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Of course, there are plenty of great films from the Italian Master of the Thrill, but one of the best from Dario Argento is Deep Red (1975), released just before his Three Mothers trilogy. The film follows a musician and a journalist, linked together by the body they found of a psychic medium, and the ensuing rush to investigate the murder before they become the next victims. Released at the peak of the giallo genre, Deep Red heightens the tension and terror through Argento’s trademark kaleidoscopic shots, eerie score, and excellent performances. While the lizard scene was genuine, Profondo Rosso nonetheless is considered to be one of the director’s best.

Genre

Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Directed By

Dario Argento

A woman joins some acquaintances on a sailing trip only to get caught in a storm. They are rescued by a seemingly empty cruise ship and struggle to make sense of the mysteries that unfold. Definitely one of those “The less you know the better” type of films. If you like well-written creepy thrillers with a nice amount of gore, you will most likely enjoy this.

Genre

Horror, Mystery

Directed By

Christopher Smith

While zombies weren’t new in film, it wasn’t until writer-director George A. Romero’s Living Dead saga that the zombie as we know it today was created. Day of the Dead is the third in the franchise, and like Night and Dawn, Romero was more interested in the way humans were the threat, more so than the flesh-eating monsters, this time between scientific innovation and military force, both that are pushed to the extremes without any ethical restraint, and both being the very same concerns that America held at the time of release. And with Tom Savini and team’s groundbreaking special effects, it’s no wonder that Day of the Dead became a horror classic.

Genre

Drama, Horror, Mystery

Directed By

George A. Romero

With numerous adaptations of the titular creature of the night, it’s inevitable that Nosferatu the Vampyre would be compared to its other versions. Nevertheless, Werner Herzog’s colored talkie version sticks close to the classic Expressionist film down to having many of the same scenes recreated beat for beat, but there’s a clear reverence to the source material here, with Herzog’s fascination towards madness easily translating the images made half a century ago into visual, hypnotic spectacles that somehow surpass the groundbreaking scenes before. Nosferatu the Vampyre will always be compared to the 1922 original, and of course, the following 2024 American remake, but Herzog makes this version his own through his signature style.

Genre

Drama, Horror

Directed By

Werner Herzog

There is goodness within everyone… supposedly. However, there are some instances where the belief is almost foolish, some sins done against humanity that can’t be explained, reasoned out, or defended. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer challenges that notion in three characters (the titular serial killer, his fellow ex-con Otis, and Otis’ sister Becky) and in the silent, unprotesting way writer-director John McNaughton makes us witness their lives. While true crime aficionados and horror fans might find this rather tame, the true horror of this portrait isn’t in the kills, but rather in the way we’ve become accustomed to this violence, the same way a literal serial killer would be.

Genre

Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller

Directed By

John McNaughton

Contributors

Isabella Endrinal

Isabella Endrinal

Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.

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