25 Greatest Indy Horror Films of All Time
25 Greatest Indy Horror Films of All Time
I created this Indy Horror greatest hits list with the filmmakers of today in mind. If you are dreaming of making a film that will some day be on the big screen, this list is for you. Most of the films below were real underdogs. The filmmakers were told it wouldn’t fly. It would fail. There was no way it would work, but they kept going and were successful. They were not only monetarily successful in the end, they also imprinted horror with their work. These films have been remembered for years and they will be remembered for years to come.
So I’m expecting to get a little flak for this list, and that’s okay. Everyone has an opinion. There are some movies that didn’t make the list like Re-Animator and Pieces or even House of the Devil. Yes, all these movies are adored by horror fans, and many of these movies probably have bigger names than some on this list, but those movies did not have the financial footprint of the ones I have listed.
I considered two factors in this list. The first is how much impact the movie has had on the industry and on fans. Were there sequels? Did other horror films try to emulate the movie? Did the movie change how films were made? All of these questions played a role in if they made the list or not. The second factor is money. In Hollywood, and any business, money talks. In the case of these films, they were made usually for very little money with very little studio involvement, and they hit big at the box office or at home rentals. That alone is enough to inspire other filmmakers to go out and try it.
As an example of this, take the movie Basket Case, which is number 24 on this list. Basket Case was made for almost no money. It was Frank Henenlotter roaming around with friends and a low-budget camera and an idea. The movie is still loved by horror fans. It made a lot of money for such a little film, and armies of filmmakers went out in the 1980s inspired by this movie and tried to recreate its success. They may not have been making Basket Case clones, but they were following the formula of the movie’s creation, so it had a huge impact on 1980s VHS film markets. Does that make sense?
Anyway, here are my 25 Greatest Indy Horror Films of All Time. At the very least, these films made a difference. They made money, and they made other filmmakers go out and try it.
I hope this list inspires you.
1: The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Director: Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez
Budget: $60,000
Box Office: $248 million
The Legacy: Made found footage a legitimate genre and proved marketing can be as powerful as the movie itself.
It’s not as well regarded today as when it came out, but this movie was a filmmaking achievement. I can remember seeing it in theaters and there was a creepiness to it that stuck with you. The marketing campaign did a great job muddying the waters and making you wonder if it was a true story or not. Say what you want, but Blair Witch made shaky cam a thing. After this movie so many other horror films tried to emulate it. Some found it terrifying; others didn’t feel the ending worked for them. Either way it’s the highest grossing indy horror movie of all time, and the mark it left on the industry is still felt to this day.
2: Paranormal Activity (2007)
Director: Oren Peli
Budget: $15,000
Box Office: $193 million
The Legacy: Built the Blumhouse empire and redefined what a microbudget horror film could achieve.
The movie that built Blumhouse. Paranormal Activity made $193 million on a microbudget of $15,000. Making a film for this little money and it actually making it to theaters was and still is unheard of. Jason Blum saw how Oren Peli had made this movie and modeled all future Blumhouse budgets on it. He also produced the sequels. Again Paranormal Activity is one of those more controversial films. Horror fans argue about its quality, but no one can argue with its importance. It set the tone for horror film productions for the last 20 years.
3: Saw (2004)
Director: James Wan
Budget: $1.2 million
Box Office: $103 million
The Legacy: Launched the “torture porn” subgenre and became the Halloween of the 21st century.
A movie most horror fans agree is a classic, but it being an indy film is a little more murky. James Wan had the idea and shot a concept film to show to Lionsgate. Basically Wan had the whole movie in his head and ready, but it wasn’t shot. Lionsgate got involved and bankrolled a measly 1.2 million dollars to the film. Saw was like a rocket at the box office going over 100 million and influencing a whole new generation of horror fans. Saw is the Halloween of the 21st Century.
4: Halloween (1978)
Director: John Carpenter
Budget: $300,000
Box Office: $70 million
The Legacy: The granddaddy of slashers—launched 10,000 masked killers and defined a genre.
