What are the Most Effectual 'Horror' Films?
 

What do you think are the most effectual horror films?

You may ask how we are defining effectual? But I just want to keep this light. Feel free to define it as you like, and make it personal. For me, of course it's personal. I'm looking at films that affected you strongly in various ways, their significance for someone today looking back, how it would affect someone today, considering how it affected audiences at the time, and how it influenced future films; and not a list of the best, scariest or famous.

Chronological

1. Nosferatu 1922
2. Frankenstein 1931
3. King Kong 1933
4. The Wolfman 1941
5. Psycho 1960
6. The Birds 1963
7. Night of the Living Dead 1968
8. The Exorcist 1973
9. Texas chainsaw Massacre 1974
10. Jaws 1975
11. Carrie 1976
12. Halloween 1978
13. Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978
14. Alien 1979
15. The Amityville Horror 1979
16. The Howling 1981
17. Poltergeist 1982
18. The Thing 1982
19. A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984
20. The Fly 1986
21. Evil Dead II 1987
22. Silence of the Lambs 1991
23. Se7en 1995

I have a list of 23. If I had to knock off three, would probably be Silence of the Lambs, A Nightmare on Elm St and The Howling. If I were to add two, it would be Scanners 1981 and Day of the Triffids 1951.

I saw Dracula 33, The Thing 51, Godzilla 54, The Omen, Rosemary's Baby, Evil Dead I, The Shining, etc, but they didn't affect me in any significant way.
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Jaws is my number one film and it is also responsible for my not liking the open water.I never swim in the sea and even when alone at the local pool i get nervous.Stupid i know,and being a Brit there is no chance of shark in these cold waters.

But it touched me that much,even now i quiver when i am on a pleasure boat on a small lake and i am 49 years old.I know,i know,it is funny to think about it but that's what that movie did to me.But,it is still my favorite and wouldn't change a thing.:D

I recently watched the Bluray i had just bought with my 10 years old daughter and she loved it but didn't have that shock feeling as i did back in the early 70s.Times have changed it would seem.

I know what you mean! This seems hard to believe, especially at the time, but my parents took my family to see Jaws at the theatre in 1975, and I was 6 years old. (Maybe they couldn't find a babysitter.) And it effected me as well. That night, I was too scared to leave my legs hanging off my bed.

I'm not afraid of swimming in lakes or the sea, but that fear is there deep in the subconscious still.

I have to say, considering the effect Jaws had on you, I'm a bit surprised you decided to show it to your 10-year-old daughter. That's not a criticism, by the way. I'm curious though, if you wrestled about it? What was your final reasoning to have her see the movie?

The Gate - definitely The Gate

I would have been twelve when i watched it so i thought that my girl,who will be eleven in a couple of weeks so share the same experience.Time have changed though and the kids these days have seen much worse i`m sure.

I love it. I'll define "effectual" as having affected me -- not how it might have affected others (like War or the Worlds radio broadcast, or The Exorcist), or how it influenced horror film history, or film history in general.

(Attempt at chronological order in which I watched them.)

1. King Kong (1976). I saw it in the theater when I was 4 and spent much of the movie under my seat with my hands over my ears.
2. Jaws (1975). Seeing this on TV scared me almost as much as the ride at Universal Studios.
3. Water Babies (1978). The live action portion has a scary woman that scared the crap out of me as a kid.
4. Burnt Offerings (1976). Besides Jaws, possibly the first true horror movie I saw. Both the haunting and the pool scene left a huge impact.
5. The Birds (1963). Didn't scare me a ton, but I watched it many times on VHS growing up.
6. Alien (1979). I begged my dad to take me to see this, my first rated R movie. Absolutely loved it, but I didn't actually consider it a horror movie when I saw it, and I'd say it had more effect on me as a sci-fi fan than a horror fan.
7. The Watcher in the Woods (1980). Possibly the first pure horror movie I saw in the theater. I had to cover my eyes during the mirror house scene, and the movie overall left an impact. I watched it many times on VHS growing up.
8. Carrie (1976). I don't think I saw the whole movie as a kid, but the initial school shower / menstruation scene left a huge impact, and may have led to the "birds and the bees" talk from my dad.
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). I saw it on TV and was up all night with nightmares afterwards, utterly terrified. I had to sleep in the living room, where, oddly, I kept seeing Frankenstein on the wall.
10. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Face melting. Snakes crawling out of skeletons' mouths. 'Nuff said.
11. The Shining (1980). Another one that I saw on TV as a kid and had bad nightmares. The vivid imagery is etched in my mind to this day.
12. Poltergeist (1982). Probably the first mainstream horror movie I saw in the theater. At 10 years old, I'm almost embarrassed to admit I covered my eyes for part of the face peeling scene.
13. The Exorcist (1973). I didn't see this until later in life, although I remember wanting to watch it during my college years. I lived in a pretty big house all by myself, and had it on in the background once while doing dishes. The sounds I was hearing were so scary I decided not watch it. When I did, a few years later, it became arguably my #1 favorite horror movie. It helps that I actually believe in the devil.
14. Evil Dead II (1987). This has been a favorite since my college years, and left me with a soft spot for both splatter and demons.
15. The Last House on the Left (1972). Saw this on TV as an adult and was shocked and appalled by the realism of the atrocity.
16. Hostel (2005). By this point, I'm no longer prone to nightmares or being truly scared by a movie. The concept of this one, however, stuck with me for days as I was left to wonder if this could actually happen.
17. Cannibal Holocaust (1980). I thought there was no horror stone left unturned for me, but having seen this for the first time just this past year, I was shaken by the mixture of fiction and reality. I admit, I wondered if the impaled woman and the burning huts were real, and if so, the true horror was with those making the film.

I've seen it on the shelf many times, but never seen it. I'll have to check it out. I looked at a trailer, and I see it has children starring in it. I had always assumed it was a Rated R demon knock off, but I see it's a PG13 larger budget film.

I had a similar experience, in that I tried to talk my parents into seeing King Kong 76. My Uncle's family ended up taking us, and I was 7 years old. The music is so foreboding, deep and effective. And the roar really wakes you up!

I think the first modern scary movie I saw on TV that freaked me out was Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. The scene where the 'little creatures' run away from the light of the flashlight, as they're stalking her in the dark. Saw it again a few years ago as an adult, and don't see the fuss. = )

I saw the Exorcist on primetime TV when I was kid, not sure what year that was, but that was one scary movie that stuck with me. Same with Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which left an impression.The end of Carrie is scary too. I agree with you about Raiders.

I've never seen Burnt Offerings, Water Babies, Watcher in the Woods, I may have to check those out. I think I'll skip Hostel and Cannibal Apocalypse though; as I don't like the subject matter. Same reason I could have done without last house on the left 72. I just got done submitting a youtube flag/report that the full uncut movie was on youtube; as it's not for children to stumble upon.

The first and best King-Kong (1933) had an effect on me to.The first time you see Kong emerging from the trees still has impact even now.

And i just love the little scene on the boat where the captain is lost and looking at the radar screen,when he looks away you see a blip on the screen and the music changes tone to signify that something `big` is on the island.

Yea, King Kong 33 was so engaging. The detail submerged you into it's world. The wide shot of the boat going to the shore has pterodactyls flying in the sky. And the music... when the native chief starts walking down the steps they play a low tuba blow for each step. Very engrossing. Kong emerging through the trees is quite a sight. Would like to see that on the big screen.