The best horror films of the 1960s

In terms of proto-slasher movies, “Psycho” probably tops the list, at least among American films. The shower scene alone is totemic on that front. While the beats of Alfred Hitchcock’s film are well-known now, that is often the case for classic films; it’s still worth actually seeing it. The sequels? Maybe less so, but a couple of them are interesting.

The same year as “Psycho,” over in Hitchcock’s native United Kingdom, the controversial “Peeping Tom” came out as well. Because England has always been more skittish about salacious material- hence the whole “video nasties” era- “Peeping Tom” was more of a cult film. It’s wild, because Michael Powell was mostly known for sweeping dramas, and then he made a movie about a serial killer obsessed with photographing women when they realize they are about to die.

A little bit of B-movie fun for you. “Little Shop of Horrors” wasn’t just produced by Roger Corman, as he also directed it. If you have seen the 1980s remake, this one isn’t a musical; it is a horror-comedy. It’s also clearly cheap, but it is fun, and it delivers on the horror and the comedy.

South Korean filmmaking didn’t begin with Bong Joon-ho. Back in 1960, Kim Ki-young directed “The Housemaid,” a movie that would inspire Bong’s “Parasite.” It’s an old-school domestic drama by way of a horror film, with a well-off family being torn asunder by the new housemaid.

George Sanders won an Oscar for “All About Eve,” but he was not above taking a gig for a paycheck. After all, he was the first Mr. Freeze on the 1960s “Batman” series. He also was often cast in horror movies and unremarkable thrillers to add a little gravitas. You can take “Village of the Damned” seriously, because Sanders is the lead. The premise of this film, about a strange village filled with spooky, supernatural children, is so well-known it's a trope, but this one is still a little freaky. Plus, “Village of the Damned” is a great title for a 1960s horror movie.

Gothic horror is a throwback now, but in the 1960s it was still more common, though not always compelling. “The Innocents” is based on Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw” and has a writing credit from Truman Capote, which is a big fancy. This claustrophobic film stars Deborah Kerr as the governess of a large estate. She comes to fear that not only is the estate haunted, but the children she is watching are possessed.

Sometimes the line between horror and thriller is thin, but “Cape Fear” could be considered a horror film and is a ‘60s classic, so we are including it. There’s a reason why it was remade by Martin Scorsese in the ‘90s, and why it has now been remade on Apple TV as, of course, a limited series. You know the drill. Max Cady, a deranged psychopath, gets out of prison and sets out to torment the attorney he blames for his incarceration, as well as the attorney’s family.

Just because “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” is considered a cult favorite and a camp classic doesn’t mean it isn’t a horror movie. It actually started a bit of a trend in horror films that gave rise to something of a subgenre. This film did benefit from the fact that Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, both struggling in their careers, signed on for the movie. They play sisters living together…and tormenting one another.

“Carnival of Souls” is a bit divisive, the kind of movie that gets the “RiffTrax” treatment and is also a cult favorite genuinely considered to be a good film. It has an odd score, but some find it effectively unnerving. Plus, the movie was clearly made on the cheap and is highly built on atmosphere and tension. All in all, a good movie.

“The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson is one of the definitive haunted house stories. It has been adapted multiple times across film and television. The 1963 version remains the best of the bunch. It’s all about eerie tension and not knowing what is or isn’t real within the world of the movie. You can skip the 1999 adaptation, though.

One more Hitchcock because it delivers on the classic “man vs. nature” conflict. “The Birds” is more atmospheric than “Psycho,” and also odder. It basically asks, “What if, with no clear reason, a bunch of birds flocked to a town and then got really violent with people?” Turns out it would be quite scary! Birds, with their ubiquity and ability to fly, have a level of menace that, say, giant ants simply do not.

This is a horror-comedy riff on “Tales of Terror,” featuring much of the same cast as that movie, with a title riffing on William Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors.” This film has an impressive cast for the era and genre. We’re talking Vincent Price (naturally), Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, and Basil Rathbone all in one place. It’s a silly film, but like the Beach Party movies from the same production company, AIP, it scratches the itch for something silly.

William Castle was known for his schlock offerings, and we say that in a complimentary way, but that is not “I Saw What You Did.” This is your classic “What if you did something slightly breaking the social contract and everything spiraled?” Two teenage girls prank call people by dialing them up, saying the titular line, and hanging up. What if you did that to a man who just murdered his wife, though? Yeah, that’s a hook of a premise, huh?

John Frankenheimer had a fascinating career, directing acclaimed genres, knotty thrillers, and a fair amount of mindless action programmers. He also directed “Seconds,” which stands out in his filmography as an odd duck, but one to seek out. It’s a psychological horror film through the prism of sci-fi, focusing on a man who signs up for a “rebirth,” which is to say a new identity and plastic surgery. When a group called “The Company” offers you that, it’s probably best to say no.

We had to get one Dracula movie in the mix. This is also a Hammer Horror film, which is nice to include. The iconic British horror factory (with the level of varying quality the word “factory” might indicate) loved itself a Dracula movie. “Prince of Darkness” is the third of Hammer’s Dracula films, but also the best. Christopher Lee, a staple of Hammer, plays the Count in this one.

This is a full-on silly, family-friendly horror-comedy, but we didn’t say this was a list of the scariest, creepiest horror movies of the 1960s. It’s about chronicling the best, and “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” made our cut. Don Knotts plays, well, a Don Knotts type, who sets out to spend a night in a haunted house to prove his mettle. Broad, but enjoyable, comedy ensues.

In terms of both horror and independent film, “Night of the Living Dead” is vital. It was not the first zombie movie, but zombie movies don’t become so prevalent without George A. Romero’s film. His ability to craft what remains one of the seminal examples of the genre on almost no budget completely outside the framework of Hollywood production was also remarkable. “Night of the Living Dead” is good, but it’s also genuinely important.

Lastly, we have the other end of the horror spectrum from 1968. Sorry, 1969, but you weren’t up to snuff. “Rosemary’s Baby” is a pristine-looking studio horror film with a reasonable budget and a cast of famous faces. Ruth Gordon won an Oscar for the film, and it is one of the earlier examples of, pardon the term of art, “elevated horror.” It’s an unnerving film about an eerie building full of unsettling people and the looming terror of the Christian Devil, but it’s also so well put together. Other than being a horror film, it’s clearly Oscar fare, and it’s a classic of the genre.