"Carnival of Souls" (1962)

While recently remade, Carnival of Souls is a spooky film set in the early 1960's.  After emerging as the lone survivor in a terrible car crash, a woman named Mary becomes increasingly disturbed.  When she finally accepts a new job as an organist at a church (scary enough, eh?), she begins to be haunted by a menacing ghost.... (insert creepy ghost noise here)

Oh, the horror!

Carnival of Souls is available to watch instantly on Netflix, Hulu, AND Youtube (it's a pretty old flick).  Therefore, there's no need to buy it-- instead, just watch it for free!  In the meantime, check out this trailer:

P.S. This film didn't get stellar reviews when it first was released, but in the late 1980's it was regarded as a cult classic!  However, the director of the film never worked in the industry again and lead actress Candace Hilligoss was dropped promptly by her agent.

P.S.S. The evil ghoul/man creature that Mary sees throughout the flick is actually director Herk Harvey in makeup.  He actually wore his ghost makeup to interviews later on-- talk about dedication....

"The Haunting" (1963)

Don't let the original G rating fool you-- The Haunting is a terrifying classic ghost story that is a classic among horror fans.  The film centers around a doctor who is hell-bent on proving that ghosts exist.  Using a stereotypical haunted house (named Hill House-- scary, eh?), he employs the help of various individuals who have had previous experiences with the supernatural.  One young woman, Nell, becomes particularly involved in the experiment and finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into the history of Hill House.

Seriously, spiral staircases are never NOT creepy....

While you can likely find the full-version of The Haunting online for free if you do a little digging, if you have Amazon Prime you can also watch it for free.  You can also purchase The Haunting from Amazon for a few bucks-- not a bad deal for such a great movie....

P.S. This film was adapted from the 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (a great book if you love ghost stories!).  Also, it was remade in 1999 starring Catherine Zeta-Jones.

P.S.S. Talk about famous fans-- director Martin Scorsese has named The Haunting as his favorite horror film of all time.

"Repulsion" (1965)

Repulsion, directed by the brilliant (yet seemingly morally-lacking) Roman Polanski, is not your typical horror film.  There are no monsters, demonic possessions, or haunted houses.  Instead, Repulsion focuses on the slow mental demise of Carole, a gorgeous manicurist living in London with her sister.  Although Carole is quite beautiful (a very young Catherine Deneuve portrayed her, after all), it is obvious something traumatic happened to her that put her on the brink of sanity.  In the psychology world, poor Carole would probably be thought of as having a thought disorder characterized by psychotic breaks-- yikes!  When Carole's sister leaves for the weekend, Carole is left alone in the apartment and slowly unravels.  She begins having hallucinations of hands grabbing at her from her walls and delusions regarding being sexually assaulted.  Oh yes-- she also leaves a raw, skinned rabbit out on the kitchen counter where it rots.  Yuck.

(Photo Credit)

While you can rent Repulsion from Netflix, you can go ahead and buy it from Amazon.  Trust me, this is one horror flick that is worthy of a place in your horror collection-- why haven't I purchased it yet?  In the meantime, check out the trailer below:



P.S. Repulsion is actually Roman Polanski's first English language film.  It is also considered to be part of his "apartment trilogy" along with Rosemary's Baby (1968) and The Tenant (1976).  Right, Polanski-- how many times do directors try to pass things off as part of a "trilogy" to raise some cash?  If it's not Star Wars, it's not a trilogy in my humble opinion.

P.S.S. Many films are rumored to be based off of this classic thriller, including Black Swan, Pi, Scissors, and May.

"Horrors of Spider Island" (1967)

Honestly, Horrors of Spider Island is one of the trickiest horror films to research, mainly because of its many various names and edits.  It was originally called A Corpse Hung in the Web in 1960 and premiered in Germany (it is originally a German-Yugoslav film that has been dubbed in English).  In 1962, it was released in America as an erotica entitled It's Hot in Paradise.  Five years later, it was edited into what we now know as Horrors of Spider Island.  Whew!  What's it all about, you may ask?  A whole slew of sexy, scantily-clad dancers are trapped on a remote island with a dangerous spider/man combo.  Seriously.  That's it.

(Photo Credit)

While you can rent Horrors of Spider Island from Netflix, you can also rent the Mystery Science Theater 3000: Horrors of Spider Island .  However, since Horrors of Spider Island is so frickin' old, you can actually download it for free from the Internet Archive or watch it instantly on Google Video.  If you're particularly fond of creepy spiders and nearly-naked ladies, you can buy either the original or the MST 300 version from Amazon.



P.S. Did we already mention the fact that it was originally a naughty adult film entitled It's Hot in Paradise?  Yes?  Well, we're done here.

"Rosemary's Baby" (1968)

If you haven't heard of the film Rosemary's Baby, then I suggest you turn away from this post, because I will tell you exactly what the movie is about: Satan.  That's right, folks.  When a young, hip couple move into a shady apartment complex, they are thrilled to find out that they are pregnant.  However, as Rosemary's bump begins to grow, so do the strange occurrences around her-- people die, nightmares occur, and the neighbors are all too friendly.  Soon, Rosemary learns that a paternity test may be in order for her previous bundle of joy....

(Photo Credit)

You can rent Rosemary's Baby from Netflix or you can just buy it from Amazon.  Make sure to check out the following clip below, as well:



P.S. There were several rumors floating around that Anton LaVey, the Church of Satan founder, actually played Satan in one of the scenes.  However cool that would be, it was unfortunately false.  Boo.

