Classic Horror Curriculum
I posted this to Horror Media Discussion Group about a week ago, but I'm posting it on main for wider traction. This is a "curriculum" of old-school horror movies that I found for free on YouTube or Internet Archive. It only goes up to the 1970s because (A) with the exception of found footage movies (which began in the 90s with The Blair Witch Project) pretty much every current horror subgenre got started (like slasher films), got popular (like zombie apocalypse films) or evolved into its current form in the 70s (like religious horror), making it a good place to end a list of old-school horror and (B) after that point it becomes increasingly difficult to find these movies online, because the more recent the film is, the more copyright holders police its online presence.
Tagging @finnylovesphreaks, who wants to get more into horror and asked for some recommendations today.
These are probably the first feature-length horror films, and certainly the first that are still popular today.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Films from Universal Studios, the company that defined the rules for vampires, werewolves and Frankenstein's monster in popular culture.
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
A producer of horror movies for RKO Pictures during the 1940s; since most people felt it was inappropriate to make horror movies during World War Two, he pretty much was American horror cinema in this decade. You can watch all his films here; I recommend Cat People, the first, most famous, most profitable and in my opinion best of his films.
As a reaction to the fear of communism and nuclear war, most 50s horror was about alien invasions and/or mad science. Notably, this is when American cinema in general transitioned from depicting horror happening in bygone periods in Europe to showing it as something occurring in contemporary America.
The Thing From Another World (1951)
It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)
The Alligator People (1959)
The House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Hammer Films was a British company that produced gothic horror films that, during the 60s, were the dominant type of horror in the English-speaking world.
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964)
The Devil Rides Out (1968)
Folk horror was what succeeded Hammer Horror in British horror films, inspired by rising interest in folklore and folk music in the UK at the time.
Witchfinder General (1968)
The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)
The trilogy of films by George Romero that created the zombie apocalypse genre
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Like I said above, this was the formative period for current American horror cinema. Jaws and The Exorcist are missing from this list, because they're so famous that their owners bother to effectively enforce copyright on them.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
An Italian genre of heavily stylised serial killer thrillers which influenced American slashers
Blood and Black Lace (1964)
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
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