If you’ve landed here I can only assume that you’re either (1) astonishingly lost or (2) a fan of classic horror/sci-fi-horror movies. Of course, if you’re lost, you’re welcome to stay — just mind the excessive floor-to-ceiling cobwebs and the bucket of dry ice off-screen. The rest of you — those who intended to come here — know that this is a blog dedicated to classic horror and sci-fi horror movies. Which begs the question: what is classic horror?
For some, “classic horror” means the slasher films of the 1980s. For others, it means the horror renaissance of the late 1960s into the 1970s. What counts as a classic is usually a matter of perspective and nostalgia. But because this is my blog, and we follow my rules here, “classic horror” refers to the first horror films that laid the groundwork for the genre as we know it today. For me, this includes the black-and-white films from the early days of the talkies up to the Cold War-era sci-fi horror B-movie boom. We’re talking Universal monsters, things that come from outer space, and yes, even Abbott and Costello.
This might seem like an unusual definition of “classic,” especially because it spans several eras of film history and leaves out many other important eras. And I’ll be entirely honest — my favorite horror movies of all time were made in 1975, 1968, and 1968, respectively. (Yes, you read that right. Two of my top three favorite movies hail from 1968, which happens to be the year both my parents were born. Bonus points to anyone who can guess my top three favorite movies.) All of these movies fall outside of the range I intend to cover with this blog, at least initially. So why limit myself to a range of years spanning from roughly 1923 to 1959?
I can find plenty of people to talk to about movies from 1960 onward. It’s been harder for me to find people who want to talk about The Wasp Woman (1959), Dracula’s Daughter (1936), It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), or The Old Dark House (1932). It’s about more than just keeping these films’ memories alive — I can’t and won’t do that single-handedly with this little blog. What I want is to find my people, those who are as obsessed as I am with these old movies and the people who made them.
“Silver screen” is now a metonym for the film industry as a whole, but when I use it for this blog I mean it in as literal a sense as possible. The first movie screens were coated in shiny silver paint meant to better reflect the black-and-white images projected onto them. I’m interested in talking about the kind of movies that would have found themselves on these silver screens, from both the Golden and Atomic eras of Hollywood — you might as well call me the Metallic Movie Reviewer.
I look forward to sharing my thoughts and hearing yours! Now, I think the best place to start will be February 1931…