The efficacy of a horror movie can be found in its capacity to frighten the audience. Different types of horror emanate different types of fright, from the highly efficient jump scare to the more sophisticated shock experience. The ability to create an atmosphere of terror, an atmosphere that facilitates the state of fear in the audience, is what sets apart noteworthy horror movies.
This list focused on black-and-white horrors because of the greater difficulty of creating such an atmosphere. From eternal classics likeNosferatuandVampyrto courageous contemporary movies likeA Field in EnglandandThe Lighthouse, the list explores those that most successfully created an atmosphere of fear while mesmerizing the audience with gorgeous visuals. A feast of amazing shots and fearsome visuals is awaiting.
10A Field in England
A Field in Englandis set during the English Civil War in the seventeenth century and was directed by Ben Wheatley and written by Amy Jump. An alchemist’s assistant named Whitehead (Reece Shearsmith) is saved from his superior by a soldier called Cutler (Ryan Pope). After meeting the defectors Jacob (Peter Ferdinando) and Friend (Richard Glover), the four embark on a journey to escape the war but find themselves in a field full of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
A Field in Englandis characterized by monochromatic cinematography that features a soft blend of grays and muted blacks. This particular choice gives an ethereal filter to the movie that perfectly matches the psychedelic development of the plot. At the same time, it concurs in disorienting the spectators the same way the magic mushrooms confuse the characters, ultimately catapulting the viewers into that field. A magic cult.
Related:Why A Field in England Is a Psychedelic Nightmare Masterpiece
9Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Soulswas produced and directed by Herk Harvey, who also played a character in this psychological horror. Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) has an accident while driving, and her car falls into a river in Kansas. After miraculously surviving, she moves to Salt Lake City to start her new job as a church organist. But something is off, and Mary starts having visions of a demonic man (Herk Harvey).
Carnival of Soulswas made with a low budget and mainly went unnoticed when released in 1955. Decades later, it started to be rediscovered, and itattracted many estimatorsthanks to its dream-like, nightmarish sequences and superb cinematography. The black is very deep and dark, while the white and gray tonalities are mostly sharp, increasing the contrast. Lastly, the shadows created by the high contrast contribute to the nightmare-like atmosphere ofCarnival of Souls. Underground beauty.
8Eyes Without a Face
Co-written and directed by Georges Franju and based on the homonymous novel by Jean Redon,Eyes Without a Facestars Édith Scob as Christiane, a woman who wears a face-like mask to cover her disfigurement after a car accident. Her plastic surgeon father (Pierre Brasseur) is responsible for the accident and uses his medical knowledge to try to reconstruct Christiane’s face.
Eyes Without a Facestands out for its poetic and gore mixture of images, perfectly portrayed through the essential photography by Eugen Schüfftan, a veteran of the German Expressionism era. The lights are impressive in rendering this odd mix, capturing the most intense horror sequences and the most lyrical ones. At the same time, Schüfftan’s contribution can be seen in the lighting of Christiane’s mask, rendering this simple prop as frightening as intended.Eyes Without a Facecannot be forgotten.
7The Addiction
Directed by Abel Ferrara and written by frequent collaborator Nicholas St. John,The Addictionis a stylish vampire movie that features Lili Taylor as Kathleen Conklin, a philosophy student who gets her neck bitten by a woman. Soon after, Kathleen develops a deep thirst for blood and repulsion for sunlight. Despite the box office’s low performance, The Addiction became a true cultwith a hidden meaning.
Ken Kelsch is the person behind the cinematography and what a cinematograph is. This horror has a lot in common with many golden age noirs: the same use of intense black mixed with different shades of gray is present, while small white accents illuminate and add details to the visual composition.The Addictionshows how an injection of arthouse sensibility into genre movies can sometimes boost the aesthetic without compromising their essence. Slick.
6Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Shinya Tsukamoto is the mastermind behindTetsuo: The Iron Man. This underground Japanese horror has become a cult classic over the years for its visionary aesthetic of metal and flesh. After a metal fetishist (Shinya Tsukamoto) is killed by a businessman (Tomorowo Taguchi), the latter is haunted by a mysterious curse that transforms body tissue into iron. Tsukamoto wrote, produced, edited, and contributed to the cinematography in conjunction with Kei Fujiwara.
