Many of you were pretty vocal about the “8 Horror Movies That Were Ahead Of Their Time” last week (especially regarding my classification of Jurassic Park as horror…it has horror elements people!), so we thought we’d make a list with 8 more! Here are 8 more horror movies that were ahead of their time.
An American Werewolf In London
An American Werewolf In London without a doubt has some of the best special effects work ever put on film. It can be easy to look at the pivotal transformation scene today and call it “overrated,” but the fact is that it just isn’t. Those special effects still look good to this day and it’s a shame studios have become so lazy with CGI (just look at Joe Johnston’s The Wolfman or 2011’s The Thing pre-make). The 80s had it so good!
The Blair Witch Project
Sure, there were found footage movies that came out before The Blair Witch Project, but none of them had the same everlasting effect that this film had on the entertainment industry. The critical and box office success of the film was greater than anyone could have anticipated (it made $140 million domestically on a $60,000 budget) and paved the way for the endless (and I mean endless) supply of found footage horror films that we have today. Also, it used a clever marketing strategy by having the actors play variations of themselves. This caused people in 1999 to wonder if the film was actual found footage. Clever!
Halloween
I can’t say much else about Halloween that hasn’t already been said (which is partly why I left it of my last list), but needless to say it’s the seminal slasher film. If it weren’t for Michael Myers we wouldn’t have Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger. Halloween is one of the best films of all time, horror or otherwise. There’s no argument about it.
Night Of The Living Dead
Sure, George A. Romero’s masterpiece wasn’t the first zombie film ever made, but that doesn’t prevent it from being one of (if not the) best zombie film ever made. Not only was it ahead of its time, but it was also ahead of the MPAA, having its first screening in Pittsburgh just one month before the system took effect, which meant that children of all ages got to see it with their parents! It truly is a spectacular film, but it had its share of criticisms upon its release, mostly about the violence. Roger Ebert even criticized the killing of the film’s hero at the end of the film.
Peeping Tom
Poor Michael Powell. Peeping Tom and Psycho were both released within a month of each other in 1960. The former ruined Michael Powell’s career, whereas the latter made Hitchcock even more famous (though it is believed that Hitchcock chose not to screen Psycho for critics after seeing the negative reception for Peeping Tom). The film was trashed by critics upon its release, being called nauseating and depressing. Now, Peeping Tom is considered a masterpiece. Funny how time changes people’s perspectives.
Rosemary’s Baby
Based on the novel by Ira Levin (who also wrote the amazing Stepford Wives), Roman Polanski’s adaptation of Rosemary’s Baby transcends the horror genre. After its release, a slew of devil-worshippers/possession films began to flood the theaters. The film is widely regarded as a classic, and one of the most disturbing films ever made. Don’t forget that Ruth Gordon won an Oscar for it! That doesn’t happen very often in the horror genre.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
One of the most controversial films of all time surely has to make a list about films ahead of their time, right? Well, shame on me for leaving it out last week. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of the most controversial films ever made, and it’s not even that violent! It has been called “among the most effective horror films ever made” and that it “achieves the force of authentic art.” This was the real beginning of the slasher film.
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
I can’t believe I left this one off on my initial list. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare was only about 2 years ahead of its time, and definitely serves as a precursor to Scream’s meta-ness. Had it come out after that film, it probably would have done much better in theaters. I can only imagine that audiences were a little puzzled when the trailer initially came out, but it certainly stands the test of time. You have to appreciate the fact that they really were trying to do something different with this one. It is arguably one of the best entries in the franchise (after Parts 1 and 3 of course).
I have no doubt that even with two posts on the subject, I still left some more films off of this list. What else would you add? Let me know in the comments below!
