Ten great films about horror

Great list! You should do more of them :P

But seriously, these movies are free?!? I thought copyright was 75 years? Are they downloadable free or are they only on YouTube? Are there many more? Where can I find a list of all of them?

Done with fish.

Great list! What, no Freddy? :)

Nothing beats the old classics. Nosferatu has been my all-time favorite film for as long as I can remember, and Caligari's not far behind.

Joe Barlow
www.cinemaslave.com

You've also selected a couple of movies for TCM. I know you mentioned it before. Do you mind if I ask whether you're making an appearance discussing the films on TCM or did you just select the movies? I believe it's tomorrow night. Thanks.

I'm surprised by the selection of Tod Browning's "Dracula," given that the Spanish version is far more dynamic. Lugosi is, of course, the most iconic Dracula in cinema, so I still dig it. I finally saw "Nosferatu" and wow! Max Shreck was genuinely terrifying in his nine minutes on screen. As for "M," I found it completely compelling especially as someone who opposes the death penalty; I found myself rooting for the mob and was stunned and shamed for doing so by the brilliant ending of the film.

Thank you for the non-numbered arrangement of great films in this genre. A good deed indeed! We'll look for more.

thank I’m not such an expert when it comes to this. Useful read, appreciate your posting this.

This is inspired, and there are more than enough movie lists available for the fans and geeks. You could fill a hole the size of Europe with available internet movie lists, particularly focused on horror. Cinemassacre.com does a great October marathon in which a horror film is discussed every day, going in chronological order. Everything from Nosferatu to Mystics in Bali, never with any concern over what the "best" is, just presenting a love for movies, even an offhand kind of love for the sincere but goofy films, just as I think most horror fans would appreciate.

I admit that at first seeing The Third Man, one of my favorites, on this list triggered confusion, but the heavy influence of German Expressionism, the monster that is the villain of the film, and the somber mood really sit comfortably with these other films. I hope someone discovers it here and gives it a chance.

Where the hell is Night of the Living Dead? It's a great movie and is in the public domain now, so you have no excuse for excluding it.

One of the first films I can remember seeing as a young boy was "The Third Man" I really don't know why I found it so horrifying but I did. Should it be classified as a "horror" film? Well if it scared me so much, I guess it should. I can't explain why it scared me so. Perhaps because we don't get to see Harry Lime until nearly the end of the film but we felt his presense all the way through it (at least I did)...felt him lurking in the shadows, around dark corners, expecting him to jump out any minute to do...what? Saw this film several times over the years and it still scares me. Harry Lime..scarier than Frankenstein and we don't even get a glimpse of him until the film is nearly over.

Mr. Ebert, you are the man! Every time I take the time to read a column, a review, or in this case a list from you, it always brings a smile to my face and I inevitably learn something new. In this case I'm going to get to watch a few films I've heard of but have never seen. Thank you for taking the time to put this together!

I love your this-is-not-a-list list. With the exception of "The Fall of the House of Usher," by Jean Epstein I have seen them all and they all treat fear and inspire it amongst its viewer! Horror seems to have lost all its grimness over the years...

Wow, I didn't realize some of those are available free. I've been wanting to check out "The Third Man" for a while. Another decent movie that could make the list for me (just IMO) would be Michael Powell's Peeping Tom. It's on YouTube in a pretty nice format from Lionsgate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMCt76OVHfw

Ebert: I wanted to include it but embedding was disabled.

The Third Man is not a horror movie. I have no reason to believe it is so. It is a mystery/thriller at the most. Why have categories and definitions at all or any words if the meaning of them is not actualized or implemented in their use? Beyond that: introducing people to these films is a wonderful service to your readers, great job!

I think it would help if you put the genre next to the title of the names in your "Great Movies" essays/lists...especially the drop down list on the website: I know this might be hard to implement, but it's a bit of a task to put in a great movie into google and get a feel of the movie without having it spoiled for you and your earlier reviews were practically just you spoiling the movie: you've gotten better at it with time

Ebert: Switched corpses...phony penicillin killing children...a chase through a sewer...

