9. The Evil Dead (1981)
The Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness are certainly very influential but they can't match the influence the first film had. The Evil Dead is hugely important to independent horror and basically set the template for all low budget movies that followed it whether they were horror or not. The Evil Dead inspired a generation of filmmakers to grab a camera and just make anything they could. Peter Jackson was certainly heavily influenced by The Evil Dead. Before venturing to Middle Earth, Jackson spent years making low-budget fright fests such as Bad Taste and Dead Alive, that have now influenced more modern filmmakers. The Evil Dead also benefited greatly since it gained distribution right at the height of the video nasty scandal sealing its fate as one of the most notorious and influential horror movies of all time.