The horror genre has left an undeniable mark on pop culture due to its unique ability to tap into humans' deepest fears and display them. From classic monsters topsychological horrors, certain movies have pushed the boundaries of the genre and redefined it, inspiring and influencing filmmakers for decades to come.
From the claustrophobic terror in a blend of horror and science fiction inAliento the elevation of the horror genre and pushing the boundaries byThe Exorcist, the movies on this list continue to influence filmmakers and resonate with audiences. Each movie on this list has left an enduring legacy.
10’Alien' (1979)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Alienfollows a crew of seven returning to Earth on the space tug Nostromo. The crew is awakened from their stasis by a transmission from a nearby planet. The crew investigates the planet, and they discover that an abandoned alien spacecraft is the source of the signal. Inside the spacecraft, an alien egg hatches and a creature attaches itself to the face of crew member Kane (John Hurt). After returning to the ship, the crew tries to remove the alien but fail to remove it. Eventually, the alien detaches and dies, but this only marks the beginning of the horror, as a deadly alien emerges from Kane’s chest.
Alienwas groundbreaking. At the time it was released, science fiction movies focused on speculative hypothetical futures in space, while horror movies were eitherslasher moviesor supernatural movies.Ridley Scott’s approach to blend science fiction with horror wasn’t new, however, it hasn’t been done to the extent ofAlienbefore.The release ofAlienprompted filmmakers and audiences to ask if the undiscovered space was terrifying, cementing a new subgenre of horror.Alienwas also the breakthrough ofScott as a director. Additionally,Alienhas a strong female protagonist, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver).
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9’Rosemary’s Baby' (1968)
Directed by Roman Polanski
Rosemary’s Babyfollows married couple Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and Guy (John Cassavetes), a stage actor, as they move into a new apartment in New York. The couple quickly befriends their neighbors, the Castevets. Eventually, Rosemary becomes pregnant, but her pregnancy is filled with unexplained symptoms and immense pain. Strangely, her husband’s acting career starts flourishing out of the blue, and he becomes more distant. As her pregnancy progresses, Rosemary starts to suspect that her husband and neighbors are scheming against her and her unborn baby.
Rosemary’s Babymarked a shift in the horror genre, as it forwent all the classic monstrous creatures and jump scares, and focused on the psychological horror of Rosemary’s situation. Satan is a major component of Rosemary’s Baby, but most of the horror stems from Rosemary’s isolation and loss of trust in everybody around her. As her pregnancy progresses, Rosemary gradually realizes the sinister plan conducted by her husband and neighbors and her mental health unravels. Most importantly, Rosemary’s Baby brought horror movies to the city when the standard was remote or gothic settings. Rosemary’s Baby explored themes of motherhood and bodily autonomy. It is impossible to watchmodern horror movies discussing social issueswithout seeing its influence on the genre.
Rosemary’s Baby
8’Saw' (2004)
Directed by James Wan
Sawis the first installment in thelong lastingSawfranchise. The movie opens with Adam (Leigh Whannell) and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) waking up at opposite ends of a rotting bathroom with a corpse in the middle holding a revolver and a recording tape. Each man finds a tape in his pocket, and they realize they are the newest victims of a killer known as Jigsaw, who doesn’t murder his victims right away but instead puts them through games that can kill them. Jigsaw instructs Adam that he has to survive, while he instructs Lawrence to murder Adam or his family will be murdered.SawwasJames Wan’s debut into a career to become one of themost important filmmakers in modern horror.
While the horror genre is one of the most popular genres now, in the mid-2000s it was struggling and losing the interest of the public due to the unoriginality of movies. WhenSawwas released, it reignited interest in the genre due to its new concept and ideas.Sawintroduced theconcept of survival gamesthat tested its subjects' physically and mentally to horror.Sawalso changed how franchises are made, as theSawfranchise has a central narrative revolving around who Jigsaw is and his motives, rather than multiple movies that have minimal connections. TheSawfranchise originally had yearly releases, a model that inspired all franchises, including theMarvel Cinematic Universe.
7’The Blair Witch Project' (1999)
Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez
The Blair Witch Projectfollows three film students, Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard, who travel to the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland to make a documentary about the local legend of the Blair Witch that has haunted the area for decades. The trio explore the forest to investigate and research the legend. However, the deeper they go into the forest, the stranger things around them become. When they attempt to retreat and leave the forest, they discover they are hopelessly lost with no way out, and realize there is a sinister spirit stalking them.
The Blair Witch Projectwas not the firstfound-footage movie, butit was the movie that popularized the genre, and inspired the creation of many movies, including theParanormal Investigationfranchise. Filmmakers adopted the found-footage technique to create more realism and for its low budgets. Another game-changing aspect ofThe Blair Witch Projectis its marketing.The Blair Witch Projectwasthe first movie to go viralbefore going viral was a thing. The movie was marketed as real life found-footage of three missing students, with the three main actors never appearing in any events related to the movie.The Blair Witch Projectpopularized the internet as a marketing means.
The Blair Witch Project
6’Psycho' (1960)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Psychostarts with Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) going on the run after stealing $40,000 cash from her employer. Marion decides to spend the night at a remote motel owned and managed by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and his unseen mother. However, Marion’s stay takes a dark turn when she is brutally murdered. Eventually, Marion’s sister, Lila Crane (Vera Miles), her boyfriend, Sam Loomis (John Gavin), and a private investigator (Martin Balsam) come looking for Marion.
Psychois often credited as the very first movie inthe slasher subgenre.Psychohad no stereotypical hero, it introduced characters the audience should root for and sympathize with and killed them off, which was shocking at the time.Psychoredefined the horror genre by departing from the usual monsters and creatures, and using a human as the main source of horror.The horror originating from a killer hiding in plain sight is a blueprint still followed today in many classics, such asHalloween, as well as modern horror movies. Theuse of music and scoreinPsychoto create tension is something that has been followed in every single horror movie since.