Speaking of the granddaddy of all indy horror films, Halloween was the reigning king from 1978 until 1999. There is no argument that John Carpenter created a masterpiece out of almost nothing other than a Steadicam. For around $300,000 Compass International Pictures, which was so small it was hardly even a company at the time, made Halloween. It is a true indy film. It was set to be The Babysitter Murders until producer Irwin Yablans came up with the idea of naming it Halloween. 10,000 indy slashers were launched on the success of Halloween. The entire slasher genre really was fueled by this movie. Hundreds and hundreds of films with killers running around in masks owe their beginnings to this masterpiece. There is only one original and it’s still one of the truly great horror films of all time.
5: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Director: Wes Craven
Budget: $1.8 million
Box Office: $57 million
The Legacy: Created one of horror’s greatest villains and funded New Line Cinema’s rise to Hollywood power.
So A Nightmare on Elm Street was funded by a tiny little company run by Robert Shaye. Shaye had grit and tenacity but he didn’t have a lot of money. New Line was really just a speck in the movie industry when A Nightmare on Elm Street came along. I think it’s better to say that the classic horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street funded New Line Cinema rather than the other way around. Either way, in 1984 audiences were not ready for Freddy. They were shocked out of theaters by the knife-fingered dream stalker. New Line of course went on to become one of the biggest Hollywood studios, even producing The Lord of the Rings trilogy. But in the beginning Nightmare was the spark that got them really going. A Nightmare on Elm Street is still considered one of the greatest horror movies with one of the greatest horror villains of all time. Accept no substitute.
6: Dawn of the Dead (1979)
Director: George A. Romero
Budget: $650,000–1.5 million
Box Office: $55 million
The Legacy: Proved zombies had legs (pun intended) and carried the undead craze into the 1980s.
George A. Romero is on this list twice if you notice. Night of the Living Dead I’ll talk about in a minute, but his sequel sits here at number 6 because in 1978 Dawn of the Dead made $900,000 on its opening weekend. That’s $300,000 more than the budget of the film, and the kicker is it only opened on 68 screens. It ended up making $55 million, which rivaled the king Halloween. The movie is adored by horror fans and continued the zombie craze into the 1980s. It is very much a masterpiece in filmmaking.
7: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Director: Tobe Hooper
Budget: $60–140,000
Box Office: $30–50 million (possibly over $100 million—mob financing makes records unreliable)
The Legacy: Raw, unrelenting terror that still feels dangerous 50 years later.
You’ll notice that this one comes before Open Water below but seems to have made less money. Well the truth is no one really knows how much money Chainsaw made at the box office. It was funded by Bryanston Distributing Company, which turned out to be financed by the mob. The company went bankrupt a few years later, but to this day no one really knows how much money the film made. 30 million is a low estimate. Over 100 million is a high estimate but not impossible or even unlikely. Chainsaw is an all-time classic and always ranked as one of the greatest horror movies of all time by fans and muggles. It is still critically acclaimed and made it on a $140,000 budget. Chainsaw was probably the real king of earnings of horror from 1974 to 1999, not Halloween, BUT and it’s a big but, Halloween is the direct lineage of all those slasher films of the 80s, 90s, 00s, and beyond. Yes Chainsaw was a slasher of its own kind, but Halloween was a pure and clear influence. What a great era of horror making that we get to argue if Halloween or Texas Chainsaw Massacre was the real king of indy horror.
8: Open Water (2003)
Director: Chris Kentis
Budget: $500,000
Box Office: $55 million
The Legacy: Proof that audiences are still desperate for a great shark movie—even if this wasn’t it.
Hated by most horror fans and just usually panned by critics, Open Water did not deliver on its filmmaking. It was billed as the next Jaws and sank on screen. Its marketing campaign on the other hand put audiences in the seats. It made $55 million on a $500,000 budget. Okay so it’s high grossing, why put it on the list? It’s certainly not one of the greatest horror films of all time. It is however an anomaly. There are very few ocean-based horror films that have ever tried to rival Jaws. I doubt any will ever be that good, but I think Open Water is more about desire than execution. I think people are dying for a great shark movie. Many have tried and many have failed. Open Water, though it’s a muddled mess, did not fail. It stands as one of the only shark attack movies after Jaws that was a great financial success. It deserves to be remembered for that.
9: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Director: George A. Romero
Budget: $114,000
Box Office: $30 million
The Legacy: Invented the zombie genre. Everything with shambling undead owes its existence to this film.
