Top 20 Horror films of the 2000s...

You took my top three! Well done. Drag Me To Hell has to be top 10 though.

(No way the falling star Slither is better!)

Some great stuff released this decade.

My Top 10:

The Ring (Remake)

The Descent

Drag Me To Hell

Inside

The Mist

A Tale Of Two Sisters

Let The Right One In

Session 9

Hostel

28 Days Later


I would add Shaun, but I have a hard time considering it a horror.

I know you all are waiting with baited breath and all, but I'll get around to making my list a little bit later today after doing some research. I hope more chewers chime in with some unexpected choices. Seems like it should be fun.

I know it isn't very popular around here, but The Strangers belongs on that list. I found it very effective and genuinely creepy.

Nothing beats The Descent for me, though.

I'm not enough of a horror wonk to have a list of my own, but I don't see how Funny Games could not crack anyone's top 20. It's maybe not "scary" in as straightforward a fashion as a typical slasher, but it's as tense and unsettling as movies come.

Of the stuff on it that I've seen, I really dig a lot of what BrundleFlyboy's got for his list here, and I couldn't agree more with what he has as his #1, but anytime I see a mention of Haute Tension, I see red. God, I hate that fucking movie.

Here is my increasingly rambling list. please forgive the length.

I enjoyed making this list. Horror is a perennial love of mine and my siblings. The 2000's were a good time for horror films despite what many fans of the genre might claim. The "torture porn" sub-genre seemed to get all the press for a time but was really just a footnote among all the quality films that were put out the last decade. Choosing this list was hard, a veritable "Sophie's Choice" of near classic horror films. Eventually I had to choose based on the impact each film had on me.

It seemed to me that at times movies could make the list despite being barely coherent, unsatisfying or even seemingly unfinished. Images in a few cases here were the strongest part of the decision to include them. Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci are horror legends more so because of the images they've created on screen than for the narrative story they told. Likewise a few of these entries fail as a wholly crafted film but succeed in making unsettling images. This is not true for the majority of these films, but it's important to note as I could level some serious complaints against a few of these films but deep down have found something nightmarish to latch onto.

Without further ado, here is the list.

20. Gozu (dir. Takashi Miike)- I didn't know whether to include this film or not since it's not really a horror film. Ultimately, like I said above, it was about the atmosphere and scenarios that Miike and occasional screenwriting partner Sakichi Sato created. The movie is one long uncomfortable dream.

19. May (dir. Lucky McKee)- Overall too cute to make it to the top of the list. The movie builds to a pretty effective and memorable finish that stays with you. The title might be my little bias.

18. Machine Girl (dir. Noboru Iguchi)- I'm really not a gorehound. I appreciate gore as much as any horror buff, but I don't enjoy gore for the sake of gore. Machine Girl takes gore and makes a party out of it. Alcohol will probably be cited as a reason for this films inclusion and it will not be the only one. Kentaro Shimazu kills as samurai obsessed father of one of the machine girls targets.

17. Behind the Mask:The Rise of Leslie Vernon (dir.Scott Glosserman)- Not really scary or even completely original, Behind the Mask gets my nod for cleverness and the performance of the lead Nathan Baesel as Leslie Vernon. Much like the similar and superior Man Bites Dog, it's the charismatic lead performance the carries a lot of water.

16. Suicide Club (dir. Shion Sono)- This movie bothered me. The plot seems willfully obtuse and the movie doesn't really answer anything it asks, but moments of this movie will live in your consciousness for some time. I haven't revisited it since initially seeing it mainly because it tends to meander towards the end, but I haven't forgotten much of this film anyways.

15. Paranormal Activity (dir. Oren Peli)- This movie was a horror phenomenon. People ate this film up. I'm not putting it on my list because of its impact nor its popularity. This movie makes the list for making me dread the darkness outside that door.

14. Wild Zero (dir. Tesuro Takeuchi)- Do you suck at hosting parties? Get your choice of alcohol or other enhancer and pop this film in. It kills, trust me.

