Goregirl’s TOP 10 Favourite Horror Films From 1960

IMDB listed 139 titles for 1960, but once I dug into the list I discovered only 61 were actually full-length feature films. As is my modus operandi when doing these features, I do not include shorts, documentaries, made for TV movies or TV series. IMDB lists every individual episode of the television shows which accounted for a goodly number of the 139 titles. There were several episodes of the excellent Twilight Zone series along with two shows I had never heard of Thriller and The Unforeseen. I saw 47 of the 61 films from 1960. Ranking these was practically impossible. For starters my entire top five are films I ranked 5/5. How do you rank films you rated identically? Numbers 6 and 7 were films I rated 4.5/5 so they were easy enough to place. The bigger problem came when trying to decide which 3 films would round out the list when I had 8 films I ranked 4/5! What a colossal headache! The films I left off are all well worth a viewing; The Brides of Dracula, Circus of Horrors, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll and The Secret of the Telgian.

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#10 THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS

Directed By: John Gilling

The Flesh and the Fiends is the story of infamous corpse peddlers William Burke and William Hare and their business transactions with Professor Dr. Robert Knox. The lead performances are absolutely top notch; Peter Cushing as Dr. Knox, Donald Pleasence as Hare and George Rose as Burke are perfectly cast. Some of the supporting character subplots felt redundant but it’s a small complaint in an otherwise outstanding film. The Flesh and the Fiends beautifully captures the dark shadows of 19th Century Edinburgh. It’s a fantastic looking film with an excellent grim and eerie vibe. The deaths are not graphic but they are cold-hearted, well-executed and effectively chilling. I foolishly assumed being a 1960 British film starring Peter Cushing and directed by John Gilling (who directed the fantastic Hammer film Plague of the Zombies) that this was a Hammer film. It was in fact made at Shepperton Studios and was produced by Triad Productions. I was particularly torn between Circus of Horrors and The Flesh and the Fiends. In the end John Gilling’s excellent The Flesh and the Fiends won out in a large part thanks to the performances of Cushing, Pleasance and Rose.

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#9 MILL OF THE STONE WOMEN

Directed By: Giorgio Ferroni

Mill of the Stone Women is about a reporter writing a story on a reclusive sculptor who lives in an old mill. The mill houses a strange tourist attraction created by the sculptor; a carousel-esque contraption that features statues of historical women including some famous murderesses. The sculptor is hiding a secret in the form of a beautiful daughter suffering from some mysterious illness. Add to the mix an eccentric doctor and you’ve got one entertaining story. They give away too much information too soon yet the finale is none the lesser for it. The film’s finale is an absolute utter treat! Mill of the Stone Women is an imaginatively filmed lush affair with some seriously trippy scenes. The performances are good; particularly strong are Herbert Boehme as Professor Gregorius Wahl and Wolfgang Preiss as Dr. Loren Bohlem. It is a slow-moving but hypnotic watch with utterly fantastic set pieces, especially that lady carousel; that thing was freaking awesome! Giorgio Ferroni’s Mill of the Stone Women is a stylish, atmospheric horror film that comes highly recommended.

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#8 JIGOKU (aka THE SINNERS OF HELL)

Directed By: Nobuo Nakagawa

Jigoku or The Sinners of Hell is a bit of a bitch to give a short summary for. It is a story about a student named Shiro who is engaged to his professor’s daughter Yukiko. Shiro is the passenger in a hit and run, but there is a witness who wants revenge, Yukiko dies in a car accident, and Shiro is called home to see his dying mother. Shiro’s father runs a shoddy retirement home and openly flaunts his mistress and his mother’s caretaker is a dead ringer for his recently deceased fiancé. For reasons I will not divulge everyone ends up in hell. Hell! Rivers of blood, endless tortures, and demons await you! Jigoku is one of the earliest films to feature graphic gore. There is a flaying and a decapitation among other goodies. Jigoku is an exceptional film visually that is as beautiful as it is bizarre. To check out my photo review for Jigoku click here. Jigoku is an exceptionally unique Japanese horror film…and it has gore!