Thank you for these. Anyone interested in horror should see Nosferatu - the grandfather of all vampire movies. M is one of my favorites. I saw it on PBS when I was a teenager and it has haunted me ever since.

Mr. Ebert:

I truly enjoyed your audio commentary to Dark City. Would you consider doing an audio commentary for Whale's Frankenstein and posting it here so we could listen to your insights at the same time as we watch the film, especially since it's the one without a review posted for reading?

This is the most unfair movie collection ever. No ants, flies, spiders, mosquitoes, wasps, scorpions, cockroaches, grasshoppers, killer bees, alien bugs, or centipedes.

Surely one insect themed horror movie would qualify? Most of the classics are now in the public domain. Is it possible the famed critic is anti-arthropod?

An interesting list, but mine's different:

1.) Rosemary's Baby
2.) An American Werewolf in London
3.) Throne of Blood
4.) The Hunger
5.) The Ninth Gate
6.) Demon Seed
7.) Dracula
8.) Faust (Silent Version 1926)
9.) The Innocents
10.) The Shining

Ebert: But...it's not a list!

I would like to take this opportunity to say that I'm 28 years old, and I've been readin' ur reviews since 1989. I have every book u have ever written. Great compilation of films, gotta say I'm suprised u classify Detour as horror.

http://saturdaynightscreening.wordpress.com/category/spooktoberfest/

I'd question The Third Man's status as a horror movie, but overall, very good... group... of movies. Couldn't find Night of the Hunter online for free?

Interesting..."non-list", but I'd heartily recommend Universal's Spanish language "Dracula" over Browning's stodgy American version. Technically it's the same script, but the shot selection and performances both feel much more modern than the Lugosi/Browning take (and Lupita Tovar is MUCH sexier than boring old Helen Chandler).

@Edgar: Night of the Living Dead has not yet found its way into Ebert's Great Movies archive. That's why.

they showed us fall of the house of usher in, i think, fourth grade. i don't think i've slept since that day. ::shudder::

Generally, I don't care for genre classifications (because movies often blur the boundaries of genre), but lists (or faux lists such as this one) of horror films that include non-horror films always bug me. I mean, can we really call a movie a horror film if it doesn't scare or intend to scare? Okay, so the "about" in your post title takes care of that a bit. This is a great group of films, no doubt, but I don't know just how many of these films we can call horror. Still, I value your faux list regardless of my own issues with horror lists.

Ebert: A horror movie need not frighten, but it must horrify.

By the way, your Great Movies list is the greatest list in the history of movie lists. It has been fundamental in my deeper exploration of medium of film over the last ten years or so. Sure, it's more of a collection of essays than a list, but I don't like to have movies spoiled so I often use it as a list first. I typically use it to select films to add to the Netflix Queue only to read your review after I've watched the movie. The Great Movies section is my favorite part of your site and I thank you for it!

WTF man, where's I Spit on Your Grave???

I see David Lynch's Eraserhead is also free on Youtube. It's really quite spectacular to witness a filmmaker's vision come true in beautiful black and white. With a budget of only $20,000, the film took four years to make, because Lynch had to work odd jobs to pay for the film. The American Film Institute originally funded the movie, but could not extend the budget. Lynch, however, was allowed to continue shooting using equipment from AFI. Did you know that Stanley Kubrick thought Eraserhead was one of the best films he ever saw? It doesn't frighten, but it does horrify. Strange movie.

Thank you. This is great!

Got me a movie, I want you to know
Slicing up eyeballs, I want you to know
Girlie so groovy, I want you to know
Don't know about you, but I am
un CHIEN andalusia
I am un CHIEN andalusia
I am un CHIEN andalusia
wanna GROW
up to BE
BE A DEBASER!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q5WjYjzrEQ

(and that's how I found this film.)

Hi Roger,
I wrote you yesterday...Don't know if you received it so I'll ask again since it seems appropriate for your 10 great movie horror list. In your initial review you gave Deliverance I believe two-and-a-half stars. Since then, you have mentioned it in other reviews alongside horror movie "classics". Do you now rank Deliverance as a great "horror film"?