13. Hostel (dir. Eli Roth)- it was a tossup between this film and its sequel. The sequel is probably the better movie, but it was merely standing on the shoulders of this one. While the initial shock has worn off, the film gleefully exposed us as the voyeurs we truly remain.

12. Devil's Backbone/ Pan's Labyrinth (dir. Guillermo del Toro)- This is me cheating. I couldn't choose. Pan's is more of my favored of the two and a couple of scenes are wonderful nightmares, but to me the Devil's Backbone is more thoroughly a horror film. Nevertheless the films both present children in terrible situations experiencing understandably troubling events. Guillermo has never been better than these two.

11. Calvaire (dir. Fabrice Du Welz)- From the opening scenes of the main character performing songs for a group of sad old women, this movie had me feeling queasy. Phillipe Nahon is terrific as the very disturbed man lusting after the Laurent Lucas, a feeling possibly shared by a whole town. Dreadfully claustrophobic and unconfortable. Du Welz has my attention even past the mediocre Vinyan.

10. A Tale of Two Sisters (dir. Ji-woon Kim)- The surprise of this film is that it is not merely another horror film in the J-horror vein. It has a lot of the conventions of the sub-genre but where it truly deviates is in transforming from a supernatural thriller into a tragedy. This one lefts me surprised and a little moved.

9. Final Destination 2 (dir. David R. Ellis)- It's really amazing how much goodwill this series received based almost entirely on this entry. It's completely stripped down popcorn horror. This is pure gruesome death gold. I wonder if some of the set pieces in this film will ever be topped. Oh and it has too much fun subverting your expectations.

8. The Descent (dir. Neil Marshall)- This movie seemed to improve, for me, upon multiple viewings. The first time I saw it the scenes prior to the appearance of the bat monsters were the strongest and the movie went downhill upon their appearance. I still think the cave in scen early on is one of the best in the film, but this movie seems to almost one up the claustrophobia of the early parts by making it about the claustrophobia of darkness later on.

7. Drag Me to Hell (dir. Sam Raimi)- I seem to like this movie the more I think about it. Don't get me wrong , I quite loved it when I saw it in theaters (did you? you bastard!), but the energy of this plot seems to become more apparent to me when I contemplate the thing as a whole. Each memorable moment leads the next until it ends as it only could have, in the manner most cruel to the heroine. P.s. I love all the theories concerning this movie that have sprung up since as well.

6. The Mist (dir. Frank Darabont)- This feels so much like the good old style message horror of George Romero and Rod Serling, hell if anything it feels like the bastard child of the two genre luminaries. Much in the same vein of the Twilight Zone and Night of the Living Dead, you just know it won't end up okay.

5. Kairo (dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa)- This movie really seems to split people. I don't quite understand why. To me this movie has some of the most unnerving ghost scenes put to celluloid since the Robert Wise The Haunting. At times it feels like Kurosawa wants to make us feel alone while watching this movie, going so far as to leave the viewer in a room with a ghost while the character flees. Tone is the true triumph of this film though. We are all alone.

4. The Host (dir. Joon-ho Bong)- NOt much of a horror movie really, but quite the great monster movie. The shifts from comedy to drama to action back to comedy might frustrate some western viewers, but it works so well and if anything makes the film feel at times more real than one that adheres more to one or the other. Well paced and masterfully executed, just an endlessly rewatchable movie.

3. Shaun of the Dead (dir. Edgar Wright)- At this point I feel like there is too much comedy on this list and the list is getting watered down. Good thing this is a total horror film. It just has funny characters populating it. I don't think I need to say much about this movie, most people just get it.

2. Audition (dir. Takashi Miike)- Might be perceived as a cheat in that it is listed as being from 99. It was released in 2000, so that's my defense. Just a perfect little psychological horror film. Every time I watch this movie, new notions about its ambiguous ending seem to spring into my mind. If you haven't seen this movie, don't read a damn thing about it, just see it.

