Exploitation films

Eraserhead

Lynch's industrial nightmare about fatherhood. It played midnight for years and made him.

Rosemary's Baby

Nothing supernatural is ever shown. It does not need to be.

Conan the Barbarian

The good one that caused all the others. Poledouris score is the best part.

The Evil Dead

Prosecuted in Britain. Actually a comedy, though it took years to admit it.

A Fistful of Dollars

An unlicensed Yojimbo remake. Toho sued and won. Started everything.

For a Few Dollars More

Van Cleef arrives and the formula locks into place.

Halloween

$325,000 into $70 million, and every slasher after it is a photocopy.

Jaws

The broken shark forced Spielberg to suggest instead of show. It made the film.

Night of the Living Dead

Made for $114,000 in Pittsburgh. Invented the entire modern genre.

Oldboy

The corridor fight alone would earn its place. The last twenty minutes are why nobody forgets it.

Once Upon a Time in the West

Fonda cast against type as a child killer. Leone's masterpiece.

Taxi Driver

The same story told by people who knew the protagonist was unwell.

The Birds

Hitchcock refuses to explain anything. Nobody since has had the nerve.

The Exorcist

Plays it entirely straight and takes the theology seriously. Still works.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The cemetery sequence is the best three minutes in the genre.