SCARY MOVIES WITH SINGLE WORD TITLES (1945 - 1985)

 

Here's a macabre Saturday Night Special concept for you, a list of scary movies with one word titles, and no "The's" invited.

To choose a one word title for a horror film, you need a strong word, a single word that invokes terror, dread, confusion, or somehow gives you the creeps just thinking about it like "IMPULSE" is a good place to start. The added daggers in this title card are just frosting on the cake combined with one of the creepiest characters William Shatner ever played!

And speaking of "MACABRE," the Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as "Dwelling on the Gruesome," and I'm pretty sure that's what Schlockmeister William Castle had in mind when he made this 1958 monsterpiece of horror!

 

"ROPE," it's a simple word really, but when it's the title of an Alfred Hitchcock film, then it takes on multiple new meanings. Hitchcock must have liked one word titles, because quite a few of his films fell into this category, starting with his most famous, "PSYCHO," and  including such titles as "NOTORIOUS," "SPELLBOUND," "SABOTAGE," "SUSPICION," "BLACKMAIL," and...

 

......."VERTIGO!" I get dizzy just thinking about it!

Then it just starts getting weirder and more psychologically difficult like

"TORMENTED" from 1960.

     

This 1977 Mario Bava movie has been released as more than one title like "Beyond the Door II," or "The Demon Is Nuts," but this is the simplest and  most shocking one,

"SHOCK."

 

 

Then there are titles that just scream fun like Freddie France's "HYSTERIA" from 1965.

Here's another one-word masterpiece from Alfred Hitchcock in 1972, that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy, "FRENZY!" 

 

 "SEIZURE" from 1974 is another comforting title because after all, 

"It's a children's story!"

 

After the seizure, the "DEMENTIA" sets it!

This 1955 classic was also known as "Daughter Of Horror."

Then you end up in this happy place from 1946.

"BEDLAM"

 

Let's see, then there's "SUCCUBUS," another fun family film from Jess Franco in 1968, that is literally defined as

 "a female demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping men!"

 

 

So let's take a little "DETOUR," and "Get back on track, Jack," because in 1945, what was better than going to movie that you had no idea where it was headed?

 

Next is the "Are These Really Even Words?" Department, where they just made something up, and you had to go to the movies to find out what it even was, like "GOG" from 1954.

Believe it or not, "KRONOS" is still not a word some 67 years later!

Nor is the title of the 1962 film "ZOTZ!"

 

 

Some one word titles are very descriptive, like with 1982's "PIECES,"

 what else do you need to know?

 

Or how about "RATTLERS" from 1976? That title pretty much says it all!

 

 Now this 1966 title has charisma and plenty of mystery to it, because anything could happen in matter of  "SECONDS!"

 

For one word, it just doesn't get much more ominous than "QUICKSAND,"

and Mickey Rooney just sinks deeper and deeper into it in this 1950 film.

From 1968 we have "CORRUPTION," which is defined as "Dishonest or Fraudulent Conduct by Those in Power," so you immediately know this film's going to be a barrel of laughs!

I'll leave you with Argento's "CREEPERS" from 1985, because why not?

You're sure not going to expect sunshine and lollipops with a title like that!

Interestingly enough, this film was originally released as another single word title,

"PHENOMENA."

LIGHTS OUT / "The Angry Birds" - 1951

Here's a weird one for you, it's all about how an act of revenge that turns into a real nightmare when birds fight back...

It stars John (IN COLD BLOOD) Forsythe, Constance (GOG) Dowling, Vaughn (PSYCHO) Taylor, Warren (SHOCK TREATMENT) Parker, James (TORPEDO RUN) Winslow and Frank (Voiced 3 cartoons in the forties) Gallop.

Frank immediately gets in your face and asks you a few personal lead in questions before he fades to black before the story starts.

Waldo Bryan is a talented artist but has left the big city to live in the country where his attention has turned to illustrating birds (he's obsessed with them) instead of making lots of money from his usual publisher. His wife Adele is resentful, she misses the money and the big city social scene.

What's bothering Waldo is that his canary is not in its cage and he cannot understand how it escaped. And, why did Adele let their cat outside without its collar with bells on it, so that the birds can fly away before the cat can get them. In other words, he loves birds.

His neighbor Mr. Hanson pays a visit and notices that the birds are acting very strange with all their chatter. They never show the birds but play a soundtrack with lots of bird sounds.

