2. Nosferatu
Nosferatu is a true landmark in cinematic history. It remains Germany's greatest contribution to cinema and still the defining example of the enormously influential style of filmmaking known as German Expressionism. The film's director F.W. Murnau gave the world the quintessential movie monster with Count Orlok and set the template for all horror and suspense films that followed Nosferatu. Vampire films have seen a huge resurgence in the last twenty years in many ways. There have been traditional vampire stories that keep the Gothic scenery but also modern updates that give audiences more relateable monsters. Nosferatu is to blame for all of the good and the bad films dealing with vampires while still remaining the defining work of the entire horror genre.