24 of the Most Influential & Greatest European Horror Movies: 1900's to the 1980's

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This is a list of horror films from Europe ranging from Germany, Spain, France and predominantly from Italy. Some of these have influenced many reputable filmmakers, but sadly, these movies remain obscure to all but the most devoted of cult cinema lovers. Most people won't know who Mario Bava, or Paul Naschy are if you mention them in conversation. Even the mention of Dario Argento is likely to arouse a questionable look from most mainstream moviegoers. Still, he has penetrated the foreign market to a greater extent than most. Nonetheless, the contributions of all the artists below were important in shaping the look, the feel and the sound of European horror and its eerie touch of death has and will continue to be felt abroad for decades to come.

1. THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI 1919 aka DAS CABINET DES DR. CALIGARI
Directed by Robert Wiene

Eerily enigmatic German silent picture about a madman carnival barker named Caligari and his main attraction, Cesare, a somnambulist with the power of clairvoyance whose visions aren't necessarily prosperous for interested parties. CALIGARI belongs to the school of German Expressionist cinema along with other movies like THE GOLEM (1920), NOSFERATU (1922) and METROPOLIS (1927). Not for everybody, these movies do offer striking visuals and outlandishly and intentionally fake sets akin to an abstract painting accompanied by an aura that only B/W photography can possess.

2. NOSFERATU 1922
Directed by F.W. Murnau

This unauthorized German version of Stoker's novel is one of the most celebrated horror films of all time. Bearing some of the most recognizable and iconic images this side of a vampires coffin, Count Orlok left an indelible effigy on my eyes in the first grade after spying a photo of his sinister shadow ascending a staircase in a book on vampires in film. Over the years, the picture has been available countless times on VHS and DVD in its original silent form as well as versions backed by an orchestral score and even one with heavy metal musical accompaniment. In 1979, Tobe Hooper would direct what I consider the scariest vampire series/movie of all time--SALEM'S LOT. The make up for the head vampire is reminiscent of that used for Count Orlok.

3. I, VAMPIRI 1956
Directed by Riccardo Freda

This is considered the first Italian horror film that begat a long series of Gothic and subtly sexy creature of the night and ghost films. Mario Bava finished the picture when Freda left at some point during the filming. Freda's contributions have long been overshadowed by Bava's, but apparently, the genre meant far more to Bava than it did to his predecessor. The film itself isn't very engrossing, but its significance holds importance. Star, Gianna Maria Canale plays the vampiress; an actress who went on to play many roles in sword and sandal fantasies and adventure movies as a sorceress, or amazon queen, or the object of the heroes affection.

4. BLACK SUNDAY 1959 aka LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO
Directed by Mario Bava

This superbly spooky bloody ballet of vengeance from beyond the grave is arguably the single greatest Italian horror picture of all time. Sumptuously photographed, this B/W bravura and baroque dark fairy tale about vampires and an ancient curse is the crowning achievement of director, Mario Bava. He is well known for his signature style of cinematic ambiance and his ingenuity in turning a few pennies into a million bucks. Bava would again explore vengeance from beyond the grave several more times in color including the opaque, sepulchral horror of BARON BLOOD (1972). The most esteemed name associated with Italian horror, he's also notable for introducing Barbara Steele to the world of Italiano del cinematografo di orrore.

5. EYES WITHOUT A FACE 1960 aka LES YEUX SANS VISAGE
Directed by Georges Franju

This controversial, yet classic French horror film has made a lasting impact on numerous filmmakers outside of Europe despite languishing in obscurity for decades before garnering respect and reverence from the critical cognoscenti. The plot about a mad doctor desperate to graft a new face for his disfigured daughter using beautiful female victims became the crux of more than a handful of similar horror pictures over the years including MILL OF THE STONE WOMEN (1960), THE AWFUL DR. ORLOFF (1961), MANSION OF THE DOOMED (1976) and FACELESS (1988). There are a healthy number of DVD releases of this film on the market.

6. THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH 1963 aka LA RAGAZZA CHE SAPEVA TROPPO
Directed by Mario Bava

Black and white brilliance from Bava in this, the first noted example of a 'giallo', Italian murder mysteries that became all the rage throughout the 1970's. The lead character is even seen reading one of the pulpy suspense novels at the outset aboard a plane heading for Italy. With several scenes encapsulating Bava's signature air of omnipresent evil, other scenes contain a playful, almost Hitchcockian vibrance about them. Although unrelated to an American production bearing the same title in 1969, some of Bava's performers have small roles in the US picture.

7. THREE FACES OF FEAR 1963 aka I TRE VOLTI DELLA PAURA
Directed by Mario Bava

Bava returns with his first full on foray of fright in blood curdling color. This macabre compendium is one of the most successful versions of the anthology form. The original Italian version is told with a bit of tongue to cheek playfulness during its wraparound segments with Boris Karloff. While the stories themselves are downbeat affairs, the last scene reminds us that we're only watching a movie after all. The AIP version under the title BLACK SABBATH rearranged the placement of the episodes as well as turning one of them from a giallo with a sexual subtext into a ghost story. 'The Wurdulak' story is one of the best, most creepily artistic pieces of film Bava ever painted.

8. BLOOD AND BLACK LACE 1964 aka SEI DONNE PER L'ASSASSINO (SIX WOMEN FOR THE ASSASSIN)
Directed by Mario Bava

The versatile Mario Bava's candy colored carnage finds him fully immersed in what was soon to become the signature conventions of the giallo style of horror thriller. This atmospheric terror tale stars Cameron Mitchell in a story about a faceless killer butchering fashion models and the search for a diary that contains the various vices committed in secrecy behind the walls of the house. Bava treads into territory he wouldn't fully embrace until the visceral explosion that was BAY OF BLOOD in 1971. For his '64 excursion, the murder set pieces take precedence alluding to the brutality to come.

9. PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES 1965 aka TERRORE NELLO SPAZIO (TERROR IN SPACE)
Directed by Mario Bava

This science fiction horror movie borrows its ending from one of the more famous TWILIGHT ZONE episodes, but a scene from this picture was later lifted for use in Ridley Scott's ALIEN (1979) as well. There's several sincerely spooky sequences and a prime aura of evil permeating Bava's space opera of terror. Outlandish costumes, fog enshrouded set pieces and vampiric, disembodied alien lifeforms possessing humans provides a creepy scenario for this curious piece of European fear from the far reaches of space.


Science fiction was particularly rare in Italian cinema and the chief proponent, the champion of the fantastic world of outer space adventure was Antonio Margheriti, a director who dabbled in many genres including horror. Some of his choice horror films were CASTLE OF BLOOD (1964), THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH (1964) and a remake of the former as WEB OF THE SPIDER (1971). The former is also considered his masterwork, but it draws its inspiration from Bava's MASK OF SATAN even down to procuring Barbara Steele in the lead. Margheriti was especially enamored with sci fi and his first film was SPACEMEN in 1960. Future futuristic endeavors included BATTLE OF THE WORLDS (1961), WILD, WILD PLANET and WAR OF THE PLANETS (both 1965). He later returned to sci fi with the sprawling star studded fantasy, TREASURE ISLAND IN OUTER SPACE (1986).

10. KILL, BABY...KILL! 1966 aka OPERAZIONE PAURA (OPERATION FEAR)
Directed by Mario Bava

Yet another thickly atmospheric black fable of seethingly viscous ambiance successfully captured by the venerable director. The murderous spirit of a dead little girl looms large over a superstitious Carpathian village. A visiting doctor brings modern science with him and struggles to fathom the diabolical horror perpetrated by the pernicious ghost child. Bava brandishes all the Gothic trappings at his disposal creating the most phantasmogorically rich visual canvas since his debut, LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO and his Hercules in hell epic, HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (1961). Ghosts, occultism, talismans, violent death and the requisite atmosphere promise this to be one long horror set piece held together by a chilling score by Carlo Rustichelli bearing similarities to his score for Antonio Margheriti's THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH (1964).

11. THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM 1967 aka DIE SCHLANGENGRUBE UND DAS PENDEL (THE PIT & THE PENDULUM)
Directed by Harald Reinl

The Germans followed Bava into the Gothic arena of horror with this exemplary assimilation that defines the European style of oldeworld terror tales as well as incorporating elements from Poe's 'The Pit & the Pendulum' (the films German title). DR. SADISM not only benefits from some superb set pieces, but also with the participation of Christopher Lee as the cruel Count Regula. A vampiric sadist, he has returned from the dead to exact revenge on the descendants of his torturers and to complete his work in the search for eternal life through the blood of virgins, butchered at the height of terror. The 'Forest of the Dead' sequence is tantamount to the level of quality found in this German production that also features former Tarzan, Lex Barker.

12. THE MARK OF THE WOLFMAN 1968 aka LA MARCA DEL HOMBRE LOBO
Directed by Enrique Lopez Eguiluz

Famed Spanish icon, Paul Naschy, jump started the horror renaissance in Spain with a series of Gothically ghoulish pictures beginning with a tale of werewolfery; the first Polish lycanthrope, Waldemar Daninsky. Inspired by the Universal films of old and the blood red color of Hammer, Naschy's wolfman was a first in several ways including the first such film to feature a fang toothed fiend with an upper set of razor sharp chompers. Over a dozen Daninsky flicks followed as well as Naschy covering the spectrum of other supernatural personalities. Many of his films make little sense and are often on the mediocre side, but films in which he also directed show an adeptness and devout passion for the material.

13. THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE 1969 aka L'UCCELLO DALLE LIUME DI CRISTALLO
Directed by Dario Argento

The man who came to be known as the Italian master of the giallo made his directorial debut with this European hit that borrows elements from the German 'Edgar Wallace' thrillers and the tone set by Mario Bava in previous pictures, most importantly, BLOOD & BLACK LACE (1964). There were a handful of giallos produced just prior to this one, but it was Argento's film that defined the style and modus operandi that dominated for nearly a decade. Argento became the leading proponent for these movies and continued to produce them throughout the 1980's up to today. PLUMAGE follows a writer who is witness to an attempted murder by a black gloved killer wearing a raincoat. With the police failing to find any leads, the novelist does some investigating of his own becoming the next target of the killer in the process. The ending mimics the finale of Bava's THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1963).

14. TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD 1971 aka LA NOCHE DEL TERROR CIEGO (THE NIGHT OF THE BLIND TERROR)
Directed by Amando de Ossorio

This oppressively eerie little spook show was the first in a popular quartet of innovative zombie pictures from Spain. The budgets may have gotten smaller with each succeeding entry, but there's no denying the infernal power of this Portugal lensed goosebumper with one of the great unsung horror movie scores that is guaranteed to make your skin crawl. Ossorio's blood drinking, sword swinging, dead horse riding knights of the living dead galloped across four official movies and put in appearances in a few other films for other directors. A hauntingly visual experience accentuated by unsettling sounds and the ominous chords of demonic chanting monks. One of the best examples of Euro horror.

15. BAY OF BLOOD 1971 aka REAZIONE A CATENA (CHAIN REACTION)
Directed by Mario Bava

The auteur of atmosphere changed gears for this whodunit murder mystery laced with 13(!) gory deaths that precipitated the slasher onslaught nearly a decade later. Many movies had featured malicious plots over an inheritance, but none had delved so far into despotic depravity as Bava's ghoulishly violent spin on Agatha Christie's book, 'And Then There Were None'. The ending is both shocking and darkly comical in the most macabre way imaginable. Released under a myriad of titles such as CARNAGE (also the title of an Andy Milligan movie), TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE and BLOOD BATH (not the same as the Joel Reed anthology horror), it's not Bava's best, but will speak volumes to the grand guinol crowd of horror hounds.

16. THE LIVING DEAD AT THE MANCHESTER MORGUE 1974 aka NON SI DEVE PROFANARE IL SONNO DEI MORTI (THE SLEEP OF DEAD MEN NEED NOT BE DISTURBED)
Directed by Jorge Grau

Superb zombie spook show benefits from some alternately gloomy and gorgeous cinematography melded with extreme gore and arcane occurrences. There are subtle nods and blatantly borrowed motifs from Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD such as the resurrected corpses seen as flesh eating zombies. There's also a peculiar parallel between science and the supernatural. Generally the odd movie out among Euro epics, Grau's gore ghoulash is one of the best movies of its kind and undeserving of obscurity. The soundtrack by Giuliano Sorgini is bound to raise a goosebump, or two. Grau's movie was released under an array of aliases (LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE, ZOMBI 3), one of which became most popular among heavy metal bands including Rob Zombie.

