10 Horror Movies That Changed The Industry Forever

2. Halloween (1978)

After grossing $70 million at the worldwide box office on a budget of only $325,000, Halloween joined the ranks of the most profitable independent films ever made, inspiring many budding horror directors to follow in its footsteps. However, this impressive claim to fame is not the main reason Halloween earned such a high spot on this list. Slasher films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Black Christmas may predate Halloween, but John Carpenter's masterpiece popularized the genre, pioneering a number of the classic tropes that have since become synonymous with horror. The success of Halloween led to a long line of imitators, many of which became iconic franchises in their own right, including A Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday 13th. Film scholars regularly cite Halloween in discussions about the final girl trope and even Wes Craven's Scream refers explicitly to the movie in its deconstruction of the genre. If horror movie characters just studied Halloween, then they'd instantly stop having sex and drugs and then no one would have to die! Who said movies can't be educational, right?