This month, FEARnet broke new ground by offering the first ever online 3D feature film presentation, Night of the Living Dead 3D.  We hope that’s just the beginning, as Hollywood gears up to produce a slate of new thrillers and slashers with the latest 3D technology.

But how did we get here?  In Part 1, we look back at the first wave of 3D horror that hit theaters in the ‘50s and ‘60s.  In Part 2, we follow up with a survey of the ill-fated ‘80s revival and the more successful modern era.

Grab your red-blue glasses and step into our Wayback Machine for...

THE GOLDEN AGE OF 3D HORROR (1950s to early 1960s)

HOUSE OF WAX (1953) 
The benchmark of this era has always been this thrilling update of the 1930’s classic Mystery of the Wax Museum (starring Fay Wray).  Starring the inimitable Vincent Price, this version was filmed in full color, stereophonic sound, but most importantly, state of the art 3D, establishing Price as the new "King of 3D" as well as cementing his genre bona fides. 
WHY WATCH IT?:  Great gruesome make-up effects, plus those amazing 3D shots, including the legendary paddle-ball man that had audiences ducking under their popcorn, and the scene where Price's henchman (played by Charles Bronson!) seems to climb right out of the audience and onto the screen.  Definitely worth catching in 3D when available.  Price followed this up with The Mad Magician (1954), another 3D effort from the same production team, but not quite a classic.

IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953)
Legendary director Jack Arnold's first genre film, also featured fantastic 3D effects, with spooky arms reaching out from behind you, fiery spaceships flying into your face, and one of Hollywood's greatest bug-eyed monsters (although the nature of the monster is quite surprising). 
WHY WATCH IT?:  It's a classic, with a strong story, terrific use of 3D, plus it marked the beginning of Arnold's reign as the king of American sci-fi and horror films.

THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954)
Jack Arnold's masterpiece and perhaps the most famous 3D film ever made.  The story is simple, but effective (Steven Spielberg said the film was his inspiration for Jaws), and like King Kong has a primal beauty and the beast twist that makes you care about the monster.  The iconic Creature marked the last of the "classic" Universal monsters (along with the Frankenstein monster, Dracula, the Mummy, and the Wolf Man).  Set to be remade by Gary Ross (Seabiscuit) for 2011. 
WHY WATCH IT?:  Arnold's awesome 3D camera work and luminous underwater sequences (not to mention the famous sexually charged swimming scene between the Creature and equally luminous Julie Adams).  Followed by Arnold's Revenge Of The Creature (1955) a pretty decent sequel (also in 3D), set in a Sea World type park and featuring the film debut of a young actor named Clint Eastwood.

DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)
Not a horror film per se, but a great Alfred Hitchcock thriller, and the Master's only use of 3D.  It features a nail-biting death scene with a pair of scissors figuring in prominently. 
WHY WATCH IT?:  It's by Alfred Hitchcock, in 3D, and worth it just to see the gorgeous Grace Kelly pop off the screen.

Oddly, three other notable entries from this period all featured gorillas in their stories:

PHANTOM OF THE RUE MORGUE (1954)
A full-blooded and full-color adaption of Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue" starring Karl Malden.

GORILLA AT LARGE (1954)
A modern twist on Rue Morgue that features a surprising cast of Raymond Burr, Lee Marvin, Lee J. Cobb, Cameron Mitchell and Anne Bancroft.

ROBOT MONSTER (1953)
The infamous sci-fi cheapo whose "monster" was actually a man in a gorilla suit with an old-fashioned diving helmet on his head.  For some reason it was shot in 3-D and features a musical score by a very young Elmer Bernstein...the same guy who would later pen just slightly more memorable themes for The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape and To Kill A Mockingbird.

THE MASK (1961)
Not the Jim Carrey film, but a crazy cult classic, also known as Eyes from Hell, filmed mostly in black-and-white 2D, but whenever our hero puts on the cursed mask (and audience puts on 3D glasses), he enters a crazy full-color acid trip dream world with excellent 3D effects. 
WHY WATCH IT?:  For the 3D sequences, which are truly eye-popping.  This film basically marked the end of 3D's golden age.

Read Part 2: 3D from Parasite to Piranha!