Eight horror films that set the blueprint for modern genre storytelling

Collider highlights eight horror films that, the piece argues, became blueprints for later work in the genre. The list includes The Blair Witch Project (1999), credited with popularizing found-footage storytelling after pulling in over $200 million at the box office and helping make films like Paranormal Activity and Rec possible; Night of the Living Dead (1968), which the article says birthed the modern zombie and was made for roughly $114,000; and Halloween (1978), which is described as establishing key slasher ingredients such as a silent killer, teenage victims and a final-girl survivor.

Other entries noted are The Exorcist (1973), praised for its realistic atmosphere and cited for inspiring films like The Omen and modern franchises such as The Conjuring while earning $430 million worldwide and a Best Picture nomination; Scream (1996), credited with redesigning slashers through self-aware humor and a whodunit approach and earning more than $100 million domestically; Alien (1979), lauded for blending horror and science fiction with claustrophobic psychological terror; The Haunting (1963), singled out for making the haunted house itself a central evil and influencing works such as The Amityville Horror and The Shining; and Them!

(1954), noted for its giant-ant creature feature tapping atomic-age fears and receiving an Academy Award nomination for visual effects.

Key Topics

Culture, Halloween, The Exorcist, Alien, Scream