10 Old School Horror Movies Perfect For Halloween

We know Rob Zombie's a fan of The Child because he samples the film's dialogue on his Hellbilly Deluxe II album. With its prowling camera and ominous soundtrack, the movie has atmosphere to spare, and bizarre sequences such as the heroine dancing with a scarecrow lend the picture a dream-like quality that would do Zombie proud.

When governess Alicianne (Laurel Barnett) meets Rosalie Norton (Rosalie Cole), she comes to realize that the child not only has psychic powers but is also capable of resurrecting her “friends” from the nearby cemetery. This leads to the film’s trump card, a final reel homage to Night Of The Living Dead that comes within shouting distance of George Romero’s movie.

You can tell The Child was made in the 1970s: director Robert Voskanian likes misty outdoor settings and favours close-ups accompanied by an ominous tinkling piano which together with quick cuts to barely-seen predators lend the movie a terrific sense of impending dread that you just don't get with modern MTV-style editing. Even if The Child isn’t exactly a long-lost classic, it’s still a movie worth catching.