5 Reasons Why Black and White Horror Films Can Be the Scariest Even Today

There's no doubt we're seeing a movement here. With artsy horror films, daring pieces challenging the status quo and reaching an element beyond that of the cheesy B-movie horror flick with the cheap jump scares, the genre's elevated to true masterpiece level ripe for awards and prestige, and I'm loving it. I didn't, however, really expect that the classic B&W, the black-and-white dark art would ever penetrate the film movement like it apparently has now!

It's Quite True: as You'll Soon See of New Films Breaking the Horror Genre Mold, Like One in Particular....

Keep reading. You'll see it. It's an eerie trailer. Proof that an age-old characteristic of some of the classics may be coming back with a vengeance, and while it's surprising that it may be coming back now, I'm actually not surprised that it was going to happen sooner or later.

Black-and-white films carry with them that noir feel forcing you to focus on what really matters: the stark shadows of what could be, the Baroque sensibility and the raw emotion.

You don't have the color "adding" to it. You don't need it. This is why to this day some of the classic B&W films still mesmerize horror genre lovers to this day, because it sharpens the lines and angles of what the camera brings to the screen.

You then end up seeing every hideous detail. That's what sticks out. Honestly I'd wonder if some of the more modern works out there might benefit from a black-and-white conversion, much like how George Miller released a black-and-chrome version of his now iconic dystopian action thriller MAD MAX: FURY ROAD.

So it's pretty clear to me: black and white doth rock in a moody, atmospheric nail-biter! Which is why to this day these classic films (and one soon to be released -- in BLACK AND WHITE) still kill it (figuratively and literally).

NOSFERATU

Before vampires were sexy, there was this guy.

I'll be the first person to say that when it comes to black-and-white, somehow NOSFERATU fit the mold beautifully in a dark and gothic sort of way. Now I can't in good conscious include the other classic in here with Bela Lugosi for good reason as while that film was also in black-and-white, the style wasn't the same with the dark German Expressionism of a truly visceral creature designed to be more of a demon spawn than a succulent succubus.

The guy was already dressed in black. White skin. Fiercely terrifying to look at. And when you ensure he's placed in a backdrop and surroundings that also end up with that wicked monochromatic proceeding -- he becomes even more real than you think.

That's what makes it scary.

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL

You can't deny Vincent Price. Guy's a legend.

This is why the one true horror popcorn flick took advantage of the stark contrast and sharp lines of Price's face with all the classic scares you'd love and no freaky bells and whistles to go with it (as much as I do love a lot of those special FX "bells and whistles").

In this case, the story stands on its own. HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL has layers -- liars, double-crosses, and some fourth-wall breaking even Deadpool would love. When you have a story as rich as this -- with characters you both hate and love -- less distraction from the story means more fun!

CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI

And back to German Expression we go with probably one of the most visually accented horror films of all time -- a film dubbed by Roger Ebert himself as the original horror movie.

And get this -- it's also a silent film. That adds another layer of sheer suspense to the black-and-white you didn't expect especially when you really dive deep into the story about an evil hypnotist using a sleepwalker to kill people for him.

Part comic-book style with the stark shadowy lines of the set pieces, part stage play (which ends up holding up quite well with the minimal coloring), and of course -- part psychedelic nightmare with angles playing off the shadows and light quite well.

There's a reason this demon of a film still holds up even today.

PSYCHO

Alfred Hitchcock. That's all I have to say. To understand the power of shadowy imagery is to understand that absence of color makes all the difference in ambience. There are angles here in all the particular scenes (even the ones that are just not downright overtly scary) that build up the tension so incredibly well that you're almost uneasy watching it -- even up to the end as Anthony Perkins, the man who plays the psycho Norman Bates, devilishly smiles in perfect black and white.

There's a reason that even the remake with Vince Vaughn was done exactly like how Hitchcock did it, from every scene, every POV -- everything. Even in color, the remake did the job. But not quite as well as Hitchcock himself did it back then.

Plus you can't beat that shower scene.

(And FINALLY something a little more.... 'Modern'....)