17. DEEP RED 1975 aka PROFONDO ROSSO
Directed by Dario Argento

At this point, Argento's giallo's became emblazoned with increasingly spectacular scenes of violence. DEEP RED accentuates this with several excruciatingly shocking gore murders that ultimately became the pièce de résistance of the eccentric directors vast oeuvre. The killers calling card is a creepy and cackling doll that appears to have a life all its own. The giallo inspired SAW series utilizes a similar deadly doll like device. Another Argento stylized flourish are his complicated and sweeping camera set ups which are introduced here and are magnified in such films as SUSPIRIA (1977) and TENEBRE (1982).

18. SUSPIRIA 1977
Directed by Dario Argento

This is one of the directors most famous and most grimly violent pictures. The plot makes little sense dealing with a coven of witches hidden within a dancing academy in Munich. The main selling point here are the ferocious visuals executed in a gruelling schism of candy colored vibrance, nightmarishly gory images and dissonant, unnerving music blaring on the soundtrack. Arguably the most explicit expression of a dark fairy tale akin to what Mario Bava had been doing over a decade earlier. The unsettling score by popular Euro band, Goblin, is one of their signature works and led to many more endeavors in the horror genre.

19. ZOMBIE 1979
Directed by Lucio Fulci

Known as ZOMBI 2 in European markets, Fulci's film was an unauthorized sequel to Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD (titled ZOMBI in Italy), although it differed itself by centering on voodoo as the cause of the zombie outbreak. The widespread threat of a flesh eating apocalypse comes to fruition during the closing moments of the film. Prior to that, Fulci creates some of the scariest, most skillfully crafted scenes of horror on his distinguished resume. One could say this picture was just as influential (reportedly, it was more profitable than DAWN) as Romero's iconic portrait of a world gone mad. Fulci's is one of pure horror backed by a pounding, pulsing score and several stand out sequences of notoriously gory extravagance.

20. CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST 1979
Directed by Ruggero Deodato

Few fans would disagree that this is the ultimate display of jungle savagery; a crash and burn of opposing "civilizations" summed up by Robert Kerman in the final scene of the film. Umberto Lenzi may have cooked up the first sampling of cannibalism in his violent jungle adventure-drama, MAN FROM DEEP RIVER (1972), but Deodato's film is the putrid pinnacle of cannibal cruelty. It's both a fantastic and forbiddingly unpleasant cinematic experience that will likely linger long after the film has finished. The damnation of man is told in such a way that the picture inevitably replicates the very cruelty it proclaims to dispel. Reprehensible, nauseating and repulsive are apt descriptions of Deodato's supreme cinematic representation of the dark side of man and his inadvertent brush with directorial suicide.

21. CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD 1980 aka PAURA NELLA CITTA' DEI MORTI VIVENTI (FEAR IN THE CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD)
Directed by Lucio Fulci

The frequently misunderstood maestro of Euro splatter takes a crack at Lovecraftian lore married to Italian zombie conventions complimented by a generous helping of spectacular gore. There's only one shot of flesh being eaten, but the level of violence is extraordinarily sadistic here. Fulci perfectly captures a supreme aura of evil permeating the sleepy village of Dunwich. Even during the day, the level of pestilence is unmistakable. Arguably Fulci's ultimate depiction of the dead, numerous images penetrate the viewers brain resulting in a skin crawling, maggot infested experience boosted by several scenes of heart pounding surrealism and unmitigated vulgarity.

22. THE BEYOND 1981 aka L'ALDILA'
Directed by Lucio Fulci

The master of gore returns yet again for his third entry in his living dead quartet. Possibly the most ghoulishly artistic of his horror portraits, the film deals with a warlock painting a mural of hell. His brutal execution by persecuting villagers in the basement of a hotel becomes one of seven gateways to the devil's domain. Decades later, the hotel is reopened and the evil is summarily let loose on the world. Frequently incoherent, Fulci paints a visual feast of surrealism, existentialism and metaphysical terror that's highlighted by wildly creative gore set pieces including several instances of ocular mayhem. This is Lucio Fulci's bloody masterpiece.

