[9]

Several years ago, Dr. Anton Phibes raced to the hospital after learning his wife had died on the operating table. His car crashed off a cliff and he was burned alive. Or was he? After a series of elaborate murders rob London of its top doctors, Scotland Yard is on the case, barely able to keep ahead of the eccentric doctor as he exacts vengeance on the nine doctors and nurses who let Mrs. Phibes die. “Nine killed her. Nine shall die. Nine eternities in doom!” he proclaims, able to speak only with the assistance of a gramophone connected to his throat. In accordance with scripture, Phibes reenacts the plagues on the unsuspecting doctors, executing intricate plans and unleashing all variety of vermin to avenge his beloved wife.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

July 22, 1962

[9] A crippled woman tries desperately to escape the torture of her jealous sister in this deliciously wicked suspense thriller starring icons Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Crawford is quite good in the sympathetic role, but its Davis' maniacal performance…

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

July 30, 1957

[10]

This terrifying tale of emasculation is my favorite sci-fi/horror flick from the atomic age. Grant Williams stars as Scott Carey, a man who gets caught in a strange mist while boating with his wife. Afterwards, he notices his clothes don’t fit quite like they used to. His wife assures him everything is fine, that he just needs to eat more. A few days later, she finds she no longer has to get on her tip-toes to kiss him, and before you know it, his wedding ring falls right off his shrinking finger.

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

August 27, 1955

[10]

Two small children run for their lives from a murderous preacher in the only film actor Charles Laughton ever directed. The Night of the Hunter is a unique blend — part fable and part thriller, both pastoral and horrific, a beguiling mixture of qualities that usually mark the work of an amateur… or a genius. Laughton is as precise and purposeful as Orson Wells (even using Well’s cinematographer from The Magnificent Ambersons), but there’s also a naive, experimental quality to the film, in the way he mixes realism with German expressionism, and solemnity with odd moments of Tex Avery-style comedy.