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#7 HOUSE OF USHER

Directed By: Roger Corman

Roger Corman directed several films based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe starring horror legend Vincent Price. Expect to see more of these on the top ten lists as they are some of the best the decade has to offer! Vincent Price plays Roderick Usher who opposes the marriage of his sister Madeline due to their cursed family bloodline. Price, of course is brilliant as Roderick Usher and he gets strong support from Myrna Fahey who plays Madeline Usher, Harry Ellerbe as Bristol and Mark Damon as Philip Winthrop; Madeline’s intended. The visuals are first class all the way. House of Usher’s great costumes, fantastic sets, superb performances and well-paced plotting assures you are entertained every single second of its 80ish minute runtime.

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#6 CITY OF THE DEAD

Directed By: John Llewellyn Moxey

City of the Dead was on my list of favourite witchcraft films I posted last week and it easily qualified as one of the best of 1960. City of the Dead is about a college student prompted by her professor to do research in the tiny village of Whitewood where much to her horror she discovers she is a target for a coven of witches. The performances are good particularly from Patricia Jessel who plays dual roles and Christopher Lee who has a memorable supporting turn. City of the Dead is a great atmospheric horror films with excellent suspense, beautifully gothic visuals and an engrossing story with one hell of a finale.

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#5 VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED

Directed By: Wolf Rilla

Village of the Damned has been a favourite since I was a kid. An entire town rendered unconscious and protected by an invisible force field even the military can not breach. After a while the force field disappears and the townsfolk begin waking up seemingly unharmed. A few weeks later however the women of child-bearing age discover they are pregnant and all deliver on the same day. The children grow at an alarming rate and bare a striking resemblance to one another. The creepy, emotionless blonde haired children also possess supernatural powers! Filmed in beautiful black and white with a perfect sense of paranoia and an eerie menacing vibe that is completely engrossing. Village of the Damned is well-written and the performances are perfect; especially excellent is George Sanders as the affable Gordon Zellaby, and the talented Barbara Shelley as his charming wife Anthea. Beware the glowing eyes of the children! Why haven’t you seen this film? Village of the Damned is one of the great classics of sci-fi horror.

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#4 BLACK SUNDAY

Directed By: Mario Bava

I warned you it would not be the last time you would see Mario Bava’s Black Sunday on a list! There is no movie on this list I have seen more than Black Sunday! My childhood viewing of Black Sunday terrified me! These days I appreciate it more for its beautiful, gothic, hypnotizing cinematography. But that scene of the mask of Satan being pounded into Barbara Steele’s face still has some sting! It is the story of a witch put to death by her own brother who returns 200 years later to seek revenge on her descendants. Black Sunday is beautiful, eerie and hypnotic and Barbara Steele simply stuns in her dual roles. Black Sunday is one of the greatest gothic horror films ever made!

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#3 PEEPING TOM

Directed By: Michael Powell

Peeping Tom has a particularly racy story for 1960. Peeping Tom is the story of Mark Lewis who murders women so he can capture on film their terrified expressions before death. Its voyeuristic nature is heavily emphasized and the film is as much psychological as it is horrifying. Carl Boehm plays it quiet and brooding and is outstanding as the awkward and unstable titular Peeping Tom Mark Lewis. This isn’t simply a film about a serial killer it is an in-depth character study and an intelligently written story that explores deeper issues than one would expect of the sub-genre. The film is a slow-burn but an extremely effective one. Peeping Tom is a dark, edgy, well-made film that was ahead of its time. Absolutely brilliant.

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#2 EYES WITHOUT A FACE

Directed By: Georges Franju

Eyes Without a Face is about Christiane who lives hidden from the world, shrouded by a white featureless mask that hides her horribly disfigured face. Her father is guilt-ridden plastic surgeon, Dr. Genessier. With the help of his assistant Louise, they lure young women in and surgically remove their faces in hope of successfully grafting the skin to his daughter. But one failed graft after another leaves a pile of bodies and little hope. Eyes without a Face is about vanity, guilt, obsession, depression and redemption. It is a tale that is as bizarre and bleak as it is beautiful. Eyes Without a Face is a visually stunning film; its sterile brightly lit surgeries, shadowy corridors, endless rooms and impressive set pieces. The “face removal” was very graphic for the time and still impresses. A strange and wonderful score compliments beautifully. Eyes Without a Face is a flawless, strikingly original, bleak and beautiful contribution to the horror genre.