23. DEMONS 1985 aka DEMONI
Directed by Lamberto Bava

This maddeningly fast paced, gore drenched bucket of bloody, buttered up popcorn is undoubtedly the most well known and popular film of Lamberto Bava, the son of acclaimed filmmaker, Mario. Future director, Michele Soavi, donning a metal mask, hands out free passes to a mysterious movie at the ominous multiplex, The Metropol. A devilish visage on a mask in the lobby provides the catalyst for the demonic plague, a terrible apocalypse that mirrors what unspools on the movie screen the patrons are watching. Irrefutably silly at times, Bava's movie retains a brutal, savage power backed by a blisteringly hellish heavy metal soundtrack. One of the best Italian horrors of the 1980's and innovative in that numerous other Euro horrors utilized metal music for their soundtracks, most famously in the succeeding works of Dario Argento, who acted as a producer here.

24. STAGE FRIGHT 1987 aka DELIRIA
Directed by Michele Soavi

This was Soavi's first stab (haha) at a feature film. He previously helmed the auspicious documentary, DARIO ARGENTO'S WORLD OF HORROR (1986) and quickly became the most promising new talent for the future of horror cinema in Italy. Borrowing elements from the giallo and most obviously the slasher subgenre, Soavi created one of the best stalk and kill pictures at a time when such films had all but dried up. Despite bringing nothing new to the formula, the picture is saturated in bravura set pieces rife with razor sharp editing, mounting suspense and a gaggle of artistic flourishes. An insane madman has escaped and taken up residence within a theater after hours. The actors and actresses meet their doom in various gruesome ways at the hands of the psycho wearing a creepy owl mask. The well worn and brutally butchered slasher conventions are presented here in an unusually fresh, fright filled fashion.

24 of the Most Influential & Greatest Horror Movies: 1930's to the 1980's

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THE MOST INFLUENTIAL HORROR MOVIES: 1930's to the 1980's

This is a list of movies I think have made a major contribution to the horror genre in some way over the years, some more enduring than others, but all have left an indelible impression in one way, or another on horror fans all around the world. Towards the end of the 80's horror got worse and worse with a preponderance of sequels and the better part of the 90's had little of consequence worth mentioning. This is all strictly my opinion, of course.

1. DRACULA 1931
Directed by Tod Browning

Tod Browning's Gothic horror movie may be 80 years old, but there's no denying its influence that has permeated popular culture for decades. Stoker's book has been the source of Countless (haha) cinema adaptations (including the German NOSFERATU, a silent classic from 1922), but Lugosi's portrayal is one of the most popular and considered the definitive interpretation by many. Universal made a bundle off this picture in spite of numerous set backs. Vampires remain the most popular of all the cinematic monsters, but are long overdue a stake through the heart, or some time out in the sun in my opinion.


The success of DRACULA gave birth to more B/W Gothic terror tales such as the even more popular FRANKENSTEIN (1931), THE MUMMY (1932), THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933) and THE WOLF MAN (1941). Each of these films garnered numerous sequels, spin offs and crossovers. As often happened in other genres, comedy was injected into the horror iconography with 1948's ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN. All these pictures have continued to be celebrated over the years by fans both old and new. In 2004, VAN HELSING, a revamped (haha) CGI heavy ode to the Universal horrors of the 30's and 40's was uniformly vilified, but did aid in getting the elder films back into the public eye once more.

2. THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN 1957 
Directed by Terence Fisher

Hammer Films, a production company that has become synonymous with its fanciful tales of vampires, mad doctors and other creatures of the night, came to international prominence after injecting fresh blood into the B/W Universal horror formula with this first Frank flick highlighting the villainy of the mad scientist as opposed to the monster he creates. They were also the stepping stone in increased violence shown in movies.


HORROR OF DRACULA the following year proved to be even more successful. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee have since gone down in the annals of fright filmdom as possibly the best loved personalities in horror history. Hammer's renditions of terror lasted almost as long, only it wasn't comedy that killed them off, but drastically changing trends in audience interest.

