1. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Let this be the year—if you haven’t already done so—to finally work up the courage to see Tobe Hooper’s criminally underrated classic, a top-rank satire of American class warfare (survival of the hungriest), teenage misadventure in the backwoods and one of the darkest masterpieces of the ’70s. Though shrouded in a gruesome reputation generated by that title, Texas isn’t particularly gory. It is, however, the scariest movie ever made.
2. Poltergeist
Ghost stories got a high-tech makeover in this punishing suburban smash, now seen as a secret critique of American materialism: Your TV set will eat you. (It’s all the more surprising that it was “ghost-directed” by family-friendly producer Steven Spielberg.) Production values were lavish, including some early blue-screen work and stunning lighting, but a possessed toy clown remains the unforgettable scare.
3. Hereditary
You know you’re watching a modern horror classic when the sudden decapitation of a child is only, like, the fourth most shocking thing to happen in a movie. Another good indicator: the movie is directed by Ari Aster. The New York horror wunderkind established himself as a master of the genre right out of the gate with this deeply unsettling debut feature about a family collapsing under the weight of its own buried secrets. You’ll be thinking about it far longer than is good for your mental wellbeing.
