In more than a century since cinema emerged, it is remarkable how certain genres are treated, to this day, as maximum representatives of the film industry – such as dramas, which normally dominate awards seasons and are characterized by experts and critics as the supreme of such artistic creation.
However, it is impossible to dissociate other genres from the history of cinema – something that continues to happen when we turn our attention to the terror.
These types of narratives are intrinsically linked to the history of the seventh art, following its technical and stylistic revolutions and serving as a basis for the immortalization of works by iconic directors – including masters such as Quentin Tarantino, Akira Kurosawa e Martin Scorsesejust to name a few. And, when we go back in time to the 1960s, it is very interesting to see the popularization of not only psychological horrors but also ‘Psychosis’ e ‘What Happened to Baby Jane?’as well as an incisive focus on B-films such as ‘Night of the Living Dead’ e ‘The Village of the Damned’.
With this in mind, we have prepared a brief list listing the best horror films of the 60s for you to discover or revisit.
Check it out:
Before receiving an iconic adaptation for the Broadway stage and a film reinterpretation released in the 1980s, ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ had its origins in the 60s, guided by Jonathan Haze in the main role and Roger Corman in the director’s chair. Gaining popularity over the years, the feature film truly marked Hollywood film culture and is remembered as one of the classics. cult most iconic songs of all time – mainly due to their comedic content. The fun and chilling plot works as a kind of farce and is centered on a florist’s assistant who grows a plant that feeds on human blood.
9. VILLAGE OF THE CURSED (1960)
Like so many other titles of this genre, ‘The Torture of Fear’ It did not receive the appreciation it deserved at the time of its release in theaters. However, over the years, this classic led by Michael Powell reached the status of movies cultgarnering a legion of fans who revisit or rediscover it year after year – and which led critics to reevaluate the production. The plot, which brings elements of psychological suspense and horror in the same place, follows the traumatized Mark Lewis, who suffered bizarre experiments from his scientist father and student of the effects of fear when he was a child. Now an adult, with his parents already dead, he becomes a psychopath who kills women to record their expressions of terror at the moment of death.
If there is one horror subgenre that continues to be a huge hit among horror fans, it is zombies. And, long before productions like ‘Resident Evil’ e ‘World War Z’, George A. Romero transformed such narrative into a beautiful work of art through the timeless ‘Night of the Living Dead’ – which marked an entire generation by exploring the ultimate condition of the human being in relation to himself. Gaining several reinterpretations over the years, the plot followed a group of survivors isolated in a farmhouse while an army of human flesh-eating zombies hovers above their doors.
6. THE BIRDS (1963)
Alfred Hitchcock He is not considered one of the best and most influential filmmakers of all time for any reason – and, throughout his career, he immortalized suspense and horror classics. Among the titles he headlined, ‘The Birds’without a shadow of a doubt, is one of his most chilling and engaging productions. The plot follows Melanie Daniels, a beautiful and rich socialite, who meets lawyer Mitch Brenner in a pet shop and becomes interested in him. After the meeting, she decides to look for him in the city of Bodega Bay, California, where Mitch usually spends his weekends. However, Melaine just didn’t know that she was going to experience something scary: thousands of birds settled in the area and started attacking people.
5. WHAT HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962)
‘What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?’ It may not be a horror film like we would expect to find on a list like this, but it is considered one of the best psychological thrillers of all time and helped to establish the genre with unparalleled strength. With direction from Robert Aldrich and known for being the divas’ first and only collaboration Joan Crawford e Bette Davisthe production follows Jane Hudson, an artist who, as a child, became famous and known as Baby Jane. After an accident, she became ostracized and, as an adult, lives locked up in the house she shares with her sister Blanche. Destined to return to the stage, the actress will try to return to the character that made her famous – even if she has to go over some very close people to do so.
Okay, you might find it strange that ‘Persona’ appeared on a list of horror films – but the great work of Ingmar Bergman makes such a surprising delineation between psychological drama and psychological horror that it is possible to place it on lists of this type. The Swedish film, released in 1966 and starring Bibi Andersson e Liv Ullmanndives head first into the human psyche by analyzing themes such as duality, insanity and personal identity – in addition to opening space for discussions considered “taboo” at the time. The style avant-garde of the production reiterated Bergman’s importance in the seventh art scene and allowed cinema to launch itself into bold and interesting experimentalism and amalgamations.
Despite the numerous controversies and controversies surrounding the name of Roman Polanskithe impact that the director had on the seventh art – and on different genres – is undeniable. In 1965, he gave life to the thriller psychological horror ‘Sex Repulsion’which won numerous awards and widespread critical acclaim (something somewhat difficult amid the predominance of drama and neo-noir that appeared in cinema). The plot follows Carol Ledoux, a stunning and desired woman, but very sexually repressed. When she is left alone in her apartment, she goes into a deep depression and starts to have frightening hallucinations about rapes and acts of violence.
2. ROSEMARY’S BABY (1968)
Even in the contemporary scenario, ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ has the unparalleled ability to scare viewers around the world. The film is responsible for a series of profound changes in the scope of horror in the seventh art, becoming one of the titles responsible for the popularization of psychological horror, in addition to opening doors for the fascination of film directors with demons and related themes. In the plot, a couple moves into a building with strange people. Even stranger events lead the young woman, who is pregnant, to doubt her own sanity. However, childbirth and the discovery of a diabolical sect will finally show the truth.
Yes, Hitchcock is deservedly back on our list, as ‘Psychosis’ it is not considered his masterpiece for whatever reason. Released in 1960, the film received a mixed reception from critics due to the controversial themes it dealt with, but it became a box office success with a surprising amount of revenue. US$50 million worldwide. Earning four Oscar nominations, the plot follows a woman who, after stealing thousands of dollars, runs away during a storm and decides to spend the night in a hotel she finds along the way. She meets the polite and nervous owner of the establishment, Norman Bates, a young man with an interest in taxidermy and a troubled relationship with his mother. What seems like a simple stay at the place turns into a real night of terror.
André Itamara Vila Neto é um blogueiro apaixonado por guias de viagem e criador do Road Trips for the Rockstars . Apaixonado por explorar tesouros escondidos e rotas cênicas ao redor do mundo, André compartilha guias de viagem detalhados, dicas e experiências reais para inspirar outros aventureiros a pegar a estrada com confiança. Seja planejando a viagem perfeita ou descobrindo tesouros locais, a missão de André é tornar cada jornada inesquecível.
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