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Despite the science fiction and superhero blockbusters that dominate today’s landscape, horror remains a long-lasting and fan-favorite genre of film. And whether it features momentarily frightening jump scares or drawn-out scenes of suspense, at least two of the biggest horror movies Hollywood has to offer — critically or commercially — released in the same year.
Some years throughout Hollywood history have gone down as the consensus best, like 1939 or 1967 or 1994. Others are well-known for their science fiction projects, as is the case with 1982. And on a similar end of the genre spectrum, horror has had its share of dominant periods as well. Ranging back to nearly a century ago, these are the ten best years for horror movies.
10 1982
As already stated, this was the biggest year ever for science fiction movies. But, two of them were also of the horror variety. Before getting to the most popular title from this year, it’s undoubtedly worth noting the efforts of Tobe Hooper with the release of Poltergeist (1982). With a filmography replete with quality horror films, Hooper will most certainly materialize again before the list is done. And while Poltergeist isn’t among his most important pieces, it helped solidify him as one of the most dominant horror directors Hollywood’s ever produced.
However, the most talked-about horror title from 1982 undoubtedly goes to The Thing, directed by John Carpenter. When discussing the most dominant horror directors, Carpenter is the first name that likely comes to every film fan’s mind. He the crème de la crème, the best of the best, and cult classic with Kurt Russel is perhaps his second-most revered film ever. If not his first, to be honest.
9 1999
There are three movies well-worth mentioning here from 1999, and they ran the perfect gamut of popularity. While Sleepy Hollow (1999) by Tim Burton is perhaps overrated just in name value alone, Audition (1999) by Takashi Miike is the direct opposite.
But then, there’s The Blair Witch Project (1999). It’s commonly cited among the most influential horror movies of all time thanks to its popularization in the West of a particular subgenre: found footage films. It’s a truly well-made independent project, The Blair Witch Project, showing filmmakers around the world that small budgets and fumbling camerawork can sometimes be a benefit. And it perfectly balanced out the popularity disparity between Sleepy Hollow and Audition, all from 1999.
8 1996
Two big-name directors who aren’t necessarily known as titans of the horror genre released spooky titles this year. Robert Rodriguez took a script from Quentin Tarantino and rendered From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) one of the biggest vampire movies of modern times, while Peter Jackson put out The Frighteners (1996): one of the more underappreciated titles on this list, and definitely of its decade.
Then, there’s Scream (1996). The film that revitalized the slasher subgenre and arguably saved the horror category as far as general popularity was concerned for a mid-90s Hollywood. With Ghostface’s consistently feeble attempts at killing Sidney Prescott throughout this original Scream along with its many successful sequels perfectly facilitate the respective film’s self-referential nature. This is perhaps the most important horror movie since the original Halloween (1978), forever changing the genre’s landscape.
7 1991
While The People Under the Stairs (1991) has aged as one of the more overlooked Wes Craven titles, it was actually well-received upon release. Plus, the movie made sufficient money at the box office — $31 million grossed off a budget of $6 million.
The films from this year to most passionately write home about, however, belong to the psychological-horror subgenre. Although, they could also be classified as thrillers in some regards: The Silence of the Lambs (1991) by Jonathan Demme, and Cape Fear (1991) by Martin Scorsese. The projects were anomalies in the respective directors’ filmography considering neither man was particularly known for their horror films. But with regard to Demme and The Silence of the Lambs: it’s the most lauded horror movie of the decade, it holds records at the Oscars, and of course Anthony Hopkins delivered an all-time great performance as Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Nothing else should be said.
6 1980
Two of the most influential horror films of all time released at the start of this highly iconic decade: The Shining (1980) by Stanley Kubrick and Friday the 13th (1980) by Sean S. Cunningham. The former was vastly more well-received by critics, but Friday the 13th remains a seminal slasher stint over forty years down the line.
The Shining
is consistently cited among the greatest films the genre has ever seen. Its alluring art direction, the primary performance by Jack Nicholson, the original material
from Stephen King on which the film was based
— all of these things helped Kubrick piece together a project of cinematic royalty that will forever be the standard of its kind.
