It’s easy to dismiss movies as nothing more than entertainment, but sometimes the summer blockbuster, the Oscar-contender, or the obscure indie-house darling lead to major changes in how the world works. These developments may surprise or even dismay the filmmakers who had only intended to create a compelling story. Steven Spielberg has famously expressed regret for his possible role in the “Jaws effect,” the widespread irrational fear of sharks triggered by the success of Jaws (1975). According to experts, the movie led to an uptick in commercial fishing for the animals, and per Smithsonian, the number of large sharks in the waters off North America decreased by around 50 percent in the years following the release of Jaws.
Check out some other movies that have made tangible changes to our world in weird and unforeseen ways.
- The China Syndrome (1979)
- Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
- Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- Field of Dreams (1989)
- Victim (1961)
- Spectre (2015)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
The China Syndrome (1979)
Released on March 16, 1979, this political thriller about safety problems in nuclear power plants seemed prescient when the nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania melted down just 12 days later. It remains the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, although there were no injuries or deaths.
The China Syndrome coinciding with Three Mile Island pushed public sentiment definitively away from nuclear energy, and construction of new nuclear power plants ground nearly to a halt for more than 30 years.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
The depiction of Satanism in Rosemary’s Baby kicked off a lasting trend of Catholic-themed horror films—and the evocative imagery director Roman Polanski created, based on Ira Levin’s novel, also entered the public consciousness as plausible behavior for devil worshippers. This became abundantly clear two decades later during the satanic panic of the 1980s, when descriptions of alleged satanic ritual abuse resembled Hollywood’s version of events.
One case of satanic panic, the McMartin Preschool abuse trial—in which parents accused preschool employees of child molestation and performing satanic rituals that included flying while dressed as witches—was actually two trials over the course of seven years that cost $15 million, making it the longest and most expensive criminal trial in American history. There were no convictions, and experts today generally agree that there was nothing to the allegations.
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Considered by some to be the most influential movie of the last 40 years, Silence of the Lambs launched a spate of gritty police procedurals and crime dramas, many featuring strong female characters (The X-Files was among the shows that drew direct inspiration from the film). The prevalence of this kind of media—where law enforcement protagonists almost always catch the bad guy (unless he’s a brilliant psychopath who’s fun to watch)—has demonstrably affected our culture’s views of policing and police brutality [PDF].
Field of Dreams (1989)
“If you build it, they will come” has become a cliche over the years—but state governments have taken the advice literally. Starting with the 1992 construction of Camden Yards in Baltimore, Field of Dreams triggered a nostalgia-fueled, 25-stadium, $9 billion taxpayer-funded spending spree.
These stadiums, and the policymakers who use public funds to build them, may promise a return to a simpler, more baseball-centric time—just like Kevin Costner’s character got in his field of dreams. Instead, public funds and nostalgia are often being turned into private profit, and taxpayer-subsidized stadiums don’t even generate enough revenue to repay the public investment of building them.
Victim (1961)
Homosexuality was heavily policed in the United Kingdom when this British thriller came out, and the movie’s lead actor, Dirk Bogarde, lost his matinee idol status after the film’s release. The story follows a closeted married lawyer who stands up to blackmailers. The plot was controversial, but it depicted a common occurrence among the queer community of Britain.
Censors gave Victim an X rating for using the word homosexual, but some believe it helped accelerate the decriminalization of homosexuality in the UK. Lord Arran, who brought the legislation to parliament, wrote a personal letter of thanks to Bogarde for his courage in acting in the film.
Spectre (2015)
In the sumptuous opening sequence of 2015’s Spectre, Daniel Craig’s James Bond follows his quarry through a Day of the Dead parade through Mexico City. But the event was never part of the traditional Mexican celebration—it had been invented for the film.
Rather than disappoint any Bond-loving tourists who may have planned future vacations to the city expecting a parade, the Mexican government decided to give them what they wanted. As of 2016, Mexico City has a Day of the Dead parade, and the new tradition is all thanks to Bond, James Bond.
Taxi Driver (1976)
On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel when would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr. began firing on the president. Hinckley was obsessed with Taxi Driver and its main character, Travis Bickle, as well as its lead actress, Jodie Foster, whom he began stalking. He was determined to commit violence to impress her.
