This is a list of horror films released in the

1950s The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly abbreviated as the "Fifties" or the " '50s") (among other variants) was a decade that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959. Throughout the decade, the world continued its re ...

. At the beginning of the 1950s, horror films were described by

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at ...

as being "out of fashion". Among the most influential horror films of the 1950s was ''

The Thing From Another World ''The Thing from Another World'', sometimes referred to as just ''The Thing'', is a 1951 American black-and-white science fiction-horror film, directed by Christian Nyby, produced by Edward Lasker for Howard Hawks' Winchester Pictures Corporati ...

'', with Newman stating that countless science fiction horror films of the 1950s would follow in its style, while a film made just the year before, ''

The Man from Planet X ''The Man from Planet X'' is a 1951 independently made American black-and-white science fiction horror film, produced by Jack Pollexfen and Aubrey Wisberg, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, that stars Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, and William Sch ...

'' was still in debt to Universal horror style of filming with a bearded scientist and foggy sets. For five years following the release of ''The Thing From Another World'', nearly every film involving aliens, dinosaurs or radioactive mutants would be dealt with matter-of-fact characters as seen in ''The Thing From Another World''. Even films that adapted for older characters had science fiction leanings such as '' The Vampire'', '' The Werewolf'' and ''

Frankenstein 1970 ''Frankenstein 1970'' is a 1958 science fiction/ horror film, shot in black and white CinemaScope, starring Boris Karloff and featuring Don "Red" Barry. The independent film was directed by Howard W. Koch, written by Richard Landau and George Wo ...

'' being influenced by the atomic inspired monsters of the era. Films with a ''

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

'' theme also appeared with ''

The Neanderthal Man ''The Neanderthal Man'' is a 78-minute, 1953 American black-and-white science fiction film produced independently by Aubrey Wisberg and Jack Pollexfen, as Global Productions Inc., from their own original screenplay. It starred Robert Shayne, Ri ...

'', '' The Fly'', ''

Monster on the Campus ''Monster on the Campus'' (a.k.a. ''Monster in the Night'' and ''Stranger on the Campus'') is a 1958 American black-and-white science fiction/ horror film from Universal-International, produced by Joseph Gershenson, directed by Jack Arnold, f ...

'' and '' Hideous Sun Demon''. While studies suggest that

gothic horror Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...

had fallen out of fashion between the release of ''

House of Dracula ''House of Dracula'' is a 1945 American horror film released and distributed by Universal Pictures Company, Universal Pictures. Directed by Erle C. Kenton, the film features several Universal Horror properties meeting as they had done in the 19 ...

'' and ''

The Curse of Frankenstein ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' is a 1957 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions, loosely based on the 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus '' by Mary Shelley. It was Hammer's first colour horror film, and the first of t ...

'', small glimpses of the genre appeared in films such as '' The Son of Dr. Jekyll'', '' The Strange Door'', ''

The Black Castle ''The Black Castle'' is a 1952 American horror film directed by Nathan H. Juran and starring Richard Greene, Boris Karloff, Stephen McNally, Rita Corday and Lon Chaney Jr. It was produced by William Alland. The film was made in the United State ...

'' and '' House of Wax''. Several of these films were also shot in 3D such as ''

The Mad Magician ''The Mad Magician'' is a 1954 American horror film in 3D, directed by John Brahm starring Vincent Price, Mary Murphy and Eva Gabor. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures, with a release in 3-D to build on the craze started by ...

'', ''

Phantom of the Rue Morgue ''Phantom of the Rue Morgue'' is a 1954 American mystery horror film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Karl Malden, Claude Dauphin and Patricia Medina. The film is an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 short story ''The Murders in the Ru ...

'', and '' The Maze''. Universal-International produced the film '

Cult of the Cobra ''Cult of the Cobra'' is a 1955 American black-and-white horror film from Universal-International Pictures, produced by Howard Pine, directed by Francis D. Lyon, that stars Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Kathleen Hughes, Marshall Thompson, Ja ...

'' which created a short lived wave of horror films featuring

Pin-up model A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion mod ...

like mutants such as ''

The Leech Woman ''The Leech Woman'' is a 1960 black-and-white US horror film from Universal-International, produced by Joseph Gershenon, directed by Edward Dein, and starring Coleen Gray, Grant Williams, Gloria Talbott, and Phillip Terry. The film was actual ...

'' and ''

The Wasp Woman ''The Wasp Woman'' (also known as ''The Bee Girl'' and ''Insect Woman'') is a 1959 American independent science-fiction horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Filmed in black-and-white, it stars Susan Cabot, Anthony Eisley, Mic ...