THE FOREST OF LOST SOULS

Honestly arthouse really never looked as good as this. And is it me, or are we seeing some major foreign players out there cranking up the fear factor? Yes. We are.

Such is the case for a soon-to-be-released Portuguese film titled THE FOREST OF THE LOST SOULS, scheduled to open in August. A psychological thriller down to the bone. But also eerie.

And, you guessed it -- the black and white does play a role in this tale about two strangers coming to a forest known to be a place for people to commit suicide.

One of the strangers, of course, intends to do just that in the forest -- just end it all in the artsy doom and gloom of a colorless life meant to end bitterly.... But the other stranger? The other has some ulterior motives. And the suspense begins.

We're willing to bet you're dying to see a trailer. Oh, goodness. There is one right here!

Yes, Indeed: It Is a Good Time to Be a Horror Film

When we're starting to see throwbacks like this? Hell, yeah.

We do have to make an honorable mention for Burton's ED WOOD, though. You have to agree. It's rather fitting.

The Apparent Mystery of Art-House Horror and Why It Pushes the Envelope (Sometimes Too Much)

We really are seeing the surge of experimenters in the genre trying to go for something new, visually orgasmic, and yet darkly mechanical with a brooding nature meant to deliver the eerie we expect out of horror. For good reason, too. After all, the horror genre gets a bad rep, a type of entertainment meant only for the scares and gratuitousness wrought with copious amounts of verisimilitude. Why do you think we hardly ever get to see the horror genre included in awards shows? (Except for GET OUT, apparently)

That's Why We Have ART-HOUSE HORROR, a Type of Sub-Genre That's Actually Been Around Longer Than We Think

Believe it or not, but the first film to be even categorized as art-house horror is THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, a true masterpiece heralding other classics like Lynch's ERASERHEAD or NOSFERATU. Easily arguably the best horror film for a lot of reasons (for one thing, it was considered to be the very first "horror film" ever made), this 1920 classic was even the first movie to utilize what we all know is the "twist" ending.

Visually arresting. Vibrant. Even in B&W. You couldn't beat the power of Robert Wiene's silent German expressionist masterpiece. And that's precisely what art-house actually is: it's a composition of visual and emotion-evoking bloodthirsty weapons, probably the true killers of horror that we all should experience but hardly ever do these days, because people just want the jump scares.

The Only Problem With Art-House Horror Is That It's a Little Too Easy to Emulate

When you think about it, an artist only has to throw paint on a canvas and call it a "masterpiece." It's subjective. But just because you turn an old toilet upside down and call it a "fountain" doesn't mean you have a masterpiece on your hands.

The idea of art-house horror operates much in the same way. The newest film to hold the title of art-house horror is LIKE ME, a massively colorful and wickedly punchy film so experimental that it may even have redefined what art-house horror really is. Debuting at the Overlook Film Festival and receiving quite a few rave reviews already, you'd be surprised to know that it does have its dissenters with a largely convoluted color puke mess on the screen with no substance about an internet celebrity robbing a convenience store and recording it, falling into more madness over kidnapping helpless simpletons and recording that, and watching the viral-ness of her escapades envelope her like the white noise on a TV screen.

Make no mistake: it is visually a feast. And an interesting commentary on the "infection" of social media on the mind of a young woman. However, we have the same issue as the artist only needing to "throw paint on a canvas." It's trying to be art-house horror for its own sake. Yes, it's a super-power for the eyes, but we end up asking the question: why? The experiment of the film's style lends too much to itself and not to the whole point of the film. In other words, it's like overkill.

However, a Disaster It Is Not, and That's Honestly the Biggest Point of the Film, and Art-House Horror as a Whole

Not everyone's going to get it. Or feel it. It is subjective. Case in point: I'm willing to bet you'll have a handful of people who would watch the iconic THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI and go MEH. Fair enough. They'd opt for something more like the SAW movies or anything from the Soska Sisters (which I would have to say can be considered somewhat art-house horror, too!). Art-house horror is an acquired taste, but a taste worth acquiring and savoring. That's for sure. But what do you think? You want your horror simple and bloody? Or with some "seasoning" in the background to whet your creative imagination?