Cat People

Writer/producer Val Lewton showed that horror was a matter of the mind.

The 1943 original sees Simon haunted by legends of her homeland, leading her to believe that she is about to metamorphose into a panther.

In the follow-up, Simon's spectre returns to take control of a young girl.

You could read a misogynist subtext into the films, but for all the melodrama and shaky dialogue, there is a dark intelligence and restraint which marks them out as superior B-movie nonsense.