The longtime granddaddy indy horror film from 1968 to 1978. Where Halloween launched and inspired all slasher films to come, Night of the Living Dead created its own horror genre. George A. Romero started all of our zombie madness. He created and continued it even to this day. A very young Greg Nicotero got his start under George on Day of the Dead in 1985. Romero fostered the zombie in Greg. Nicotero went on to be instrumental in bringing the zombies in The Walking Dead series to life. Night of the Living Dead is still regarded as one of the all-time great classic horror films, and its influence on the genre and even creation of the zombie genre cannot be denied.
10: The Evil Dead (1981)
Director: Sam Raimi
Budget: $350,000
Box Office: $29 million
The Legacy: Wrote the rulebook for cabin-in-the-woods horror and launched Sam Raimi’s career.
A very young Sam Raimi took some friends out in the woods in 1981 and defined and set the guidelines for all cabin-in-the-woods movies to come. Pretty good for a 22-year-old. Evil Dead blew audiences away. It was like nothing anyone had ever seen before. It was the Exorcist running around chasing, killing, and possessing people isolated out in the middle of nowhere. Halloween just had a guy in a mask killing a few kids. Evil Dead had zombie after possessed zombie, biting, stabbing, cutting, and chopping a group of teens in the woods. For $350,000 it’s a miracle of a movie. It’s also considered one of the all-time great horror films. It always makes the list of the best.
11: The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Director: Wes Craven
Budget: $230,000
Box Office: $25 million
The Legacy: Established Wes Craven as a serious talent and proved Last House on the Left wasn’t a fluke.
Wes Craven is on this list 3 times and is arguably the greatest indy horror director of all time. Nightmare on Elm Street, The Hills Have Eyes, and of course The Last House on the Left. People like to point to Roger Corman or Charles Band as being great, but you don’t see any of their movies on this list. The Hills Have Eyes was seen as a step up for Craven. Critics and horror fans recognized his talent that had mostly been dismissed after the low-budget The Last House on the Left. Fans flocked to this movie and made it popular for its time. It now stands as a cult classic. Horror fans still find it and watch it every year.
12: It Follows (2014)
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Budget: $2 million
Box Office: $23 million
The Legacy: A modern slow-burn that proved atmosphere and concept can still terrify audiences.
It Follows is oddly controversial among horror fans. It seems like you either love it or hate it. David Robert Mitchell wrote and created the film on about 2 million dollars, and it was loved by critics and audiences when it premiered. Critics raved about this film. I don’t think it’s aging all that well, but it is unique. It has yet to inspire copies, but it is a very scary concept. I think It Follows is a great movie up until they try to kill the thing that follows. I think the ending is a bit off. Either way there are many young fans inspired by this movie, and I would bet someday we will see its influence on horror films.
13: Terrifier 2 (2022)
Director: Damien Leone
Budget: $250,000
Box Office: $15 million
The Legacy: Introduced Art the Clown as horror’s newest icon and pushed gore boundaries further than ever.
Terrifier had such a limited release it didn’t show up as a great success, but its Art the Clown drives some horror fans bananas. Art the Clown is arguably the greatest horror antagonist since Freddy. The fans of this series are diehard. They will walk a mile to see a Terrifier movie, and it’s inspired so many sequels already. I’m sure we will see Art’s prints on horror movies to come. I would not call this a great horror film, but it’s an important one. It’s pushing the boundaries of horror in ways, and fans are divided. One way or another it will play a role in what future slashers look like. Terrifier 1 didn’t find success with its limited release, but Terrifier 2 put the franchise on the map.
14: Ringu (1998)
Director: Hideo Nakata
Budget: $1.2 million
Box Office: $15 million (Japan)
The Legacy: Brought J-horror to the world and spawned the American remake craze.
The movie that launched a thousand remakes and brought Japanese horror to the Western world. Ringu terrified audiences with something so simple: a cursed videotape that kills you seven days after you watch it. Sadako crawling out of that television screen is one of the most iconic images in horror history. The film spawned the American remake The Ring, which itself made over $200 million, but it all started with this quiet, creeping dread from Japan. Ringu proved that horror didn’t need gore or jump scares to get under your skin. It just needed atmosphere and an idea that stuck with you long after the credits rolled.
