Sexy is as sexy does, I guess. Picking the hottest chicks of horror is a pretty tricky business. Not only are my picks completely subjective, slaves to my personal whims and moods, but also they are likely to change from day to day. Already, since I submitted my picks, I'm regretting not mentioning Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil, or Eihi Shiina in Audition. And what can I do with more obscure hotties from other eras like Jenny Wright in Near Dark, or Britt Ekland in the original The Wicker Man, or Simone Simon in Cat People? Do they not deserve a shot at hotness? Well, in any case, here are the seven I wound up with -- in chronological order -- and in all honesty, they're all pretty darn easy on the eyes and a little spooky besides.

1. Fay Wray in King Kong
In a movie entirely populated by men and beasts, Fay is a welcome bit of softness. If King Kong had been made two years later, the Hays Code would have required Fay to wear a high-necked negligee with bloomers and probably several other layers of underthings. But thankfully for generations of young boys, the film was made in 1933, and Fay was able to wear her flimsy, silky number that clung and flapped in the breeze. Likewise, the movie was better able to suggest the subversive relationship between beauty and beast. (Watch the trailer ... or head straight to the gallery!)

2. Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Elsa was the ultimate goth chick in cinema. Many came in her wake, including Barbara Steele (Black Sunday) and the little known but easily recognizable Carroll Borland (Mark of the Vampire). But make no mistake: even without her two-foot fright wig with the silver piping up the side, Elsa was a hottie in her time. You can see it in the film's prologue; she plays Mary Shelley, freshly emerged from penning her chilling magnum opus. She has cat eyes, and a devilish grin that entrances even the strongest men. One question: if Dr. Frankenstein was able to build such a sex bomb, why did his male monster come out so ugly and blocky? (Watch the trailer ... or head straight to the gallery!)

Boris Karloff was born William Henry Pratt in the Camberwell district of London, thousands of miles from the place that would make him a star of such magnitude that, for a time, he was known merely by his (fake) last name. Though he appeared in dozens of silent films, Karloff shot to fame with his moving portrayal of The Monster in James Whale’s Frankenstein, and went on to star in a slew of other mostly horror films, from The Mask of Fu Manchu to Edgar G. Ulmer’s Poe adaptation, The Black Cat.

Next week, in recognition of the 75th anniversary of the release of Frankenstein, New York’s Film Forum is presenting a week of Karloff features. The series includes the trio of films mentioned above, as well as Bride of Frankenstein, Targets and a pair of virtually unseen pre-Frankenstein rarities: Graft and The Guilty Generation, in addition to seven others.

Thought of primarily as a looming, sinister screen presence, Karloff was in fact an actor of remarkable skill and subtlety, traits that were never more fully realized than in Frankenstein. Despite having not a single line to speak, Karloff infused the Monster with such a profound melancholy that even today the movie, despite its otherwise often dated acting, remains deeply affecting. Though he had never worked with the actor before, Whale clearly understood the power at his disposal: instead of portraying the monster as the pitiless beast he had been in previous screen incarnations, he instead gave us a massive, awkward creature who, from the very beginning, is abused and misunderstood. And in Karloff’s hands, the creature’s suffering is abundantly clear; a sense of solemnity comes over the movie when he first appears on screen after nearly 30 minutes of buildup, and it refuses to relinquish its grasp until the credits roll. Given the restrictions placed on his character by the creature’s awkward body and wordlessness, Karloff was able to use only his face to convey emotions. Despite this, he created a being that, by turns, is befuddled, desperate to please, terrified, and filled with explosive rage.