The drive-in movie theatre was a favorite pastime for people in the 1950s. Families could take their children, teens could go on weekend nights off from school, it was the perfect place for a frisky first-date. Horror films in particular, were extremely successful at the drive-in. As a cinephile and horror fanatic, I’ve compiled a list of 1950s horror films that were all drive-in favorites at one point or another.

The Thing from Another World (1951)

So you know how they made a remake a few years back of John Carpenter’s famous icy horror film The Thing (1982)? Well, that famous Carpenter film is a loose remake of the 1951 Howard Hawks film The Thing from Another World. Similar premise, the film takes place on a US air force base in Alaska, a UFO crash lands somewhere nearby, and the “Thing” inside wreaks havoc on the inhabitants of the air force base. Interestingly enough, the alien in the original is basically of vegetable origin and drains Earth creatures of their blood for the blood plasma. Pretty cool in my book. The Thing From Another World was one of the first films to seamlessly interweave science fiction and horror. This one comes highly recommended.

House of Wax (1953)

Probably the only film on this list to be a remake of an even older film. House of Wax was a remake of The Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933). This particular film is considered by some to be the best horror film of the 1950s and was one of the most successful films of 1953. Starring Vincent Price as a disfigured wax museum owner, who fills the museum with wax coated corpses of murder victims. Price’s performance as the deranged Professor Henry Jarrod gained so much acclaim, it made him a hot commodity in the horror film industry. Vincent Price was always cast in primary character roles from then on. Unfortunately, most of us have seen and will see the film in all its 2-D glory, but theatre goers in 1953 got to experience the film in state of the art hi-tech 3-D. No fair!

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

The Creature of the Black Lagoon is one of the classic Universal Studios monster movies. While the creature in the film could be much scarier, the film has some beautiful underwater shots of the creature swimming alongside the unknowing leading lady. Later sequels turned the Creature into somewhat of a hero rather than a villainous monster. This one is worth a watch either way.

Them! (1954)

The 1950s were quite fond of horror movies about giant animals, and other oppressed creatures (see: Attack of the 50 Foot Woman), taking over the world and eating all the humans. In Them! it’s ants and these ants are the result of atomic testing in the New Mexico desert that has caused them to mutate into giant man-eating monsters. The end of the Korean War + Cold War atomic bomb paranoia + millions of ants everywhere all the time = a good way to scare people in 1954.

Night of the Hunter (1955)

The only film ever to be directed by actor Charles Laughton, Night of the Hunter is not classically a horror film, so much as it is a thriller, but Robert Mitchum’s portrayal of Reverend Harry Powell is as frightening as they come. Powell is a serial murderer of women that justifies his actions with his fanatical religious beliefs. The cinematography alone is gorgeous, with some outdoor stage shots and underwater shots that could be straight out of an eerie dream. Religious fanaticism is the major villain in the film and the way it permeates the lives of the characters is enough to deem this one hell of a 1950s horror film.

Dementia (Daughter of Horror, 1955)

This film is one of the strangest and most exploitation-like on this list. Dementia is a nightmarish film about a woman who awakens in a skid row motel with no recollection of how she got there and follows her as she traverses the seedy landscape over the course of the evening and loses her mind. The film also has zero dialogue. Dementia is part horror and part film noir. The cinematography also incorporates many elements of expressionism. Think Carl Theordor Dryer’s Vampyr meets Fritz Lang’s M meets David Lynch’s Eraserhead. What you are left with is a strangely beautiful and horrific piece of 1950s underground cinema.

The Bad Seed (1956)

Rhoda, Rhoda, Rhoda. Rhoda may very well be the most evil child to ever grace the silver screen, EVER. I grant her this lovely title because she’s eight years old and has no issue threatening and killing children and adults alike (over a pair of shoes, I might add). Patty McCormack’s portrayal of Rhoda is so shockingly narcissistic and evil, that it makes it easy to hope for the demise of an eight year old girl by the end of the film. That is pretty impressive for 1956. The Bad Seed holds a special place in my heart, as it was one of the first horror films my grandma ever showed me. She finds a level of hilarity in making her grandkids watch horror films, so let’s take a minute to thank her, because she’s partially responsible for the existence of this list.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

If you’ve ever heard the phrase “pod people” then you have an idea of what this movie is about. Don Siegel’s science fiction horror film takes place in a California town that has been invaded by extraterrestrials. These aliens have dropped seed pods to Earth that are capable of creating sinister alien duplicate versions of anyone and everyone in the town, devoid of human emotion. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is an important film to have on this list because not only is it extremely scary, but it also makes some heavy social commentary about the state of American society at the time, as well as, the negative impact of conformity in general. Are you sure they’re not here already? You may be next.

