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20s Metropolis
30s Dracula
50s Invasion of the Body Snatchers- I think the best sci-fi/horror fusion that was happening at the time. It captured the climate of the time brilliantly and stood up to communism and Mc Carthyism alike. That takes vision and balls.
60s Rosemary's Baby-Reminded the moviegoing public that horror could be literate, artistic and thought provoking. I don't like Polanski much, but I give him that.
70s Exorcist
80s Poltergeist- High budget, legitimately scary horror epic. that returned the ghost story to the popular imagination. Showed how good special effects should be serving a film.
90s Natural Born Killers- Yes, I consider this a horror film. Splatpunk morality is examined and called into question and the inmates are shown running the asylum. I don't think such a solid treatise on violence could be called anything but horror.
00s Like it or not, I'd say House of a Thousand Corpses. It's a movie that examined horror movies, how horror is such a part of the American cultural landscape and dared horror movies to return to more stark, raw roots. I don't wanna sound pretentious, but I consider the 8 1/2 of horror movies. It's a much better examination of the genre and American violence than other metacinematic horror movies like Scream. There've been a bunch of pale imitations since.
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