TOP 10 INFLUENTIAL HORROR FILMS

PSYCHO

The camerawork in Psycho was the spark in changing how things were done in many different films as a whole. The breaking of the 180 degree rule in the famous shower scene, which was originally done to show disorientation and added to the panic and fear the female was experiencing, was the first step to directors having the courage to try new things.

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NOSFERATU

Nosferatu, known as one of the first important horror films, is influential in many ways. Firstly, the scene using shadows was a major thing at the time and influenced other directors to try their hand at creating special effects to make their films stand out from the rest.

THE EXORCIST

Back in the 1970’s, The Exorcist shocked the world. As well as having a massive influence on culture, the influence it created for make up was said to change the game. Dick Smith brought a level of believability which had never before been achieved. It has influenced both special effects and make up in all new films, with the famous rotating head being a spanner in the works and starting a new phase. Many demonic child films are still being produced, with this being the original.

JAWS

Although Jaws wasn’t the first horror film to use a giant killing creature, it was one of the most popular and well recognized to this day. With the shark being the main focus point, the film does not really dwell on the backstory of the characters, proving you can have a horror film without the cliché characters being the same as they always are.

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a very low budget film that, when finished, turned out to be very grainy, making it look like you are watching a documentary. The film was influential in showing you could portray reality by making a low budget film, as well as showing that you do not need gore to show violence in a film. Across the film there is evidence of great camerawork in some key scenes, particularly the dinner scene. Imagery used in the film is ghastly and ghoulish whilst being different to any other film, however it does this without showing any more than what is necessary.

HALLOWEEN

Halloween is seen as a template for big budget horror films. Starting on an extremely low budget, it managed to start a trend of slasher movies from the 1980’s, with the trend still around today with popular films such as Scream. With apparently being influenced by Psycho, Halloween was said to take this already influential film and make it unique, creating a whole new sub-genre of horror films. As well as this, it is one of the most successful independent horror films of all time.

28 DAYS LATER

28 days later had a massive influence on the zombie side of horror films, with this being the first major one. It is said to have been part of the influence for TV show ‘The Walking Dead’, however this film reverts the usual zombie expectations, with them not rising from the dead but reacting to a viral outbreak. Based in the UK, settings and surroundings used in the film are popular places, maybe to make the audience feel on edge when they are in the same places and have reoccurring thoughts of the film. Any film does not want you to forget about it after a day and by setting it in a popular location, it would probably be hard to do that with this film.

SCREAM

Scream was the first big movie in which shown the characters in the film were aware of how horror films are made, making jokes about who dies first and what people say before they are killed, and it rightly shows it afterwards. Scream was influenced by films such as Halloween, however in itself is a very influential film doing well independently. With various follow on films, Scream is known about everywhere, with the famous Ghostface being a popular halloween costume which everyone recognises.

BLAIR WITCH PROJECT

Although similar films with found footage had already been produced before this, Blair Witch Project was a worldwide phenomenon. By selling it as it was real found footage and showing it in cinemas as a documentary, more viewers wanted to know what all of the fuss was about. To add to this, it was the first film to use the internet to its full advantage when promoting the film. The film has gone on to influence films such as the numerous Paranormal Activity movies, REC and No Cameras Allowed.

THE PURGE

Although The Purge is a recent film on the market, I believe it will be influential to films which are still to be made. I feel this way as it was one of the first major films to be set in the future, with a reasonably believable storyline. Horror films with realistic story lines or settings create a sense of verisimilitude which has a bigger impact on the audience as they start thinking about if it was to happen to them and so on. As well as this, the film shows how even well off families with all the security in the world can still be targeted and caught if someone really wanted to.