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![]() This home isn’t some gothic fairy-tale mansion, however, but a sleek, art-deco chamber of horrors. Once again, stranded travelers find themselves seeking refuge at a home inhabited by Boris Karloff. Not a whole lot happens, but James Whale’s stylish and atmospheric direction somehow ladles on the suspense anyway. The plot, concerning a group of stranded travelers who must shelter in a scary old mansion, is merely a set up for darkly humorous interplay between a smart cast that includes Karloff, Ernest Thesiger, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, and Gloria Stuart. Part comedy and part horror film, The Old Dark House is a grim delight from the pre-code era. Like most Lewton films, The Body Snatcher isn’t exactly action packed, but it boasts one of the eeriest climaxes in the classic age of horror cinema. With future A-list director Robert Wise ( The Day the Earth Stood Still) at the helm and a multi-dimensional performance from Karloff as the grave robber implied in the title, viewers are treated to a superior film. Producer Val Lewton is legendary for his nourish psychological horrors of the 1940s. Targetsis an astute, smartly self-aware film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who went on to earn acclaim for 1971’s The Last Picture Show. In one of his most nuanced performances, Karloff plays a fading horror star who finds his talents are now lost on a society where real-life horrors like the Vietnam War, political assassinations, and rapid cultural upheaval have made the gothic films on which he built his reputation seem quaint and anachronistic. The film is among the most eerie and atmospheric of the era, and it benefits from a delightful cast (including Ernest Thesiger and Cedric Hardwicke), grim humor, and well-paced direction from T. If not marred by a terrible, banal ending, The Ghoul would be higher on this list. ![]() Karloff plays a professor of Egyptology who appears to have more than simply an intellectual curiosity for his subject, returning from the grave like a mummy to seek revenge on those who stole a jewel he believes is imbued with the power of the ancient gods. ![]() Today, we look at the ten films that, in my opinion, represent the best. Karloff elevated every movie he in which he appeared, from mundane B programmers to yesterday’s five honorable mentions. The combination of his gaunt appearance, menacing glare, and musically sinister voice made him an iconic movie villain, but it was his ability to find the soul of every character that rendered his performances timeless. ![]() For generations of horror fans, Boris Karloff is one of the most beloved figures in the genre. ![]()
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