By: Zara Abubakar | Staff-Writer
I love all things gothic, which naturally means I love the month of October. As Halloween approaches, here are some film recommendations that will help you get into the mood for spooky season. I apologize in advance that I cannot add any contemporary cinema. It is simply not in my nature.
Happy All Hallows’ Eve!
- Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) dir. F. W. Murnau
I’ll start this list off with a silent film – and no, it’s not completely silent, there’s background music! An unauthorized film adaption of Bram Stoker’s gothic vampire novel Dracula, Stoker’s descendants sued and ordered all copies of the film to be destroyed. Luckily, several prints survived.
2. Dracula (1931) dir. Tod Browning
Obviously, this was also adapted from the Bram Stoker novel. I add this version because it would be a crime to not mention the Hungarian king of horror, Bela Lugosi, in a list of horror film recommendations. A Spanish version of this film was also released in the same year. This is a perfect introduction for people who would like to get into the classic horror films of the 1930s, which have seen reboots (yuck) lately, namely The Invisible Man.
Need to get into the mood? Listen to “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” by Bauhaus – the live version, please!
3. The Seventh Victim (1943) dir. Mark Robson
“I run to death, and death meets me as fast, and all my pleasures are like yesterday.” A young woman attending a Catholic boarding school cannot find her sister, who is meant to be paying her tuition. Fantastic suspense and build up to uncovered secrets in this film.
4. Blood and Black Lace (1964) dir. Mario Bava
I feel a little bold adding a giallo film to this list. To sum it up, “giallo” (“yellow” in Italian) films were bloody murder-mystery films, named after cheap paperback mystery novels that were popular in Italy and had yellow covers, kind of like the American pulp novel and magazine.
Blood and Black Lace has the perfect combination glamor and gore.
5. The Shining (1980) dir. Stanley Kubrick
I know this list is keeping to films from the Golden Age rather than New Hollywood, but no horror film list is complete without Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. An isolated hotel, ghosts, and winter storm make for a perfect horror film. My favorite sequence takes you back to the jazz age, with haunting British dance band music.