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#1 PSYCHO

Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock

Truthfully, I don’t enjoy Psycho any more than the other films in this top five. As I mentioned in my introduction I gave all five of these films an identical perfect rating. Alas one of the films had to hold this spot and technically speaking Psycho is a flawless masterpiece. I am sure there is nothing I can add that hasn’t been said about Psycho before. If you are unfamiliar with Psycho’s story it revolves around a woman named Marion Crane who decides to leave town to start a new life with money she stole from her employer. Inevitably she must stop to rest and chooses the Bates Motel run by a socially awkward momma’s boy named Norman Bates. This does not end well for Ms. Crane whose disappearance does not go unnoticed. Psycho is a stunning film with a pitch perfect mood and atmosphere. Psycho’s real attraction for me is Norman Bates. Anthony Perkins gives a truly epic and iconic performance as cinema’s most infamous momma’s boy. Hitchcock constructed a truly beautiful, chilling, ground-breaking film that has a firm place in horror history.

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That Sly Come Hither Stare…It’s Witchcraft!

Don’t forget November is Psycho-Delic 60s month! I will be reviewing only horror films from the 1960s and posting a top ten list for each year of the decade. I have watched a spectacular amount of films from the 1960s in the past few weeks. I’ve seen well over half of the decade’s horror films thus far. As well as watching titles I have not seen, I am re-watching films that I have not seen since starting this blog (going on almost 4 bloody years!). I will go into specifics on the stats when I post my first top ten list in November. It turns out films about witches and witchcraft were kind of a popular subject in the 1960s. Six titles on this list are from the decade! I would say there is a better than average chance you will see these six films on my top ten list for its corresponding year. A special mention to Witchfinder General which is a film about a witch hunter who doesn’t actually kill any witches. I highly recommend Witchfinder General but I figured I would stick to films that actually had a witch (or witches) in them. Let us begin the bewitching!

VIY (1967)

Directed By: Georgi Kropachyov & Konstantin Yershov

I just posted a review for Viy yesterday! To read my review of this fabulous and funky folklore tale click here.

NIGHT OF THE EAGLE (aka Burn Witch Burn) (1962)

Directed By: Sidney Hayers

My first and so far only viewing of Night of the Eagle was just last week! I rather like its alternate title Burn Witch Burn; but having seen the film really either name is appropriate enough. A teacher ripe for a senior position and well liked by his peers discovers his wife is practicing black magic. She believes she has been responsible for her husband’s success. When hubby insists on burning all her black magic trinkets she fears the worst. Night of the Eagle has an intriguing well-written story, good performances, and great visuals that kept me bewitched throughout.

HAXAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES (1922)

Directed By: Benjamin Christensen

As its name suggests, Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages is a documentary about witchcraft through the ages. It is a series of artistic interpretations and reenactments of rituals and witch hunts and the like. The Devil played by the film’s director Benjamin Christensen looks convincingly creepy and the witches cavorting with the dark lord whilst performing all manner of sacrilege must have caused quite the controversy in 1922! Haxan is downright fascinating, visually arresting and utterly hypnotizing.

BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999)

Directed By: Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez

Blair Witch Project is the story of three film students who set out to make a documentary about the titular “Blair Witch”. It isn’t like a film had never been made with a hand-held camera before, but the success of the Blair Witch Project certainly started a trend of nausea-inducing handheld camera work. I have read several reviews tearing Blair Witch Project a new asshole, but I actually liked this film a lot. I mentioned in my intro that I was going to include films with witches actually in them. You could argue this film does not qualify, but I think whether or not you actually see the “Blair Witch” is left up to the viewer. The film has a nice steady build up and a great mood and tension. I must admit, my home viewing of Blair Witch Project did not live up to my theatre experience but I enjoy it nonetheless.

