1. Nosferatu(1922) Directed by FW Murnau
- This is the film where vampires all started! All inspiration from vampires today can be followed back to this film.
2. Frankenstein(1931) Directed by James W. Hale
- A classic movie monster who became an iconic figure for monsters to this day.
- An original piece of artwork that originated in the U.S.
- Derived from a classic piece of literature.
3. Freaks(1932) Directed by Tod Browning
- Hired actual circus performers to play the protagonists roles.
- "Circus Freaks" were portrayed as hero's and normal people.
- Opened the doors to what was "acceptable" in films.
4. Psycho(1960) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
- Often credited as the first slasher film.
- Inspiration for horror films to use more gore!
- first time viewers saw a toilet (yes, a toilet) on the big screen!
5. Night of the Living Dead(1968) Directed by George A. Romero
- Defined the modern zombie! and influenced a massive amount of zombie entertainment today.
6. The Last House on the Left(1972) Directed by Wes Craven
- A horror film that opened doors for all other extreme violence/cruelty movies!
7. The Exorcist(1973) Directed by William Friedkin
- The first time the big screen sees a movie that mixes religion, reality and horror. Taboo subject.
- Super Scary!!
8. Jaws(1975) Directed by Steven Spielberg
- Became the first film to be considered a "summer blockbuster" and it reshaped the way that studios distributed films
- Took the fear of a shark and turned it into a realistic nightmare!
9. Halloween(1978) Directed by John Carpenter
- First horror film that gave us a horror villain that killed for no reason and haunted its viewers.
10. The Blair Witch Project(1999) Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez
- First film that used a different type of cinematic technique called first person footage style.
- Makes you feel like you are watching real footage. (SO SCARY!)
- Different style of filming and marketing approach that would change film making forever!
Your blog post is really coming in handy with Halloween coming up! I haven't seen some of these movies and now I have plenty to choose from as we get closer and closer to Halloween. Also I know which ones I might pass up, like if they are too scary lol. Good picks!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I also thought the same thing when browsing for a top ten list. All of the movies are really awesome and it is cool to watch them in chronological order. You can see how far that horror films have come from the very first ones made.
DeleteI am not going to lie, I am scared of everything horror. My mom was always big into Thriller and Horror movies, and I think a part of me just stayed away from them because I didn't want to be like her, LOL! But I did love these trailers. Mostly, I loved the fact that starting at #1 and going down through the list, there is a horror film from every era. It's amazing to see how the definition of horror has changed. You can tell that as technology changed, the American audience has changed their perspective of what is scary and what is cheesy.
ReplyDeleteExactly! that is a huge reason why I picked this top ten list. This really illustrated how the definition of horror has changed. Also, the use of cinematography has definitely changed Americas perception on what we consider horror or just scary/cheesy. But, honestly up until this year I really didn't like horror films. I found after I gave them a chance though that they were very exciting and thrilling.
DeleteI love horror movies. I rememeber when this movie came out, people weren't sure whether to believe it or not. But hey, even it was cheesy it paved the way for other flicks like the Paranormal Activity series. Im happy to see the list of scary movies. Sometimes I want to rent a movie and I dont know what to get so, now I can check out your blog for ideas when I want to rent a horror movie!
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that the movies like the Blair Witch Project paved the way for horror films based on real life events. Paranormal activity for sure being one of them with its cinematic techniques they used as well. And i'm happy to hear that I can help you out with your weekend movie rental choices:)!
DeleteWhen I was a kid there were two movies that scared the hell out of me. One of them was The Frozen Dead, a 1966 movie about about a nazi scientist who could keep people's brains alive. He had their arms hanging form the wall, and this lady's brain could move them. You could hear her saying, "Bury me. Bury me." Pretty awesome. The second one was Stephen King's It. I was 10 years old, and I decided that I was going to watch the whole thing by myself, with the lights off. I don't think I slept for a week!
ReplyDeleteI've actually heard of The Frozen Dead, my brother recommended it too me for a film to watch for my blog! LOL. Clowns on the other hand.. kinda still freak me out a bit. When I was a little girl I absolutely refused to watch Stephen King's It. My cousin saw it and she couldn't sleep for weeks either!
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