MOST INFLUENTIAL HORROR FILMS

[indianasmith]

BLAIR WITCH PROJECT launched a whole generation of "found footage" movies.

Or was it CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980) that launched the "found footage" movies...? 

There was that one, and another one about the Jersey Devil (I forget the title), but neither of those made the nationwide splash that BLAIR WITCH did.

[Svengoolie 3]

John carpenter's "the thing". Lots of monsters were inspired by that.

Alien. How many impregnating aliens were spawned there?

[Chainsawmidget]

Silence of the Lambs redefined the movie cannibal.

Godzilla showed us how to make huge monsters stepping on things. 

Gremlins was not only partially responsible for a new rating, but for a while EVERYBODY wanted their own little critter movie. 

SAW was also really influential, but I can't say I like what it brought to the table. 

Jaws made the killer animal/close the beaches movie. 

[RCMerchant]

When I mentioned the EXORCIST (1973) I should have said "possession" movies...not Satanic evil. That's been around quite a while, though ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) really kicked it in the pants.

[bob]

The Night of the Living Dead -- the first movie to use zombies, a trend that continues today

Flesh eating zombies... NOT the first zombie movie by far. 

This is true. WHITE ZOMBIE (1932) came first.

............


I know this and now I feel stupid

[RCMerchant]

I would say the MUMMY (1932)...but only the first few minutes. When Karloff is still in his wraps. Perhaps the MUMMY'S HAND (1940) would be a better fit.
.DEAD OF NIGHT (1945) was influential as the fore-runner of the anthology horror films , like DR. TERRORS GALLERY OF HORRORS, the HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, etc etc....
.Fritz Lang's M (1931), with Peter Lorre becoming the first serial killer film that wasn't a rehash of old Jack the Ripper types, showing the murderer as a disturbed man, instead of a  drooling maniac or near supernatural shadow figure.
.the LOST WORLD (1925) wasn't the first dinosaur movie, but it was the first to bring one into the big city to wreck havoc.

[JaseSF]

Psycho, Alien, The Exorcist, Night of the Living Dead, and Jaws are up there as movies often imitated...yet It Came From Beyond Space! predates Alien as does Planet of the Vampires...White Zombie is atmsopheric and moody and does predate NOTLD but arguably didn't start the zombie craze NOTLD eventually did...

Halloween and Friday the 13th has often been imitated too but clearly they also owe something to films like Black Christmas, A Bay of Blood and perhaps even stuff like Dementia 13 and The Curse of the Living Corpse..but then  again in a way don' t they kind of harken back to Old Dark House mystery thrillers of the 30s and 40s and 50s too...

Carrie (1976) could certainly be considered influential as well but there were numerous "mind power out of control" movies of the 60s and 70s era.

The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone TV series was likely inspiration for many later films (The Terminator, Dark City, Cube Poltergeist) too...although anthology film Dead of Night (1945) predates them as well.

[RCMerchant]

Though BLACK SUNDAY (1960) is the first influential Italian gothic horror film, Ricardo Freda's I VAMPIRI (1956) came first. Bava worked on that film with Freda, and Bava went on to be the Master.

I VAMPIRI (1956)

http://youtu.be/M1j5r8py3HM

[Ticonderoga 64]

BLAIR WITCH PROJECT launched a whole generation of "found footage" movies.

Or was it CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980) that launched the "found footage" movies...? 

There was that one, and another one about the Jersey Devil (I forget the title), but neither of those made the nationwide splash that BLAIR WITCH did.

That would be THE LAST BROADCAST(1996).