Decade
1950s Horror
The horror that defined the 1950s — ranked by Crypt Score, from era-defining classics to the deep cuts worth resurrecting.
151 titles
The Twilight ZoneSeries
›TV-PG1959 · Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery, Drama · 5 seasons · Rod Serling
An anthology series containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and/or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
›1956 · Science Fiction, Horror, Thriller · 80m · Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, King Donovan
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
Night of the Demon
›NR1957 · Fantasy, Horror, Mystery · 96m · Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis
American professor John Holden arrives in London for a conference on parapsychology only to discover that the colleague he was supposed to meet was killed in a freak accident the day before. It turns out that the deceased had been investigating a cult lead by Dr. Julian Karswell. Though a skeptic, Holden is suspicious of the devil-worshiping Karswell. Following a trail of mysterious manuscripts, Holden enters a world that makes him question his faith in science.
The Incredible Shrinking Man
›NR1957 · Science Fiction, Adventure, Horror · 81m · Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent
A dangerous combination of radiation and insecticide causes the unfortunate Scott Carey to shrink, slowly but surely, until he is only a few inches tall. His home becomes a wilderness where he must survive everything from spiders living in the cellar to his beloved cat.
Them!
›NR1954 · Science Fiction, Horror · 94m · James Whitmore, James Arness, Joan Weldon
As a result of nuclear testing, gigantic, ferocious mutant ants appear in the American desert southwest, and a father-daughter team of entomologists join forces with the state police officer who first discovers their existence, an FBI agent and, eventually, the US Army to eradicate the menace, before it spreads across the continent — and the world.
TopperSeries
›TV-PG1953 · Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Comedy · 2 seasons · Robert Sterling, Anne Jeffreys, Leo G. Carroll
Topper is an American fantasy sitcom based on the 1937 film of the same name. The series was broadcast on CBS from October 9, 1953 to July 15, 1955, and stars Leo G. Carroll in the title role.
Dracula
›1958 · Horror · 82m · Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough
After Jonathan Harker attacks Dracula at his castle, the vampire travels to a nearby city, where he preys on the family of Harker's fiancée. The only one who may be able to protect them is Dr. van Helsing, Harker's friend and fellow-student of vampires, who is determined to destroy Dracula, whatever the cost.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
›NR1959 · Mystery, Thriller, Horror · 87m · Peter Cushing, André Morell, Christopher Lee
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
The Thing from Another World
›NR1951 · Drama, Horror, Science Fiction · 87m · Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Robert Cornthwaite
Scientists and US Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while investigating at a remote arctic outpost.
The Fly
›1958 · Science Fiction, Horror, Drama · 94m · David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price
Industrialist François Delambre is called late at night by his sister-in-law, Helene, who tells him that she has just killed her husband. Reluctant at first, she eventually explains to the police that he invented a matter transportation apparatus and, while experimenting on himself, a fly entered the chamber.
While the City Sleeps
›NR1956 · Thriller, Drama · 100m · Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders
Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".
House of Wax
›1953 · Horror, Crime · 88m · Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk
A sculptor opens a wax museum to showcase the likenesses of famous historical figures, but quickly runs into trouble when his business partner demands the exhibits become more extreme in order to increase profits.
The Bad Seed
›NR1956 · Thriller, Drama, Horror · 129m · Patty McCormack, Nancy Kelly, Henry Jones
Air Force Colonel Kenneth Penmark and his wife, Christine, adore their daughter Rhoda, despite her secret tendency for selfishness. Christine keeps her knowledge of her daughter's darker side to herself, but when a schoolmate of Rhoda's dies mysteriously, her self-deception unravels.
Creature from the Black Lagoon
›G1954 · Adventure, Horror, Science Fiction · 79m · Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning
When scientists exploring the Amazon River stumble on a “missing link” connecting humans and fish, they plan to capture it for later study. But the Creature has plans of his own, and has set his sights on the lead scientist's beautiful fiancée, Kay.
The Curse of Frankenstein
›NR1957 · Horror, Science Fiction · 83m · Peter Cushing, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart
Baron Victor Frankenstein has discovered life's secret and unleashed a blood-curdling chain of events resulting from his creation: a cursed creature with a horrid face — and a tendency to kill.
The Quatermass Xperiment
›1955 · Science Fiction, Horror · 82m · Brian Donlevy, Richard Wordsworth, David King-Wood
The first manned spacecraft, fired from an English launchpad, is lost from radar before roaring back to Earth and crashing in a farmer's field. The rocket is found to contain only one of the three men who took off in it; and he is unable to talk but appears to be undergoing a torturous physical and mental metamorphosis.
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
›1953 · Drama, Horror, Science Fiction · 80m · Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway
The controlled explosion of an atomic bomb in the Arctic Circle awakens a frozen dinosaur that will wreak havoc in New York City.
Quatermass 2
›1957 · Science Fiction, Horror · 85m · Brian Donlevy, John Longden, William Franklyn
In England, a group of space scientists led by Bernard Quatermass, who have developed plans for the first Moon colony, learn that a secret, ostensibly government-run, complex of identical design has been built in a remote part of England and is the focus of periodic falls of small, hollow "meteorites" originating in outer space. Quatermass determines to investigate and uncovers a terrifying extraterrestrial life form which has already begun action to take over the Earth.
House on Haunted Hill
›NR1959 · Horror, Mystery · 75m · Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long
Frederick Loren invites five strangers to the party of a lifetime and offers each of them $10,000 if they can stay the night in the reportedly haunted house. Armed with a gun for protection, each guest arrives in a hearse and will either leave in it much richer…Or dead.
Tarantula
›1955 · Science Fiction, Horror · 80m · John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll
A rogue scientist near a small desert town arouses the suspicion of the town's doctor when his lab assistant is found dead from a case of acromegaly, which took only four days to develop. As the doctor investigates, aided by the scientist's new female assistant, they discover that something is devouring local cattle and humans in increasingly large quantities.
The Mummy
›NR1959 · Horror · 88m · Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux
One by one the archaeologists who discover the 4,000-year-old tomb of Princess Ananka are brutally murdered. Kharis, high priest in Egypt 40 centuries ago, has been brought to life by the power of the ancient gods and his sole purpose is to destroy those responsible for the desecration of the sacred tomb. But Isobel, wife of one of the explorers, resembles the beautiful princess, forcing the speechless and tormented monster to defy commands and abduct Isobel to an unknown fate.
The Tingler
›NR1959 · Horror, Science Fiction · 82m · Vincent Price, Philip Coolidge, Judith Evelyn
A pathologist experiments with a deaf-mute woman who is unable to scream to prove that humans die of fright due to an organism he names The Tingler that lives within each person on the spinal cord and is suppressed only when people scream when scared.
The Revenge of Frankenstein
›NR1958 · Horror, Science Fiction · 90m · Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Eunice Gayson
Rescued from the guillotine by his devoted dwarf Fritz, the Baron relocates to Carlsbruck, where he continues his gruesome experiments.
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man
›1951 · Horror, Comedy, Science Fiction · 83m · Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Nancy Guild
As novice detectives, Bud and Lou come face to face with the Invisible Man.