Hinckley fired six shots that day, injuring four people—including the president and White House Press Secretary James Brady, who was left partially paralyzed. Brady became an advocate for gun control measures and introduced the Brady Bill in 1987, which mandates a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases. President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law in 1993.
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The Scariest Movie the Year You Were Born
Have you watched the film that terrified horror fans during your birth year?
ByNitya Rao|Oct 14, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT
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Unlike the lifeless victims left in their wake, the best scary movies tend to age well. Sometimes, they even grow alongside us, especially when it comes to the horror film linked to your birth year.
Scary movies have come a long way, from silent supernatural films in the 1920s to sleek psychological thrillers and 2000s remakes that rival the originals. The 1930s birthed some of our favorite classic monsters, immortalized in films like Dracula and Frankenstein. The ’60s brought horror much closer to home, with staples like Psycho and Rosemary’s Baby playing on real-life fears like secluded serial killers and possessed pregnancies.
By the time ’80s babies arrived, box offices were booming with slasher hits like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street, with Freddy Krueger introducing a supernatural side to the subgenre.
Some films were overshadowed by later sequels, while others became horror blueprints the moment they hit theaters. So, what was the scariest horror movie the year you were born? To solve the mystery, Reader’s Digest looked at Rotten Tomatoes’ rankings, audience reviews, and overall scare factor to find the freakiest film for every year from 1950 to 2005. Whether you’re a Boomer, a Millennial, or somewhere in between, would you still rewatch your scary movie twin today?
The Horror Classic from Your Birth Year
1950
House by the River, directed by Fritz Lang
1951
The Thing from Another World, directed by Christian Nyby
1952
The White Reindeer, directed by Erik Blomberg
1953
House of Wax, directed by André De Toth
1954
Them!, directed by Gordon Douglas
1955
Diabolique, directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
1956
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, directed by Don Siegel
1957
Night of the Demon, directed by Jacques Tourneur
1958
The Fly, directed by Kurt Neumann
1959
House on Haunted Hill, directed by William Castle
1960
Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock
1961
The Innocents, directed by Jack Clayton
1962
Carnival of Souls, directed by Herk Harvey
1963
The Haunting, directed by Robert Wise
1964
Onibaba, directed by Kaneto Shindō
1965
Repulsion, directed by Roman Polanski
1966
Kill, Baby … Kill!, directed by Mario Bava
1967
Viy, directed by Konstantin Yershov and Georgi Kropachyov
1968
Night of the Living Dead, directed by George A. Romero
1969
The Cremator, directed by Juraj Herz
1970
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, directed by Dario Argento
1971
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, directed by John D. Hancock
1972
The Last House on the Left, directed by Wes Craven
1973
The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin
1974
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, directed by Tobe Hooper
1975
Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg
1976
The Omen, directed by Richard Donner
1977
Suspiria, directed by Dario Argento
1978
Halloween, directed by John Carpenter
1979
Alien, directed by Ridley Scott
1980
The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick
1981
The Evil Dead, directed by Sam Raimi
1982
The Thing, directed by John Carpenter
1983
The Entity, directed by Sidney J. Furie
1984
A Nightmare on Elm Street, directed by Wes Craven
1985
Day of the Dead, directed by George A. Romero
1986
The Fly, directed by David Cronenberg
1987
Hellraiser, directed by Clive Barker
1988
The Vanishing, directed by George Sluizer
1989
Pet Sematary, directed by Mary Lambert
1990
Misery, directed by Rob Reiner
1991
The Silence of the Lambs, directed by Jonathan Demme
1992
Candyman, directed by Bernard Rose
1993
Body Snatchers, directed by Abel Ferrara
1994
In the Mouth of Madness, directed by John Carpenter
1995
Se7en, directed by David Fincher
1996
Scream, directed by Wes Craven
1997
Event Horizon, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
1998
Ringu, directed by Hideo Nakata
1999
The Blair Witch Project, directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez
2000
Final Destination, directed by James Wong
2001
The Others, directed by Alejandro Amenábar
2002
The Ring, directed by Gore Verbinski
2003
A Tale of Two Sisters, directed by Kim Jee-woon
2004
Saw, directed by James Wan
2005
The Descent, directed by Neil Marshall
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