Completely agree. I love the "look" of the older movies too. And I'm also realizing there's probably some revisionist history going on there.

The thing that's missing to me though is realism. I think realism is really important in making a straight-out horror movie. That's something Stephen King strives for, and does really well IMO. Make your world as realistic as possible, then throw in the supernatural. That means go easy on the gloss, the super-models, the three story mansions everyone lives in, the product placement, the CGI, etc.

This is something the old classics seemed to "get," which gives them that gritty realistic feel. It's not horror, but The Sopranos does this the best right now, IMO. That show just feels so damn "real." I hope someone steps up with that style of filmmaking in the horror genre sometime.