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Halloween Screams

© K Cruver

Though classic horror movies don't have the blood and violence of today's thrillers, they still had plenty of chills. In fact, the power of suggestion added to the creepy mood of these movies. From the beginning, actresses were the primary victims in horror movies, with few exceptions. However, be they victims, mighty heroines, or ghouls themselves, these actresses played horror with class.

Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell, Lionel Atwill
No list of classic horror movies is complete without an entry from the most famous screamer of all, Fay Wray. This is one of her creepiest; she plays a woman who becomes the object of an eerie obsession for a wax sculptor. Farrell is a nosy, wisecracking reporter who uncovers the sculptor's plot before Wray falls permanently under his control. Though some find Farrell's comic tone too distracting from the horror, there's no doubt that she is one of the gutsiest dames to look fear in the eye onscreen.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Director: James Whale
Cast: Elsa Lanchester, Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger

I know that virtually everyone has heard about this movie, but I couldn't leave it out of the list. For one, there are very few truly memorable female spooks in classic movies. Elsa Lanchester's hilariously disturbing scene as the Bride of the hapless Frankenstein monster turned her into an icon, and for good reason. It is also one of the best horror movies ever made, and a rare occurrence of a sequel surpassing the quality of the original movie.

I Walked With a Zombie (1943)
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Frances Dee, Edith Barrett, Tom Conway, Christine Gordon, Darby Jones, Sir Lancelot

Don't let the cheesy title fool you; this is a truly creepy and mysterious movie. It is one of the best of a series of atmospheric and low-budget horror movies that producer Val Lewton made in the forties. The plot takes its major points from Jane Eyre (and yep, it's about zombies). A nurse (Dee) travels to the West Indies to take care of a man's catatonic wife. The voodoo-practicing natives believe the woman is a zombie. The nurse is curious enough to take her charge on a nightmarish late-night journey to find out if she really is among the walking dead. Dee's nurse is wary of her surroundings, but courageous and clever enough to overcome her fears in the interest of her patient's wellbeing. This unique movie doesn't deserve the obscurity its 'B' movie title has forced upon it.

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