Decade
1930s Horror
The horror that defined the 1930s — ranked by Crypt Score, from era-defining classics to the deep cuts worth resurrecting.
51 titles
King Kong
›1933 · Adventure, Fantasy, Horror · 100m · Robert Armstrong, Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot
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
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.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
›NR1939 · Drama, Romance, Horror · 117m · Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell
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.
Frankenstein
›1931 · Drama, Horror, Science Fiction · 70m · Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles
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
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
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
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.
Island of Lost Souls
›NR1932 · Science Fiction, Horror · 71m · Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams
An obsessed scientist conducts profane experiments in evolution, eventually establishing himself as the self-styled demigod to a race of mutated, half-human abominations.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
›NR1939 · Mystery, Crime, Horror · 80m · Richard Greene, Basil Rathbone, Wendy Barrie
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
Mad Love
›1935 · Horror, Romance · 68m · Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive
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.
Dracula
›1931 · Horror · 74m · Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners
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.
The Most Dangerous Game
›1932 · Thriller, Adventure, Horror · 63m · Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks
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 Old Dark House
›1932 · Drama, Horror, Thriller · 70m · Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton
In a remote region of Wales, five travelers beset by a relentless storm find shelter in an old mansion.
Son of Frankenstein
›1939 · Horror, Science Fiction · 99m · Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi
One of the sons of late Dr. Henry Frankenstein finds his father's ghoulish creation in a coma and revives him, only to find out the monster is controlled by Ygor who is bent on revenge.
The Mummy
›NR1932 · Horror, Fantasy · 73m · Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners
An ancient Egyptian priest named Imhotep is revived when a British archaeological expedition finds his mummy and one of the researchers accidentally reads an ancient life-giving spell. Imhotep escapes from the field site and searches for the reincarnation of the soul of his lover.
The Black Cat
›1934 · Horror, Thriller · 65m · Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners
After a road accident in Hungary, the American honeymooners Joan and Peter and the enigmatic Dr. Werdegast find refuge in the house of the famed architect Hjalmar Poelzig, who shares a dark past with the doctor.
Mystery of the Wax Museum
›1933 · Horror, Mystery, Thriller · 78m · Lionel Atwill, Glenda Farrell, Allen Vincent
A wax sculptor opens a new museum years after he is severely injured during a fire that destroyed his original collection. The disappearance of both people and corpses coincides with this grand reopening and leads a reporter to start investigating.
The Devil-Doll
›1936 · Horror, Science Fiction · 78m · Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Frank Lawton
Respected Parisian banker Paul Lavond is framed for robbery and murder by crooked associates and sent to prison. Years later, he escapes with a friend, a scientist who was working on a method to reduce humans to a height of mere inches (all for the good of humanity, of course). Lavond, however, is consumed with hatred for those who betrayed him, and takes the scientist's methods back to Paris to exact painful revenge.
The Cat and the Canary
›1939 · Comedy, Horror, Mystery · 73m · Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, John Beal
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.
Svengali
›NR1931 · Drama, Horror, Romance · 81m · John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, Donald Crisp
A music maestro uses hypnotism on a young model he meets in Paris to make her both his muse and wife.
The Black Room
›NR1935 · Horror, Crime · 70m · Boris Karloff, Marian Marsh, Robert Allen
In a 16th-century European town, the ruling family has been given a prophecy that, should there ever be twin boys born, the younger will murder the older; so is dismayed when twins are born to the popular baron. The older grows to be a selfish, slovenly man, who inherits the castle at his father's death and becomes ruler over the formerly happy villagers. He enjoys his power until he learns his younger brother is returning from abroad and, afraid of the prophecy, he determines to murder his sibling, hide his body in the "black room" - an old torture chamber sealed away behind the fireplace - and then impersonate him, right down to his withered arm. In this way he hopes to not only avoid the prophecy, but also escape consequences of his other criminal deeds and obtain marriage to a local girl of the nobility...
Tower of London
›1939 · Drama, History, Horror · 92m · Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Barbara O'Neil
In the 15th century Richard Duke of Gloucester, aided by his club-footed executioner Mord, eliminates those ahead of him in succession to the throne, then occupied by his brother King Edward IV of England. As each murder is accomplished he takes particular delight in removing small figurines, each resembling one of the successors, from a throne-room dollhouse, until he alone remains. After the death of Edward he becomes Richard III, King of England, and need only defeat the exiled Henry Tudor to retain power.
The Man They Could Not Hang
›NR1939 · Science Fiction, Horror, Crime · 64m · Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray, Robert Wilcox
Dr. Henryk Savaard is a scientist working on experiments to restore life to the dead. When he is unjustly hanged for murder, he is brought back to life by his trusted assistant. Re-animated he turns decidedly nasty and sets about murdering the jury that convicted him.
The Raven
›1935 · Horror, Crime · 61m · Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lester Matthews
A brilliant but deranged neurosurgeon becomes obsessively fixated on a judge's daughter. With the help of an escaped criminal whose face he has surgically deformed, the mad man lures her, her father, and her fiancé to his isolated, castle-like home.