Chilling Classics: 5 Retro Horror Flicks Perfect for Your Halloween Thrills
It is time for a trip back in time and a meeting with the supernatural.
October is traditionally dedicated to horror fans. We have chosen films for those who love scary things and travel to other eras – five horror movies with a retro setting of medieval villages, an orphanage from the first half of the 20th century and Britain in the 70s.
1. The Power, 2021
The movie takes the viewer to Great Britain in 1974: the country was in a deep crisis due to the economic situation and the strikes of the trade unions, especially the miners. There was a shortage of electricity and a three-day working week was introduced, while at other times all the houses were plunged into darkness.
The director uses a difficult page of history to tell the story of Valerie, who gets a job in a hospital. Of course, in the impenetrable darkness during the night shift at the beds of the patients there will also be otherworldly spirits.
2. Longlegs, 2024
If for some reason you haven't seen one of the most successful horror films of the year, a rainy October evening is the perfect time to catch up. Longlegs offers to dive into two distant timelines: the 1970s and the mid-1990s, in order to try to follow the entire course of the investigation of a killer's crimes.
A mysterious madman is inexplicably linked to terrible deaths: fathers go mad and kill the entire family just before or just after their daughter's birthday. The victims multiply, the detectives reach a dead end. The investigation moves forward when Lee Harker joins the FBI agents.
3. The Brothers Grimm, 2005
The Brothers Grimm is not really a horror movie, but rather a dark adventure, sometimes even a medieval action movie. But since there are poisoned apples, an autumnal forest and several witches on the screen, the movie is definitely suitable for Halloween viewing.
Before they became storytellers, exorcists and con men Will and Jake Grimm traveled through villages exorcizing all kinds of paranormal creatures. That is, of course, until they stumbled upon real witchcraft beyond their control.
4. The Devil's Backbone, 2001
Guillermo del Toro can definitely be called the main master of horror stories and all horrors with a historical setting. The Devil's Backbone was the beginning of a trilogy that ended with Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio and also included Pan's Labyrinth.
The story takes place in the orphanage during the Spanish Civil War. A bomb has fallen in the courtyard of the institution, but never exploded. Its rhythmic ticking frightens both the boys and the teachers, but not as much as the nightly walks of ghosts. Legend has it that a boy named Santi, who died within the walls of the orphanage, wanders the halls.
5. Sleepy Hollow, 1999
The chthonic village and terrifying headless horseman have terrorized audiences since the pages of Washington Irving's novella: Tim Burton took liberties with the original source, but captured the spirit and added his own unique style.
Young constable Ichabod Crane arrives on the scene of an investigation: the residents of the village are talking about a horseman with an ax who is chopping off heads. Among the alarmed locals, Ichabod's attention is immediately drawn to the pale-skinned Katrina, who is connected to either murder or witchcraft, or both.