Top 10 Most Influential Horror/Monster Movies

Since this is the month of terror, I figure that I should make a top whatever number list of the greatest things involving horror. And so here we go with the Top 10 Greatest Influential Horror/Monster Movies According to Me.

10. Godzilla (1954)
What can be said about the King of the Monsters? He's big, strong, and uber powerful. And he's more than 50 years old (take that *insert random action star here*) and can still take down Tokyo and King Ghidorah and still come back for a sequel. The reason Godzilla is on this list, is because so many people know Godzilla's appearance and trademark roar, it's amazing. And no, I'm not including the 1998 Godzilla in this list. It was an okay monster movie, but because it had the name Godzilla, it had sky high expectations. But I can give it an honorable mention, because it was the movie that introduced me to Godzilla (I was 6 or 7 at the time).

9. King Kong (1933)
Since I knocked Gojira off the list so early, might as well go for another. King Kong. I don't need to say much more on his part. Everyone recognizes him in some form or another. He even appears in movies that aren't even American. King Kong Appears in Edo (a lost 1938 Japanese kaiju movie, feared lost in the Tokyo firebombings), King Kong vs Godzilla, King Kong Escapes. His movies were all so successful that they spawned 2 sequels: Son of Kong (the sequel to the 1933 movie), and King Kong Lives (1970s sequel).

8. Nosferatu (The First Dracula) (1922)
Okay, I know what you may be thinking. "Who the f*ck is Nosferatu?" Well, he is the first vampire taken from Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula. He is the first Dracula. It is because of this movie, I feel a lot of atmosphere into the later movies. He even instilled one of the stereotypical vampire actions: rising out of his coffin. He also started the whole "Vampire + Sunlight = A very dead and cripsy/ashy vampire" thing.

7. Night of the Living Dead
George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead is one of the greatest zombie movies out there. He was single-handedly responsible for creating zombies as we know them today. Okay, 28 Days Later gave us the running zombies but George gave us the zombpocalypse. And need I say, so much zombie themed stuff would never exist if George and John (John A. Russo, creator of the second sequel branch, the Return of the Living Dead series) hadn't done this movie.

6. The Evil Dead series
How many movies can you say have a hero with a chainsaw for a hand and a sawed off shotgun that seems to never run out of bullets that spews one-liners and is a badass and a jackass? To fans of the Evil Dead series, they have just that in the form of Ashly (or Ashley) J. Williams, played by Bruce Campbell. These movies brought out the true term cult classic, and even propelled Sam Raimi to stardom in the director universe. Sound familiar? He directed the Spiderman movies and the first Darkman movie. And it showed how horror can be interlaced with comedy. So hold onto your boomstick, get ready for some groovy moments, and be remember the magic words (Klaatu Verata Nikto) and give these films a look.

5. Friday the 13th
Ah, Jason Voorhees. The psychopathic mutant child of Pamela Voorhees. He is harder to kill than a cockroach. He's survived drowning, having an axe through the head, being hacked by his own machete, and he was even blown up and dragged into Hell itself and still came back. Aside from his indestructability, he even has the "ch-ch-ch-ah-ah-ah" music that plays when he's coming. He's a complete badass, and he has even handed Ash Williams' ass to him with minimal effort. How cool is that? And he fought Freddy.

4. A Nightmare on Elm Street
It's showtime, ladies. Freddy Krueger is one of the better recognized villains of a movie ever. And he refuses to die more than, yes, even Jason. Think about it, Freddy has survived being burned alive twice, dragged into the physical world and murdered, burned and seared by holy water and a crucifix, decapitation, and even being pulled into another dimension (Freddy vs Jason vs Ash). He can mess with you in the dream world, and you die in real life. In the comic book Freddy vs Jason vs Ash, he even gains the power of basically the Devil (warping reality, instantaneous murder). Even a demon trapped in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies (Wes Craven's New Nightmare) takes the form of Freddy. And he's a child molester. How evil is that? And the song doesn't hurt either... 1, 2, Freddy's coming for you...

3. Rodan
Okay... I know none of you know this one. Rodan was influential for a few reasons. One, it was one of the few kaiju movies released by Toho that had nothing to do with Godzilla. Two, it was filmed in color, the first Kaiju to do so. Three, there was more than one Rodan in the first movie. Finally, the death of the Rodans in the first one was one of those moments where you didn't want to feel bad, but you had to feel bad for them as they both died in each others ar... er... wings. And the fact Rodan is one of the few monsters to appear in several Godzilla movies as both a friend and enemy.

2. The Universal Monster Movies
I feel this one is pretty self-explanatory. Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, the Invisible Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Mummy. Furthermore, these films brought us or showed more people such film greats such as Bela Lugosi (Dracula), Boris Karloff (Frankie), Lon Chaney Jr (Mummy and Wolfie), and Vincent Price (The Invisible Man Returns).

1. The Exorcist
The Exorcist is one of the more scarier possession movies I've seen in a while. When I was younger, I never heard of this movie. Now, I think of it as a very great horror movie, relying on shock value. I mean, honestly, you'd be shocked if you saw a little girl either doing "vulgar things" with a crucifix or screaming "Your mother sucks 'c' in Hell," it sticks in people's heads.

These were my thoughts on the top 10 most influential horror/monster movies for 2009's Halloween lead-up.