The Crypt Charts
The Top 31 Classic Monsters Films
The thirty-one finest classic monsters films in the Vault, ranked by the Crypt Score.
Ranked by Crypt Score · Updated weekly · captured Jul 20, 2026
Eligibility: a title needs at least 2 rating sources and 1,000+ votes to chart — no thin-data entries.
King Kong
1933 · Adventure, Fantasy, Horror · 100m · Robert Armstrong, Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot, Frank Reicher
Adventurous filmmaker Carl Denham sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to be displayed on Broadway as King Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.
Bride of Frankenstein
NR1935 · Horror, Science Fiction · 75m · Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger
Dr. Frankenstein and his monster both turn out to be alive after being attacked by an angry mob. The now-chastened scientist attempts to escape his past, but a former mentor forces him to assist with the creation of a new creature.
Night of the Living Dead
NR1968 · Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction · 96m · Judith O'Dea, Duane Jones, Marilyn Eastman, Karl Hardman
A ragtag group barricade themselves in an old Pennsylvania farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls ravaging the Northeast.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
1956 · Science Fiction, Horror, Thriller · 80m · Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
NR1939 · Drama, Romance, Horror · 117m · Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell, Maureen O'Hara
Paris, France, 1482. Frollo, Chief Justice of benevolent King Louis XI, gets infatuated by the beauty of Esmeralda, a young Romani girl. The hunchback Quasimodo, Frollo's protege and bell-ringer of Notre Dame, lives in peace among the bells in the heights of the immense cathedral until he is involved by the twisted magistrate in his malicious plans to free himself from Esmeralda's alleged spell, which he believes to be the devil's work.
The Unknown
NR1927 · Drama, Thriller, Romance · 68m · Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Joan Crawford, Nick De Ruiz
On the lam, criminal Alonzo hides in the circus as The Armless Wonder—a performer who uses his feet to hurl knives. Alonzo keeps the arms he really has concealed to hide his identity. Meanwhile, ringmaster's daughter Nanon has a phobia of being touched by men, but is romantically pursued by not only Alonzo but the strongman Malabar. Alonzo's desperation to remain with Nanon will only end in tragedy.
Frankenstein
1931 · Drama, Horror, Science Fiction · 70m · Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Boris Karloff
Henry Frankenstein pieces together body parts in the hope of bringing a human-like creature to life. The mad scientist’s dreams are shattered by his monstrous creation awakening with rage to a world that hates and fears him.
Freaks
NR1932 · Drama, Horror · 64m · Harry Earles, Olga Baclanova, Daisy Earles, Henry Victor
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
The Invisible Man
NR1933 · Horror, Science Fiction · 71m · Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan, Henry Travers
After experimenting on himself and becoming invisible, scientist Jack Griffin, now aggressive due to the drug's effects, seeks a way to reverse the experiment at any cost.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
NR1931 · Horror, Science Fiction, Drama · 96m · Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart, Holmes Herbert
Dr. Henry Jekyll believes that there are two distinct sides to men: one that is good and one that is evil. He believes that by separating the two, man can become liberated. He succeeds in his experiments with chemicals to accomplish this and transforms into Hyde to commit horrendous crimes. When he discontinues use of the drug, it is already too late.
Dead of Night
NR1945 · Horror, Thriller · 103m · Mervyn Johns, Roland Culver, Mary Merrall, Googie Withers
An architect, visiting an English country house, realizes the other guests are familiar from his recurring nightmare. When they share their tales of the supernatural, he is filled with a growing dread.
The Phantom of the Opera
NR1925 · Horror · 107m · Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Mary Philbin, Arthur Edmund Carewe
The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.
