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After I wrote about Scooby Doo, the Haunted Mansion and the monsters of Sesame Street celebrating their 50th birthdays this year, I started noticing other such birthdays. Specifically horror movies.
From blockbusters to ones that got everyone talking and sparked sequels, here are 17 iconic horror movies celebrating milestone anniversaries this year:
1. Annabelle – 5
In 2014, the doll from The Conjuring got her own movie –which has already sparked two sequels, including one released this year. Anyone else find it hard to believe the first movie starring the possessed doll was only released five years ago?
2. Babadook – 5
Do you remember if The Babadook was released in theaters in the U.S.? I don’t. I just remember adding it to my Netflix queue, but not immediately watching it. In fact, I believe at one point I deleted it from my queue when it dropped to a rating of two and half stars. But then social media kept buzzing about it, and it starting making “Best of” horror movie lists, so I gave it a try. It was better than I expected –once I got over being annoyed by the little boy.
3. Drag Me To Hell – 10
Drag Me To Hell makes a lot of people’s “Best of” lists. I wasn’t a fan. In fact, this is one I was glad I waited to rent. (Back then I’m pretty sure I had watched it via Netflix DVD mail service.) I’d heard such raves I was psyched to finally see it. I felt let down, but I know I’m in the minority since it gets 6.6 on IMDB, has a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score, and 85% of Google users liked it. So I’ll include it on this list.
4. Zombieland – 10
Zombieland laid out a list of rules to adhere to if you want to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic zombie-ridden world. Number two on the list, “Double Tap,” is also the sequel name for the long-awaited follow-up to this hit horror comedy. Sort of surprising a sequel has taken 10 years to come fruition, but it’s one of 2019’s many reboots, remakes and sequels. (It comes out October of this year.) Here’s hoping it’s as much fun as the original.
5. Saw – 15
Part slasher, totally twisted, completely psychological, Saw was disturbing. But people couldn’t get enough, hence all the sequels since the original premiered. Now it’s one of the most memorable horror movie franchises out there with characters that continue to persist as favorite Halloween costumes and characters that terrorize Halloween haunted house goers. It all started with this first movie in 2004.
6. Shaun of the Dead – 15
I never really appreciated horror comedies until this one. Although to be fair, other than Rocky Horror Picture Show, had I seen many horror comedies? It’s all a bit fuzzy, but this one always comes first to mind when I think of horror comedy done right (along with Zombieland) and always makes my personal list of favorite horror movies.
7. Dawn of the Dead – 15
Even though this was a remake of the 1978 version, which was also good, I loved this one. I had always liked zombie movies, but once upon a time there weren’t as many as have since come out. Or that many good ones, I should say. This was a real treat. I remember playing hooky from work to see it and savoring every delicious, disgusting, scary morsel of it!
8. The Blair Witch Project – 20
When this movie debuted in 1999, it turned the horror movie world on its head –and made some people’s heads spin with the dizzying use of “found footage” filming. It was the impetus for a whole new genre of storytelling perspective. (Which was fun at first, but quickly got old, IMO. Glad that phase seems to have run its course.)
9. A Nightmare on Elm Street – 35
One, two, Freddy’s coming for you… The man with the finger knives who killed kids in their dreams was HUGE when it came out in 1984. I was a sophomore in high school at the time, but never got to see it in theaters. All my friends filled me in, though. As soon as it came out on VHS, I rented it –just about every weekend until senior year. Another of my all-time favorite slasher movies.
10. Gremlins – 35
Definitely more comedy than horror, but also meant to be a bit scary, Gremlins was another huge hit in 1984. Definitely a good lesson about why it’s important to pay attention and follow instructions –or be prepared for the consequences.
11. Night of the Comet – 35
I’m not sure this is technically an iconic horror movie, but it’s always been one of my faves. Why? It’s an apocalyptic end-of-the-world one with zombie-like creatures. Among my favorite type. Campy? Yes. But still fun even all these years later.
12. The Amityville Horror – 40
Based on allegedly true events about a real haunted house with walls that oozed blood and a demon in the basement made for a sensational supernatural story. The only logical thing to do was turn it into a movie. The story always seemed frightening, but I found the idea scarier than the movie. Then again, supernatural movies aren’t normally my faves anyway.
13. Tourist Trap – 40
By today’s standards this 1979 slasher/thriller about a “demented owner of a roadside museum and his army of evil mannequins” that terrorize a group of stranded teenagers is a bit cheesy. But it’s got all the trappings of a classic slasher movie and was among the first of them. Not the best, but a fun one nonetheless.
14. Alien – 40
I didn’t see this in theaters either, because it surely would’ve been too intense for me. (I was only 8 at the time.) But I remember how buzzed about this sci fi movie set in space was the summer of 1979. “The stomach scene” was all anyone who had seen it could talk about. (But viewing the trailer with 2019 eyes? Who knew it’d be such a hit?)
15. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – 45
I was alive but too young to remember when this movie debuted in 1974. But the chainsaw-wielding cannibals who were inspired by an allegedly true story made such a terrifying movie it was still talked about well into my teens. It was one of those must-watch horror movies the first chance you could as a kid…and freaked me the hell out back then!
16. House on Haunted Hill – 60
A millionaire invites five guests to stay at his haunted house, promising them $10,000 if they last the night. Do any of them make it, or do the spooks get the best of them? It’s not very scary (more mystery or thriller than horror), but it’s a fun storyline. And it has Vincent Price. He didn’t always make the best horror movies, but this is one of the better ones from the iconic horror actor.
17. Creature from the Black Lagoon – 65
Was it Saturday mornings when the local TV station would replay old black and white movies like this? My memory is fuzzy, but I remember watching it on TV as a kid and loving it. One of my earliest horror movie memories, and one of the movies that sparked my love for the genre.
Check-In
Are any of the above your favorite(s)? Or perhaps mark one of the first horror movies you were ever introduced to?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, as well as obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of healing, to learn how she channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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