5’Frankenstein' (1931)
Directed by James Whale
Frankensteinfollows Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive), a scientist obsessed with creating life from death. Henry and his assistant, Fritz (Dwight Frye), gather body parts from graves and recently hanged criminals to create a body for a human. Henry succeeds in creating life by using electricity on the created body. However, he doesn’t know that the brain he used is a damaged one. Frankenstein’s Monster (Boris Karloff) is childish and innocent, but he is rejected from society and by his creator for his grotesque and monstrous nature.
Frankenstein’s Monster has become a symbol of the horror genre, with many adaptations ofMary Shelley’s 1818 novelstill being produced to this very day. The 1931Frankensteinwas the first full length feature adaptation of Shelley’s novel and introduced the visual depiction of the monster to the general public and pop culture.Frankensteincreated the early template of creature features, especially those sympathizing with the creatures, and introducedthe mad scientist archetype.
Frankenstein
Directed by George A. Romero
Night of the Living Deadstarts with siblings Barbra (Judith O’Dea) and Johnny (Russell Streiner) visiting a cemetery to visit their father’s gift. The siblings are suddenly attacked by a pale man and Johnny is killed. Barbara flees to a nearby farmhouse for safety. In the farmhouse, she meets Ben (Duane Jones) who assumes leadership and barricades all the windows and doors. Barbara also finds other people taking shelter in the farmhouse, including Harry (Karl Hardman), his wife Helen (Marilyn Eastman), and their young daughter Karen (Kyra Schon), who has been bitten, as well as a young couple, Tom (Keith Wayne) and Judy (Judith Ridley). Things get more complicated as the house is surrounded by zombies and the survivors have to find a way out.
Despite never using the word “zombie” to refer to the monsters,Night of the Living Deadcreated the blueprint forthe modern zombie. The idea that a zombie is a reanimated, slow, dimwitted, and flesh-eating corpse, killed by having its head destroyed originates fromNight of the Living Dead.The movie is also credited with pioneeringthe splatter genre. While the movie does not include as much extreme violence as many modern splatter movies, it was a pretty violent movie for its time. The casting of Jones as Ben was groundbreaking, as it was uncommon at the time in Hollywood to cast a black man as the main protagonist and hero,inadvertently extending the movie’s social commentary to race.
Night of the Living Dead
3’Halloween' (1978)
Directed by John Carpenter
Halloweenopens on the night of Halloween 1963 with Michael Myers stabbing his sister in the suburban Illinois town of Haddonfield. Myers is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he stops talking. Fifteen years later, on the night before Halloween in 1978, Myers escapes the institution and returns to Haddonfield. In Haddonfield, he begins stalking Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends. Eventually, Myers starts a killing spree targeting Laurie and her friends. Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), Myers' psychiatrist, and Laurie to stop the killing.
WhilePsychointroduced the slasher subgenre,Halloweendefined it and created the standard for slashers to come.Halloweenpopularized the masked, silent killer who is almost unbeatable and is bordering on being a supernatural entity. This killer archetype is replicated in various slasher movies, includingFriday the 13thandA Nightmare on Elm Street. Another important contribution ofHalloweento the horror genre is the final girl, with Laurie being one of the very first final girls andone of the best.Halloweenalso revitalized the slasher subgenre in an era where every filmmaker was trying to replicateThe Exorcist’s success.
2’Nosferatu' (1922)
Directed by F. W. Murnau
Nosferatuis an unofficial adaptation ofBran Stoker’s novelDracula. The silentGerman Expressionist moviefollows Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim), a young estate agent, who travels to Transylvania to meet a client named Count Orlok (Max Schreck), who is interested in buying a house in Hutter’s hometown. Hutter is disturbed by Orlok’s appearance and behavior. Hutter quickly discovers he is a vampire who has his eyes on Hutter’s wife, Ellen (Greta Schröder). After Orlok arrives in Hutter’s hometown, an unexplainable death spreads in the town.
Nosferatushaped vampires as themonsters audiences love and fear. For example, the notion that sunlight killed vampires appeared for the first time inNosferatu. Additionally,F.W. Murnauexperienced using light and shadow to create the movie’s eerie atmosphere and convey emotions. Murnau’s light and shadow experimental use would later influence other creature features, includingFrankenstein. More than 100 years after its release,Nosferaturemains terrifyingandthe most influential vampire movie.
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1’The Exorcist' (1973)
Directed by William Friedkin
The Exorcistfollows actress Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), who rents a house in Georgetown as she is filming a movie there, and her 12 year old daughter Regan (Linda Blair). When Regan starts showing unusual behaviors, such as violent outbursts and physical changes, Chris takes her to physicians who fail to explain what is causing these behaviors. As Regan’s condition worsens, Chris turns to Father Karras (Jason Miller), a priest and psychologist who is experiencing a crisis of faith, for help. Father Karras initially doesn’t believe that Regan is possessed, but he changes his mind when he sees her and instills the help of Father Merrin (Max von Sydow), an experienced exorcist.
The Exorcistwas the first ever horror movie to benominated for the Best Picture Academy Award.The Exorcistlegitimized the horror genre in the eyes of audiences, critics, and studios, establishing it as a mainstream genre. AfterThe Exorcist, studios started allocating big budgets for horror movies and well-known actors started to want to pursue the genre in the prime of their careers.The Exorcistalso reintroduced horror sequels and franchises. Furthermore, the movie popularized thedemonic possession and exorcismsubgenre, making it a stable subgenre of horror.
