1) Halloween (1978)- Jamie Lee Curtis makes her big debut in this classic movie about a serial killer who escapes from a mental asylum and returns to his hometown to kill on Halloween Night. Super scary and creepy, and the acting is top-notch all around. If it weren't for this movie, there wouldn't be such an iconic masked killer by the name of Michael Myers.
2) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)- Kids are traveling through Texas, run out of gas and find a house that belongs to a skin-ripping cannibal family. Tobe Hooper takes a simple premise and creates one of the most disturbing, horrifying, and insane horror classics ever made. Leatherface's name has become synonymous with the genre. Actress Marilyn Burns's screaming will last in your head for hours. Multiple showers are guaranteed.
3) Jaws (1975)- Steven Spielberg's masterpiece about a 25-foot, 3-ton Great White shark that attacks a New England town, leading to the showdown between the shark, Chief Martin Brody, marine biologist Matt Hooper, and sea captain Quint. Without a doubt the most frightening PG-rated movie of all time.
4) The Exorcist (1973)- Two priests join forces to end the demonic posession of an innocent 12 year-old girl. The movie that changed horror forever. Need I say more?
5) The Omen (1976)- Ambassador Robert Thorn and his wife Katherine adopt a baby that grows up to be Damien, which leads to horrifying accidents. Could Damien be the Antichrist? Suspenseful, shocking, and atmospheric are all perfect words to describe Richard Donner's film. Jerry Goldsmith almost dominates the movie with a blood-curdling score.
6) Black Christmas (1974)- Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, Andrea Martin, and John Saxon star in this cult slasher film about a stranger who hides out in the attic of a sorority house and kills each girl one by one on Christmas Day. Extremely creepy and unnerving, and a hilarious performance by Margot Kidder as one of the girls. Who knew Bob Clark, director of "Porky's" and "A Christmas Story" would start his career with this?
7) Phantasm (1979)-Don Coscarelli's eerie nightmare about The Tall Man and his funeral parlor of horrors. The acting isn't the best component, but this movie is all about atmosphere and surrealism, and Angus Scrimm's performance as The Tall Man is unforgettable.
8) The Amityville Horror (1979)- Your classic modern-day haunted house movie about a family who moves into a house on Long Island that is plagued by the murders of the family that lived there before. Ghosts are aplenty in this film, and it will creep you out. Let's not forget the star power of James Brolin and Margot Kidder as George and Kathy Lutz. Inspired by a true story.
9) Suspiria (1977)- The best of all foreign horror films. Dario Argento weaves a tale of a girl who travels to a ballet school and discovers it's a witch coven. While it is a brutal and frightening film, Argento's trademark murders are filmed beautifully and with loads of style. Don't watch this at night!
10) Carrie (1976)- Based on the classic novel by Stephen King, this is the story of Carrie White, an outcast bullied by everyone in her school and labeled a sinner by a religious nutcase of a mother. When things are taken too far on the night of her senior prom, Carrie decides to use her newly-discovered power of telekinesis and make these teenagers pay. This intense drama takes a hard left turn and becomes a horror movie to remember. Brian De Palma's directorial skill is aided by the outstanding performances of his cast, especially Sissy Spacek as Carrie and Piper Laurie as Margaret White.
11) The Stepford Wives (1975)- After the adaptation of Ira Levin's "Rosemary's Baby" came the next story in his repertoire, "The Stepford Wives." Joanna Eberhardt, her husband, and their two children move to the town of Stepford, where the housewives seem a little too human. Levin's story is satirical at times, mocking the 60's generation of a Beaver Cleaver-like Americana. At other times, it's weird and creepy. Katharine Ross gives a great performance as Joanna.
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