1. Let the Right One In (dir. Tomas Alfredson)- This movie just works beautifully. While Oskar and Eli are both repugnant in their own ways, together they are something else. While I find cynicism lying all around the story, to me Oskar and Eli feel genuine. There is no great triumph for them and there never was going to be. I could talk about this film all day, but that should be reserved for the proper format, suffice to say it's a masterpiece. If you haven't seen it, do so.

Alright, that is my list. Probably not terribly controversial or anything, but I felt the need to write it out so there you go. I'd love to see more lists if more people are willing to share. Here is my list of the also notables in no particular order.

Quarantine
Splinter
Slither
Cloverfield
Trick r Treat
Ginger Snaps
Ju-on
Grindhouse
Poultrygeist
Land of the Dead
Tokyo Gore Police
Dawn of the Dead
28 Days Later
Cabin Fever
Dog Soldiers
The Call of Cthulhu
Dagon
Frailty
Jeepers Creepers
The Ring (Gore Verbinski)
The Eye
Bubba Ho-Tep
Toolbox Murders
Uzumaki

In chronological order:
The Devil's Backbone
Frailty
Session 9
The Ring (remake)
Cabin Fever
Bubba Ho-Tep
Shaun of the Dead
The Devil's Rejects
Wolf Creek
The Descent
Hard Candy
[REC]
1408 (not too scary, but a hell of a lot of fun)
The Mist
Severance
Funny Games
Let the Right One In
The Strangers
Drag Me to Hell
Paranormal Activity

May's list is good, if not for the absence of REC and him putting garbage Quarantine.

Wild Zero? Nice one sir. Dawn of the Dead really is a top 20 choice. What a nice remake it was.

OK, I'm only doing what I would consider straight horror, so no SHAUN OF THE DEAD's or PAN'S LABYRINTH's and whatnot. Also, even though there were plenty more films I liked my mind can't rank past 10, sorry.

10. [REC] -- Fuck QUARANTINE, this is the real version. Possessed zombies are so much scarier than rabies zombies, fuck plausibility. And that thing at the end creeped the hell out of me.

9. THE ORPHANAGE -- Second best ghost story of the decade, a great atmospheric thriller which has the best jump scare. You know what I'm talking about.

8. THE DESCENT -- The pulse-pounder of the list. A tense, claustrophobic nightmare.

7. GINGER SNAPS -- This film has my heart; of all in my list this is the one I feel most affection for. A great little film about werewolves and menstruation. What's not to love? Other than some dodgy FX, that is.

6. THE RING (US) -- The decade's best ghost story. Hats off to the original, but the US version has great atmosphere of it's own and works better for me 'cause I'm American dammit.

5. 28 DAYS LATER/28 WEEKS LATER -- It may be blasphemous to lump them together, but they feel like a continuing narrative and I like them both exactly the same.

4. INSIDE -- The most visceral film of the decade and a great twist on the slasher genre.

3. ANTICHRIST -- Pure horror art. Cerebral & visceral.

2. DRAG ME TO HELL -- The best time I had in a theater. A master returns.

1. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN -- The whole package -- art/horror, even fun in places.

Honorable mentions,

HOSTEL II -- The best "torture porn" film IMO, unfairly maligned.
I KNOW WHO KILLED ME -- This is a real giallo and total WTF film. Love it.
TRICK R TREAT -- 80's style anthology. Nuff said.
MARTYRS -- LOVE the first half, less so the second.
JENNIFER'S BODY -- Lots of fun but treads the same ground as the superior GINGER SNAPS.
DAWN OF THE DEAD -- A good time but I prefer the 28 DAYS films for running zombies.
THE HILLS HAVE EYES -- Alexander Aja is arguably the most interesting "new" horror director and this is his best work IMO.
MAY -- A great creepy little character study but not quite horrific enough to make my list. More of an "indie" film in my mind.
THE MIST -- Love it but it seems less perfect with every viewing for some reason.
FREDDY VS. JASON -- The fanboy in me had a blast with this. Yeah, it's dumb, but satisfying.

The movie that fucked my shit up the most goes to IRREVERSIBLE. I don't consider it horror so it doesn't make the list, but I fell it merits mention.

On that note, No Country For Old Men scared me more than 95% of the horror movies I saw the last decade.

