The horror movie has evolved since it first made an appearance on film as early as the 1890s. Its testament to the popularity of horror in dramatic fiction that it appears during cinema’s infancy and has continued to be one of the most loved genres amongst audiences all over the world.
From its roots in gothic literature, the horror film has modernized and changed over the years, incorporating other genres (science-fiction in Ridley Scott’s Alien, and comedy in John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London) and even retrospectively parodying itself in such films as Wes Craven’s A New Nightmare and his reinvention of the slasher film Scream.
As much as the genre is dismissed by high-brow critics who see it as low-grade, exploitation, horror film has, and continues, to produce some of the best movies.
10. The Wicker Man
This 1973 British horror film from director Robin Hardy quickly became a cult hit after it received only moderate success at the box office. On home video the film found a new lease of life, where its strange, existential story could be fully appreciated.
It follows the story of police sergeant Neil Howie, who heads to the remote island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. There he finds a secretive community who seem unwilling to help him find the missing girl. The film is memorable for its devastatingly, twisty climax.
9. The Haunting
Not to be mistaken with the poor 1999 remake, the 1963 original directed by Robert Wise, is a classic example of visual horror. Wise uses his camera to take his audience on an emotional rollercoaster of fear.
Dr. John Markway is determined to find proof of paranormal activity and the existence of ghosts. He is accompanied by three people, some of them skeptics, some of them believers, to Hill House – an old Victorian mansion with a sinister past – where they begin to carry out experiments. Things begin to turn nasty when the house appears to target one of the group through some strange occurrences
8. Rosemary’s Baby
Roman Polanski’s brilliant 1968 film Rosemary’s Baby was recently voted 9th on the AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills list. Ruth Gordon won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the film.
Mia Farrow plays Rosemary. She moves into a new Manhattan apartment with her husband, a struggling actor. They meet a strange but seemingly harmless old couple who live in the building. When Rosemary’s husband suggests they try for the baby they always dreamed of, the strange couple come round with dessert food. After Rosemary tries some of the chocolate mousse she passes out. While unconscious she believes she has a dream where she is raped by a demonic beast. Becoming pregnant soon after, more strange things start happening, and the old couple appear to be overly interested in the unborn child.
7. Halloween
John Carpenter’s 1978 film set a benchmark in American horror cinema. It was the first of the sub-genre known as Slasher or Stalk and Slash. It inspired countless sequels, remakes, and other franchises like Friday The 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. It was also directly responsible for the influences that created Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Michael Myers kills his older sister on Halloween night when he is just six years old. Spending years in a mental institution he finally escapes. Returning back to his home town, tracked by his doctor, Dr. Loomis, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) prepares for Halloween night unknowing that Michael is coming to get her.
6. Night of the Living Dead
George A. Romero’s 1968 horror movie is still the best film about Zombies ever made. Shot on black and white film stock, it feels like a down and dirty picture, realistic in detail, and documentary-like in its rugged photography. It tells the story of Ben (Duane Jones) and several other people who find themselves trapped in a farm house after flesh-eating corpses rise from the grave and start attacking them.
5. King Kong
Remade and re-imagined several times, most recently in Peter Jackson’s three-hour long version, the original 1933 film by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack stands the test of time because it was one of the first instances of stop-motion special-effects. If you imagine that today, even though the special-effects in King Kong of 1933 are dated, they are still effective. Now imagine what it would have been like for audiences in the 1930s who had never seen anything like it.
4. Alien
Ridley Scott’s Alien, released in 1979, is the best example of horror and science-fiction. It follows the crew of space vessel the Nostromo who detect a distress signal from a nearby planet while returning back to earth. On investigation one of the crew is attacked and is left with a parasite on his face. When the parasite dies, he comes out of his coma and appears to be fine. However, while they are having dinner, he begins to convulse and a creature breaks out of his chest killing him. As the crew desperately search for the murdering beast, it begins to pick them off one by one.
3. The Shining
Based on horror maestro Stephen King’s novel of the same name, the film version is Stanley Kubrick’s disturbing interpretation of the story about a novelist who takes over caretaking duties at the Overlook Hotel. The hotel has a mysterious past, including the fact the ex-caretaker went crazy and killed his whole family. The film is great largely because of Kubrick’s detached vision, how he isolates this family from the world. It’s also notable for Jack Nicholson’s breathtaking depiction of caretaker Jack Torrance, and his downward spiral into madness.
2. Psycho
Most people, if asked to name one scene from a horror film, would remember Janet Leigh in the shower screaming in horror at the knife-wielding murderer hacking at her naked body. Master director Alfred Hitchcock made a career out of suspense films, making such classics as Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Strangers on a Train. Psycho is the only film in his career to draw on gothic literary horror. That’s perhaps why this is one of his most well-known movies.
1. The Exorcist
There has only been one horror movie to cause significant controversy for its content and be widely praised by critics and loved by cinemagoers. The Exorcist is also the only film to be banned or advertised with a safety warning for being too frightening. William Friedkin’s 1973 masterpiece is a brilliant depiction of good versus evil, of faith versus facts. It features strong performances from all its cast, a haunting score including the memorable theme tune, authentic special-effects, and documentary-like direction from Friedkin, who makes even the most implausible feel very real indeed.
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