Silent Horror Films
 

Anyone here into silent films? Recently I've become obsessed with silent film. I find the whole period of all art during the silent film era hugely fascinating. I think the emotion, story and detail conveyed in silent film just really resonates with me, and to watch any good silent film is to watch absolute mastery of film making - anything by Murnau or Lang especially.

I've watched these recently, and would definitely put them on a best horror films of all time list:

Nosferatu - I saw a restored version as it was intended to be viewed, highly reccomend to track it down if you've only ever seen the non-tinted version with the wrong character names.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - This movie blows my mind. I love, love LOVE how everything looks in this movie.

The Hands of Orlac - (Orlac's Hande) This is the most expressive movie I may have ever seen. It is a little slow paced - but I think that's due to our modern short attention spans than anything else. This movie is moving and beautiful to me, I've played piano since I've been a little kid so that's part of the reason too.

The Golem - the scene where the rabbi does the ritual is accurate - that is actually from real grimoires and cermonial magic, really cool! Great, great storytelling, history and special effects.

The Cat and the Canary - I maybe wouldn't consider this film on a best horror movie of all time list, but it is a quintessential horror film and has obviously influenced just about every/any "haunted house" horror film as well as any horror movie with an ensemble cast. This movie creates many, many horror movie tropes. This movie could easily be remade today with no changes except setting it in the present year (Of course it would suck because today's actors would make it suck crap balls).

Metropolis - Not a horror film, but I watched the most recent restoration and wow - go watch it now if you can. Just last year they found 25 mins of lost footage, it looks amazing. Beautiful, stunning, moving film. Just thinking about how this was made back then blows my mind. Even without the sets, the camera work was groundbreaking.

Next up on my docket to watch:

Faust
The Phantom of the Opera
Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde
Hunchback of Notre Dame

Any that I'm missing that I should see?

If anyone has any ideas on how to further my obsession with this era let me know...time travel anyone?

Yes, I love silent films.

I saw the restored version of Metropolis last year, and it was, as you say, stunning. Dancelike in many spots. The restored footage was actually discovered in 2008. It took them 2 years to restore it.

A couple to check out:

The original version of Frankenstein, produced by the Edison studio. Really an interesting film.

Also, The Phantom Carraige is an amazing film. Many starkly eerie images.

The Lost World is well worth a watch, featuring stop motion animation by Merian C. Cooper before King Kong.

And then there's Haxan, which needs to be seen to be believed.

Those are the cream of the crop, but by no means every silent horror.

Nosferatu...but that's a given. Sooooooo creepy.

The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari is another strange silent German horror film. Plays with story conventions and looks like a possible strong influence on Tim Burton.

The Phantom Of The Opera. Is worth seeing, especially for the colour ballroom sequence. Lon Chaney is sublime!

^I second all of those recs by good sir Ozma. I would also add a Japanese film called A Page of Madness, which is somewhat horror, maybe? At any rate, it's a brilliant work and, like NE said about Haxan, it has to be seen to be believed.

The Man Who Laughs.

And also just for the cool vibes Les Vampyrs.

Metropolis is, I believe, the high water mark of the silent era, but Nosferatu is my favourite silent "horror."

Actually, Dreyer's Vampyr is close enough to silent. And it's extraordinary.

Also check out:

Sparrows
The Student of Prague

^^Every film that have been mentioned so far are great film, really amazing...as NE said 'needs to be seen to be believed'.

Like to add Lon Chaney's The Penalty (1920) & The Unknown (1927)

Dr. Caligari, The Phantom Carraige & A Page of Darkness are my all time favorites!

Love it. The inspiration behind Batman's Joker.


Also check out a horror short called "Un Chien Andalou." Contains the first ever gorific scene in horror movie history.

And the french version of "The Fall of the House of Usher", adapted by Luis Bunuel. Great film.

I would also like to recommend the magnificent "The Call of Cthulhu". Although a contemporary film, it's a silent b/w with a fantastic symphonic background score. Do definitely check that out.

Great film starring Conrad Veidt. The story of a man who had a his face carved into a hideous smile. The inspiration for The Joker character.

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I love all of the Lon Chaney, Sr films especially The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The Phantom Of The Opera and The Monster. It's too bad that there is no full version of his In London After Midnight.

The Golem and The Lost World are favorites,

But the all time shocker is Nosferatu with Max Schreck. That one can give you nightmares.

Can't really add much, I'd say Waxworks is well worth a watch though. Faust and The Phantom Carriage are probably two of my favourites... Also, alot of these movies are easy to find, alot of whats been mentioned in this thread is avaliable on youtube.

Oh yes, this is an amazing film. It was actually adapted by Jean Epstein, but is still very much in the surrealist camp.

check out 'Alone in the Dark'... not the crappy shit by uwe boll, i mean the very old slasher from the 70ies, good movie! silent and scary :)

Silent? ....

My faves from the silent era:
The Fall Of The House Of Usher
Der Golem
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (the restored full version)
Nosferatu
The Cabinet of Doctor Caglihari.
Faust (first half better than the second though).

I'll also add The Call Of Cthulhu though not from that era it is still one of my all time fave films. Plus Vampyr is mostly silent so I recommend that.