21st Century Horror
Horror and horror-adjacent cinema from around the world from 2000 onward. We're living in the middle of a new golden age of horror, so I made this list to rank and keep track of the movies I've seen.
My definition of the horror genre is pretty broad, so in addition to pure horror in all of its many varieties, you'll also find some psychological thrillers, murder mysteries that I find particularly dark or bleak, disturbing art house films, horror comedies, serial killer biopics, and any other movie that creates an atmosphere of terror or dread in a way similar to traditional horror films.
My definition of the horror genre is pretty broad, so in addition to pure horror in all of its many varieties, you'll also find some psychological thrillers, murder mysteries that I find particularly dark or bleak, disturbing art house films, horror comedies, serial killer biopics, and any other movie that creates an atmosphere of terror or dread in a way similar to traditional horror films.
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- DirectorAri AsterStarsToni ColletteMilly ShapiroGabriel ByrneA grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.(Ari Aster, 2018) - 10/10
What can I even say? Loved it so much I’ve watched it three times already. Just absolutely nightmarish from start to finish, and there are enough layers of hidden symbolism to keep you coming back. Toni Collette should win an Oscar for this. Hail Paimon! - DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsHaruhiko KatôKumiko AsôKoyukiTwo groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.(Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2001) - 10/10
I've never seen a ghost movie as eerily off-putting as this one. The sound design and weird, wailing score in particular are bone-chilling. One of my new favorites from any genre, but now I have a phobia of women in black dresses and heels walking slowly. - DirectorGore VerbinskiStarsNaomi WattsMartin HendersonBrian CoxA journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it.(Gore Verbinski, 2002) - 10/10
Scared the shit out of me when I was twelve, and after ten or so viewings, it’s still near-perfect horror. The cursed video alone is pure nightmare fuel, and every aspect of the film is so perfectly unnerving and gloomy. Somehow it's even better than the J-horror original. - DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsChristos StergioglouMichele ValleyAngeliki PapouliaA controlling, manipulative father locks his three adult offsprings in a state of perpetual childhood by keeping them prisoner within the sprawling family compound.(Yorgos Lanthimos, 2009) - 10/10
Exceedingly strange but masterfully controlled, this Greek head trip will disturb you in ways you've never experienced. A couple inflicts constant psychological horror on their adult children, whose minds are so warped that they don't even realize it. - DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.(Tomas Alfredson, 2008) - 10/10
Once you've seen a few hundred horror flicks, you start to consider a movie a success if it has a couple decent jump scares, so when you get to savor a movie like this that not only tells a story, but tells it beautifully, it's a real revelation. But is it scary? Yes... oh yes. - DirectorGaspar NoéStarsMonica BellucciVincent CasselAlbert DupontelEvents over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in an underpass tunnel.(Gaspar Noé, 2002) - 10/10
Forget all the torture porn and gore movies out there, this is the most disturbing film I've ever seen. If you're not prepared to be truly, deeply horrified, watch something else. Thomas Bangalter's delirious score is a masterpiece of discomfort as well. - DirectorDavid Robert MitchellStarsMaika MonroeKeir GilchristOlivia LuccardiA young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.(David Robert Mitchell, 2014) - 9/10
Once or twice a decade you’re lucky enough to find a horror film that has everything. Here it’s the fresh concept of a nearly inescapable evil, the masterful wide-lens cinematography, the bowel-loosening electronic score, and the cold, forlorn setting the film inhabits. - DirectorDan GilroyStarsJake GyllenhaalRene RussoBill PaxtonWhen Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.(Dan Gilroy, 2014) - 9/10
Jake Gyllenhaal is Lou Bloom - a bug-eyed, cloyingly ingratiating everyday villain who may be the best creep in horror in twenty years. This movie is a noir-ish reminder that there’s something horrific happening not far from you every night. And it’s got my boy Bill Paxton. - DirectorJennifer KentStarsEssie DavisNoah WisemanDaniel HenshallA single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.(Jennifer Kent, 2014) - 9/10
This piece of good ol’ classic horror deserves all the praise it gets. There's a deeper dramatic story here, but even just at surface level, it's bloody scary, taking you back to a time when every shadow and creak sent you running to your parents’ room. - DirectorBen WheatleyStarsNeil MaskellMyAnna BuringHarry SimpsonNearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.(Ben Wheatley, 2011) - 9/10
The first time I watched this, I thought it was a dark crime movie until it suddenly veered into psychotically violent folk horror territory that’s like “The Wicker Man” on bath salts. Ben Wheatley wisely leaves the finer plot points obscured for maximum pagan cult terror. - DirectorJordan PeeleStarsDaniel KaluuyaAllison WilliamsBradley WhitfordA young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.(Jordan Peele, 2017) - 9/10
Believe the hype - it's rare that you find a horror film that flawlessly blends visceral thrills ‘n’ chills with big laughs and sharp social commentary, and even gets a Best Picture Oscar nomination to boot. Rankling the morons who think it's an “anti-white” film is just a bonus. - DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsTommy Lee JonesJavier BardemJosh BrolinViolence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.(Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, 2007) - 9/10