SUSPIRIA (1977) & INFERNO (1980)

Directed By: Dario Argento

Suspiria’s plot revolves around Suzy a new student at a dance academy. The prestigious dance academy is of course run by a coven of witches. Suspiria has appeared on many lists on this blog. I am a huge fan of Suspiria! Suspiria is an incredibly beautiful film. Inventive camera work, beautiful colors, and of course impressively staged death scenes, an excellent cast and epic soundtrack are the icing on the cake. Suspiria is a bonafide horror masterpiece and is the first in Dario Argento’s “three mothers” trilogy. The second section of the “three mothers” trilogy is Inferno. The story moves from a prestigious dance school in Germany to an apartment building in the USA. An architect named Varelli built separate dwellings for the three mothers in Rome, Freiberg and New York. Inferno is a brilliant although pretty convoluted follow-up to Suspiria. The cinematography, lighting, fantastic surreal sets and beautifully bizarre and nasty images are a feast for the eyes. Mother of Tears is the third part of the trilogy. I am hesitant to recommend Mother of Tears; although it has its moments I found it rather disappointing.

BABA YAGA (1973)

Directed By: Corrado Farina

This is not the child-eating Baba Yaga of Slavic lore. Director Corrado Farina’s film Baba Yaga was inspired by the comic strip art of Guido Crepex’s surreal and sexy adventures of Valentina. In this adventure the sassy photographer has a run-in with a witch. Wild dream sequences, Nazis, executions, a kinky doll-lady; it is not surprising that the lines between dream and reality become blurred for Valentina! Baba Yaga is a stylish, surreal, strange, sexy and beautiful 70’s pop art time capsule.

THE CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN (1963)

Directed By: Rafael Baledón

There was quite the surge of horrors films that came out of Mexico in the 1960s. There are some damn fine gems among them too. The Curse of the Crying Woman is one of two entries on this particular list. Amelia accepts an invitation to visit with her Aunt Selma who she has not seen in many years. Amelia notices a change in her aunt and soon finds out that she may have had sinister reasons for inviting her. The Curse of the Crying Woman is a rich but simple folklore yarn of witchcraft, curses and evil. Beautifully gothic visuals, wonderful sets, interesting characters, creative effects, and a sinister mood that will keep you mesmerized.

THE WITCH’S MIRROR (1962)

Directed By: Chano Urueta

The Witch’s Mirror is the second horror film hailing from Mexico. Mad science, a vengeful wife, possessed hands and the black arts makes for one spirited watch! I love it! Director Chano Urueta includes elements of several other horror films into his story; the final result of which ends up being something quite unique. The second half of this film is a wild ride, and there is plenty to keep you occupied getting there. The Witch’s Mirror has one of the most entertaining finales ever! Some of the effects are a little on the hokey side but they are pretty damn fun and they certainly are creative! This great, black and white gothic tale of witchcraft is a serious shitload of awesome!

CITY OF THE DEAD (1960)

Directed By: John Llewellyn Moxey

City of the Dead is about a college student prompted by her professor to do research in a tiny village and discovers a coven of witches. City of the Dead is a beautiful, atmospheric black and white horror film that is effectively eerie. From City of the Dead’s outstanding witch hunt scene to its exciting and intense finale the film is truly a gothic delight. Top notch performances and an engrossing well-written story. Although Christopher Lee receives top billing on my copy of the DVD, he actually has a supporting role and limited screen time. Lee is super fantastic but Patricia Jessel sorta steals his thunder with her dual roles and wonderfully mad cackle. A gem.

BLACK SUNDAY (1960)

Directed By: Mario Bava

Black Sunday is yet another film that has appeared on several lists on this blog; and it will not be the last. I absolutely love everything about this film! It is the story of a witch put to death by her own brother who returns 200 years later to seek revenge on her descendants. The stunning Barbara Steele takes on dual roles as Princess Asa Vajda and Katia Vajda and she is simply stunning, sweet and terrifying. One of Mario Bava’s best; Black Sunday is deliciously gothic, well-acted, beautifully filmed, eerie and atmospheric.