10 Old School Horror Movies Perfect For Halloween

10. The Beast Must Die

Speaking of old school, here’s a whodunit that could only have been made in the 1970s: five suspects, one of which is a werewolf, are lured to an eccentric millionaire’s electronically bugged estate so that the culprit can be apprehended. “After all the clues have been shown,” announces the film’s narrator, “the viewer gets a chance to name the villain during the ‘werewolf break’.”

Combining elements of horror, whodunit and Blaxploitation, The Beast Must Die is so fast-paced and endearing that most viewers will be willing to forget the fact that that the ‘werewolves’ are actually German shepherds. That’s old school movie magic: if you haven’t got the technology to transform a man into a wolf, cheat a little.

No matter how bizarre the movie becomes – how many films give the audience 60 seconds to guess the werewolf’s identity? – the cast (which includes Peter Cushing, Charles Gray and Anton Diffring) maintain a straight face throughout, with Cushing a standout as a mannered German doctor. Anyone who doubts the movie’s entertainment value is invited to watch the Kevin Williamson-scripted Cursed instead.