Most folks might not deign to call a Best Picture winner a horror movie, but hear me out: in addition to being perhaps the most pessimistic film ever, Anton Chigurh is essentially just Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers with a cooler weapon and slightly more dialogue. - DirectorMarco DutraJuliana RojasStarsIsabél ZuaaMarjorie EstianoMiguel LoboClara, a lonely nurse from the outskirts of São Paulo, is hired by mysterious and wealthy Ana as the nanny for her unborn child. The two women develop a strong bond, but a fateful night changes their plans.(Marco Dutra & Juliana Rojas, 2017) - 9/10
Many werewolf movies are kinda the same, but I can't say that about this Brazilian lesbian werewolf horror-musical. What "Let the Right One In" did for vampires, this does for werewolves: it takes a standard horror theme and makes it beautiful and moving. - DirectorJames WanStarsPatrick WilsonVera FarmigaRon LivingstonParanormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.(James Wan, 2013) - 9/10
It doesn’t look like Hollywood is going to stop pumping out "The Conjuring" sequels and spin-offs anytime soon, and it’s not surprising considering that this is one of those bona fide timeless horror classics that will probably still be scaring people in thirty years. - DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.(Chan-Wook Park, 2003) - 9/10
A cult hit if there ever was one, this blend of high art and filthy pulp was the top “can you believe this??” movie of my teenage years. I don't get why it's considered more a thriller than horror - the twist no one can ever forget is 1000x more horrifying than thrilling. - DirectorOmar KhanStarsKunwar Ali RoshanRooshanie EjazRubya ChaudhryOn their way to a concert, a group of teens are diverted by a political protest, only to encounter a family of flesh-hungry psychopaths.(Omar Khan, 2007) - 9/10
Turns out “Pakistan’s First Gore Film” is fun as hell. It’s got the same DIY edge as early slashers like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” but instead of Leatherface, you get a guy in a burqa swinging a giant flail. Zany, trippy, (unintentionally?) hilarious, and just rad. - DirectorRainer SarnetStarsRea LestJörgen LiikArvo KukumägiIn a poor Estonian village, a group of peasants use magic and folk remedies to survive the winter, and a young woman tries to get a young man to love her.(Rainer Sarnet, 2017) - 9/10
This dazzlingly weird and beautiful dark folktale features a menagerie of odd creatures from Estonian lore, and I particularly love the “kratid” - rickety creations of bone and old tools who steal cows, and “Vanapagan” - the Devil in the form of a drunken fool. - DirectorJeremy SaulnierStarsAnton YelchinImogen PootsAlia ShawkatA punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar.(Jeremy Saulnier, 2015) - 9/10
We all hate Nazis (if you don’t then gtfo my list), so most horror that portrays them as shotgun fodder is good vicarious fun. But here we see them as real people who don't think twice about murdering an entire punk band. It’s visceral, real life terror and excitement. - DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsLee Byung-hunChoi Min-sikJeon Gook-hwanA secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.(Jee-Woon Kim, 2010) - 9/10
High in the running for most intense movie I've ever seen - it's often described as a cat-and-mouse game, but it's really more like watching two pit bulls rip each other to pieces. It's also got that uniquely Korean high-caliber storytelling that makes it a legitimate epic. - DirectorMarcin WronaStarsItay TiranAgnieszka ZulewskaAndrzej GrabowskiA bridegroom is possessed by an unquiet spirit in the midst of his own wedding celebration, in this clever take on the Jewish legend of the dybbuk.(Marcin Wrona, 2015) - 9/10
Bizarro, darkly comic Polish take on the Yiddish legend of the "dybbuk" demon that takes place at Poland’s strangest, drunkest wedding reception. A great trilingual film with fascinating glimpses of Poland's fractured past. RIP to the brilliant Marcin Wrona. - DirectorFede AlvarezStarsStephen LangJane LevyDylan MinnetteHoping to walk away with a massive fortune, a trio of thieves break into the house of a blind man who isn't as helpless as he seems.(Fede Álvarez, 2016) - 8/10
Word to the wise - don't go breaking into old houses in Detroit. It will not end well. This movie uses that bit of common sense to give a masterclass in taut, nail-biting intensity. Sure, it's a bit gimmicky, but dammit, they're great gimmicks! - DirectorSean ByrneStarsXavier SamuelRobin McLeavyJohn BrumptonWhen Brent turns down his classmate Lola's invitation to the prom, she concocts a wildly violent plan for revenge.(Sean Byrne, 2009) - 8/10
This Aussie flick is goddamn insane and disturbing, but also kinda hilarious. It nails the early 2000’s teen movie aesthetic perfectly, but, y’know, it’s about a family that kidnaps and tortures a dude on the night of the big school dance. - DirectorDavid FincherStarsJake GyllenhaalRobert Downey Jr.Mark RuffaloBetween 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.(David Fincher, 2007) - 8/10
Although this dramatic take on the story behind one of America's most infamous mysteries is not horror per se, the murder scenes, particularly the one at Lake Berryessa, are some of the most horrifying in film history, and the subtle climax is remarkably chilling. - DirectorBen WheatleyStarsJulian BarrattPeter FerdinandoRichard GloverAmid the Civil War in 17th-century England, a group of deserters flee from battle through an overgrown field. Captured by an alchemist, the men are forced to help him search to find a hidden treasure that he believes is buried in the field.(Ben Wheatley, 2013) - 8/10
A one-of-a-kind experience (unless you can name any other psychedelic period horror movies about battling alchemists) filled with scenes that are captivating and unsettling in ways difficult to describe. Some might find it frustrating, but I think it's borderline genius. - DirectorKaryn KusamaStarsLogan Marshall-GreenEmayatzy CorinealdiMichiel HuismanWhen a man accepts an invitation to a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife, the unsettling past reopens old wounds and creates new tensions.(Karyn Kusama, 2015) - 8/10
This will make you hate Los Angeles rich people more than you already do, and you might find yourself shrieking in frustration a few times as the protagonist tries in vain to prevent the seemingly inevitable. Great flick if you’re into weird cults and/or canapés.