3. PSYCHO 1960
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

This creepy tale of an unhinged man and his unhealthy preoccupation with his mother precipitated the slasher genre by two decades and served as inspiration for such films as THREE ON A MEATHOOK (1972) and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974). Based on notorious Wisconsin madman, Ed Gein, the character of Norman Bates has long been entrenched in American pop culture. If it's not Hitchcock's most famous movie, it's the most resonant what with three sequels (the first of which took 23 years to show up), a theme park attraction and an unwanted and universally despised remake.

4. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 1968
Directed by George A. Romero

Supremely terrifying B/W horror classic from the king of the zombies, George A. Romero who still dabbles in variously creative tales of the flesh eating dead. It's probably the single most frequently shown horror movie and easily the most bootlegged title appearing under a flurry of "company" logos. It spawned at least one like minded European zombie opus (THE LIVING DEAD AT THE MANCHESTER MORGUE), but Romero's sequel caused a massive resurrection of the cinematic gut munchers. Romero's NIGHT was later remade by effects ace, Tom Savini in 1990.

5. THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT 1972
Directed by Wes Craven

Regardless of what you think of it, Craven's savage evocation of modern barbarism carved its initials in the chests of filmgoers, film projectionists and filmmakers everywhere. Not only were there similar movies, but other productions even copied its iconic advertising campaign. David Hess was expertly vicious as Krug, so much so that people thought he WAS that character. This grubby, angry little movie has its malicious stamp all over the 1970's. It also became yet another classick that was graced with a recent remake.

6. THE EXORCIST 1973
Directed by William Freidkin

I was two years away from being born, so I was unable to experience this tale of demonic possession, based on some alleged true account of Devilry, until much later. Causing quite the stir and shock in patrons everywhere, it was the hot topic and ticket of the year to see all the projectile pea soup and expletive spewing that exploded from little Linda Blair's mouth. While I found THE OMEN (1976) to be far more terrifying with its threat of global annihilation of man, there's no denying that Friedkin's extremely well acted and Oscar winning horror film paved the way for it. Followed by two sequels and two prequels and the threat of a remake looms like a dark cloud over Hollywood.

7. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 1974
Directed by Tobe Hooper

Another movie that suffered a similarly controversial fate as Romero's B/W zombie trendsetter. Unscrupulous distributors with apparent Mob ties made off with much of the profits from this supremely important and iconic piece of relentless rural Americana. The actors got little to nothing for their efforts as the film went on to become a massive success all over the world. One of the biggest, most well known and controversial movies of the decade, it was a bit much for some patrons to handle from the subject matter to the actual presentation itself. Followed by several increasingly dire sequels, it also got a decent remake and a sequel to that film, a comic book series, an infamous Atari video game and a much talked about television series has been bandied about for some time.

8. BLACK CHRISTMAS 1974
Directed by Bob Clark

The man who directed the lovable tale of adolescent youth (A CHRISTMAS STORY) and one of the most popular teen sex comedies (PORKY'S) staked his claim in horror with several varied and classic examples of the form. This suspenseful spookathon was an inspiration to Carpenter's HALLOWEEN, a title that Clark was going to use if he indeed made the sequel to his Christmas shocker; which the story of said sequel contained several similarities to Carpenter's film. Clark's shocking denouement also inspired another tension filled screamer entitled WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (1979). Clark's movie has a gloomy power of uneasiness about it that more and more are discovering. A remake was made in 2006 that bore little resemblance to the original, but did have Clark on board as an Executive Producer.

9. JAWS 1975
Directed by Steven Spielberg

The first big summer blockbuster before STAR WARS came along and "ruined" movies for us all, Spielberg's tale of an ominous man eater beneath the ocean's waves is still a terrifying motion picture even after all these years. A rare feat for such a picture to be just as visceral now as it was then. Three sequels followed with the last one going down with the ship. It begat a cyclone of similar and predominantly inferior rip offs over the years including a Megalodon sized number of American killer shark flicks with laughable computer generated effects. Both a new JAWS film and a remake have been threatened for a long time now.

