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8 FREAKY FACES OF HORROR MOVIES
Horror movies are freaky and their scare factor increases when we imagine 8 Freaky Faces! Since the invention of the movie, horror films have graced the silver screen. They feed our fascination with the macabre and draw from classic authors such as Edgar Allen Poe and Robert Louis Stevenson among many others. Despite their allure, the genre didn’t even have a name until the monster films of the 1930s began making an appearance. (Oh the horror!!)
Since then, the genre has grown and comprises numerous subgenres and categories including comedy, supernatural, science fiction, slasher and zombie, and many others. With so many genres, there’s a style of horror for almost every movie watcher.
Explore these 8 Freaky Faces of Horror Movies for a hair-raising experience.
1. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Technically that’s two faces, but only one of them is scary. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1886. The story dabbles in alter egos and good vs. evil. In 1908, the young industry produced the first film version of the melodrama. Though not the first horror movie ever created, a long list of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde films followed. Some of them include:
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) starring Fredric March
- Jekyll & Hyde starring Michael Cane
- Mary Reilly (1996) starring Julia Roberts
2. Vampire
Bram Stoker published his gothic novel Dracula in 1897. Some of the film’s early attempts at recreating the vampire story are memorable ones including 1931’s Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. Those who love gothic drama know filmdom’s fascination with vampires, too. Some of the most memorable include:
- Nosferatu (1922) directed by F. W. Muranau
- Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) directed by Francis Ford Coppola
- The Last Man on Earth (1964) starred Vincent Price
- Lost Boys (1987) starring Kiefer Sutherland, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Jason Patrick, and Jami Gertz
3. Frankenstein
While vampires transform the living into the living dead, another horror film trope we love to explore is bringing the dead back to life. One staple character is Dr. Frankenstein’s monster.
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein and published its first edition in 1818. With the advent of film, Thomas Edison tackled the first movie version of the story nearly 100 years later. Some notable actors who’ve played Frankenstein or his monster include:
- Boris Karloff’s role in Frankenstein (1931) as the monster is one of filmdom’s most memorable.
- Peter Boyle brought the monster to life with comedic panache in Young Frankenstein (1974) directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Teri Garr, and Cloris Leachman.
- Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy star in the film Victor Frankenstein (2015). Charles Dance plays Frankenstein’s monster. In this film, Igor (Radcliffe) plays a more pivotal role than a deformed helper.
4. Zombies
When discussing the living dead, we cannot overlook zombie movies. In 1932 White Zombie, Victor Halperin directs what is considered the first zombie horror film. Since that time, zombie movies have grown into some masterful makeup and special effects.
One classic must-see zombie movie is Night of the Living Dead (1968) starring Duane Jones. Check out these others for some freaky viewing:
- 28 Days Later (2000)
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
- Dawn of the Dead (2004)
- Zombieland (2009)
5. Slasher
Slasher movies grew in popularity in the 1970s. Movies like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Halloween ushered in a gruesome but popular horror genre. Vincent Price even joined the early invasion with the film Theatre of Blood (1973). Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddie Kruger became household words among teens and fans of the dark. Enter the era of sequels.
Other serial slasher franchises include:
- Scream
- Child’s Play
- Saw
6. Supernatural
Stephen King’s Pet Sematary (1989) starring Dale Midkiff and Fred Gwynne (Mr. Munster to many of you) dances with the idea of bringing beloved pets back to life. While reanimation and the supernatural go hand in hand, the master of horror took it to creepy heights.
Whether you call them ghosts, goblins, spirits, phantoms, or specters, there’s a film or two out there to explore:
- 13 Ghosts (1960) – This B movie incorporates a standard haunted house and brings back an old witch – Margaret Hamilton of Wizard of Oz fame. While the movie offers a meager plot, her role as the housekeeper keeps the movie interesting. The film was remade in 2001 starring Shannon Elizabeth and Matthew Lillard.
- The Conjuring – This series of films look at the supernatural through the lens of paranormal investigators.
- The Shining (1980) – Another Stephen King classic, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholas) takes his family for a getaway at The Outlook Hotel which is haunted by its history of murder. The movie was filmed at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, and is still in operation.
- Poltergeist (1982) – Directed by Steven Spielberg, evil spirits invade the family home of Steve (Craig T. Nelson) and Diane Freeling (JoBeth Williams. Their daughter Carol Anne (Heather O’Rouke) feels the effects more than any other family member to a haunting degree.
7. Our Own Minds
Things that keep us awake at night aren’t usually real, until they are. Playing with our minds, psychological thrillers use more than shadows and innuendo to draw us in. Creepy music usually warns us, draws us in or outright enhances the fear factor. One movie that did that well was 1960s Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh. Other spinetingling Alfred Hitchcock films include The Birds (1963), Vertigo (1958), and Rear Window (1954). However, Hitchcock isn’t the only one who knows how to bring a thriller to the screen. Stephen King (The Shining), M. Knight Shamalan (The Sixth Sense), and David Fincher (Seven) all raise the goose flesh with skill.
8. Creature Features
This genre covers stock characters such as werewolves, Frankenstein (see above), sea monsters, giant dragons, lizards, dinosaurs, and more.
Jack Arnold directed 1954’s Creature from the Black Lagoon. This 3-D horror film followed on the heels of The House of Wax (Vincent Price), the first color 3-D feature film. Black Lagoon’s black and white film featured a fish-like humanoid also called Gill-man who was played by two actors. Other creature feature horror films include:
- Little Shop of Horrors (1960)- The original film was directed by Roger Corman. The horror-comedy features a monster plant that takes over a flower shop. In 1986, the film was remade into a rock musical starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Steve Martin, Bill Murry, and Tisha Campbell.
- Gojira (1954) – Japanese film special effects by cinematographer Masao Tamai bring this movie to life, otherwise known as Godzilla.
- Jaws (1975) – There isn’t a boat big enough for this ocean-dwelling creature. Another of Steven Spielberg’s films, the flick starred Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss and kept us out of the water all summer long!
We know there are more than 8 Freak Faces of Horror Movies. What did we miss?