Tetsuo: The Iron Manis a masterpiece that combines experimental film and body horror aesthetics. The cinematography is characterized by a beautiful high contrast between rich tones of black and white highlights and is expressed through an expressionist sensibility. At the same time, the stop-motion sequences utilized due to the low budget are superbly constructed and shot.Tetsuo: The Iron Manbrought Shinya Tsukamoto to the fore for good reasons. Undisputed cyberpunk assault.
5Nosferatu
Directed by F. W. Murnau and based on the iconic novelDraculaby Bram Stoker,Nosferatustars Gustav von Wangenheim as Thomas Hutter, a real estate employee sent to Transylvania to talk to a new client, the mysterious Count Orlok (Max Schreck). The Count wants to buy a house close to Hutter’s residence. As time goes by, however, Hutter is more and more convinced that Orlok is, in reality, a vampire. Almost destroyed entirelydue to copyright issues, some copies ofNosferatusurvived and made possible the recognition of this movie as a masterpiece.
At the hands of Fritz Arno Wagner and Günther Krampf,Nosferatu’s cinematography is characterized by intelligent use of shadows and minimal lighting during the horror sequences. This inability to see completely elevates the state of fear and contributes to the mysterious aura of Count Orlok. The history of horror in front of your eyes.
Related:100 Years Later, Nosferatu Remains One of the Most Influential Vampire Movies
4The Lighthouse
Co-written, co-produced, and directed by Robert Eggers,The Lighthousestars Robert Pattinson as Ephraim Winslow, a man who arrives at an island off New England’s coast to be a lighthouse keeper. He is supervised by Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe), the other island inhabitant and seasoned keeper. Featuringimpressive performances by the Pattinson-Dafoe duo,The Lighthouseis an esthetical masterpiece that presents a 1.19:1 aspect ratio, reminding with its squared look the cinema of the 1930s.
The Lighthouseis one of those movies where every shot is meticulously crafted, and nothing is out of place. The aspect of the film is also fundamental because the reduced image on screen gives a sense of claustrophobia that is in line with the plot; simultaneously, the crew intelligently used the natural landscapes to frame and settle the characters in the shot. A work of art.
Co-written, co-produced, and directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer,Vampyrstars Nicolas de Gunzburg as the occult student Allan Gray. The student arrives near Courtempierre and decides to spend the night at an inn near the village. He doesn’t know that a vampire (Marguerite Chopin) wanders the place and that the daughter of the inn’s owner has been bitten. After receiving mixed reviews upon its release,Vampyrwill later become an early horror masterpiece.
This Danish horror is characterized stylistically by an atmospheric and gloomy cinematography. The washed-out hazy effectproduced by holding a gauzein front of the camera contributes to creating a dream-like visual, and it is an intelligent reminiscence of the dreadful fog that is present in the movie.Vampyris an exercise of fear, an eerie vision that haunts the spectators, and an achievement that imposes itself as a horror milestone to this day.
2The Night of the Hunter
The Night of the Hunterwas directed by the actor Charles Laughton in his first and last movie behind the camera. Based on the homonymous novel by Davis Grubb, the film features Robert Mitchum as the ruthless Reverend Harry Powell, a minister who marries and kills widows for their money. During a quick stay in prison, he hears about an inmate’s hidden treasure of $10,000, and after the prisoner dies and is released, Powell will do everything to get the riches.
The Night of the Hunter is one of the most beautiful movies of the 1950s and features an expressionist tone that originates in 1930s German movies. At the same time, the night scenes are shot with incredible use of deep blacks and light accents that make this noir feel and look like a horror. An exercise of beauty.
1Black Sunday
Black Sundaywas written, photographed, and directed by Mario Bava, and it’s based onViyby Nikolai Gogol. One of the highest peaks in the Master of the Macabre’s filmography, this 1960 horror features flawless and impressive cinematography anda gothic undertone. Since its release,Black Sundayhas been revered worldwide and has become a reference source for many horror directors.
Mario Bava made his bones in the Italian film industry as a cinematographer and special effect artist before making his official debut as a director with this horror.Black Sundayis beautifully lit, with a high contrast of light and shades that perfectly suit the gothic character of the story. Moreover, with its perfect camera movements and funereal lights, the opening scene is one of the greatest incipits of all time. Mario Bava is the king of Italian Horror, and this movie is the proof.