''. Prior to the release of

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve class ...

's gothic films, the last gothic horror films of the 1950s often featured aged stars like

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...

, and

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

in films made by low budget indie film directors like

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

Reginald LeBorg Reginald Le Borg (11 December 1902 – 25 March 1989) was an Austrian film director. He was born in Vienna, Austria with the surname Groebel and directed 68 films between 1936 and 1974. Le Borg made a series of low-budget horror films at Un ...

or producers like

Howard W. Koch Howard Winchel Koch (April 11, 1916 – February 16, 2001) was an American producer and director of film and television. Life and career Koch was born in New York City, the son of Beatrice (Winchel) and William Jacob Koch. His family was Jewish. ...

. Hammer originally began developing American-styled science fiction films in the early 1950s but later branched into horror with their colour films ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' and '' Dracula''. These films would birth two horror film stars: Christopher Lee and

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

. Along with Hammer's more science fiction oriented series ''

Quatermass Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional scientist, originally created by the writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. An intelligent and highly moral British scientist, Quatermass is a pioneer of the British space programme, heading the Brit ...

'', both the gothic and science fiction films of Hammer would develop many similar films within the years. Horror films aimed a young audience featuring teenage monsters grew popular in the 1950s with several productions from

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

(AIP) and productions of

Herman Cohen Herman Cohen (August 27, 1925 – June 2, 2002) was an American producer of B-movies during the 1950s, and helped to popularize the teen horror movie genre with films like the cult classic ''I Was a Teenage Werewolf''. Career Born in Detroit, ...

with ''

I Was a Teenage Werewolf ''I Was a Teenage Werewolf'' is a 1957 horror film starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager, Yvonne Lime and Whit Bissell. It was co-written and produced by cult film producer Herman Cohen and was one of the most successful films release ...

'' and ''

I Was a Teenage Frankenstein ''I Was a Teenage Frankenstein'' (U.K. title: ''Teenage Frankenstein'') is a film starring Whit Bissell, Phyllis Coates and Gary Conway, released by American International Pictures (AIP) in November 1957 as a double feature with '' Blood of Dra ...

''. This led to later productions like '' Daughter of Dr. Jekyll'' and ''

Frankenstein's Daughter ''Frankenstein's Daughter'' is an independently made 1958 American black-and-white science fiction/ horror film drama, produced by Marc Frederic and George Fowley, directed by Richard E. Cunha, that stars John Ashley, Sandra Knight, Donald ...

''. Director

William Castle William Castle (born William Schloss Jr.; April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Orphaned at 11, Castle dropped out of high school at 15 to work in the theater. He came to the attenti ...

also attracted horror audiences with his gimmick-themed horror films such as ''

The Tingler ''The Tingler'' is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle. It is the third of five collaborations between Castle and writer Robb White, and starring Vincent Price. The film tells the story of a scientist who discove ...

'' and ''

House on Haunted Hill ''House on Haunted Hill'' is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle, written by Robb White and starring Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Carolyn Craig and Elisha Cook Jr. Price plays an ...

''. Horror films also expanded further into international productions in the 1950s such as Mexican production ''

El vampiro '' El vampiro'' ( en, The Vampire) is a 1957 Mexican horror film, produced by Abel Salazar and directed by Fernando Méndez from an original screenplay by Ramon Obon, and starring German Robles as Count Lavud, the vampire, Abel Salazar a ...

''. In Italy,

Riccardo Freda Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror, ''giallo'' and spy films. Freda began directing '' I Vampiri'' in 1956. The film became ...

and

Mario Bava Mario Bava (31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter, frequently referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the M ...

developed early Italian horror films with ''

I Vampiri ''I Vampiri'' ( The Vampires) is a 1957 Italian horror film. The film was directed by Riccardo Freda and completed by the film's cinematographer, Mario Bava. It stars Gianna Maria Canale, Carlo D'Angelo and Dario Michaelis. The film is about a s ...

'' and '' Caltiki – The Immortal Monster''. Productions also extended into the Philippines ('' Terror Is a Man''), Germany ('' The Head'' and ''

Horrors of Spider Island ''Horrors of Spider Island'' (german: Ein Toter hing im Netz, "A Corpse Hung in the Web") is a 1960 West German horror film written and directed by Fritz Böttger, and produced by Gaston Hakim and Wolf C. Hartwig for Rapid-Film/Intercontinental Fi ...

'') and France ('' Eyes Without a Face'').

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