Edgar Wright’s Top 1000 - Part The Second - Old School Horror

Unsurprisingly given that this list is from the man who brought us Shaun Of The Dead, there are a number of horror films on the list. (That’s not all there is - at 1000 films, it’s a pretty broad list.) I’ve seen quite a few horror films over the years but not as many as Edgar Wright, clearly. Let’s stick around the early section as those are the ones I’ve been working my way through to start with. 

The Old Dark House (1932)
Dir. James Whale / Dur. 72 mins

This is the sort of film that I was hoping to find through this list - the sort of overlooked little gem that appeals to my sense of the odd. This time round, we have a selection of travellers seeking shelter in an old dark house (well, duh) populated by an oddball brother and sister and ther hulking mute servant (played by Boris Karloff). The opening bickering between the married couple feels refreshingly caustic for this era and Ernest Thesiger and Eva Moore as weird brother and sister Horace and Rebecca Femm are clearly relishing the chance to play these twisted characters. There’s also a weird moment where their ageing father is clearly played by a woman in old age makeup - something that I expected to pay off later on but never does. Overall, though, definitely worth a watch.

Island Of Lost Souls (1932)
Dir. Erle C. Kenton / Dur. 71 mins

This is the first non-silent adaptation of HG Wells’ The Island Of Doctor Moreau and features Charles Laughton (who also played a buffoonish aristocrat in The Old Dark House) as Doctor Moreau. This is very much his film - he was enjoyable in The Old Dark House but he’s particularly good here. There’s a sly and knowing sense of humour to his performance that elevates it above the usual ranting megalomaniac. Oddly, at times, he reminded slightly of Matt Lucas in the way he performed. The film also features a post-Dracula Bela Lugosi in a role (Speaker Of the Law) that's barely a cameo - seems an odd choice after such a success with the iconic vampire. Overall, though, an enjoyable adaptation of the classic.

Cat People (1942)
Dir. Jacques Tourneur / Dur. 72 mins

A more cerebral and suggestive horror without reliance on make-up and effects. I can see the roots of some of the modern jump scare type horror in some of the sequences here - particularly in the scene where Jane Randolph is walking home and in a swimming pool, being stalked by something unseen. It uses suggestion effectively to get the sense of suspense across. I have to say, though, that I found this one a little boring aside from those couple of scenes. It’s heavier on the melodrama than the horror and didn't really keep my attention.

A couple of classic horror efforts there. I’ll leap forward a bit to the 70s next time for some slices of weirdness…