5 1997
Two of the biggest stories from this year came from a screenwriter named Kevin Williamson. After penning the original Scream (1996), Williamson directly moved onto a pair of slashers that launched his career further into stardom: Scream 2 (1997), for starters. But also I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) — while not nearly as acclaimed as the second Scream film, it’s still an entertaining ride for fans of the subgenre.
The Devil’s Advocate (1997) by Taylor Hackford performed well at the box office thanks to its stars like Al Pacino, Charilze Theron, and Keanu Reeves, while Mimic (1997) by Guillermo del Toro remains the most underrated film in the Mexican director’s catalog. However, the biggest story for horror movies outside of Williamson’s scripts was a foreign film by Kyoshi Kurosawa: Cure (1997). The antagonist is horror personified — if you sleep the night of an initial viewing, you’d surely be in the minority.
4 1931
In the middle of Hollywood’s Golden Age, this year truly popularized the horror genre thanks to the Universal Classic Monsters. A series of horror films mostly produced by Universal Pictures, the Classic Monsters included the likes of The Mummy, The Wolfman, and The Invisible Man. However, while those titles released in separate years throughout this seminal decade of cinema, three of the studios’ most well-known Monster products released here in 1931, specifically.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), Dracula (1931), and Frankenstein (1931) — that all three of these famous titles released in the same year is a testament to the necessity of this list. It should be talked about more that these films that spawned numerous sequels and inspired even more original projects all came out in 1931, and there’s an argument to be made that the year could place even higher than number four.
3 1974
One release from this year is among the most seminal horror films ever created: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) by Tobe Hooper. It famously helped popularize the slasher subgenre of horror, and for that remains one of the most culturally impactful titles on the list. However, it wasn’t the only slasher from 1974.
Directed by Bob Clark, who also directed the underrated Deathdream (1974) in this same year, put out a film titled Black Christmas(1974). As far as slashers go, this is also among the most underrated ever made. It follows a group of sorority sisters in a house that’s being stalked by a masked killer. On Christmas, no less — in hindsight, a brilliant and original time setting for a horror film. Plus, Black Christmas is notable for its use of phone calls to build suspense, which inspired future films like Scream (1996).
2 2022
Clearly the most recent year on the list, 2022’s entry could be entirely dedicated to a simple listing of horror movies released in this 12-month span. Of course as the industry grows, more people are making movies. And the horror industry is absolutely booming right now. One of the biggest stories herein came with Scream 5 (2022), a long-awaited sequel of the fan-favorite slasher franchise. The franchise’s original writer Kevin Williamson would have penned the script, but he actually had a separate screenplay made from this year: Sick (2022).
Neither of those quite hit home like the following entries, though. X (2022) and its prequel Pearl (2022) received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike thanks to the work of their casts and the brilliance of their scripts. But there was also Nope (2022), Bodies, Bodies, Bodies (2022), The Black Phone (2022), Smile (2022), and the endlessly-brilliant Barbarian (2022). While some fans may not realize it just yet, this was an absolutely legendary year for horror films
1 1978
By far the most historically reputable year for horror, the most obvious movie to discuss here is John Carpenter’s career-defining — and subgenre-defining, too — Halloween (1978). There’s not much that needs to be said in that regard, though. The series has seen endless commercial success with sequels for over four decades, and this 1978 original remains the absolute pinnacle. However, two other seminal horror titles released this year: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) by Phillip Kaufman, and Dawn of the Dead (1978) by George A. Romero.
And, there are two other underrated, critically-acclaimed horror projects worth discussing here: for starters, there’s Martin (1978) — it was also directed by the aforementioned George A. Romero, and it holds a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But there’s also Richard Attenborough’s horror project Magic (1978). Commonly known for his historical dramas, Attenborough showed his penchant for genre films with Magic. It’s as underrated as anything on the list, and rounds out 1978 to a tee.
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