In the 1980s, male protagonists dominated TV detective mysteries. Tom Selleck was the epitome of cool on Magnum, P.I., as were Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas on Miami Vice, while Simon & Simon paired Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker together as private investigator brothers. One small-screen detective, however, was not like the others. In 1984, Murder, She Wrote debuted on CBS, starring the near-60-year-old Angela Lansbury in the lead role of Jessica Fletcher. Today, 30 years after its last episode aired in 1996, Murder, She Wrote is still a big streaming hit, now topping the charts on the Apple TV store.

The horror genre isn't for everyone. Some movie fans simply find the genre too scary or too gory for their tastes. They'd rather watch something happy, funny, or thrilling, rather than spend 90 minutes with dark themes about death and terror. Still, for those who want to give horror a chance, there is a way to ease into scary movies. Rather than the gore of Evil Dead, the depressing subject matter of Midsommar, or the high body count of a Friday the 13th movie, these ten horror movies are all classics but are lighter on the body count and blood. If you're giving horror a chance for the first time, check out these fright fests. You won't be disappointed. In fact, it may kick off your lifetime love of the genre.

When Mindhunter debuted on Netflix in 2017, it became an immediate hit. For two seasons, David Fincher's psychological thriller followed two FBI agents tracking down the worst killers. Mindhunter ended much too soon in 2019, but if you're searching for something similar and missed out on it the first time around, check out HBO's The Outsider. The 2020 miniseries is an adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name. It follows two detective-types as well, played to perfection by Ben Mendelsohn and Cynthia Erivo, as they come face to face with a different, even more terrifying kind of killer. Produced, co-directed, and co-starring Jason Bateman, The Outsider only needed one season to tell its shocking story.

In Hollywood, making money is often more important than all else. That's why cinemas are filled with so many sequels and comic book movies. An already established IP is easier to sell than something audiences have never heard of before. It's the same reason why there are so many reboots and remakes. There was a wave of them in horror throughout the 2000s, and there continues to be across all genres with mixed results. For every success, such as Dune, there's an unnecessary Disney live-action reboot, or a disastrous reimagining, like The Crow. Bill Skarsgård's turn as Eric Draven wasn't exactly awful, but no one wanted to see a reboot of what Brandon Lee created. Some movies mean so much to audiences that they want them left alone forever. These eight classics fall into that category.

Most horror movies are steeped in death. After all, the scariest thing most of us can imagine is the idea of our own demise. In slashers like Halloween and Scream, killers hack their way through unsuspecting victims. The Saw and Terrifier franchises are famous for their life-ending gore.

No two movie franchises have had a bigger impact on film than Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. It's impossible to measure what the original Star Wars trilogy has meant to pop culture. There have been a plethora of movies and TV series since, and a half-century after the first movie debuted, the franchise remains as popular as ever. The same can be said for The Lord of the Rings. Peter Jackson's original trilogy is Oscar-winning perfection, and it too has had several spinoffs.

Ask someone what the greatest action movie ever made is, and there's a good chance Die Hard will be the answer. Even Collider puts it at number one. It's easy to see why. The plot of a New York City cop fighting terrorists in a Los Angeles skyscraper is simple but thrilling. It turned Bruce Willis, who starred as the heroic John McClane, into an action icon, and its villain, played by Alan Rickman, in his first ever film role, was so good that few can match him. Die Hard created a franchise and a host of imitators over the years. Only a select few action movies can say that they are better than Die Hard. These five argue the case better than any other.

Few directors have meant as much to film history as Steven Spielberg. From the 1970s, all the way to today, with his latest movie, Disclosure Day, Spielberg has created one classic after another. Thrillers, horror, war, even animation, Spielberg has done it all. The director also knows how important it is to deliver a powerful ending that stays in the minds of viewers long after the end credits roll. These eight movies are unforgettable for a variety of reasons, but it's their final acts and last scenes which put them on a different level as all-time greats.