7 Stephen King’s Old Hollywood Picks to Watch on Prime

The author of numerous horror novels, which have been the sources for Hollywood’s successful projects since the 1980’s, is famous for his movie recommendations.

Here are seven old movies of the classic Hollywood era, praised by King and available for watching on Prime Video.

1. Les Diaboliques (1955)

“He out-Hitchcocked Hitchcock,” King beautifully stated about the director of this French psychological horror thriller, Henri-Georges Clouzot, featuring a nail-biting story of a woman and her husband's mistress who conspire to murder the lying man.

2. Paths of Glory (1957)

Speaking of The Shining director, Stanley Kubrick, this anti-war movie was also mentioned. Set during World War I, this historically significant film focuses on the commanding officer of French soldiers (played by Kirk Douglas) who refuse to continue a suicidal attack.

3. Night of the Demon (1957)

An adaptation of M.R. James’s horror story about a satanic cult amazed King by the gradual and perfectly-timed growth of suspense it creates.

“The horror here is pretty understated, until the very end,” says the writer about Jacques Tourneur’s feature.

4. Village of the Damned (1960)

Another horror movie in the master’s list, this time mixed with science fiction, revolves around a mysterious village, whose residents suddenly fall unconscious and then, upon coming back to life, gain horrifying supernatural abilities out of nowhere.

5. Dementia 13 (1963)

“For mood, atmosphere, and plain old gut-churning horror, 13 [Dementia 13] makes Psycho and Night of the Living Dead look tame,” convincingly concludes King about Francis Ford Coppola horror-thriller directorial debut, calling it “a movie that matters”.

6. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Another Kubrick’s masterpiece included in the acclaimed writer’s top picks, now a brilliant political satire black comedy one, as it centers on the fears of a tragic nuclear conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War.

7. Duel (1971)

“It’s his [Steven Spielberg ’s] most inventive film, and stripped to the very core: one man, one truck, one fight to the death,” as voiced in King’s description of the action movie, telling a story of a man, terrorized by a mysterious driver of a giant semi-truck.

Source: BFI