I have always loved horror movies. I grew up watching Chuck Acri’s Creature Feature every Friday on late night television. In this way I probably consumed most of the Universal monster movie library, numerous Hammer horror films, and a vast number of atomic monster movies popularized by Toho Co., Ltd and others  before I reached middle school. When I started expanding my vocabulary in grade school, some of the earliest words in my toolbox included lycanthrope, exsanguination, gothic, and macabre. When I was 10 I talked my Aunt Shirley into taking me to see The Exorcist at a nearby cinema. To this day it is one of the scariest movies I have ever seen and gave me nightmares for a month. When I was 12 my parents took me to see Jaws for the first time, after which I avoided any body of water, including the local swimming pool, for the remainder of the summer. 

You might think that all this early trauma and gut-wrenching fear would have turned me off to this particular genre of film forever, but it had quite the opposite effect. Once I managed to shake off the initial shock and terror, I couldn’t wait to see the next one. And, after all these years, that still hasn’t changed.

In honor of Halloween, which is just around the corner, I thought I’d put together a list of the greatest horror movies of all time, but there’s just too many of them! So, instead I broke my list up into subcategories. Instead of just one list, I thought I’d do a series of them, like “best vampire movies”, “best zombie movies”, and so on, and what better day to get started on than Friday the 13th (not included in this list).

Disclaimer: Any “best of” list is bound to be arbitrary. Your picks may be different than mine (and if so, I’d love to hear what they are). I only included films I have actually seen (in most cases, many, many times) and only included movies that I really love (and that totally gave me the heebie-jeebies). Without further ado, here is the first list.

Top 10 horror movies of the 21st-century (2000s and beyond), in no particular order:

  1. No One Will Save You (2023) – this film starts with a truly terrifying home invasion, and things just get worse from there. It is a clever psychological thriller about a young woman trapped in a nightmarish game of cat and mouse that comes to a very surprising conclusion.
  2. The Boogeyman (2023) – See my earlier review for more details on this one. The Boogeyman is a supernatural horror film that centers on a family’s harrowing experiences with a malevolent entity that forces them to confront their deepest fears. Based on the short story by Stephen King in his collection, Night Shift.
  3. The Black Phone (2021) – A clever 13-year-old boy is being held in a soundproof basement by a sadistic, masked killer. When a disconnected phone on the wall starts to ring, he discovers he can hear the voices of past victims and begins to unravel the mystery behind his and others abductions. Based on a short story by Joe Hill in his collection, 20th Century Ghosts.
  4. A Quiet Place (2018) – Directed by John Krasinski, this film explores a world where creatures hunt humans by sound, forcing a family to live in silence in order to survive. Unnerving to say the least, with great performances by John Krasinski and Emily Blunt.
  5. Hereditary (2018) – When the family matriarch passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry and the sinister fate they have inherited. Ari Aster is one of a new breed of film directors who possess a rare talent for creating disturbing imagery and inspiring intense performances. Hereditary is one of his best.
  6. The Babadook (2014) – Directed by Jennifer Kent, this Australian horror film tells the story of a mother and son haunted by a sinister presence from a mysterious pop-up book. One of the best horror films I’ve ever seen, dark, and deeply disturbing.
  7. The Conjuring (2013) – This film, directed by James Wan, is based on the case files of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, as they face malevolent spirits in a haunted house. There have been several sequels made at this point, but the first film is still the best.
  8. Get Out (2017) – The directorial debut of actor and comedian, Jordan Peele, this film does an excellent job of combining social commentary with horror. A young African American man visits his white girlfriend’s family, leading to a series of unsettling discoveries. Brilliantly written with excellent performances by everyone involved. This is the stuff of nightmares.
  9. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) – A chilling tale that explores the mystery surrounding the unidentified body of a young woman, with Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch delivering strong performances as the father-son coroner team who uncover disturbing secrets during the autopsy. The film’s clever narrative, atmospheric tension, and growing sense of unease make it truly extraordinary in the realm of psychological horror.
  10. The Invisible Man (2020) – A gripping adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells story, featuring Elisabeth Moss as a woman tormented by an unseen, abusive presence. The film offers a fresh take on the horror genre with its exploration of domestic abuse and psychological torment, and Moss’s exceptional performance keeps viewers guessing and on the edge of their seats.

Honorable mentions:

  1. Midsommar (2019) – A couple travels to Sweden to visit their friend’s rural hometown for its fabled midsummer festival, but what begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
  2. The Descent (2005) – Directed by Neil Marshall, this claustrophobic horror film follows a group of female friends as they descend into a system of unexplored caves and encounter nightmarish creatures with a taste for human flesh. Probably best if you watch this one with the lights on.
  3. The Cabin in the Woods (2012) – Directed by Drew Goddard and co-written by Joss Whedon, this film deconstructs the horror genre while telling the story of a group of friends trapped in a deadly scenario at a remote cabin. This is a fun roller-coaster of a movie with more twists and turns than a cheap garden hose.
  4. The Witch (2015) – A haunting and visually striking period horror film that delves into the paranoia and religious fervor of a 17th-century New England family as they encounter supernatural forces in the wilderness. Anya Taylor-Joy delivers a standout performance as the family’s eldest daughter, Thomasin.
  5. It Follows (2014) – Directed by David Robert Mitchell, this film features a relentless, shape-shifting entity that passes from person to person through sexual contact, creating a sense of dread and unease.

That’s it for this round. More to come…