Another addition which might not make the top 10, but damn well deserves to be mentioned: Wrong Turn 2

EDIT: I'm confounded by the 28 Weeks Later love. It's a decent flick (and Jeremy Renner's always awesome), but not a patch on the original, imo.

In no particular order (and May's list is probably the best, so far):
Drag Me to Hell
Let the Right One In
[REC]
The Mist
The Host
Pan's Labyrinth
The Call of Cthulhu
Calvaire
Shaun of the Dead
A Tale of Two Sisters
Dark Water
Funny Games
The Devil's Backbone
Kairo
Ginger Snaps
Inland Empire
Paranormal Activity
Behind the Mask
Them
Trick R Treat
Open Water

The Descent
The Grudge
Trick R Treat

1. The Mist

2. Let The Right One In

3. Kairo

4. Session 9

5. The Host

6. My Little Eye

7. Ju-On

8. [REC]

9. Frailty

10. Joy Ride

11. 28 Days Later

12. Drag Me To Hell

13. Paranormal Activity

14. The Collingswood Story

15. The Strangers

16. Ichi The Killer

17. Cloverfield

18. Hills Have Eyes remake

19. Jeepers Creepers

20. Dawn remake


As far as other honorable mentions from the decade...

Asian stuff: Battle Royale, Uzumaki, Dark Water, The Eye, Suicide Circle, Three Extremes, Another Heaven, Shutter, One Missed Call, A Tale of Two Sisters, Marebito, Gong Tau, Human Pork Chop (CAT III represent), Rahtree

UK stuff: Isolation, Shaun of the Dead, 28 Weeks Later, Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Severance, Creep, The Cottage, Wilderness

French stuff: Them, Haute Tension, Inside, The Crimson Rivers 1, Malefique, Deep in the Woods, Sheitan

Other Randoms I loved or at least liked quite a bit:
Below
Rogue
Vacancy
The Girl Next Door
Soft for Digging
Hannibal
Darkness
Mimic: Sentinel
Hostel 1 and 2
Abominable
Ginger Snaps 1 and 2
Land of the Dead
Sleepless
Bug
Jeepers 2
The Abandoned
The Others
The Orphanage
From Hell
Dagon
Mothman Prophecies
Saw 1
Wrong Turn 1
Lost Souls
The Ruins
1408
Identity
Anatomy
Final Destination 1 and 2
Slither
Resident Evil and Silent Hill
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
The Devil's Rejects

I somehow forgot about Thirst.
Mind you, so did other people.

Yeah. As recently as I watched that film you'd have thought I'd remember to include Thirst. It mos def would have made my list.

Also, I'm ashamed to say I've never seen REC, it may have made the list otherwise.

THE ORPHANAGE deserves far more love in this thread.

I guess for most people it won't be released until the next decade, but The Human Centipede certainly stands up there with any of the films you guys are listing.

I disagree, I find nothing terribly scary or original in that movie.

Yeah. I was bored with it, honestly.

Nice to see another fan. I love it. It's got a great, cold miserable location. Confident direction gives the film a really dark atmosphere and strong sense of dread. It's a pretty original idea for a creature. John Lynch (of Chimera fame!) carries most of the acting, and he's quality. Barely shown monster, but this isn't a typical monster movie (there's no cheese at this dairy farm). Lots try, but this is one of the few that really get that Alien vibe.

Entirely agree.
There was a decent tragic, non-horror ghost story in there somewhere trying to get out, but what we got was a fairly unsubtle mess that borrowed far too much without good reason.

Do any of you guys have children?

Just interested about fatherhood's possible impact on my evaluation of THE ORPHANAGE.

I'd be much more interested in seeing the impact of The Brood on a parent.

I don't, probably never will and THE ORPHANAGE made my top ten for what it's worth.

Orphanage wouldn't make my list, but it's well put together, and I rather do like the ending.

Surprised to see The Abandoned on the list. I like Cerda, but I seem to remember that movie coming out alongside a group of similar looking shitty ghost house movies, so I never caught it. Guess I'll queue it up.