The sixties!
What a time to be alive!
Not like I was alive back then … I mean, that would be ridiculous, right?
But for horror cinema - the 1960s were a time filled with a frantic creative energy, where
seemingly everyone with an eye for cinema wanted to try their hands at mashing up frames
in the most terrifying way possible.
And mash them up they did - because surprisingly, perhaps more so than any other decade in horror
- the 60’s has maintained itself as the benchmark of some of the greatest works in
horror cinema.
The term classic is banded around more often than not - but the classics of the 1960s - are
in a whole horror league of their own.
Hello horror fans - what’s going on, and once again welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube - Top 5 Scary Videos.
As always, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch - as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Scariest Horror Movies From The 60’s.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that clip was from the terrifying 1962 psychological cautionary
tale - Whatever Happened to Baby Jane - starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in one of the
most horrifying breakdowns of sibling rivalry caught on screen.
And of course - it leads us to an important point, because the 1960’s have many more
than just five classic horrors - so consider that clip an honorable mention, alongside
Rosemary’s Baby, Village of the Damned, The Pit And The Pendulum, Peeping Tom, Night
of the Living Dead, Black Sunday - yeah, there’s a lot of them.
Kicking off at Number 5 - The Innocents, 1961
And perhaps the most traditional attempt at 1960s horror - particularly in its pastiche
approach to the literary greats of Gothic Fiction.
In many ways, the 1960s were the first commercial attempt at making horror cinema marketable,
and so it relied on some of the more terrifying yet household names of literature in an effort
to make it palatable to a mass audience.
So then came 1961’s The Innocents - based on the legendary gothic horror novella, The
Turn of the Screw, by Henry James - although the pages of this particular ghost story are
far more frightful on the silver screen.
Also, as a little pleasant side note - The Turn of the Screw would also later go on to
inspire 2001’s The Others - which is a great horror film, so there you go.
Directed by the legendary Jack Clayton, with a screenplay from the equally legendary Truman
Capote - The Innocents tells the tale of Miss Giddens, a kind young governess played by
Deborah Kerr - who takes up her first job caring for the niece and nephew of a wealthy
businessman at his large country estate.
To begin with, her role as the caretaker of the children starts off innocent enough - and
she quickly becomes enthralled with her new-found occupation - but of course, that’s before
she starts hearing disembodied floating voices and seeing strange faces behind windows.
The Innocents is dripping with atmosphere - and it’s sound design is second to none,
relying on a creepy cacophony of whispering voices to move us deeper into the films paranormal
descent.
And the thing is - it’s so well done, that it still stands the test of time.
In many ways, you can’t beat watching a character that you care for slowly creep through
the danger of a dark corridor with a candle clutched in their hand - holding your breath
as to what’s lurking behind the corner.
The Innocents is horror 101 - there’s not much more to it, really.
Coming in at Number 4 - Kill Baby, Kill!, 1966
When it comes to Italian Giallo Horror - Dario Argento is undisputedly the Master of the
Thrill - but he owes the true inspiration of his craft to this film in particular, Kill,
Baby, Kill - an otherwise unknown paranormal-slasher-thriller that would’ve taken it’s rightful spot
in 1960’s horror legend - if it wasn’t for it’s otherwise lackluster title.
Also - in Italy it was released under the title, Operation Fear - which is far more
marketable than Kill, Baby, Kill - but yeah, whatever.
Written and directed by the legendary Mario Bava - the film focuses on a small European
village in the early 1900s that is seemingly being terrorized by the ghost of a murderous
young girl that has a habit of bouncing a red ball in a particularly terrifying manner.
It’s a simple premise - but narratively, it works to a frightening efficiency - and
if a ghostly little girl in a white dress, peering through windows in the dead of night
- psychically forcing people to impale themselves on candelabras - doesn’t sound like it’ll
scare you - I’ve got bad news.
Because it will.
Perhaps more than any other Giallo horror - Kill Baby Kill is truly timeless, thanks
to Mario Bava’s brilliantly unique eye for terrifying an audience.
I know it kind of sounds a little on-the-nose to add - but the camera work is absolutely
insane in this film, and what Bava chooses to let us see - and also not see - adds so
much to the horror experience.
Also - it’s shot in technicolour, and the strange familiarity of a none-black-and-white
movie does so much to add to the tension - as well as exacerbate, you know - all of the
blood and gore.
Because for a horror film from the 60s - there’s a hell of a lot of it.
Next up at Number 3 - The Haunting, 1963
Now, I’m just going to preface this point with a few statements.
Shirley Jackson is awesome, this film in particular is awesome, Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting
Of Hill House is awesome - and the 1999 remake of this film is hot trash.
Sorry, I just had to get it out.
Although, Owen Wilson getting decapitated by a swinging iron wolf’s head is pretty
damn hilarious.
But the point is - whichever cinematic depiction of Shirley Jackson’s novel you’d like
to take - 1963’s The Haunting is an incredible horror film in it’s own right.
And like all of our entries on this list - it stands the test of time.
Strangely enough though, it was directed by this guy - Robert Wise, the man responsible
for West Side Story - and The Sound of Music - but I guess in this case, the hills were
alive with the sound of horror cinema.
