When casting one’s eye back to 1978, the year proved to be a defining one for the horror genre. While most associate the golden age of the horror genre with the 1980s, as it was the decade that gifted the world horror icons Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees, the late 70s built the building blocks for this boom. 1978 produced Halloween, the most influential slasher movie of all time that horror movies today still try to emulate.
Aside from Michael Myers’ bloody crusade on babysitters, the year also saw the release of Dawn of the Dead, which perfected the zombie template George A. Romero himself set down in Night of the Living Dead. While these two movies are responsible for popularizing the slasher and zombie genres respectively, 1978 also saw Hollywood musicals and superhero movies become mainstream thanks to Grease and Superman dominating the box office.
10 ‘Grease’
After a brief fling during summer vacation, greaser Danny (John Travolta) and transfer student Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) find themselves reunited after she enrolls at his high school. Fate has more surprises in store for the young lovers as they navigate peer pressure and class differences to keep their romance alive.
One of the most iconic musicals of all time, Grease‘s songs are still played regularly today. Both Newton-John and Travolta shine in two of their best roles, and showcase great chemistry built on a real-life friendship. While modern audiences may find it campy, it remains a fun throwback to a different time.
9 ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’
When health inspector Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) begins to notice strange behavior in his friends and the other residents of San Francisco, he discovers an invading alien race are abducting people and taking their place. With a small group of allies, Bennell desperately attempts to halt the invasion before it is too late.
The second movie adaptation of the classic science-fiction novel, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is the most iconic version of the legendary tale. The best way to measure a movie’s impact is to see its influence on other media, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers has been referenced by everything from SpongeBob SquarePants to The Simpsons.
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8 ‘Superman’
The most iconic movie adaptation of the Man of Steel, Superman tells the classic origin story of the legendary character. After his home planet is destroyed, young Kal-El (Christopher Reeve) is sent to Earth, where is adopted by a kind family who raise him to become Superman, who protects his new home with his alien powers.
Reeve offers the best portrayal of Superman, able to balance the heroic nature of the character with his unassuming alter ego Clark Kent. While the special effects definitely show their age after almost five decades, Superman is still a fun ride that helped pave the way for the superhero movies that now dominate our screens.
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7 ‘Midnight Express’
When young American student Billy Hayes (Brad Davis) is caught smuggling drugs abroad, he is sentenced to four years in a Turkish prison. As his release date is drawing near, Billy learns his sentence has been overturned and will now be forced to spend 30 years in the prison where he is subjected to cruelty and abuse. Thus, he desperately tries to escape.
Based on the memoir of the real-life Hayes, Midnight Express has remained controversial since release due to its representation of Turkey and its people as being cruel abusers. While Hayes clarifies he suffered no abuse in reality and the film is a 1970s movie with content that has not aged well, Midnight Express still remains a well-made and harrowing journey through a nightmarish scenario.
6 ‘The 36th Chamber of Shaolin’
When the young Liu witnesses a massacre carried out by the cruel Manchu government, he retreats to the Shaolin temple where he vows to learn kung fu, so he can achieve revenge. Growing up among the monks and other students, Liu trains to be become a master of the martial arts.
Rather than being a revenge story, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin instead spends most of its runtime focusing on Liu as he undergoes his intense training. Heralded as one of the greatest kung fu movies of all time, 36th Chamber retains a legacy that has gone on to inspire the genre as a whole and the movies that followed it.
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5 ‘Watership Down’
When a rabbit sees a vision of his home being destroyed, he convinces a group of fellow rabbits to join him in retreating and going in search of a new home. As they journey across the land, they face all manner of dangers, from vicious predators to the brutality of humanity.
One of the scariest animated movies, Watership Down has always been controversial over the years due its depiction of the harsh realities that animals face. Some of its more brutal scenes have traumatized children for decades, but its stark nature and powerful storytelling has also seen it become a cult classic.
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4 ‘Days of Heaven’
On the run after killing his boss, Bill (Richard Gere) and his girlfriend Abby (Brooke Adams) pretend to be siblings and begin working for a rich farmer. Learning that the farmer only has a year to live, Bill convinces Abby to marry the man, so she can inherit his fortune, sparking a dramatic chain of events.
Directed by Terrance Malick, Days of Heaven is famous for its beautiful cinematography, for which it won an Academy Award. Its scenery almost becomes the protagonist, as its quiet characters showcase their emotions using the world around them rather than engaging in a prolonged monologue.
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3 ‘Dawn of the Dead’
As the world is engulfed by a zombie outbreak, four survivors take refuge in an abandoned shopping mall. Facing feelings of isolation and desolation, the group tries to pass the time by safe proofing their new haven. But as the apocalypse rages on outside, the survivors will soon be faced with new threats.
Directed by the zombie master George A. Romero, Dawn of the Dead is one of the best zombie movies of all time. While he started things with Night of the Living Dead, Dawn sees Romero perfecting his craft and unleashing a movie that uses its undead monsters to take a bite out of topics like consumerism.
2 ‘The Deer Hunter’
An epic that takes place during the backdrop of the Vietnam War, The Deer Hunter follows a group of friends who work at a steel mill in their small-working class town. When they set off for deployment in Vietnam, they face horrors that not everyone will come home from, and those that do will never be the same again.
Pitched as an anti-war movie, The Deer Hunter focuses less on the conflict and more on its effects on those who survive it. It would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, with Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, and Christopher Walken all offering some of the best performances of their careers, with Walken winning an Oscar for his role.
1 ‘Halloween’
When convicted murderer Michael Myers breaks free of captivity and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, he begins murdering teenagers on Halloween night. As his rampage brings him into the path of babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) the young woman will do whatever it takes to survive the night.
The best slasher movie of all time, Halloween is one of the most influential movies ever. While it is not the original slasher movie, it helped popularize the tropes of the genre, from a masked killer to teenage victims, and remains a classic beloved by both horror fans and even those that do not usually enjoy the genre.
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