Note: Click on the posters to see a larger image.
Nosferatu (1922)
Do yourself a favor and see this original, not the 1979 remake. And yes, this is a silent movie except for the orchestral music. It won't matter. Even if you're not into silent films, this movie will creep you out. Actor Max Schreck's portrayal of the vampire Count Orlock is still, almost 90 years later, one of the most frightening portrayals of a vampire on the silver screen. In my opinion, it might be one of the creepiest portrayals of anything ever on the big screen. The story is basically that of Count Dracula, though the producers and director didn't have the right for Dracula at the time, so they had to change the names. The plot is basically the same, perhaps even closer to Bram Stoker's book in many ways than other cinema versions of the tale.
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
This movie starred the late, great Vincent Price in one of his most memorable roles as the spooky millionaire Frederick Loren. It was somewhat difficult to pick one Price movie from the many he made, but this one has always stuck in my head as one of the most disturbing since you never know what's really going on in the story. Also, one of my favorite creepy endings to the older horror movies. Like many other movies on this list, you can skip the remake from 1999 which has very little in common with the earlier version of the film other than a title and a (very) few plot similiarities.
Psycho (1960)
This is the one that truly began the serial killer genre in films. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho turns 50 next year, but it still is a quite disturbing film in so many ways. Again, better than the later remake from 1998. Anthony Perkins does a perfect job as the seemingly weak Norman Bates, secretly a psychotic who at times believes he is his mother and as her must murder people to protect herself and him. If you are turning to this movie for the first time, don't expect the more modern take on slasher films. You won't find a masked madman chasing teens through the woods. Instead, Norman has a hotel where guests check in, but they don't always check out.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
This might not be the first zombie movie ever made, but it is definitely the one that got the ball rolling, leading to a whole string of zombie movies by director George Romero and kicking off the modern zombie craze in fiction. I still think this is the best of all the zombie movies ever made. It's creeping music and the black and white imagery add to the terror of this movie. There's even a subtext concerning race relations and how humans treat humans. Truly, one of the great horror movies of all time.
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (1972)
How did this movie make the list? It's campy. It's funny in places. The script is goofy, as is the directing and most of the acting. But this little-known movie has something about it. Maybe it's the solid zombie effects, which is a shocker of its own since this movie was shot on a shoestring budget of about $70,000. The sheer absurdity and creepiness also adds to the effect of this film. The plot is about a bunch of actors who travel to an island, then perform a ritual as a prank. Unfortunately for the actors, the ritual actually works and the undead begin climbing out of their graves seeking the living. An odd movie. You have to see it to believe it. Steeped in the counter culture of the times.
The Exorcist (1973)
A little girl possessed by a demon. Need you know more? If you're a fan of horror and you've not heard of The Exorcist, you must have been living in a box for a long time. There's next to no blood and gore here, and no serial killers or monsters you can see, but there's plenty here to terrifying, mostly the unknown and the Satanic. Can even priests of God deal with a minion of Satan? See this one to find out. The ending isn't pretty.
Halloween (1978)
One of the most iconic horror films of all time. It also has what now is a more-than-familiar story. A psycho in a mask stalks horny teenagers and kills them, usually with a really big knife. Every movie with a similar story that was made after this one pales in comparison. Director John Carpenter's creepy soundtrack keeps you on the edge of your seat, and the silent killer who always knows where to be at the right time is downright disturbing. And, believe it or not, there's not a lot of gore to be found here.
Alien (1979)
One of director Ridley Scott's most memorable movies. By today's standards, Alien is sort of slow. But that's part of it's genius, especially when you see it for the first time. You're not sure exactly what's going to happen, and though it takes a while for the action to pick up, once it does things begin to happen very fast and very nastily. A lot of the violence is not actually on screen, but you can tell what's happening. I think this one kept me up nights when I was a kid. The plot should be familiar by now. A crew on a spaceship accidentally picks up an alien lifeform, and the alien is not a nice thing to have around.
The Thing (1982)
This horror flick is one of those rare cases where the remake is better than the original. Director John Carpenter's 1982 movie far outshines the original 1951 film. A lot of that has to do with the fantasticly gruesome special effects, but there's also solid acting from Kurt Russell and a script and storyline that's quite strong. The plot? A group of scientists at a station in Antarctica stumble upon an alien lifeform that means them, and the rest of humanity, no good. What makes matters worse is the alien can assume the form of anyone it kills, so the scientists don't always know who is still human and who has become the creature.
Opera (1987)
The only foreign film on the list, and it deserves to be here. Director Dario Argento is likely best known for his horror film Suspiria, but I always preferred this lesser known film because of its sheer horrific believabilty (though admittedly there are some plot points that stretch that believability). In Opera, an opera star is kidnapped several times and forced to watch the torture and murders of her friends. No one knows who the killer is, but eventually it's revealed. And just when you think the heroine is safe, she's not. The ending to this movie is quite unusual in that it makes a huge departure from the style of the rest of the film, but I believe that's part of the point, to be jarring.
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