1. Nosferatu
Movie: Nosferatu (1922)
A monster so iconic that even his shadow is instantly recognisable, director FW Murnau and star Max Schreck’s creation is 100 years old and still standing. Their film was conceived as a way to make a Dracula film in the absence of the rights to do so, but Nosferatu became its own, entirely separate thing. The vampire’s bald head, pointed ears and high collar influenced all movie lore that followed, even shaping Dracula stories so that daylight is now usually fatal rather than mildly inconvenient as in the book. Maybe that’s because Nosferatu was too scary without a sure-fire way to stop him: we needed to know that this silent menace, rake-thin and stooped over his victims, could be stopped.—Helen O’Hara