It's hard to talk about "must-see" films, because there are many influential/popular films in the genre that I haven't yet seen myself.
Definitely agree that Ringu/The Ring was awesome, though.
Personally, I'd throw Nosferatu on the list. It's old as balls, and yeah, some people will find the whole silent film aspect a turn-off, but I must say, there are some pretty creepy moments, especially if you're watching it alone on a stormy night.
A lot of the other films I would recommend are not necessarily ones that are famous or influential, though. Just ones I liked.
Livide is one of these - it's a French film, and I haven't found a version with good subtitles so watching it is an exercise in decoding Franglais, but the visuals are gorgeous, the haunted-house setup is really creepy in and of itself (you can tell it's an evil house; it just has that feeling), and the relationship between the monster (well, one of them) and the protagonist really interested me.
... And I just realized that all the other films I want to list are Norwegian. Død snø, Fritt vilt, De dødes tjern, Trolljegeren... Not that Norway is amazing at making films in the horror genre; I think it's just that all of these incorporate a trope that I like in horror - being trapped in a remote place out in the middle of the wilderness, preferably in winter, and encountering some terrible thing there and being unable to escape from it. (Though Trolljegeren doesn't quite map onto this pattern precisely, but it does have elements of it at various points in the movie)
Re: 31 Days of Meme Halloween
It's hard to talk about "must-see" films, because there are many influential/popular films in the genre that I haven't yet seen myself.
Definitely agree that Ringu/The Ring was awesome, though.
Personally, I'd throw Nosferatu on the list. It's old as balls, and yeah, some people will find the whole silent film aspect a turn-off, but I must say, there are some pretty creepy moments, especially if you're watching it alone on a stormy night.
A lot of the other films I would recommend are not necessarily ones that are famous or influential, though. Just ones I liked.
Livide is one of these - it's a French film, and I haven't found a version with good subtitles so watching it is an exercise in decoding Franglais, but the visuals are gorgeous, the haunted-house setup is really creepy in and of itself (you can tell it's an evil house; it just has that feeling), and the relationship between the monster (well, one of them) and the protagonist really interested me.
... And I just realized that all the other films I want to list are Norwegian. Død snø, Fritt vilt, De dødes tjern, Trolljegeren... Not that Norway is amazing at making films in the horror genre; I think it's just that all of these incorporate a trope that I like in horror - being trapped in a remote place out in the middle of the wilderness, preferably in winter, and encountering some terrible thing there and being unable to escape from it. (Though Trolljegeren doesn't quite map onto this pattern precisely, but it does have elements of it at various points in the movie)