Then Waldo notices his pet canary in the water bowl, apparently killed by their cat.

Waldo comes back into the house to ask Adele why she let this happen. Well, because she wants to go back to the city. She also tells him that he's a weak person, and has the heart of a bird!

His publisher pays him a visit to ask him to come back to the city, for Adele's sake, she just isn't a country girl and all...

There's a commotion outside, Waldo and Mr. Hanson try and get the cat out from under the steps because it has a bird and is mauling it unmercifully.

Waldo begs Adele to call the cat out, it will listen to her, but she refuses!

The sound of the bird crying out grinds on Waldo's soul, it's hard for him to take.

Adele thinks that her plan to get Waldo to move back to the city is a big success...

She decides to leave for the city, Waldo can follow later, but when she goes out the door she's greeted by a horde of angry birds!!

She runs back into the house where Waldo tells her that the birds will not forget and they are going to follow her for the rest of her life! His bond with the birds tells him that they will never forget!

Get ready... Waldo goes into the yard and lets the birds deep six him, much to the horror of Adele! DON'T MESS WITH THE BIRDIES!!

AROUND THE WORLD, UNDER THE SEA - "Hold Your Breath" (1966)

Here's a real interesting Saturday Night Special for you that was made in 1966, and it's called...

"Around The World, Under The Sea."

"Around The World, Under The Sea" is a movie about a team of civilians out to set up a series of underwater earthquake monitors, so we've got a better chance of seeing those suckers coming, and might have a chance to avoid major destruction from future Tsunamis etc.

This movie has an all-star cast that includes Gary Merrill as Dr. August 'Gus' Boren. Gary Merrill was in "Mysterious  Island," "The Twilight Zone" episode titled "Still Valley," and "The Outer Limits" episode titled "The Human Factor," among his 112 credits.

 

This is our first introduction to Shirley Eaton's character Dr. Margaret E. Hanford!

This is our second introduction to Dr. Hanford, also known as Maggie!
Maggie will turn out to be the only female on the team.

All the team members have to recruited, and they all have special water skills! Keenan Wynn lives in this fantastic underwater dwelling!

Slacker supreme, Keenan has only 281 credits to his name. Included in there is "The Twilight Zone" episode called "A World Of His Own," and a whole bunch of performances as colorful characters with names like Harvey Huntington Honeywagon, and/or Colonel 'Bat' Guano.

You couldn't go wrong in the 60's using Lloyd Bridges in an underwater flick after his successful run as Mike Nelson in 155 episodes of "Sea Hunt"from 1958 to 1961.

"Around The World, Under The Sea" is another Ivan Tors/Ricou Browning underwater matchup! Ivan was responsible for "Island Of The Lost," and the whole "Sea Hunt" series, and Ricou was the man inside the "Creature From The Black Lagoon" movies. The two of them together were responsible for  the "Flipper" TV series! These two guys together have more experience shooting oceanic scenes than anyone I'm pretty sure!

Marshall (Cult Of The Cobra, Fiend Without A Face, It! The Terror From Beyond Space) Thompson is Dr. Orin Hillyard.

How's  Dr. Hillyard going to make it with Maggie with a name like Orin Hillyard?

Speaking of unfortunate names, how about the composer of the music in this film, 

Harry Sukman?

I told you the cast was awesome. Here's David (Illya Kuryakin) McCallum as Dr. Philip Volker. David was also in two of "The Outer Limits" Episodes, "The Sixth Finger," and "The Forms Of Things Unknown." I've never ever seen one, but David McCallum has been on the show "NCIS" for 389 episodes, or the last sixteen years! Amazing!!

All the Doctors have a thing for Maggie!

This was just too good of a shot to only use once!

The Father in the "Flipper" series, Brian Kelly fit into this role quite nicely! Brian had a horrible motorcycle accident four years later that ended his acting career, but he still went on to be the Executive Producer of "Blade Runner."

Get ready cause here it comes!

Ka-Blooey!!

I'll just leave you with these last two shots!

It's looks so cool when you have to cram six people into one tight shot and get away with it!

Mr. Sukman won an Oscar in 1961 for the music in a movie called "Song Without End."

Other Ivan Tors films that Harry Sukman composed music for were "Riders To The Stars," and "Gog." There's one copy of the soundtrack LP with this great cover on Discogs for $6.50, but after that they are $20.00 and up!