15: Suspiria (1977)
Director: Dario Argento
Budget: $1.4 million
Box Office: $15 million
The Legacy: The most visually stunning horror film ever made—proof that horror can be art.
Every diehard horror fan knows Dario Argento is a genius, and I believe Suspiria to be his masterpiece. Some argue it’s one of his other films, but Suspiria still stands as the best looking, most eye-pleasing horror film ever made. It’s a masterclass in cinematography and directing. It also makes the list as one of the greatest horror films ever made. It is scary! It is a real work of art that proves horror can be beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
16: Cube (1997)
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Budget: $350,000
Box Office: $15 million
The Legacy: Proved a single set and a big idea can create a cult phenomenon.
A group of strangers wake up in a maze of cube-shaped rooms, some of which are rigged with deadly traps. That’s it. That’s the whole movie. Vincenzo Natali made this thing for $350,000, mostly on a single set, and it became a cult phenomenon. Cube is one of those movies that makes you realize you don’t need a big budget to have a big idea. The concept is so simple but so effective that it spawned sequels and imitators for years. It’s a thinking person’s horror film, and fans still debate its meaning and ending to this day.
17: Phantasm (1979)
Director: Don Coscarelli
Budget: $300,000
Box Office: $12 million
The Legacy: Created the Tall Man—one of horror’s most enduring and mysterious villains.
What a chilling movie. I remember watching this as a kid and it terrified me. The Tall Man is still a favorite of the horror community, and the movie stands as a classic horror film of the gritty 1970s. It has that paranormal psychopathic twist that always enthralls horror fans. On a $300,000 budget it made 12 million.
18: The Last House on the Left (1972)
Director: Wes Craven
Budget: $90,000
Box Office: ~$10 million
The Legacy: Launched Wes Craven’s career and established a new level of visceral horror on film.
The movie that was protested and hated by so many activist groups. The amazing marketing, “It’s only a movie. It’s only a movie.” The Last House on the Left was Wes Craven’s first attempt at horror, and though it did well at making money, it was largely dismissed as trash. Most critics thought it was vile. The movie though still holds a place in horror history, not only starting off Craven’s career but establishing a new level of visceral horror on film.
19: The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)
Director: Charles B. Pierce
Budget: $400,000
Box Office: ~$10 million
The Legacy: A proto-slasher based on true events with fingerprints on countless 80s masked killers.
An oldie but a goodie as they say. This movie is largely forgotten by many fans, but it caught audiences’ attention when it came out in 1976. Based on true events, the film is basically a slasher film with old moviemaking sensibilities. The terror of the story and of it being true drove audiences to the box office. It’s the elements of the movie that still reach into the future. Much like Halloween, it is a masked killer haunting people in a small town, so this movie has its fingerprints on many slashers of the 80s.
20: Maniac (1980)
Director: William Lustig
Budget: $350,000
Box Office: ~$10 million
The Legacy: The root of the realistic, gritty psycho-slasher branch.
This movie was hated by so many critics. Inspired by the Son of Sam murders that gripped New York, Maniac was Lustig’s gritty version of what a slasher might look like in the real world of New York City. The movie is gritty and visceral, and it is still a fave of horror fans. In the many branches of psycho slasher films, Maniac stands out as being the root of the more realistic gritty branch.
21: Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Director: Robert Hiltzik
Budget: $350,000
Box Office: ~$8 million
The Legacy: The most shocking twist ending in slasher history.
Explaining the motivations of the killer in the camp counselor murder spree wasn’t something every slasher movie was interested in, but Sleepaway Camp’s surprise ending was shocking to audiences and to anyone who watches it today. Many horror fans still love this movie. Out of the dozens of slasher films of the 80s, this one stands out in its kills and shocking reveal.
22: The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
Director: Amy Holden Jones
Budget: $220,000
Box Office: ~$6 million
The Legacy: A satire shot straight that helped build the slasher movement’s momentum.
Yes, slasher films were all the rage in the 1980s. It’s hard to explain to people today how many movies were being made. This was the dawn of the video rental era. Filmmakers could make a film and make a ton of money just selling their VHS to the thousands of rental stores across the country. The Slumber Party Massacre was originally conceived and written as a satire of slasher films, but then it was shot straightforward as horror. This gives the movie more laughs than many slashers, and fans loved it. It still has a large cult following. It helped build the momentum of the slasher movement.
