The Start of Sound Horror Films: 1930-1934
So, Sin and I finally got through the first half of the 1930s. Dear Satan. They're pretty good, but the sheer number of films have made it hard to just find the energy to get through, even with the Coronapocalypse happening. We had 25 films. After this decade, I'll probably make a post every two or three years, rather than every five.
As usual, I'll post a small little review of each film we watched, and then I'll share Sin's and my favorites!
1931
Dracula: This was the Bela Lugosi film of fame. It was pretty good, but I remember thinking it so weird of an experience for me. So, I had never seen this film. I only knew about its legacy. I know it was the first of its kind, but it still seemed so over the top for me. Like, I couldn't believe this was actually THE Dracula and not an impersonator of him. But it was still enjoyable!
Dracula (the Spanish version!): If you don't know, this film had different actors and occasionally different moments. I generally liked this version more, just because it was allowed to be a bit more explicit with the horror. And this Dracula wasn't as exaggerated.
Frankenstein: Another Universal one! Boris Karloff is pretty awesome, I have to say. I generally liked this film. I realized it wasn't as over the top as I had always imagined it to be, nowhere as hammy as Dracula. Pretty good.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Definitely the best version we've seen so far! It was enjoyable. I loved seeing the eroticism in this film compared to the previous versions. I believed the horror of it a lot more.
1932
Freaks: This film was pretty dark. I definitely see how it inspired Freak Show of American Horror Story. It really mixed in elements of body horror with revenge plots, and the sound design was just flawless on this. The rain scene got me hard.
Vampyr: This film was written by some old guy who didn't like sound films. So he made this mostly silent. Despite being one of the first non-Dracula vampire films, it was incredibly underwhelming. Would not recommend.
The Mummy: Full of lots of cultural exoticism and xenophobia, this was a fairly dull film. Even with Karloff, it was fairly mediocre. Don't recommend.
Island of Lost Souls: Based on The Island of Dr. Moreau, this film was pretty good. It still had the racial overtones of Wells' novel, but it was pretty fucked. Lots of vivisection happening. Definitely worth a watch! Since I knew the book well, I had personal connections to the movie.
The Monster Walks: A very racy animal suspense movie. Nothing special.
The Most Dangerous Game: I remember reading this short story back in middle school. The film absolutely delivered. It was wonderful and had the cast of King Kong plus a lot of the sets!!! I'd argue it was a far superior film personally.
Murders in the Rue Morgue: Another racy detective movie. Nothing special. I will note that this plot plus the Black Cat narrative were the only popular Poe stories back then for whatever reason.
The Old Dark House: This was a surprisingly hilarious horror comedy. You have to watch this. It is just delicious and fun. A house haunted by a troubled family. Stranded travelers stay the night. Potatoes galore.
Unheimlich Geschichten: This is the third version of this film we'd seen so far. Yet, I think it was the worst? I really didn't enjoy this one as much as the older versions. I felt like they tried too hard on it.
White Zombie: A super racist zombie film. This was just bizarre. It's definitely one of the first zombie films ever, but it really linked zombies to racial discourse, and it was incredible just as an object of study.
1933
The Ghoul: Another Karloff film. I was enjoying the film until the super confusing ending. If someone can explain to me what the writers were smoking, I would appreciate it.
The Invisible Man: Probably one of my favorite of the Universal pics so far! It was a dark and crazy antagonist. The hotel owner was a hilarious treat. And there's a kind of subtle eroticism in the film that made it extra enjoyable.
La Llorona: Our first Mexican horror film, I believe. It was horrible. Great sound effects, but it seemed like their technology was about five years behind Europe/USA.
Murders in the Zoo: This was a fun one! An animal handler uses animals to kill his wife's flirters. It was so surprisingly graphic, starting with a guy having his mouth sewn shut before being fed to tigers. The horror stayed real throughout, and there were lots of false hopes which I personally enjoy.
Supernatural: I enjoyed the supernatural-not-being-real-but-is-it trope in this film. It was a bit predictable, I suppose, but it wasn't bad.
The Vampire Bat: Hands down the worst film of this half of the decade.
King Kong: It was both Sin's and my third or fourth time watching this. It's still good, but each time I watch it I pick up on more of the race elements in it. It's really crazy seeing how fucked the movie gets on a cultural level.
1934
Black Cat: Again, we return to Poe. This was....bizarre. Despite having a black cat, this was just so different from the Poe story it's named after. Plus, it had both Karloff AND Lugosi. An interesting watch, plus someone gets flayed alive!
Sex Maniac: This one was odd. Despite the title, it's not exactly an erotic or even sexual thriller. It's very very stigmatizing about mental disabilities. It was fairly fast-paced, so it was an okay film.
Black Moon: Another racist voodoo film. It had a stellar cast, I thought. And it had some particularly haunting shots in it. But it would be great for postcolonial theory readings.
El Fantasma del Convento: A second Mexican horror film. It was dull but not as bad as La Llorona. Good cast and good special effects, but nothing to write home about.
So, for favorites!
Mine was either Old, Dark House because it was just so funny or Murder in the Zoo. I loved the creative deaths of that movie, and I am usually a fan of animal-related horror, so that was a real treat.
Sin: "Old Dark House just because of its comedic effects. I wasn’t expecting it to be that good. Freaks, too. Honorable mention would be Most Dangerous Game, which actually surprised me."