We do a suspense/horror movie marathon every year, stretched over the month of October. So far this year we have watched:

Picnic at Hanging Rock
Rosemary's Baby
The Orphan
The Golem
Let's Scare Jessica to Death

But we've only gotten started. It's my fella's turn to pick this year, so I'm not sure what else he has in store. I'm pretty sure The Hunger is coming up. I've never seen it myself, but David Bowie as a vampire sounds delicious.

Last year we did:
The Descent
A Tale of Two Sisters
The Sentinel
Don't Look Now
Poltergeist
The Innocents
The Howling
Ginger Snaps
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Nosferatu
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (carpenter version)

And most years we re-watch The Haunting (original of course!) and The Shining, which are my favorite horror movies. And we'll usually do some John Carpenter movies, which are his favorites.

I love October. :)

Oh, and a great movie for Halloween and for your list, but too new to be streamable:

Bug

Not horror, but totally horrifying. Terrific little film, and I can probably never watch it again. Brrrrr.

Incredible...Detour is an amazing gem, and sorely needs to be seen by more people. She: "What'd ya do, kiss him with a wrench?"

Thanks for the LIST, Mr. Ebert!

Srsly, don't the comments that start with Dear Mr. Ebert scare the heck out of you? THANK YOU FOR THE TREAT WITH NO TRICKS! U DA BEST.

Roger,
Your issue seems to be "ranking" rather than "lists". If you have 10 movies and list them, but don't use numbers, then you're not declaring that one is better than another. This is true for your list of 300 some odd great movies:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=greatmovies_fulllist_print

Movie lists are useful. They're a great starting point for all sorts of things like:
* looking for a movie that demonstrates a certain point or situation,
* developing an opinion about a certain subject,
* making sure you don't repeat some tired cliche if you're making your own movie, or
* putting together a movie marathon to celebrate an occasion.

I do agree, though, that ranking movies is generally worthless. Saying "this is better than that" is pointless and really depends on the context.

Patrick Keys

Listening to "Rene and Georgette Magritte with their Dog after the War".

The Haunting has always stayed with me as one of the most truly scary movies I have ever seen, as a commenter at IMDB said "I slept with my hands under the covers for three years after seeing that" I got you beat, I STILL sleep with my hands under the covers. Other than that "Don't look now" had me sleeping with the lights on for almost a year. That Red Dwarf scared the ever loving treacle out of me.

What, no Freaks? I'm pretty sure that's available online...

As a German historian, I was happy to see you reference so many films from the Weimar era. Additionally, I would highly recommend Anton Kaes' most recent book, "Shell Shock Cinema: Weimar Culture and the Wounds of War." I found it to be a fascinating book on a fascinating period of film and cultural production. In it, Kaes discusses how The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu (as well as other noted films including Metropolis, the Nibelungen, and to a lesser extent M) are visualizations of a nation reeling from the traumas of World War I. Given the historical moment, these films can be considered truly horrifying! On a side note, M’s commentary on lynch mob justice seems particularly timely given present-day politics. One should also note the similarities between the anti-immigration rhetoric of modern Republicans and the rather disturbing nativist/racialist discourses found in Nosferatu.

Awesome list, just some more I need to watch. I love most of these movies. I think La Belle et La Bete is an odd choice and Un Chien Andalou, those are more in the vein of experimental and avant-garde than horror, but I see the angle. Anyway, great list.

i would add gigli (2003) to this non-list! it was exceptionally horrifying! i screamed multiple times, why did i pay to see this, when is this over, did i just spill my coke!

I found this article by coincidence while on google, and I've noticed it doesn't appear in your journal nor is it linked from your main site. Just curious if there are other blog entries which might not be showing up.

Ebert: I create free-standing pages I call TwitterPages, because sometimes I come across material I want to post but it isn't appropriate for a full blog. I link them all along the right-hand column of this page.