10. THE OMEN 1976
Directed by Richard Donner

It's questionable whether or not this wildly popular and oft imitated big budget Beelzebub business would have been made if not for THE EXORCIST (1973), but Richard Donner painted a frightening canvas of the end of civilization as we know it. Of all the films in the Lucifer lexicon, this one is the most famous of the 'Evil Wins' scenario. The award winning score remains a powerful composition. The first sequel featured numerous big stars dying in spectacularly gory fashion. Followed by two additional sequels, one theatrical and another made for television. A totally unnecessary remake rose from the depths of hell in 2006, but was summarily dispelled by fans bearing the seven daggers of Megiddo.

11. HALLOWEEN 1978
Directed by John Carpenter

This is one of relatively few films that gives me the creeps even to this day. Carpenter's foreboding classic is horror movie perfection and a crowning example of the stalk and slash genre. It's power lies in its ability to shock without the use of gore and the penetrating and unnerving score accomplishes what so few have been able to attain in audible terror. Chiefly responsible for the slew of slasher flicks that followed, Carpenter's influential killer classic has adopted some nine sequels including an incredibly lame remake and its own equally stupid sequel.

12. DAWN OF THE DEAD 1978
Directed by George A. Romero

George Romero's long awaited sequel picks up not long after the events depicted in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. If ever there was a more influential and important zombie film, this is it. Not only did it unleash a widespread contagion across European territories, but it's a rare example of an unrated film becoming a huge financial success in theaters. It not only successfully preached the end of man, but visualized the apocalypse in a wholly realistic manner. Romero has delivered six living dead pictures total so far, all with intriguingly different takes on the material. Several unrelated sequels and remakes have followed with varying degrees of success and quality.

13. THE AMITYVILLE HORROR 1979
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg

There had been many haunted house movies prior (THE HAUNTING '63, LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE '73, BURNT OFFERINGS '76), but Stuart Rosenberg's film about a maleficent abode brought big bucks to haunted homes accumulating nearly 100 million in the US alone. Again, the on screen horror was born from a novel, but this time allegedly a true supernatural occurrence. AIP was in a transitional period going from an independent to a major, although their success in the big time was short lived. The same did not hold true for this movie as there were a total of seven sequels and a recent remake.

14. ALIEN 1979
Directed by Ridley Scott

Originally to have been a Roger Corman film of alien terror, it eventually found its way to Fox where Ridley Scott turned out one of the most intensely terrifying movies of outer space horror ever seen on screen. Essentially an unacknowledged remake of IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE (1958), Scott's film also mimicked a sequence from Mario Bava's PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (1965). A massive success, it was no doubt helped by STAR WARS making the final frontier fashionable again. Three sequels, a wildly successful and long running comic series and a tie in with one of the more popular four panel adaptations pairing the Xenomorph with the Predator, an alien hunter from another world. More aliens are predicted to burst onto screens everywhere in the near future.

15. FRIDAY THE 13TH 1980
Directed by Sean Cunningham

Whereas HALLOWEEN is often cited as the progenitor of the slasher sub genre, it was this modest, yet super successful gore-a-thon that gave the much reviled style of horror its true face. Tom Savini, fresh off DAWN OF THE DEAD, came into his own as a sought after effects artist. The creative kill became a rapidly popular trend giving birth to dozens of cinematic deformities over the years till the sub genre began to sputter in the mid 80's. The slasher also became the home for future Hollywood stars to cut their chops, or lose their head, prior to going on to bigger ventures. The ultimate horror franchise, FRIDAY garnered ten sequels and (so far) one remake and also an unrelated television show in the late 80's as well as a vintage video game and also a long running comic series.

16. THE HOWLING 1981
Directed by Joe Dante

Joe Dante's simultaneously scary and self referentially funny film is one of the best Lupine horrors ever made. Yet another horror movie based on a novel, it features one of the greatest transformation scenes of all time. Pino Donaggio's score is ominously impressive. The bipedal werewolves are equally laudable and imposing at seven feet tall. A cool cast of familiar faces and a permeating atmosphere of dread drive this wonderful monster movie homage. Followed by six sequels, the bulk of which are incredibly bad.

17. AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON 1981
Directed by John Landis

John Landis did what many others have failed to do since--make a horror comedy that is successful at being both with generous helpings of humor and horror. Rick Baker won an academy award for the still impressive transformation effects. The score utilizes numerous songs that have "moon" in the title. Amazingly, Landis was unable to secure the most obvious song, Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" for unknown reasons. Landis tried the same thing with vampires in 1992 with INNOCENT BLOOD. A related sequel had been in the works for years, but finally turned up in 1997 as the unrelated AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS.

18. THE EVIL DEAD 1981
Directed by Sam Raimi

Sam Raimi's gruesomely energetic take on the zombie mythos by way of demonic possession has accrued one of the greatest cult followings of all time. Fiercely innovative, this no budget wonder has some of the most kinetically vibrant gore effects seen in an independent feature. Spawning two sequels and a proposed remake, it's popularity is cemented by having been released on video and DVD seemingly more times than any other title. It's also unleashed a string of comic books and video games upon the world.

19. THE THING 1982
Directed by John Carpenter

John Carpenter took the helm of this amazing piece of visceral horror from another world. A pseudo remake of Christian Nyby's exceptional science fiction horror classic, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951), Carpenter's version follows more closely the original short story both films are derived from. Rob Bottin's awe inspiring, gruesome effects work are still noteworthy today. While an enormous box office and critical bomb upon its original release, this parasitic alien assimilation terror tale has amassed a widespread cult following that has taken form in several comics series and a 2002 video game endorsed by Carpenter himself. A prequel is now in the works.

20. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 1984
Directed by Wes Craven

The first and best of this long running, and increasingly weary franchise. Wes Craven created one of the biggest and most successful horror icons ever conceived based on a theme that appears lifted from a similar movie released several months earlier, the science fiction horror thriller, DREAMSCAPE (1984). Craven's dream killer spurred on eight sequels (if you count FREDDY VS. JASON) and a late 80's television series that lasted for two seasons. A flashy remake was recently unveiled for Freddy fans and new converts. Craven also directed a new film that appears to be a clone of his own Krueger incarnation in the film, MY SOUL TO TAKE (2010).

21. RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 1985
Directed by Dan O'Bannon

A wildly popular heavy metal-punk zombie flick the redefined the flesh eating shambler sub genre. Umberto Lenzi did running "zombies" first with NIGHTMARE CITY (1980), but Dan O'Bannon's fun and fright filled ghoul fest were not irradiated, vampiric humans, but living dead marathon runners. Professing that NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was a true story, audiences got one of the absolute best and funniest 80's movies and one of the most enjoyable horror films ever made. Four escalatingly terrible sequels followed.

22. RE-ANIMATOR 1985
Directed by Stuart Gordon

Easily the best movie ever released through Empire Pictures, the Charles Band run production house "notable" for the sheer amount of crud that (briefly) oozed onto theater screens throughout the 1980's. Based on an H.P. Lovecraft story, RE-ANIMATOR is also Stuart Gordon's most fondly remembered movie as well as actor, Jeffrey Combs' most identifiable role. Deliciously funny and filled with outrageous gore, the film has amassed a healthy fan following and, like RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, gave new life to zombie cinema. Two sequels followed with a third in limbo. The character of Herbert West also lived on in his own comic series.

23. HELLRAISER 1987
Directed by Clive Barker

Clive Barker's directorial debut based on his own story revolves around murderous sadomasochists from another dimension and a mysterious puzzle box that brings them into our world. It makes about as much sense as putting your hand in a pool of piranhas, but is generously speckled with gore effects and gave birth to another popular horror icon--Pinhead. I've never liked any of the movies, but the film was a success leading to increasingly lesser sequels, seven so far with an eighth on the way. One of them even put Pinhead in space. A remake is also in the works and the Cenobites have also been featured in comic book format.

24. CHILD'S PLAY 1988
Directed by Tom Holland

Yet another ridiculous movie that managed to garner a steady stream of sequels and growing popularity. This small fry Freddy Krueger by way of a possessed doll is probably most notable for the controversy it became embroiled in inciting protesters that the film would stir violence in children. By the third outing, this condemnation became reality when that film was blamed as a catalyst for the mercilessly brutal murder of two year old James Bulger; the circumstances surrounding the torture/slaying was far more disturbing than anything the movies could dream up. CHILD'S PLAY got four sequels, a comic series and an upcoming (groan) remake.