72 - "Scream" (1996)

     I have a theory that the next influential horror film will come out in the year 2014. Why? Because I have determined that there is a 18 year gap between horror films that go on to become trendsetters in the genre. It started in 1960 with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Eighteen years later, in 1978, John Carpenter turned the genre around with his classic Halloween. Eighteen years later, in 1996, Wes Craven re-created the genre again with Scream. So that's my theory on why 2014 will give us the next influential horror film. Hey, it's just a theory, sue me. Either way, all 3 of these films are on my list and at 72 we have the great Scream. I can remember seeing this movie in an almost empty theater early one afternoon after it had already been out for a couple of weeks. I had heard some rumors that it was good and decided to give it a chance. This film hooked me from the start. The first 10 minutes with Drew Barrymore being stalked is to this day one of  my favorite moments in a scary movie. Neve Campbell is Sidney Prescott, a high school student whose mother was killed a year ago and it appears someone still has a score to settle, even though Sidney thinks her mothers killer is in prison. Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy, Rose McGowan and Matthew Lillard all have roles as classmates and friends of Sidney. David Arquette plays Dewey, a local police deputy who is trying to help Sidney figure out who is stalking her. Arquette's ex-wife, Courteney Cox (the two met on the set of this film) plays reporter Gail Weathers and ends up joining Dewey in trying to solve the mystery. Scream is a terrific horror film and has scenes that are legitimately scary which so many horror films lack any more. It spawned numerous less-successful imitators but it changed the genre and for that it will always be remembered.
(Sequel Alert: While Screams 2, 3 and 4 don't hold up to the original they are all worth a look as well.)