10 Horror Movies That Changed The Industry Forever

9. Ring (1998)

Hideo Nakata's tale of a reporter investigating the bizarre deaths surrounding those who watched a particular video tape captured the imagination of the Japanese public upon its release and was soon followed by a number of copycats including Phone, Ju-on: The Grudge and even Nakata's own follow-up, Dark Water. The Scary Movie franchise and countless other parodies may have negated the terror somewhat now, but when the original Japanese version of Ring was eventually released worldwide, it created waves across the entire horror industry. Prior to the release of Ring in the West, Hollywood tended to rely on shock tactics and deranged serial killers to scare audiences, but the success of Asian horror encouraged film makers to take a more restrained approach in their direction; using psychological horror and the power of the viewers imagination instead. Unfortunately, the international success of Ring and its American remake also kick started a chain of inferior US horrors inspired by this trend. There's only so many times you can see a ghost girl with long black hair before it no longer holds the power to scare you. On a positive note though, audience's fascination with Ring also ignited global interest in Japanese cinema, which in turn led to more interest in Asian movies as a whole. Without Nakata's Ring, it's unlikely that Western audiences would have switched on so quickly to modern classics like Oldboy, Battle Royale and Kung Fu Hustle.