Decade
1920s Horror
The horror that defined the 1920s — ranked by Crypt Score, from era-defining classics to the deep cuts worth resurrecting.
11 titles
The Unknown
›NR1927 · Drama, Thriller, Romance · 68m · Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Joan Crawford
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.
The Phantom of the Opera
›NR1925 · Horror · 107m · Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Mary Philbin
The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
›NR1927 · Crime, Thriller, Mystery · 91m · Ivor Novello, Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney
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
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 Cat and the Canary
›1927 · Comedy, Horror, Mystery · 87m · Laura La Plante, Creighton Hale, Forrest Stanley
Relatives gather at a haunted mansion for a will reading where the sole heir is threatened by a clause that could disinherit her if she goes mad, all while a homicidal maniac escapes nearby.
The Lost World
›1925 · Adventure, Fantasy, Drama · 104m · Bessie Love, Lewis Stone, Wallace Beery
The first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
›NR1920 · Horror, Science Fiction, Drama · 79m · John Barrymore, Brandon Hurst, Martha Mansfield
A doctor's research into the roots of evil turns him into a hideous depraved fiend.
Salomé
›NR1923 · Drama, Fantasy, Horror · 74m · Alla Nazimova, Nigel De Brulier, Mitchell Lewis
Based on Oscar Wilde's play, the films tells the story of how Salomé agrees to dance for King Herod in return for the head of John the Baptist.
The Magician
›1926 · Drama, Horror, Fantasy · 79m · Alice Terry, Paul Wegener, Firmin Gémier
A young woman, Margaret Dauncey, is caught between the forces of a charlatan magician, Oliver Haddo, whom she is unable to resist, and the love of a handsome surgeon, Arthur Burdon, who has saved her from being a helpless cripple by performing a delicate operation on her spine.
The Bat
›1926 · Comedy, Mystery, Thriller · 86m · George Beranger, Charles Herzinger, Emily Fitzroy
A masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorizes the guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer.
The Monster
›1925 · Comedy, Horror, Mystery · 86m · Lon Chaney, Johnny Arthur, Gertrude Olmstead
A general store clerk and aspiring detective investigates a mysterious disappearance that took place quite close to an empty insane asylum.