P.S.S. Rosemary's Baby was director Roman Polanski's first American film, as well as his first non-original script.  Many people say this film stays true to the book more so than any other movie ever made-- this was likely due to the fact that Polanski didn't know he could stray from the book in the script.

"Twisted Nerve" (1968)

Before a month ago, I had never heard of Twisted Nerve.  Although we see a lot of its influence over horror and film (the whistle song from Kill Bill?  Originally from Twisted Nerve!), it is a relatively unknown British thriller.  I first watched this film because I heard that American Horror Story, my favorite TV show right now, based a lot of the character Tate on Twisted Nerve's main character.  Martin is a rich, sociopathic Mama's boy who, although he happens to be very good looking, wants nothing more in life than to have a free ride.  When his step-father gives him an ultimatum, Martin does what any 20-something would do: he fakes moving away, befriends a sexy librarian (Hayley Mills, of all people!), and soon passes himself off as "Georgie," a mentally challenged man.  While the librarian and her family take him in, the lines become blurred between Martin and Georgie, which prompts the viewers to wonder if Martin is truly faking his other personality....

(Photo Credit)

Unfortunately, you can't really find Twisted Nerve around-- not even on Netflix!  However, you can buy a copy really cheap from Amazon, which is what I did.  Trust me, I have no regrets on this purchase, ladies and gents.  In the meantime, check out the trailer below:



P.S. The whistling theme from Twisted Nerve was recently popularized by Quentin Tarantino in Kill Bill: Volume I.

P.S.S. Not gonna lie-- this film can be a wee bit offensive due to its views on "mongolism," which is an outdated, offensive term for Down's Syndrome.  The producers even insisted on having a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie stating that there is no known connection between "mongolism" and psychopathology.  Yikes....

"Spider Baby" (1968)

Today's Horror du Jour comes courtesy from Happy and Wrong, my other blog that features a Terror Tuesday section dedicated to horror flicks.  Check out Spider Baby, a classic film from the 1960's that has inspired many horror films to date.  The Merrye family suffers from a rare genetic disorder that causes them to reverse in terms of emotionality, making them into cannibalistic killers.

Please follow this and my other blog if you love all things girly-- and, uh, horror movies.  Thanks, y'all!

"Night of the Living Dead" (1968)

Words cannot describe the love I have for the original Night of the Living Dead (and I say "original" only because there was a truly unfortunate remake from the 90's... yuck!).  As George A. Romero's first film, and the granddaddy of all zombie-themed exploits, the story revolves around a group of survivors who huddle together in a deserted farmhouse to hide from, well, the living dead.  Apparently, while our generation focuses on zombies being the result of a nasty virus, they were originally caused by an out-of-control satellite orbiting the earth and bringing the dead back to life (anybody care to do a sociology project on that theme?).  Best of all, the hero in the movie was African-American, which had not been done before.

(Photo Credit)

You can watch Night of the Living Dead instantly on Netflix, or you can add this classic to your collection from Amazon.  Check out the following trailer, too, for a taste (no pun intended) of the film:



P.S. The filmmakers of Night of the Living Dead were deemed "Satanically-inspired" by certain religious groups.  I guess we know who got the last laugh....

P.S.S. Night of the Living Dead was one of the first films to actually feature a violent death on the big screen.  Additionally, it was one of the most successful independent films of all time!

"What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962)

The way I see it, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? pretty much sums up what we all suspect about child stars: they are effin' crazy.  Just imagine if Lindsay and Ali Lohan were in the places of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford for a modern-day twist.... Jane Hudson was a famous, revered child starlet a la Shirley Temple, but who was eventually out-shined in adulthood by her very talented older sister, Blanche.  Now, Blanche is partially paralyzed and at Jane's every vengeful whim.  If you are a fan of psychological thrillers opposed to gory bloodbaths, then What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? will be a pleasant surprise.

(Photo Credit)

While the film isn't available to watch instantly, you can rent it through Netflix's mail delivery service.  If you are a huge fan of old skool Bette Davis thrillers, then you might as well go ahead and buy it from Amazon.  Check out this super intense scene....




P.S. There is a distinct reason why Bette Davis and Joan Crawford have such good chemistry on screen, as far as hatred goes: they truly did hate each other!  Each actress vied for the position of prima donna on the set, and each seemed to go out of her way to anger the other.  Besides physical distress (there was a back strained and stitches required), Bette decided to put a Coca-Cola vending machine on the set, despite the fact that Joan's late husband was the CEO of Pepsi, Coke's rival.

"Peeping Tom" (1960)

(Photo Credit)

A lot of film-goers believe that Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho was the first stab (no pun intended) at the genre of slasher films-- they are mistaken.  While Psycho is undoubtedly one of the most influential horror films of all time, the British cult favorite Peeping Tom, directed by Michael Powell, is actually considered to be by most cinephiles the first slasher flick.  The premise is sick and creepy enough, especially by early 1960's standards-- Mark Lewis is a sexually repressed, sociopathic photographer who, due to trauma by his scientist father, becomes obsessed with killing women and catching their expressions on his camera.  Not only does he record the act, but he actually kills with his camera-- he puts a blade on the edge.  Strange, eh?  It only gets stranger when Mark befriends Helen, a young woman who brings out a warmer side of his personality.  However, as Helen and her mother, who happens to be blind, come closer to discovering his true nature, he begins reverting back to his old ways....

(Photo Credit)

Grab Peeping Tom from Amazon, or watch it instantly on Netflix (what a great deal!).  Also, check out the following campy trailer:



P.S. Director Michael Powell, who was famous for directing hits such as The Red Shoes, is said to have "ruined his career" when this film was released.  Oh, what a small price to pay for starting a huge horror movie movement, eh?