With autumn setting in and Halloween creeping closer, there’s nothing like an evening at home with snacks, drinks, good movies, and good company! Themed movie nights are the perfect way to celebrate Halloween’s swift and spooky approach – here’s what you should watch if you want to throw a vintage horror themed movie night.
Frankenstein (1931)
One of the most recognized movie monsters of all time, Frankenstein is a must-see on any vintage horror movie night. Starring the legendary Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster, Frankenstein is more than just a horror movie – there's an ultimately sad and heartfelt story underneath it all. Watch Colin Clive utter the famous line, “It’s alive! It’s alive!” in his brilliant performance as Dr. Henry Frankenstein.
Here’s a bit of trivia for Frankenstein fans: in the film, Dr. Frankenstein’s first name is Henry, and his best friend is called Victor, but in the novel, Dr. Frankenstein’s first name is Victor, while his best friend is called Henry.
Dracula (1931)
The role that epitomized Dracula and influenced how he was portrayed for decades to come, Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi portrays the Count in this 1931 classic. After putting Renfield (Dwight Frye) under his vampiric spell, Dracula turns his attention to the lovely Mina (Helen Chandler), whose father, Dr. Seward, brings in Dr. Van Helsing to try to save his daughter from her inevitable fate.
Some little-known facts: Bela Lugosi was still very unfamiliar with the English language when he filmed Dracula – he had to learn his lines phonetically, and his natural accent became the standard Dracula accent for many years to come. When he died, in 1956, Lugosi was buried in his silk Dracula cape.
The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
The incredible cinematography of this film remains highly impressive, even in today’s high-technology filmmaking world. While searching the Amazon River for fossils, a team of explorers instead discover a mysterious and terrifying gilled monster-man. They capture him, but he soon breaks free in pursuit of Kay (Julie Adams), with whom he has fallen in love. This film is sure to have you at the edge of your seat with its eerie swimming scenes between Kay at the Creature.
Creature trivia: Ben Chapman and Ricou Browning are the actors who played the Creature on land and in water respectively, but they both remained uncredited to make the Creature even more mysterious to film audiences.
The Wolf Man (1941)
Long before Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins, Lon Chaney Jr. played the famous wolf man in 1941’s The Wolf Man. After his brother dies, Larry Talbot (Chaney) returns to his hometown in Wales, only to be attacked and bitten by a gypsy-turned-werewolf (Bela Lugosi). He turns to his father (Claude Rains of The Invisible Man) for help when he discovers he has become a werewolf, but he does not believe him and instead gathers the villagers to hunt the wolf down.
Wolf Man trivia: The role of the wolf man was originally intended for Boris Karloff, just as the role of Frankenstein’s monster was originally going to be played by Bela Lugosi. Despite rumours, though, these famous horror movie leading men were not rivals – they all got along well and even played smaller roles in each other’s films, as is illustrated by Bela Lugosi’s small role in The Wolf Man.
Other films you may be interested in viewing: The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Invisible Man (1933), The Mummy (1932), and Revenge of the Creature (1955).
With the above films on your movie night schedule, you’re sure to have a spook-tacular evening!
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Andrea Beca - Andrea has a BA (distinction) in English and Creative Writing from the University of Alberta, and an MLitt (distinction) in Dramaturgy and ...
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