KING KONG (1933) - I remember in the 80's watching the 1976 version of King Kong on TV. I thought it was great. My dad watched it with me and told me that it was nothing compared to the 1933 version. Months later we both caught the original version on TV one night. I absolutely loved it and agreed with my dad it was much better than the 76 version. Now that they have a 2005 version, I still say the original is the best.
FRANKENSTEIN (1931) - There have been numerous remakes and sequels of this film, but the original is still the best. Boris Karloff stars as "the monster" who is both frightening and misunderstood. I am still amazed sometimes how well this film holds up after all these years. I have a tradition of mine that every Halloween night I watch this movie. It's the perfect vintage horror movie.
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) - This is one of those rare occasions where the sequel almost lives up to the greatness of the original. "The monster" is raging and demands a mate from his creator...and so the chaos begins. This is a fun film to watch...with plenty of mad scientists and monsters and angry villagers. Great movie.
CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954) - While this movie isn't the best "movie monster" film by any means, "the creature" is one of my favorite movie monsters. I mean...just look at him. He's so cool!
WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953) - In my opinion this is the BEST vintage science fiction movie ever made. And when I say "vintage" I mean circa 1950's. Make no mistake...no arguement about it...this is the best. Classic 1950's paranoia, classic flying saucers taking over the world, death rays, goofy looking aliens...it's all here. The Tom Cruise version in 2005 was great too, but I just have a special place in my heart for this one. Great movie.
THE BLOB (1958) - The fifties produced some great b-movie science fiction movies, and this is one of them. A meteor has crashed to earth and a liquid gooey ooze has leaked out of it. Now the giant jello mold is on the loose and it's soaking up unsuspecting 50's teenagers. Fun movie.
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959) - From the 50's to the 70's Hammer Studios in England gained fame with their own productions of classic american "gothic horror" movies. A lot of them starred their two top actors...Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, and a lot of their titles are just great. This is their take on the classic story from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, starring Sherlock Holmes. I had actually never caught this one before, but I happened to catch it recently on TV. It was pretty good. Hammer films are a lot of fun to watch, and are filled with "gothic creepiness."
GODZILLA (1954) - Yes, it's a man in a big lizard suit....but it's still Godzilla. In my opinion the japanese never quite understood how to make a great monster film back in the day, but they did happen to create an icon that has stood the test of time. Still one of the most recognizable "monster roars" ever put on film. A classic.
THE FLY (1958) - Often overlooked when compared to other more well known movie monsters, "The Fly" is a great character. A scientist toying with transfiguration technology accidentally gets his atoms crossed with a fly. The end result is one of the best movie monsters ever created. The scene where the scientist finally reveals his hideousness to his wife is one of the best moments in movie monster cinema. Throw in a great performance by the great Vincent Price and you have a true classic.
POLTERGEIST (1982) - Now this isn't a "b-movie" by any stretch of the imagination, Jenny and I just happened to catch it recently on TV. It had been forever since we watched it, so we decided to re-watch it. Written by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) POLTERGEIST has to be in the conversation for best horror movie of all time. It's super scary, very creepy, and surprisingly gore-free (or I should say gore-tame.) This was the movie that forced the creation of the "PG-13" rating, and it's not hard to see why. Still a classic after all these years, and still scary as you-know-what.
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