When it comes to just about any genre, the best offerings never really age. What was once a heartfelt drama in the fifties is still that in the 2020s. A ’30s adventure into Oz still feels like entering a new world 90 years later. The only real exception is comedy. Airplane! may be one of the most revered members of its genre, but even some of its funniest moments are going to hit younger modern viewers far differently than they hit those who saw it in theaters or grew up with it in the ’90s. Fortunately for fright fest fans, horror is far more similar to drama and fantasy in this regard than comedy. And the following examples, all of which opened plus or minus 50 years ago, prove as much. However, while they’re still revered and frightening in their own right, there are certain aspects of Play Misty for Me, The Last House on the Left, Trilogy of Terror, and The Hills Have Eyes. The very thing that makes them so frightening still does so, but they’re the type of thing that’s avoided today (e.g. the overt cultural nature of the Zuni Fetish Doll in Trilogy of Terror or the assault scenes in Last House and Hills).
To be included, the movie had to firmly be in the horror genre, as opposed to a thriller. Sorry, Jaws. Just missing the cut were Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Crazies, The Wicker Man, Phantasm, Black Christmas, Carrie, Suspiria, The Omen, and Don’t Look Now.
5) Alien
While Ridley Scott’s Alien kicked off a franchise that’s going strong to this day it works just as well as a one-off as it does the beginning of something much larger. It’s one of the ultimate single isolated locale horror films. No section of its setting is safe, any corner could be shielding its antagonist, who blends in with the walls, and a small crew only becomes smaller.
Alien is tightly paced, the cast list is one of the most impressive in the horror genre’s history, and the Xenomorph couldn’t be any more well-designed. Aliens may be more consistently exciting, but the franchise never topped its first time out he gate.
Stream Alien on Hulu.
4) Dawn of the Dead
Even though George A. Romero made three movies after his initial undead trilogy, those first trio are the only trio worth watching. This is primarily because they each had something cutting to say.
In the case of Dawn of the Dead, the focus was all on consumerism. And, in America, consumerism will be a relevant topic of discussion be it in the 1970s or the 2070s. Not to mention, it’s just a ridiculously entertaining and occasionally endearingly nasty movie.
3) Halloween
Like the next entry on our list, Halloween is so impactful partially because it’s what isn’t shown that is scary. And, with John Carpenter’s classic, there is next to no blood…there’s just a ton of anticipation followed by gut-punches.
And, like Alien, which we touched on earlier, it’s a movie that led to a massive franchise yet works just as well as a one-off as it does the start of a big running story (that has been prone to reboots and various timelines). The difference is, in this case, it absolutely works even better as a one-off. A single evening of terror that ends on a note that makes you feel uncomfortable, as if you need to continuously look over your shoulder be it day or night.
Stream Halloween on fuboTV.
2) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
There’s nothing in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre that feels remotely removed from reality. What you see seems very much like what you could get if you step on the wrong property.
None of the cast of Tobe Hooper’s classic could be called seasoned professional actors, and that only serves to further emphasize the film’s realism. Toss in the fact that the film’s lack of blood makes your really imagine what that chainsaw is doing to its cast of young characters and Chain Saw is terrifying from moment one and never lets up. It plays like a grisly documentary shot five decades in the past.
Stream The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on Prime Video.
1) The Exorcist
Even for the secular, The Exorcist is horrifying. It’s most commonly cited as the scariest movie ever made 50 years later for good reason: It’s just that.
But the reason it’s so scary isn’t because it’s a rapid-fire attempt to frighten or upset the audience, but rather because it’s incredibly character focused. That approach doesn’t age. We’re watching a mother’s increasing desperation as her daughter is overtaken by something she doesn’t understand, much less know how to fight. Naturally, the head turn and spider walk are jarring moments of horror film history, but they work as well as they do because of Ellen Burstyn’s performance.