The Original Dracula silent movie Nosferatu.
Nosferatu Quote:
A free adaptation of the famous book, in the hands of director F.W. Murnau the film becomes a multidimensional and personal work that diverts from the original. This appropriation by Murnau explains why the title of the film is Nosferatu and not Dracula: Stoker’s widow saw the plagiarism of her husband’s work and brought court action against the production. Though she obtained the destruction of the film negatives, fortunately some copies survived this cinematic persecution. Moreover, a beneficial name change preserved the reputation of Murnau’s vampire. While Dracula, the object of many mostly mediocre adaptations, sounds like a grotesque and hackneyed cliche, Nosferatu still resonates with a certain terror. The film has guarded a certain troubling aura, and its only true remake, Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre, is a majestic tribute to its master. The possessed interpretations of Count Orlok by Max Shreck and later Klaus Kinski only reinforce the myth.
In order to really appreciate Nosferatu, it is necessary to know the foundations on which the film rests. In effect, at first viewing, Murnau’s work can seem overlong and tedious given how little the modern audience is used to silent black and white films with long bucolic sequences. Yet to liken this Symphony of Horror to a vulgar vampire film or the hundredth adaptation of Bram Stoker's book Dracula would be a major error. Despite its apparent simplicity, the film grows in scope in its use of suggestion and different degrees that hide behind a simple story that only serves as a vehicle for the director’s intentions.
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I guess you have to appreciate the pure original form of the silent horror film.
I did see a good remake of Thirteen Ghosts recently, a film I first saw as a child of 8 years old, in early 1960. In the remake, no red and green cellophane paper glasses were required as we were issued at the original film.
Other than this, I guess the Stephen King stories are as good as modern horror get these days.