23: I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
Director: Meir Zarchi
Budget: $325,000
Box Office: ~$5 million
The Legacy: A lesson in controversy as marketing—backlash drove audiences to the rental store.
People hated this movie when it came out. It did not do well at the box office. It had a very limited release and didn’t get real distribution until years later. It was in home video rentals that this title rocketed to the top of charts. Groups had protested its original release and Ebert called it “garbage.” All the backlash made people give the $1 rental a try. Many horror fans loved it, but honestly the movie was more about what to do and what not to do with marketing for horror.
24: Basket Case (1982)
Director: Frank Henenlotter
Budget: $35,000
Box Office: ~$5 million
The Legacy: The “How-To” manual for gritty, DIY guerrilla filmmaking.
The true blue homegrown horror film. Frank Henenlotter went around Times Square with a camera and some friends and made a movie. It was as low budget as they come. I remember watching it on home video and thinking why is this guy using a camcorder to film this creepy film. The twist ending and grittiness of the movie represents something real about the early 1980s. It’s a better movie than many people give it credit for. Considering how it was made, it’s kind of a miracle it’s watchable. It’s more than watchable; it will suck you in. The film is a darling of horror fans, and again it made so much of its money in the rental market. Even though you don’t see a lot of filmmakers copying Henenlotter’s idea from the movie, many many have copied his idea of HOW to make a movie.
25: Carnival of Souls (1962)
Director: Herk Harvey
Budget: $33,000
Box Office: Modest theatrical, massive cult legacy
The Legacy: Flopped at release, then influenced David Lynch, George Romero, and generations of horror filmmakers.
Made for $33,000 by an industrial film director from Kansas, Carnival of Souls flopped on release and was nearly forgotten. Then something happened. The movie found its audience on late-night television and became one of the most influential horror films ever made. Its dreamlike atmosphere and haunting organ score have inspired everyone from David Lynch to George Romero. The movie feels like a waking nightmare, and that ending still gets people talking. Carnival of Souls proves that sometimes the movies that fail at the box office are the ones that live forever.
Finally
So this is my list. There are many like it, but this is mine. I love this list and the films that are on it. I think these films are some of the most important horror films in history. They set the tone and were made on a wing and a prayer. These filmmakers set out to make a difference and great films, and they did. Most of the films on this list inspired more generations. Slasher films, cabin-in-the-woods movies, low-budget miracle movies—all are represented here. If you are a filmmaker, or you want to be, look at these films. Study these filmmakers. There is a way to do it. There is a way to make your movie without a big budget or any backing. More importantly, most of these movies were made going against the advice and conventional wisdom. So many people said it couldn’t be done. It wouldn’t work. Do you think Frank Henenlotter thought his tiny little movie would be watched and talked about 44 years later? Frank is 75 now and has had a long career, but do you realize how many people told him his idea was ridiculous? Go watch Basket Case. No one was cheering him on in making that film.
Don’t let anything stop you. This list is for all the filmmakers who are being told it cannot be done or those who wake up in the morning and think they are failing. You never know what’s going to happen. One of the reasons I put movies on this list that made money is because that’s the audience. You ne
ver know what they will love. Are you going to make the next great low-budget cult horror film? I hope this list inspires you. And I hope it helps to know that almost every writer, director, cinematographer, and even producer on this list were told they would never make anything great.
A Note from the Backyard
Every summer, as the sun goes down, I sit out by the fire in the warm night air, listening to the crickets, and I play movies on my projector. I have had a backyard movie theater for years, and I love being out there. I love watching these movies, and I just want you to know, you new and young filmmakers, I’m waiting to watch your movies. I’m waiting to play your underdog of a movie, your never-gonna-happen movie on my movie screen in the dark of night, with a bunch of my movie-loving friends, and I know it’s possible. More than that, there is someone already out here who wants to watch your film. I just thought you’d like to know.
*All photos are screenshots of the films. They are used here for promotional purposes.
Leave a comment.
So very happy to see Phantasm and The Town That Dreaded Sundown on here!
Critics loved Open Water! I remember the Ebert review and the EW reviews being very positive!