Social Distancing means we have a lot of free time on our hands, and eventually we may struggle to find worthwhile content with which to enrich our Media education….well, just for that reason I have decided to gather together small collections of films and television clips that you can enjoy for free – all found on Youtube.

This collection is loosely based around the Horror genre. It’s a mix of old and new, and all of these suggestions are broadly suitable up to a 15 age rating. ( some may have been rated higher originally – but due to their age these ratings may have been downgraded slightly)

This of course means you won’t find much gore or shock – but they do explore the more creepy side of good old fashioned storytelling, cinematography and inventive sound and light design.

Dim the lights, grab the popcorn, and enjoy….

The Abominable Snowman – 1957

First off, a black & White classic from the famous British horror studio of the 50’s and 60’s, Hammer. I love the relentlessly chilly atmosphere, and like all good monster movies, the director, Val Guest, barely shows off the creature – until its too late!

More information on The Abominable Snowman can be found on its IMDB page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050095/

The Dawn of the Dead – 1978

Next, an absolute classic, and my favourite of the original George A Romero trilogy of ‘Dead’ or zombie films. Without this, there would be no Walking Dead , or World War Z. This was an independent film (which may be why its ended up on Youtube) as the director famously mistrusted film studio meddling. Lots of 70’s gore in this one, which may be a bit much for some….

And if you really enjoyed that – heres a fantastic Behind the scenes documentary about how it was made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Ak5pYODMw

The Hound of the Baskervilles – 1959

Next, another old favourite, and a very vivid and lurid colour offering, again from Hammer films. Loosely based on the famous Sherlock Holmes story it is of particular interest to us as parts were filmed In Frensham Pond – you can see it stand in for Dartmoor in the first quarter of the film. Hammer stalwart Peter Cushing is back again, perfectly cast as the super sleuth.

Alligator – 1980

Next, we jump to the 1980’s – with this low budget mad monster flick , broadly aimed at trying to capture the Jaws audience. This time its the urban myth about Alligators in the sewers of Chicago that is the basis for scares. The director, Lewis Teague did well from directing cheesy movies – and had big success with the big budget action movie The Jewel in The Nile. This was made for about a quarter of the cash – but often less money means a more inventive and creative horror film – a much more modern example of this is the toothy spiritual successor ‘Crawl’

And if you’re keen to see what Crawl looks like – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6MLJG0RdDE

The Abominable Dr Phibes -1971

Sometimes the best scares are those combined with the downright surreal, or just plain silly. Vincent Price – another horror legend, plays the crazed super-fiend Dr Phibes – a crazy cross between a comic book villain and jack the Ripper. It’s an odd thriller, that doesn’t take itself too seriously – the killer bumps off his victims in the style of Egyptian plagues! But that was part of the charm of some of these earlier genre films – and as always Vincent Price gives his absolute all as the evil genius – which is why he was so beloved by modern directors such as Tim Burton.