14 Horror Movies That Were Total Game Changers
Yes, a lot of horror films are just out to give us a quick, cheap scare. But the movies we keep coming back to are the ones that redefined the genre and found new ways to terrify us. Here are some of the biggest game changers of all time.
'Psycho' (1960)
Psycho," thanks to its shocking, mid-movie twist.
'Night of the Living Dead' (1968)
Bela Lugosi), but they weren't dreaded flesh eaters. The low budget actually makes his movie more terrifying. Without a conventional soundtrack, it tricks us into thinking it's all too real.
'The Exorcist' (1973)
How many exorcism movies have been made since this groundbreaking, Oscar-nominated smash? Too many to count, clearly. None come close to this chilling original, which still spooks us to the core.
'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974)
based on one of the most horrifying serial killers of all time) remains an initiation by blood into the genre. We wouldn't have "torture porn" without it. Uh... thanks?
'Jaws' (1975)
Steven Spielberg redefined the summer blockbuster with this crowd-pleasing hit about a man-eating shark. It also swapped the old school city-by-city rollout for the current nationwide release that we know today.
'Halloween' (1978)
'An American Werewolf in London' (1981)
Shaun of the Dead" without it? No, we would not.
'Poltergeist' (1982)
We're still worried that we might be living on an ancient burial ground, thanks to the film. Besides the life lesson that real estate developers are evil, we've learned not to trust trees, clown dolls, and our TVs from this classic. (Let us not speak of the remake.)
'The Thing' (1982)
To quote a 'Back to the Future' meme, nobody was ready for John Carpenter's gory, tense-as-hell nail biter about a group of men stranded with a shape-shifting alien. But decades later? We recognize it for the genre-changing masterpiece that it is.
'Nightmare on Elm Street' (1984)
Wes Craven gave us one of the all-time great boogeymen in Freddy Krueger. And the constant fear that if we fall asleep, we could die. Teen horror films owe you a debt, Wes. And you owe us years of sleep.
'Silence of the Lambs' (1991)
The first horror film to win Best Picture at the Oscars (it also won Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director) remains one of the greatest films of the genre. Jodie Foster) for every heart-stopping moment. Stream on HBO Go.
'Scream' (1996)
Wes Craven and Happy Death Day."
'The Blair Witch Project' (1999)
For better or worse (mostly worse), this Sundance sensation ushered in the age of found footage horror. It also proved that you don't need stars to sell a horror movie, just a great concept. And a killer internet campaign.
'Get Out' (2017)
For his must-see first film, Daniel Kaluuya a Best Actor nomination). Disproving the notion that "black films" don't sell internationally, it also changed the conversation about race in a genre where the African-American character is usually the first to die.
