Classic Horror

     What do we consider to be "Classic Horror" these days?   I suppose that depends largely on who you ask.  For me, it's usually the names Lugosi, Karloff or Chaney.  I'm also willing to accept the names Lee, Cushing or Price as well.  Horror movies have enjoyed so many different sub genres and remakes throughout the decades, that it becomes hard to classify these movies sometimes.

     I'm not going to limit my discussions on horror to only the "classics" though.  I may even trail off into science fiction or fantasy movies at times.  Rest assured though, horror movies will remain a constant with Frankenstein's Shadow.  To understand my tastes in horror movies,  let us go back to the beginning.

     When I was around the age of 4 or 5 years old,  I saw what I believe to be,  my first horror movies:  Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein. and Young Frankenstein.  I know,  some would be quick to point out that these are comedy movies and shouldn't count.   But guess what?  I'm counting them.  I understood that Young Frankenstein was a parody movie.  I was aware of the zaniness of it and knew not to take the movie so seriously,  but that classic horror feeling was ever present in the look and presentation of that flim.   And although Abbott & Costello contained humor, it also contained the original classic monsters.  Just because the two leads of the picture were bumbling about, didn't make Lugosi's Dracula any less intimidating.  I really believed that Chaney's Wolf Man could easily tear into either of them.   It was also around this time that I was given a set of classic monster action figures.  I don't remember if I had The Mummy or not, but I did have Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf Man, The Phantom, The Creature and a cool little carrying case that doubled as a haunted house play set.  You combine these 3 1/2 inch action figures with Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein and my love of those classic horror monsters was set in stone.  I had a bigger Dracula that glowed in the dark as well.  He sat on the top of my headboard at night and warded off the closet monster.  No one was going to mess with me when I have Dracula on my side, right?  I also have to point out that I'm the only kid that I'm aware of that would throw all of my toys on the bed so that I could pretend my wooden toy box was a coffin.  I'd wait for someone (usually my mom) to enter my bedroom and then in my best Lugosi imitation, rise from my "coffin".

     As the years went on, the slasher era became more and more relevant.  I spent my fair share of time watching Friday The 13th and Nightmare On Elm Street movies.  Who didn't love Freddy Kruger in the 80's?  But as I got older,  I rediscovered those classic monsters again.  I spent a lot of time not only watching Lugosi and Karloff in the classic Universal movies but also seeking out other movies they did during that early era of horror.  I consider those old horror movies to be like watching theater in way.  They weren't about blood and gore for shock value.  They were about spooky castles and foggy graveyards.  Great dialogue and villains that weren't just horrible, but intelligent as well.  So often in horror movies, the actions and deaths become senseless.  But when you watch Lugosi or Price's films, you understand their actions were not that of a senseless killer.  They were very sensible, very smart and perhaps that made them even more dangerous.

     One thing that I've learned after all these years of watching so many different horror flicks is that 5 year old me and 35 year old me have a lot in common.  And I find some comfort in that.