Terror in Black and White: Terror in Black and White

By Steve Hutchison

This book contains 101 ranked reviews of horror and horror-adjacent black and white movies. The ranking is established by the sum of 8 ratings: stars, gimmick, rewatchability, creepiness, story, creativity, acting & quality. Each article contains a rating, a synopsis, and a short review.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Hutchison
• Release date: Apr 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9781778872112

Steve Hutchison

Artist, developer and entrepreneur in film, video games and communications Steve Hutchison co-founded Shade.ca Art and Code in 1999, then Terror.ca and its French equivalent Terreur.ca in 2000. With his background as an artist and integrator, Steve worked on such games as Capcom's Street Fighter, PopCap's Bejeweled, Tetris, Bandai/Namco's Pac-Man and Mattel's Skip-Bo & Phase 10 as a localization manager, 2-D artist and usability expert. Having acquired skills in gamification, he invented a unique horror movie review system that is filterable, searchable and sortable by moods, genres, subgenres and antagonists. Horror movie fans love it, and so do horror authors and filmmakers, as it is a great source of inspiration. In March 2013, Steve launched Tales of Terror, with the same goals in mind but with a much finer technology and a complex engine, something that wasn’t possible initially. He has since published countless horror-themed books.

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TerrorInBlackAndWhite2019_Cover.jpg

Tales of Terror’s

Terror in Black and White

2019

INTRODUCTION

This book contains 101 ranked reviews of horror and horror-adjacent black and white movies. The ranking is established by the sum of 8 ratings: stars, gimmick, rewatchability, creepiness, story, creativity, acting & quality. Each article contains a rating, a synopsis, and a short review.

#1

Psycho

1960

A woman steals a large sum of money and hides in a motel owned by a strange man.

8/8

Psycho revolutionizes horror simply. It presents itself as a mere thriller, but turns into a kind of darkness unlike the science-fiction approach of the last decade; a time when terror was spectacular, monstrous, not so lethal, and more politically correct. Psycho breaks new grounds in regards to taboos, sexuality and deviance, and never resorts to filler despite being based on dialog.

The camera work is superb. Hitchcock throws himself challenges that he executes perfectly, as an illusionist would. His techniques are mysterious, purposely complicated, and seem to wink at the student, casual and professional filmmaker and hardcore film fans. This is based on a book, but many freedoms are taken into making the content accessible, yet implicitly twisted.

The movie often asks us to reconsider our moral values and our initial judgment. Alfred Hitchcock slowly establishes horror through rigorous suspense, build-up and by structuring dialog or blocking strategically and with perfect timing. If Psycho feels so familiar, it is probably because it exposes the ills of society, concentrating them on a few characters and questioning their innocence.

#2

The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)

2011

A security guard obsessed by a horror movie attempts to recreate his favorite scenes by kidnapping people and stitching them together.

7/8

He’s short, uncoordinated and doesn’t speak. He’s a psychopath and he’s obsessed by the original Human Centipede movie. Meet Martin, a creepy security guard that brings you into his black and white world and into his progressive madness. We aren’t following through with the first story, but actress Ashlynn Yennie returns as herself in a self-referential sequel that isn’t short of surprises.

The ambiance is surreal, sweaty, and dirty. The most interesting aspect about the film is that Martin isn’t a doctor, has a visibly low IQ, denies reality, and therefore neglects the complexity of surgery. The end result is gorier than the more implicit original. The protagonist and villain is a man-child surrounded by violence, abuse, and characters not much deeper than he is.

The Human Centipede franchise is one the mainstream audience knows about because of its evocative gimmick, but one that few dare watching; even hardcore horror fans. Both films seem to laugh at the viewers while challenging them not to look away. This one does it without the use of color, realistic dialog and with a discomforting photography that makes us feel ill when exposed for too long.

#3

Frankenweenie

2012

A boy attempts to bring back his dog to life using electricity.

6/8

Frankenweenie is a 3D stop-motion animated feature film, which means that the stop-motion effects were simulated by a 3D software and during compositing phases to come up with a unique style. The music is by Danny Elfman and Tim Burton is directing. This is in fact the remake of one of his short stories by the same name. The original Frankenweenie was released in 1984.

The animation is not only competent but it is unlike everything we’ve seen. The story takes place in a parallel world where every night there’s a storm, which is convenient because we’re going to need lots and lots of lighting to bring back the dead! As the title implies, this is a re-imagining of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Victor and Igor are here, and let’s not forget the monster(s).

The characters all look sick and spooky, even the kids. This is a fun film that goes in dark places. It is a horror movie for children, which doesn’t mean that adults will feel excluded. It’s a gateway to dark cinema. There are nods to scary films everywhere. Martin Short and Winona Ryder play significant roles. The acting is excellent. Watch out for that third act. It’s uncanny!

#4

Young Frankenstein

1974

The descendant of a mad scientist finds the secret to reanimating the dead.

6/8

Spoof of the early Frankenstein films, and presented in black in white to make it a point, this hilarious slapstick comedy simply couldn’t have existed in the conservative years of horror films. As a period piece, it works marvelously. The old cinematographic atmosphere is recreated brilliantly. Research and attention to detail make Young Frankenstein something worth watching.

The castle sets are beautiful and reminiscent of the 30’s Universal monster movie look and feel. Gene Wilder’s interpretation of Frankenstein is strongly inspired by Colin Clive’s from 1931’s Frankenstein. His performance dominates the whole production. He is supported by the new Igor, a hilarious hunchback. The monster design is nothing out of the box, but the story is.

Innocent, goofy, vicious, and modernized; the humor in Young Frankenstein is varied and mostly works. It is, in a way, a therapy towards Gothic Hollywood movies that attempts to depict characters more developed than those of the good old classics. It is ironic to compare this comedy to the films it makes fun of, because it achieves many aspects better and without resorting to the fear element.

#5

Night of the Living Dead

1968

Strangers barricade themselves in a farmhouse to survive a zombie infestation.

6/8

This movie outlines the world as it would be if taken over by contagious revenants converting the human race to theirs. It’s claustrophobic, xenophobic, and the monsters featured have a cohesive logic to them. The first scene takes place in a cemetery but all character arcs converge to a house that is being reinforced by the protagonists to keep the supernatural threat outside.

The odd interpersonal exchanges humans have under the extreme circumstances featured create build-up even when no zombie is around. George A. Romero and John A. Russo wrote a script so visionary that no minute feels stretched or superfluous. The lesson learned, here, is that humans are monsters in their own rights the moment their life is threatened and their freedom reduced to a minimum.

The performances are theatrically exaggerated, but certainly