Just finished watching The Black Cat with Karloff and Lugosi and was wondering if you had to pick one from the list, who you think is the greatest cinematic horror icon.

I went with Robert England. He is Freddy Kreuger. The recent shitty remake just proves it further.

it was between Englund and Price. i know the others, Karloff, Lugosi and Chaney started it all. But, Price really, i think, took the genre forward (P&tP, HoW, etc.) and it is still revered today, i think. But Englund as Freddy, i would say is the more known/popular choice, but that doesn't make it the correct one...

Bruce...the shark.

By far the best Karloff/Lugosi collaboration. It would take Hollywood 30 years until horror movies could match the intensity of some of the Pre-Code classics.

I was tempted to go with Karloff, but I have to Price the nod. While Price didn't play iconic monsters like Karloff, Lugosi, Englund, and both Lon Chaneys his horror filmography is so damn good.

I won't argue that he's the greatest, but definitely my favourite... Angus Scrimm - The Tall Man

I know Phantasm is cheesy, but I love it.

The original scream Queen deserves at least a shout out. Here's to you Jamie Lee Curtis.

I choose Bela Lugosi as he was the one actor that really started it all; and assuming we are talking about actors and not characters. Freddy Krueger is well known as a character, but I'd bet that a lot more people could associate the name Bela Lugosi with Dracula or Boris Karloff with Frankenstein than people could associate the bane Robert Englund with Freddy Krueger.

I grew up in the 1980's. I think of Vincent Price mainly as the old guy that hosted/ introduced a bunch of black and white movies on TV.

If we are really talking about a person as an icon and not a character, than Stephen King would be one of the best choices.

I take this poll deeply at face-value, and chose Karloff over Chaney. Chaney arguably legitimized early cinematic horror, but Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster, and Universal, really sold the iconography of horror to the masses in a way still dominantly identifiable today.

I choose Vincent Price because he did a lot of movie by Edgar Allen Poe. My favorite is The Fall of House of Usher.

In hindsight, I should have included Jamie Lee Curtis and Bruce Campbell as well.

I thought this thread was going to be about actual characters. Hmm. Not included, but my choice is Jamie Lee easily.

You got the Lee part right, but I think even JLC would acknowledge her Mom as the OG SQ.

Karloff is the one who jumps out to me first. Not just for his simultaneously frightening and empathetic performance as the Frankenstein monster, but also because of his performances without using make-up to be a creature (like the Mummy). In the Roger Cormen movies and Black Sunday, he was a great boogeyman. And I remain in awe of his telling of the old story about death and the servant in Targets.

Boris Karloff

Karloff and Price are my 1a and 1b

Yeah but I gave the nod to Vincent Price.

the answer is Vincent Price.

Bruce Campbell is the King.

When I saw the thread title, Karloff was the first one that came to mind. I was a kid when the Universal horror films from the 1930s started playing on TV. And FRANKENSTEIN (1931) was probably the first one I saw, THE MUMMY not long after. And eventually BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and some of the others. Plus, when I was seven, I saw Karloff on the big screen in FRANKENSTEIN 1970 (1958) on a double bill with the Russian fantasy film, SWORD AND THE DRAGON (1960). So I was already familiar with 30-years-ago Karloff and now I was seeing old Karloff. Not a great movie, but seeing Karloff on the big screen in a relatively new film was a thrill.

Definitely Karloff

The Karloff Frankenstein and Lugosi Dracula are beyond horror movie icons. They have become a part of western culture in general. The voices and mannerisms of both actors have been imitated countless times in movies, tv shows, cartoons and songs.

Robert Englund