Films I think make good inspirational viewing for Ravenloft

[Blackjack]

The Locals (2001) a gem
Dog Soldiers (2003) for action

[Don Fernando]

I liked Van Helsing (2004) , because it had nice Werewolves, nice weapons for your Monster Hunter players and loads of ideas for places and locations.

And yes, I must say that Sleepy Hollow has to be in the list!

[Reginald de Curry]

Sleepwalkers, one of Stephen King's better movies, I thought.

[Charlatan]

Hmm, good Ravenloft Movies... I won't even try to avoid duplicating films others have already mentioned, I'll just go with ones I like (and have seen myself) and think fit.

Sleepy Hollow
The Legend of Hell House
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Bram Stoker's Dracula
The Name of the Rose
American Werewolf in London
13 Ghosts (recent version)
The 6th Sense
The Frightners
The Howling
The entire series of Universal Frankenstein movies from the 40's

[maraudar]

Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires

Steve you made my day when I read that. I have this on VHS and love it. Along with Capt. Kronos ..


Maraudar

[Wiccy of the Fraternity]

Wickerman
The Undead (1961)
Witchfinder General
A Strange and Dangerous Occurrance (for lots of suspence building)
1 Desire (nice mystery based vampire flick)
Cabin Fever (for the gore fans of Ravenloft)
The Creep

[ScS of the Fraternity]

Deathwatch is an excellent Ravenloft film.
Though set in world war 1, the movie features mists, a domain that cannot be escaped, an enigmatic lord and lots and lots of horror checks!

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

I'd like to suggest the TV series The League of Gentlemen for the dark comic moments in the domains.

[Wiccy of the Fraternity]

Ravenous
Halloween
A Nightmare of Elm Street
Friday 13th
Cannibal the Musical (strangely enough I would use it for Vorostokov and Sanguinia)
In the Mouth of Madness
Society

Deathwatch... that one really bored me, in fact I have yet to watch it in one gotwithout falling asleep! The only good thing obout it is that the guy who plays Nick in My Family is in it and he barely does a thing before he dies.

[Rucht Lilavivat]

Interesting thread, since this isn't your run of the mill "Top 10 Horror Movies" thread.

By the way, check out AFI's (American Film Institute) top 100 Thriller movies for the past 100 years. Alot of great horror movies in that list.

http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/100yearslist.aspx

But...inspirational for Ravenloft, eh?

1)The Brotherhood of the Wolf
This movie isn't scary per se, but it comes the closest any movie I've seen to the "genre" that is Ravenloft. It's set in a Restoration era setting. There are fantasy elements like the beast, the cult, and the miraculous rejuvination of the villain's arm.

Ravenloft is interesting because it started with Gothic Horror and then evolved into something else. What makes this movie a great one for capturing the feel of Ravenloft is the setting, action, and the fact that the true enemy lies within, not without.

2) From Hell
This is the perfect movie to capture the idea of Masque of the Red Death. Johnny Depp's character is a clairvoyant who pursues Jack the Ripper through London. (Prognotiscation anyone?) And...when we find out the identity of Jack the Ripper, we find out that he's gained mysterious powers and insight through his evil deeds (failed powers checks, hrm?).

As an added bonus, the movie's themes, mood, and tone all fit everything Masque is supposed to be.

3) In the Name of the Rose
The movie would be another perfect image of Ravenloft except that it doesn't have magic in it. But all of the other elements are there. The movie revolves around a mystery. The mystery revolves around a secret text. There accusations of witchcraft. There are themes of tempation and madness.

What really makes this a good inspirational movie for Ravenloft is the movie's setting. Its in the Middle Ages - like some parts of Ravenloft - but not the Middle Ages of knights and armor. This is the Middle Ages of crumbling cathedrals, lost tomes, and dark secrets.

4) The 13th Warrior
Okay, before people go ballistic...think about this movie for a moment. A small village is attacked by things that they think are demons. These "creatures" don't leave bodies behind. They live deep down in caves and all serve a single mother-figure.

The way the wendol are talked about in this movie, the way they are revered and feared all play into the theme of superstition in Ravenloft. Ravenloft is a place were people are in constant fear of "what's out there."

[Dominique]

A fairly weird recommendation that I absolutely love: The Field. It isn't horror or fantasy by any stretch of the imagination--it's a Jim Sheridan movie about a poor Irishman trying to keep his beloved field from being bought by a rich American who returned to Ireland to find his roots. That said, it has one of the absolute best portrayals of a basically good man gradually degenerating into a tragic, dark lord-style figure that I've ever seen, as the Irishman sinks to greater and greater depths trying to keep his field and drives away everyone he loves and wants to preserve the field for in the first place in the process. It's an absolute must-see for anyone trying to design their own domain.

[Jakob]

13 Ghosts (recent version)

Guys, I watched it just now (wonders of rent-a-video...): it's probably the most NON-Ravenloftian piece of... FILM I've ever watched.
Really.
If this movie is ravenloftian, then even ANACONDA is.

To change subject:

I too suggest The Name of the Rose and In the Mouth of Madness, but also Rosemary's Baby and The Ninth Gate (though the book it was inspired by, Club Dumas, is much better[/i].

For your pleasure, I also recommend two "comedy horror" movies by Roman Polanski: Blood for Dracula and Fearless Vampire Killer (I think this is the english title...).

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

13 Ghosts (recent version)

Guys, I watched it just now (wonders of rent-a-video...): it's probably the most NON-Ravenloftian piece of... FILM I've ever watched.
Really.
If this movie is ravenloftian, then even ANACONDA is.

To change subject:

I too suggest The Name of the Rose and In the Mouth of Madness, but also Rosemary's Baby and The Ninth Gate (though the book it was inspired by, Club Dumas, is much better[/i].

For your pleasure, I also recommend two "comedy horror" movies by Roman Polanski: Blood for Dracula and Fearless Vampire Killer (I think this is the english title...).

Dunno, a glass house with thirteen seperate entities that have been caputured for use in a diabolical experiment? I think it has serious Ravenloft potential.

[Catman Jim]

(3) The Name of the Rose
The movie would be another perfect image of Ravenloft ...

OK, that makes about the gazillionth time someone has recommended this movie, and I don't remember it. I know I saw it when it came out in the mid-80's but I have no recollection of it. I just now did a 'Buy-It-Now' for a DVD on Ebay for it, so maybe this next week I will be able to see it (again). I saw the book on the Summer Reading discount shelves at my local Borders today, but after flipping through it, I think I'll wait and see what I think of the film.

[Jakob]

Dunno, a glass house with thirteen seperate entities that have been caputured for use in a diabolical experiment? I think it has serious Ravenloft potential.

I was not referring to the premises... I was referring to the PLOT, the CHARACTERS, the ACTING and the movie in general.

At least, I hope my players didn't YAWN like I did with this movie.
Really: when you skip FFW in a horror movie to see if ANYTHING original would happen, it means it's a bad horror movie.

PS: Now, let's be serious. You were REALLY surprised to see Cyrus coming back from the dead? You were relly surprised seeing he was not a ghost? You were really surprised seeing Arthur's wife in the house?
It was a film you knew the ending from the beginning. How many times did you knew what would happen when some young men and women say: "Let's take a trip to my old cottage in the woods?"

Even worse: THE GHOSTS WERE NOT SCARY!

Anyway, we're going off-topic. Sorry. )