Curse of the Demon (1957)

Ok, let me start off by saying that I LOVE films about witchcraft and the occult. Devil cult leaders in 1950s England that place runic hexes on people? Someone in 1957 was doing their occult research. A personal favorite of mine, Curse of the Demon is about a psychologist who travels to England in an attempt to disprove witchcraft and satanic worship. He decides to stay with Dr. Julian Karswell, the leader of a “devil cult” and believes he has been hexed by Karswell in the process. The film incorporates many elements of expressionism, an homage to German horror of the 1920s. There is one gorgeous scene in particular where the main character is staring down a hallway that looks straight out of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Plus, the actual demon in it is pretty horrifying for 1957.

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

So we all remember the square-headed, accidentally sinister because he doesn’t-know-his-own-strength, platform shoe wearing, green skinned, bolts in neck, stitched up monster, right? Ok well, Terence Fisher’s version is extremely different. Hammer Film Productions first foray into the world of technicolor, this version is LOOSELY based on the original book by Mary Shelley. Christopher Lee plays “The Creature” and this one is psychotic (and also wears a very well-tailored peacoat). There are no touching moments with little girls and daisies here. He just kills a whole lot of people and lands Victor Frankenstein on death row awaiting execution. But I assure you, it’s awesome.

Horror of Dracula (1958)

Hammer Horror films had a knack for creating the first truly gritty and frightening iterations of classic monster movies from the 1920s and 30s. Legendary actor Christopher Lee’s portrayal of Dracula is the first version of the Prince of Darkness that is not only strikingly handsome (and extremely well-dressed), but remorselessly bloodthirsty and scary as well. When he is first seen, with blood dripping down from his mouth and maniacal blood shot eyes, Dracula was taken from the charismatic and seductive 1931 Transylvanian Count, to a truly dangerous monster to be reckoned with. Oh and did I mention that he had a harem of BADASS vampire brides? Van Helsing had a lot on his hands this time around.

The Blob (1958)

It creeps, and leaps, and glides and slides across the floor. The indestructible creature! The Blob was THEE 1950s drive-in horror film. What could possibly be scarier than a large pink mass that sucks up everything in it’s path? It has no face, no limbs, no organs, and it just keeps getting bigger! How does one kill such a thing?? The original 1958 version stars Steve McQueen in one of his first feature film roles (credited as Steven McQueen). Some in the 50s may have considered this film “cheap teen trash” but I consider it pure cinematic gold. BEWARE THE BLOB!

The Fly (1958)

Another film on this list starring Vincent Price, The Fly is a 1950s classic that was the inspiration for the gloriously disgusting 1980s remake by David Cronenberg. Scientist Andre Delambre has discovered how to transport matter from one place to another. He practices these tests on animals and inanimate objects successfully. But what happens when he attempts this on himself? Well, a fly gets trapped in the machine of course, thus mutating Delambre into a human fly. Unlike Cronenberg’s slimy life-sized fly creature, the 1958 version has Delambre turn into an actual fly. Needless-to-say, things do not go well for him. Another notable performance in the film is Patricia Owens as the extremely supportive wife to Dr. Delambre. What would you do if your husband turned into a life-sized fly? He’s got 96 tears and 96 eyes. Yikes.

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

William Castles 1959 horror film is a true masterpiece. Legendary Vincent Price plays Frederick Loren, a millionaire with a morbid sense of humor. He invites five strangers to a “party” in a haunted house, promising them $10,000 if they can stay in the house all night. Equipping all the guests with a .45 caliber pistol, all is not as it seems. The film is the perfect mix of campy and creepy. The true star of the film may be the house itself, the exterior shots are of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s historic Ennis House, located in  Los Feliz, CA. There’s also some pretty fun special fx, tons of screaming, a super weird score, and a vat of acid in the basement. Watch it now, thank me later.

Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

SO INCREDIBLY BAD IT’S ACTUALLY PRETTY GOOD.