Comment question of the day: What's an Edgar Allan Poe story you'd like to see a movie of?
As usual, I'll post a small little review of each film we watched, and then I'll share Sin's and my favorites!
1931
Dracula: This was the Bela Lugosi film of fame. It was pretty good, but I remember thinking it so weird of an experience for me. So, I had never seen this film. I only knew about its legacy. I know it was the first of its kind, but it still seemed so over the top for me. Like, I couldn't believe this was actually THE Dracula and not an impersonator of him. But it was still enjoyable!
Dracula (the Spanish version!): If you don't know, this film had different actors and occasionally different moments. I generally liked this version more, just because it was allowed to be a bit more explicit with the horror. And this Dracula wasn't as exaggerated.
Frankenstein: Another Universal one! Boris Karloff is pretty awesome, I have to say. I generally liked this film. I realized it wasn't as over the top as I had always imagined it to be, nowhere as hammy as Dracula. Pretty good.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Definitely the best version we've seen so far! It was enjoyable. I loved seeing the eroticism in this film compared to the previous versions. I believed the horror of it a lot more.
1932
Freaks: This film was pretty dark. I definitely see how it inspired Freak Show of American Horror Story. It really mixed in elements of body horror with revenge plots, and the sound design was just flawless on this. The rain scene got me hard.
Vampyr: This film was written by some old guy who didn't like sound films. So he made this mostly silent. Despite being one of the first non-Dracula vampire films, it was incredibly underwhelming. Would not recommend.
The Mummy: Full of lots of cultural exoticism and xenophobia, this was a fairly dull film. Even with Karloff, it was fairly mediocre. Don't recommend.
Island of Lost Souls: Based on The Island of Dr. Moreau, this film was pretty good. It still had the racial overtones of Wells' novel, but it was pretty fucked. Lots of vivisection happening. Definitely worth a watch! Since I knew the book well, I had personal connections to the movie.
The Monster Walks: A very racy animal suspense movie. Nothing special.
The Most Dangerous Game: I remember reading this short story back in middle school. The film absolutely delivered. It was wonderful and had the cast of King Kong plus a lot of the sets!!! I'd argue it was a far superior film personally.
Murders in the Rue Morgue: Another racy detective movie. Nothing special. I will note that this plot plus the Black Cat narrative were the only popular Poe stories back then for whatever reason.
The Old Dark House: This was a surprisingly hilarious horror comedy. You have to watch this. It is just delicious and fun. A house haunted by a troubled family. Stranded travelers stay the night. Potatoes galore.
Unheimlich Geschichten: This is the third version of this film we'd seen so far. Yet, I think it was the worst? I really didn't enjoy this one as much as the older versions. I felt like they tried too hard on it.
White Zombie: A super racist zombie film. This was just bizarre. It's definitely one of the first zombie films ever, but it really linked zombies to racial discourse, and it was incredible just as an object of study.
1933
The Ghoul: Another Karloff film. I was enjoying the film until the super confusing ending. If someone can explain to me what the writers were smoking, I would appreciate it.
The Invisible Man: Probably one of my favorite of the Universal pics so far! It was a dark and crazy antagonist. The hotel owner was a hilarious treat. And there's a kind of subtle eroticism in the film that made it extra enjoyable.
La Llorona: Our first Mexican horror film, I believe. It was horrible. Great sound effects, but it seemed like their technology was about five years behind Europe/USA.
Murders in the Zoo: This was a fun one! An animal handler uses animals to kill his wife's flirters. It was so surprisingly graphic, starting with a guy having his mouth sewn shut before being fed to tigers. The horror stayed real throughout, and there were lots of false hopes which I personally enjoy.
Supernatural: I enjoyed the supernatural-not-being-real-but-is-it trope in this film. It was a bit predictable, I suppose, but it wasn't bad.
The Vampire Bat: Hands down the worst film of this half of the decade.
King Kong: It was both Sin's and my third or fourth time watching this. It's still good, but each time I watch it I pick up on more of the race elements in it. It's really crazy seeing how fucked the movie gets on a cultural level.
1934
Black Cat: Again, we return to Poe. This was....bizarre. Despite having a black cat, this was just so different from the Poe story it's named after. Plus, it had both Karloff AND Lugosi. An interesting watch, plus someone gets flayed alive!
Sex Maniac: This one was odd. Despite the title, it's not exactly an erotic or even sexual thriller. It's very very stigmatizing about mental disabilities. It was fairly fast-paced, so it was an okay film.
Black Moon: Another racist voodoo film. It had a stellar cast, I thought. And it had some particularly haunting shots in it. But it would be great for postcolonial theory readings.
El Fantasma del Convento: A second Mexican horror film. It was dull but not as bad as La Llorona. Good cast and good special effects, but nothing to write home about.
So, for favorites!
Mine was either Old, Dark House because it was just so funny or Murder in the Zoo. I loved the creative deaths of that movie, and I am usually a fan of animal-related horror, so that was a real treat.
Sin: "Old Dark House just because of its comedic effects. I wasn’t expecting it to be that good. Freaks, too. Honorable mention would be Most Dangerous Game, which actually surprised me."
Comment question of the day: What's an Edgar Allan Poe story you'd like to see a movie of?
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