I’ve been watching movies in the book Studies in Terror for weeks now. As you may recall, I’m trying to watch every movie listed in that book so I can learn more about horror. I’m calling it “watch the book,” just like those recipe blogs that try to “cook the book” by cooking every recipe in a cookbook.

I just finished the 30th movie in the book, and I can’t believe I’ve only watched 30 movies. I still have 100 movies to go. This is more work than I thought.

So far, I’ve seen some good movies and I’ve seen some bad movies. So, I thought I would break it down for you. I’ve split up the list into three sections: movies you should see, movies only die-hard fans of the genre need to see, and movies you can skip. Movies I was unable to find are listed at the end. I also ranked the movies; my favorites are closer to the top.

Here goes:

Movies You Should See

  1. Island of Lost Souls: Charles Laughton is phenomenal in this movie, and it is a really fascinating take on the H.G. Wells story.

    Island of lost souls

    That’s Charles Laughton on the left, as the creepiest mad scientist I have seen so far.

  2. The Old Dark House: I’ve already rewatched this movie for fun since I first posted about it. It’s a hokey but good creepy house movie.
  3. The Hands of Orlac: Conrad Veidt can somehow act out whole emotions with his hands. It’s excellent to watch a master actor at work. Plus, the story is nice and scary too.
  4. La Main du diable: Bargains with the devil make for good stories and this one is a whole lot of fun.
  5. Frankenstein: This is a true classic of the monster movie genre that every fan of horror absolutely must see.
  6. Nosferatu: If you like vampire movies, you have to see this original spin on Stoker’s masterpiece.
  7. The Return of Doctor X: It’s got Humphrey Bogart in it, so I’m pretty much going to include it here due to that fact alone. It’s also a good mad scientist story.
  8. The Unknown: Lon Chaney is an actor who put up with a lot of pain for his art. This movie does a great job showcasing it.
  9. The Wolf Man: Lon Chaney, Jr., is not as great as his father, but he does a good job in this movie all dolled up in full werewolf makeup. It’s also a core Universal monster picture that must be seen.
  10. The Monster Maker: It’s a ripoff of other films but is still a lot of fun to watch.
  11. White Zombie: This is only low on the list because I did not like it the first time I watched it. However, now that I’ve seen lots of Bela Lugosi, this is definitely one of his better roles.
  12. Werewolf of London: I really liked the werewolf lore in this movie, even though it doesn’t have the great makeup that The Wolf Man has.
  13. The Cat and the Canary: A really good, Clue-style mystery.
  14. Haxan: This movie is slow to start but has some utterly creepy scenes in a documentary style.
  15. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: I’m going to admit that I didn’t like this movie much when I first watched it. Having watched 29 subsequent films, however, it is easy to see what a huge influence it was. Plus, it has Conrad Veidt, who was in The Hands of Orlac andCasablanca.

    cabinet of dr caligari

    The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari has very strange set design and Conrad Veidt fits right in.

Deep Cuts for Hardcore Horror Fans

  1. Cat People: This movie is a very subtle film with psychological scares.
  2. The Dark Eyes of London: If you like Bela Lugosi, this is a good one. Otherwise, it is just a pretty basic thriller.
  3. Mad Love: If you liked The Hands of Orlac, check out this remake.
  4. The Mad Ghoul: It’s a good ghoul/zombie film that is fun to compare to other films in that subgenre.
  5. Mystery of the Wax Museum: Classic wax horror movie with a fast-talking 1930s reporter to boot.
  6. The Black Cat: This was Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff’s first film together.
  7. The Wind: This is not strictly a horror film, which is why I do not include it above. I loved it, but I don’t know if all horror fans would enjoy this strange silent film.
  8. The Most Dangerous Game: This is here as a deep cut only because my husband liked it. I was not much of a fan.

Movies You Can Skip

  1. Waxworks: This movie is a bit too hokey for my liking and not particularly scary.
  2. Vampyr: This one is too avant-garde without enough discernible plot.
  3. The Ghoul: I got very bored watching this.
  4. The Lodger: This Jack the Ripper story has far too much singing in it and not enough killing.

Movies I Was Unable to Find

  1. The Night Has Eyes: I only watched the first half; the rest of the online video was corrupted. It’s unfortunate, because it was a pretty good first half.
  2. El fantasma del convento: I was only able to watch this in the original Spanish, and I know no Spanish.
  3. The Silent House: I couldn’t find this movie at all. Let me know if you know where to find it by leaving a comment.