PopHorror Let's Get Scared
When people think of horror movies, they might think of Universal Monsters, 2000s campy, scary movies or comedy horror movies. You might not think of Albert Lewin’s 1945 film The Picture of Dorian Gray.
It might seem like a random pick for a terrifying horror movie, but it certainly checks off all of the criteria for a horror movie and a movie that could easily scare the pants off of you in the middle of the night because that’s what it did for me when I saw the full movie Labor Day weekend in 2011. I was on the cusp of turning 14 and I remember how petrified I was after seeing it.
For those that are unaware with Oscar Wilde’s epic masterpiece of literature, it revolves around a young man named Dorian Gray who is getting a self-portrait painted and as he gazes upon the portrait, Dorian prays that the picture would age and decay instead of himself. To his astonishment, it actually worked but with every selfish action Dorian took, the painting would get uglier and more grotesque. As the years went on, the painting turned into a haggard, bloody variant of what Gray was, which represented his callous and evil nature.
This movie is truly terrifying because it knows how to build up suspense in its narrative. When we, the audience, are watching Dorian lift the veil from the portrait, we can’t help but hold our breath and hope for the best. Or even when Dorian stabs the portrait and, afterwards, his friends find the evil and shriveled-up remains of the man that he truly was. These scenes give the audience a jolt of fear in the blink of an eye with a simple cutaway.
The film elevates itself from traditional horror movies which would get its scares from a goon or demon but in this 1945 film, it creates tension and scares from its psychology to keep the audience extremely on edge.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is avaiable to rent and own on digital platforms.