In Search of Darkness: Part II
2020 · Documentary, Horror · 263m · Nancy Allen, Tom Atkins, Doug Bradley, John Bloom
The ultimate ‘80s Horror retrospective just got BIGGER. In Search of Darkness: Part II is a four-hour-plus sequel to the Rondo Hatton-nominated In Search of Darkness, adding 15 new interviewees and 40+ returning favorites for the biggest and most comprehensive ‘80s Horror documentary cast ever assembled.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
NR1939 · Mystery, Crime, Horror · 80m · Richard Greene, Basil Rathbone, Wendy Barrie, Nigel Bruce
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
Island of Lost Souls
NR1932 · Science Fiction, Horror · 71m · Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, Bela Lugosi
An obsessed scientist conducts profane experiments in evolution, eventually establishing himself as the self-styled demigod to a race of mutated, half-human abominations.
Mad Love
1935 · Horror, Romance · 68m · Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive, Ted Healy
An insane surgeon's obsession with an actress leads him to replace her wounded pianist husband's hands with those of a knife-throwing murderer.
Hold That Ghost
NR1941 · Comedy, Horror · 86m · Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Richard Carlson, Joan Davis
Two bumbling service station attendants are left as the sole beneficiaries in a gangster's will. Their trip to claim their fortune is sidetracked when they are stranded in a haunted house along with several other strangers.
The Night Strangler
NR1973 · TV Movie, Horror, Mystery · 90m · Darren McGavin, Jo Ann Pflug, Simon Oakland, Scott Brady
After being run out of Las Vegas, reporter Carl Kolchak heads for Seattle and another reporting job with the local paper. It's not long before he’s on the trail of another string of bizarre murders. It seems that every 21 years, for the past century, a killer murders a certain number of people, drains them of their blood, and then disappears into the night. Kolchak is on his trail, but can he stop him?
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
R2007 · Drama, Horror · 116m · Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall
The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett. Based on the hit Broadway musical.
Frankenstein
R2025 · Drama, Fantasy, Horror · 150m · Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth
Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist, brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
Dracula
1931 · Horror · 74m · Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye
A British estate agent travels to Transylvania to meet the mysterious Count Dracula, who is interested in leasing a London castle. After Dracula enslaves the agent and drives him to insanity, the pair return to London together, where Dracula, a secret bloodsucker, begins preying on socialites.
Village of the Damned
NR1960 · Horror, Science Fiction · 77m · George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Martin Stephens, Michael Gwynn
In a small English village everyone suddenly falls unconscious. When they awake every woman of child bearing age is pregnant. The resulting children have the same strange blond hair, eyes and a strong connection to each other.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
NR1945 · Drama, Horror, Fantasy · 111m · Hurd Hatfield, George Sanders, Donna Reed, Angela Lansbury
A corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.
The Most Dangerous Game
1932 · Thriller, Adventure, Horror · 63m · Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks, Robert Armstrong
When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff. While he is very gracious at first, Zaroff eventually forces Rainsford and two other shipwreck survivors, brother and sister Eve and Martin Towbridge, to participate in a sadistic game of cat and mouse in which they are the prey and he is the hunter.
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
NR1927 · Crime, Thriller, Mystery · 91m · Ivor Novello, Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, June Tripp
London. A mysterious serial killer brutally murders young blond women by stalking them in the night fog. One foggy, sinister night, a young man who claims his name is Jonathan Drew arrives at the guest house run by the Bunting family and rents a room.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
NR1923 · Romance, Drama, Horror · 113m · Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Kate Lester
In 15th century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
R1975 · Comedy, Science Fiction, Horror · 100m · Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien
After getting a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, newly engaged couple Brad and Janet encounter the eerie mansion of the flamboyant, seductive Dr Frank-N-Furter and a variety of eccentric characters. Through elaborate dance and rock music, the mad scientist unveils his latest creation: a perfect, muscular man.
Cat People
NR1942 · Mystery, Horror, Romance · 73m · Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph
A Serbian émigré in Manhattan believes that, because of an ancient curse, any physical intimacy with the man she loves will turn her into a feline predator.
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein
1948 · Horror, Comedy · 83m · Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi
The Wolf Man tries to warn a dimwitted porter that Dracula wants his brain for Frankenstein monster's body.
The Old Dark House
1932 · Drama, Horror, Thriller · 70m · Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond
In a remote region of Wales, five travelers beset by a relentless storm find shelter in an old mansion.
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