Here are the ones that I think had the biggest impact on audiences.
The House of the Devil (1896) -- Allegedly, this film directed my pioneer moviemaker Georges Melies was the very first horror flick ever made.
Frankenstein (1910) -- This long-lost silent movie version (a print of which was eventually discovered) was apparently the first adaptation of the Mary Shelley classic novel.
Nosferatu (1922) -- While there were other vampire movies before this (such as The Kiss of a Vampire in 1916), the legendary F.W. Murnau film is the one that had the biggest impact and still holds up today for its frightening imagery.
The Phantom of the Opera (1925) -- This was one of many iconic performances by the man of a thousand faces, Lon Chaney.
Dracula (1931) -- Tod Browning's atmospheric rendition of Bram Stoker's book and the stage play adaptation brought to the screen, starring Bela Lugosi, basically set the standard for practically every other vampire movie that would ever follow.
Frankenstein (1931) -- This was a great year for horror movies, the beginning of the golden age. Director James Whale created the definitive version of Shelley's tale, starring Boris Karloff.
The Invisible Man (1933) -- Director James Whale did it again with this fantastic retelling of the H.G. Wells classic.
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) -- James Whale proved that he could make awesome sequels too, topping the original.
The Wolf Man (1941) -- Lon Chaney, Jr., follows in his dad's horror footsteps in the movie that established all the rules for countless werewolf stories to follow.
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) -- Universal Pictures started putting its classic monster characters in the same films, to the delight of fans everywhere, laying the groundwork for many horror crossovers in the decades ahead.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) -- This supernatural shocker proved that a story didn't need monsters to scare the wits out of audiences.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) -- Comedy and horror together at last.
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953) -- Giant monsters attack! And Ray Harryhausen provides the wonderful stop-motion special effects.
House of Wax (1953) -- Starring Vincent Price, this was the first 3D color feature from an American studio.
The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) -- Another 3D classic, this is one of my all-time guilty pleasures. The Gill Man is one of the most underrated and under-utilized monsters in horror movie history.
Godzilla (1954) -- Japan makes the best giant monster horror movie ever (since I wouldn't really call King Kong a horror movie.)
Them! (1954) -- Giant ants attack! Yet another metaphor about the dangers of nuclear weapons testing.
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) -- Hammer Films begins re-imagining all the classic horror monsters.
I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) -- Starring Michael Landon, this was the best of the trend of flicks targeting the emerging teen market.
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) -- Science fiction and horror at its best, this is another one of my favorites.
The Fly (1958) -- Vincent Price stars in another great horror classic.
Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) -- I had to list Ed Wood's infamous horror flick because it's still arguably the worst movie ever made.
Psycho (1960) -- This Alfred Hitchcock classic is still considered by many to be the greatest horror movie ever made.
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) -- Roger Corman was known for low-budget schlock, but his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations starring Vincent Price weren't half bad.
The Birds (1963) -- This was one of many Alfred Hitchcock horror masterpieces.
Night of the Living Dead (1968) -- We have George Romero to blame for the zombie movie trend.
Rosemary's Baby (1968) -- Roman Polansky starts the trend of movies about demonic children.
Blacula (1972) -- Blaxpoitation films creep into the horror genre.
The Thing With Two Heads (1972) -- Without a doubt, this is one of the freakiest movies ever made, starring Rosey Grier and Ray Milland.
The Exorcist (1973) -- One of my favorite horror movies ever made, this became a blockbuster that put horror movies on the map, spawning countless ripoffs trying to capture a bit of its success.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) -- This was arguably the first slasher horror film.
Jaws (1975) -- Yes, the Steven Spielberg favorite which became one of the first summer blockbusters was a horror movie.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) -- For its cult status alone, I must include this film on this list.
The Omen (1976) -- Though much maligned by critics at the time, this Richard Donner classic is still one of my all-time favorites.
Carrie (1976) -- Brian De Palma directed one of the first and still one of the best Stephen King adaptations.
Halloween (1978) -- John Carpenter perfected the slasher movie, and he didn't need a big budget to do it.
Alien (1979) -- Ridley Scott's science fiction gem is really a horror movie set in space.
The Amityville Horror (1979) -- This is one of the best haunted house movies ever made.
Dracula (1979) -- The Frank Langella version of Bram Stoker's classic tale was flawed, but it was one of the first to turn the vampire into an unabashed sex symbol.
Friday the 13th (1980) -- This was a decent scary movie that eventually morphed into a Halloween ripoff, epitomizing the slasher-film-peak of the 1980s.
The Howling (1981) -- Joe Dante's werewolf flick is still one of my guilty faves.
Wolfen (1982) -- Released the same year as The Howling, I liked this one too.
Gremlins (1984) -- The anti-E.T.: The Extraterrestrial. Cute, cuddly little creatures turn into blood-thirsty monsters.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) -- How could I not include Freddy Krueger on this list?
The Fly (1986) -- This great, scary flick proved that remakes can be a million times better than the original.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) -- The horror genre finally gains some respectability as this fantastic movie becomes a box office hit and wins five Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) -- Francis Ford Coppola tries to reinvent the classic as a big-budget motion picture, to mixed results.
Species (1995) -- Horror movie as erotic thriller.
Scream (1996) -- Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson revitalize the horror genre.
Ringu (1998) -- Asian horror movies become the latest moneymaking trend, sparking a bunch of American remakes. This one became The Ring.
Blade (1998) -- A blend of horror and superhero, this arguably was the film that kickstarted Marvel Comics movie adaptation dominance.
The Blair Witch Project (1999) -- The best of the low budget mockumentary horror films.
Saw (2004) -- The peak of the horrible "torture porn" trend.
Of course I've left out many, but for me those are the biggies. What say you?
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