The 5 Best Horror Movies of All Time

5. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Certainly there were those of us on the IGN staff who argued that this James Whale classic should’ve been higher on our list — perhaps even number one. But compromise being what it is, director James Whale, Colin Clive, Boris Karloff and the rest have had to settle for fifth place.

The film is the apex of the Universal cycle of classic monster pictures in terms of quality. Rather than simply regurgitating a cheap variation on the first Frankenstein (which is basically what many of the Universal sequels would go on to do), Whale opted to, ahem, flesh out the story and characters of the original (which he also directed). Karloff, in his second turn as the Monster, granted his most famous creation the gift of speech here, and of friendship, and even love. Also, of humor — Bride of Frankenstein is a comedy as much as it is a horror film.

Brimming with wonderful side characters (oh, Doctor Pretorius, how we miss you) and often unsettling imagery (Jesus H. Christ, did they just crucify the Monster?), the film is over 80 years old and we’re still talking about it — and loving it. To paraphrase Doctor Pretorius, “It is our only weakness”

Scene to watch with the lights on: The finale, when the Bride is finally created only to spurn the Monster, which is a very bad thing to do for anyone who values not getting blown up in an exploding mountainside laboratory.