections" so i get repeats

I wrongly assumed very few gfyers would have no knowledge of horror movies prior to 1950. I've written screenplays, novels, and co-produced 3 independant horror movies so I wont take your comment to heart. For the future, however, you should truly not make such sweeping statements based on limited information; it makes you look foolish.

read above Kristian.

i knew no matter what my "in your face" shit wouldnt be taken well this morning :1orglaugh

ive been on here for years talking horror movies, i "wrongly assumed" threads like this to be started by goofballs who cant wait to see HOUSE OF WAX with paris hilton.

which is why i enclosed my statement above.

Not the point. The point is, what decade was the best? I'm going by IMPACT... and by the 80's the masses of horror fans were litterally inundated with a wave of horror and psuedo-horror flicks ranging from a few good ones to a glut of hollywood crap that is more comedy than horror. The 70's was a time when people were ripe for a good scare, and like I said movie technology was just starting to get into areas where movies started containing special effects never before seen.

Really, not since the 30's, 40' and 50's were people so ripe for a good genuine scare from a blockbuster horror. Back then Bella Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr etc were scaring the bejeezus out of people, but by the 70's horror fans were ready for something different. Definitely the Omen trilogy, The Exorcist, Amityville horror etc had the incredible impact on people that I'm talking about. Maybe you weren't around then NC, I was. You just don't hear people talking about horror films of today the way they did back then, except for the occasional one.

Not to mention, like Fletch said, the sequels to those great 70's movies made in the 80's and on into the 90's were complete hollywood shit.

My pick is definitely the 70's.

OK dude, no problemo! Any horror aficionado is like family in my book. :)

i really got into horror when i was 11.

i bought a vhs copy os "PLan 9 from outerspace" for 5$ at the local rental because no one rented it and the store was having a sale on all the movies that werent getting rented. My mom bought it for me and sicne then ive been hooked on Bela Lugosi and old horror.

now i am nearing 29 and my collection just keeps getting bigger.

and i still have the plan 9 copy :)

no one wanted to rent PLan 9, and i think its one of the greatest still.

Lugosi forever.

first thing i did when i moved to california was visit Bela Lugosi grave.

i paid him respects a couple halloweens ago too.

rip

I was born in 1973, so I was too young. But with the VHS frenzy in the beginning of the 80's I think I rented all the classic ones. 4-5 horror movies every weekends was not uncommon.

The first horror (well, ghost story) movie that I saw in a movie theater was Poltergeist. I still remember the nightmares.

Yes, if we compare all the remakes being made for this generation, it's quite sad.
But even movie studios need to make money :pimp

Ohhh.. and I can't wait for Romero's "Land of the dead"

http://www.landofthedeadmovie.net/

i only ever watched horror movies when i was a kid so i pretty much saw hellraiser/nightmare on elm street/friday 13'th flicks...

i love hellraiser...

Here's a pretty good horror movie discussion on Rotten Tomato's....
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/s...d.php?t=392648

Note in the title post, the comment.... There are some good commentary there on what's happening today in horror.

The 30s, 40s and 50s are a close second (if not tied) to 70s era for me. Filmmakers and actors were not afraid to be typecast in the horror genre. Greats like William Castle, Lugosi, Chaney, shaped the entire medium from the ground up. Lugosi actually being buried in his cape is a pure example of his love and respect for the medium. The movies were so raw as well which added to the atmosphere in an unintentional way. Man, I could go on and on.

I have to go see Lugosi's grave one day. Hmmm...not a bad idea for a non-fiction coffee table book : visiting the graves of the horror greats. :)

had a friend who made magnets out of the headstone pictures.

i have a bel lugosi fridge magnet she gave me over 10 years ago.

i agree about WIll Castle etc.

Take Roger Corman for example and Bucket of Blood.

shot on budget and very quickly.

one of the greats yet they couldnt do it for under 60 mil today

What did everyone think of the 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill? I saw the original in b&w when I was a kid and remember it scaring me pretty good.... but kids generally get scared over cats screaming at windows suddenly :D

Huge bugets are one of my pet peeves. It ruins the entire medium because it becomes less about telling an original story, and more about beating an old forumula to death until it's more battered and bloody than the corpses in the actual movie.

I saw Corman being interview at Cannes in 2002 and he truly is the God of independant horror. Folks like Tarantino and Lloyd Kaufman were practically falling over themselves in hero worship.

I bet you could make a killing selling those magnets on ebay!!

best thing about Bela Lugosi grave location is he is buried in the same cemetary as Sharon Tate and her baby. you get fantasy horror and then you can get real horror in the same day.

So if you ever visit his grave, make sure you get the plot number for SHaron Tate, she is not far from him. A beautiful cemetary on top of a hill.

I have pics of a few graves, Sharon Tates and Belas are one of my faves.

I'm not a fan of the remakes so my natural instinct is to shout resounding support of the original Castle/Price flick. However, much like when I saw the new Amytiville, I have to concede I like it about the same as the original. It's a faithful re-telling, right down to Rush's performance. What it lacks is Castle's showmanship (where you might enter the theatre and have to sign a release form, should you have a heart-attack during the performance). Castle came from the carnival world and he was admittedly shit at plot structure, story-telling in general, and cinematography. He exelled in selling you the movie (like adding tinglers to theatre seats) and building up a high concept that you just HAD to go see.

It would be great to live in your neck of the woods. The place is steeped in all this cool history.

We're out there next summer so I will definitely check out the cemetary!

Halloween (the first one) was 1979 wasn't it?
Then the 70s without a doubt...

(and Jaws too, even though not a typical horror, I saw when I was a kid and kept me out of the Mr.Turtle pool until I was too big to fit)

well, considering most wouldnt care allow me to tell you this. Since you know my little story about PLan 9.

Also when i came here for the first time, I made it a point to sit and drink at the bar called Boardners, which if youve seen "Ed Wood" is the bar that Depp goes in and has a drink dressed as woman etc. Lots of old Hollywood greats sat and drank there.

Which Bela Lugosi drank in etc. Orson Welles?

Its quite an honor to sit and have a drink where legends once sat.

cheers

heres to horror and those that are no longer with us.

That's a great story (both) and you're damn lucky. Ed Wood is one of my favorite movies. After watching it, i just wanted to climb into the screen and live in that world. I will have to go to Boardners. That's what I mean about living in your area, you can really step into the screen and enter the other world.

Yes heres to the living dead :)

http://www.boardners.com/main.php

A Hollywood Legend & Best Kept Secret since 1942

:glugglug

next time you watch Ed Wood, note the sign on the outside of building when Depp exits.

I'm in the mood for it so I will watch it again tonight and check the sign.

Place is crying out for a movie of its own! :)

80's

I wasn't watching horror in the 70s I was born in 77 :)

shit the wicked witch in wizzard of oz scared me in the 70's bhaha

I was born in 75 (turn 30 next month..sheeehit). Yep that wicked witch - and those flying monkeys - scare the crap out of me!

50s and 60s.

Here's are some good one's:
http://ramos.adult.com/md.jpg
http://ramos.adult.com/dk.jpg
I SPit On Your Grave :thumbsup
http://ramos.adult.com/isoyg.jpg

What era is lucio fulci from??? mid/early 70's to late 80's???

whatever era he is from thats the good shit

my vote is for the 70s, Phantasm and Food of the Gods :thumbsup

I would agree with the 30's...so many classics...the 60's were great for experimentation and pushing the edge.
So many movie directors, producers etc we have now days we have to thank Roger Corman for...not only did he inspire them...he trained them.

Got to love all the Hammer Horror movies of the 70's