The Haunting tells the tale of the old and mysterious Hill House - a century old manor
that has been the witness to countless terrifying deeds and tragic misfortune throughout its
long history.
But of course - this is a horror film, and the curious Dr. John Markway, played by Richard
Johnson - employs the paranormal talents of a psychic woman named Theodora - alongside
her eventual love interest Eleanor Lance, and the heir to the property, Luke Sanderson.
Of course - what plays out is the traditional descent into paranormal madness, alongside
everything that you’d expect from Shirley Jackson’s hallmark haunted house of legend
- but eventually, what set’s this film apart - is that The Haunting quickly makes a departure
from just the paranormal - and instead employs a very human portrayal of the horrors that
lurk within the human mind.
After all - it’s a classic for a reason.
Swinging in at Number 2 - Kuroneko, 1968
Because thankfully for us - although Western Horror Cinema was definitely in full swing
throughout the 1960s - it was also making waves and twisting cautionary tales of folklore
in the most horrifying way possible on the other side of the planet, in Japan - with
1968’s Kuroneko - perhaps one of the most strangely beautiful and equally terrifying
horror films of the decade.
Now, also - it’s probably important to note that this film won’t be for everybody - but
as far as setting a precedent for horror cinema goes - Kuroneko, otherwise known as A Black
Cat in a Bamboo Grove - did it like no other.
Written and directed by Kaneto Shindo, the film itself is based upon the classic Japanese
short story - Yabu no Naka - or In A Grove - a stark account of the murder of several
samurai in a bamboo forest near Kyoto.
The film itself takes a few liberties with the traditional tale - but for the most part,
it exemplifies it’s themes.
Set during the ancient civil war period of feudal Japan - the spirit of a woman, alongside
her daughter-in-law - seek revenge after being brutally murdered in a bamboo grove by a group
of samurai - and in their afterlife, their sole purpose becomes to enact the very same
violence and torture that was shown to them.
This film pulls no punches - and given the fact that it was made in the 1960s - it really
raised the bar to just how far horror cinema can go.
For any fan of the genre, Kuroneko needs to be seen - and it serves to clarify a deep
understanding of Japanese Horror cinema.
And finally - coming in at our Number 1 spot - Psycho, 1960
Because the fact of the matter remains - this list cannot be complete without giving credit
to perhaps one of the greatest horror movies ever made, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho - a
film that barely found its way into the decade - and yet managed to set the benchmark on
every other horror film that has ever followed it.
Psycho is a masterclass in cinema - you don’t need me to tell you that - and even *that*
scene in particular has been analysed and recreated time and time again - leaving every
filmmaker afterwards scratching their heads and thinking - how can I make a scene as good
as the legendary shower scene of Psycho?
I mean - it’s also probably important to note that we could’ve filled an entire list
with the works of Alfred Hitchcock - because he remains to be an immortal titan of horror
cinema - and few filmmakers will ever come close to the impact and influence that he
had on the genre as a whole.
Psycho is horror perfection - from the off-kilter mood and tone set about by it’s long, drawn
out establishing scenes as we gradually make our way into Bates Motel - after making us
feel strangely comfortable with the motivations of Marion Crane on her trip across the country.
Hitchcock knew exactly what he was doing with this film - he knew that the intention was
to enthrall us in the perverse chance encounter of a killer and his victim - yet the expertise
in his craft, is the fact that we can’t stop watching.
No other filmmaker would have ever killed off his lead actress halfway through the film
- and because of that, Janet Leigh’s legendary shower scene deservedly became the most iconic
sequence in horror cinema - if not the whole of cinema.
Forty five seconds of on-screen violence and brutality - 52 editing cuts that jar the audience
with each stab of the kitchen knife.
Psycho is the best film of the 1960s - period - and probably one of the best horror films
ever made.
That’s all there is to it.
Well, there we have it horror fans - our list for the Top 5 Scariest Horror Movies From
the 60s - what did you guys think?
Do you agree?
Do you have any choice picks of your own?
Or do you even have your own Top 5 Scary List that you’d like to add to the pile - then
please, speak your mind freely in the comment section below.
Before we depart from today’s video - let’s first take a quick look at some of your more
creative comments from over the past few days.
First up, King Ghidorah says --
Watched until you said “for the curious amongst you” for the 1000th time then shut
it off.
Don’t you think if someone is coming here for horror movies its safe to say everyone
knows the movie you have shown?
-- Well, King Ghidorah - for the curious amongst you, as to why I say - for the curious amongst
you so often - is because quite a while ago, we were contacted by a Top 5 Scary fan who
is visually impaired - and who kindly asked for me to describe which clip I chose for
the opening sequence - and I’m a man of my word.
So there you go - now you know.
We’re all horror fans, dude.
On that note - unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got time for in today’s video - cheers
for sticking around all the way until the end.
If you were a fan of this video - or just Top 5 Scary Videos in particular, then please
- be a dear, and hit that thumbs up button - as well as that subscribe bell, and I’ll
be seeing you in the next one.
As per usual, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch - you’ve been watching Top 5
Scary Videos - and until next time, you take it easy.