The Best Horror Movies So Far This Century

This indie horror film debuted at Cannes and went on to become a cult classic with enduring cultural cachet. Haunted by a sexually transmitted curse, a young woman (Maika Monroe) must outwit deadly invisible stalkers. Director David Robert Mitchell has cited filmmakers such as John Carpenter and George Romero as key influences on the movie’s style and tone.

Director M. Night Shyamalan was in the midst of an epic career comeback when he released this blockbuster thriller. It stars James McAvoy as a man with multiple personalities, who kidnaps and terrorizes three teenage girls. The 2019 superhero movie “Glass” would follow, thereby completing the Shyamalan trilogy that began with 2000’s “Unbreakable.”

Ari Aster’s directorial feature debut explores themes of family trauma within a supernatural framework. What starts with the death of a mysterious matriarch becomes something far more sinister as the story unfolds. Actress Toni Collette delivers a knockout performance as a mother-.

Actress Kate Siegel co-wrote and stars in this gripping entry into the popular stalker subgenre. A deaf and mute writer (Siegel) heads to a cabin in the woods for some much-needed solitude, only to end up in the crosshairs of a crazed killer. Director Mike Flanagan approached the project as a personal challenge to make a film that was largely absent of dialogue.

This found-footage sequel to a modern cult classic reteams director Patrick Brice with co-screenwriter and star Mark Duplass. Grappling with a mid-life crisis, a serial killer (Duplass) lures an unwitting videographer (Desiree Akhavan) into his twisted trap. A third and final installment has reportedly been in development for years.

This black horror comedy channels themes of elitist psychopathy into a blood-soaked battle of wits. On the day of her wedding, a bride (Samara Weaving) is forced to participate in a deadly game of hide and seek with her in-laws. Can she make it until dawn?

Sadistic killer Art the Clown returns from the grave and terrorizes a fresh batch of victims in this splatterfest sequel. It clocks in at a whopping 138 minutes and delivers incalculable amounts of blood and gore. Shot on a reported budget of just $250,000 – much of which was raised through Indiegogo – it made over $14.5 million at the worldwide box office.

The second entry in “The Conjuring” film series sends paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) to North London circa 1977. Attempting to rid a home of a supernatural entity, the couple ends up confronting a much darker force. The film was followed by the 2018 spin-off prequel “The Nun” and then a 2021 sequel.

A touring punk rock band squares off against neo-Nazis in this gripping thriller from director Jeremy Saulnier. The story alternates between tense stand-offs and stark moments of shocking violence. Patrick Stewart plays the ruthless leader of a criminal enterprise and injects the role with genuine dramatic heft.

This acclaimed horror fantasy – a remake of a 2008 Swedish classic – centers on the relationship between a bullied boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and a young female vampire (Chloë Grace Moretz). The film stays relatively faithful to the cold tone of its predecessor. Director Matt Reeves went on to helm two “Planet of the Apes” movies and 2022’s “The Batman.”

This beloved horror comedy turns familiar subgenre tropes into the stuff of gruesome satire. Follow a group of archetypes to a cabin in the woods, where they unleash a deadly force. Little do they realize that it’s all part of a much bigger – and funnier – conspiracy.

An unfinished short story by Edgar Allan Poe provided early inspiration for this psychological horror film. Set off the coast of New England in the late 19th century, it follows two lighthouse keepers (Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) as they descend into madness. Director Robert Eggers drew upon a host of additional resources during development, including sea-based mythology and Freudian theory.

How hard can it be to rob a wealthy blind man of his fortune? A trio of burglars ask themselves that in this blockbuster horror thriller, only to discover that their target is far more capable and deadly than he first appears. It yielded a moderately successful sequel in 2021.

Presented as a haunted house story, this gothic tale of terror builds toward one of the best twist endings in modern movie history. Sparse effects and eccentric characters help impart a perennial sense of unease. “It’s a clammy, ingenious film, one of the best studio movies of the year,” wrote critic Tom Charity for Time Out.

A sequel to Stephen King’s novel “The Shining,” this fantasy horror also draws upon Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of the aforementioned work. A grown Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) is still grappling with his dark past when he meets a young girl (Kyliegh Curran) with the power to shine. Their mission to take down a supernatural cult brings Danny back to the Overlook Hotel, which isn’t quite done with him yet.

Director Ana Lily Amirpour’s Persian-language horror film takes place in the Iranian town of Bad City, where a young female vampire targets local men. Filmed in black and white, the movie’s offbeat tone and hip soundtrack make it unlike anything else in the vampire subgenre.

An astronomical event has time-bending consequences for a group of friends in this sci-fi thriller, shot over the course of five nights on a reported micro-budget of just $50,000, with the actors improvising most of their lines. Overlooked upon release, it has gained a steady following through streaming.

The second entry in the “Cloverfield” franchise occurs around the same time as its found-footage predecessor, but employs a more traditional style. A woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up from a car accident to find herself being held captive by a man (John Goodman) who may or may not be insane. Does danger really lurk outside his door or is it all part of an elaborate lie?

A shapeshifting evil entity is set loose upon a small town in the late 1980s in this adaptation of a Stephen King bestseller. Most often taking the form of a clown (played by Bill Skarsgård), the entity terrorizes a group of friends. Unadjusted for inflation, this is the highest-grossing horror movie ever made.

In the tradition of horror classics like “The Exorcist” and “The Amityville Horror” comes this franchise-starting blockbuster. Loosely inspired by true events, it follows Ed and Lorraine Warren to a Rhode Island farmhouse in 1971 to investigate a potential haunting. Actors Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reportedly spent time with the real-life Lorraine Warren when preparing for their roles.

A man (Michael Shannon) takes his apocalyptic visions to real-life extremes in this independent psychological thriller. As he prepares his family for impending doom, the audience wonders if he’s acting on prophecy or delusion. The only way to find out is to watch until the very end.

From “Saw” co-creator Leigh Whannell comes this modern-day adaptation of an H.G. Wells horror novel. When an optics engineer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) develops the power of invisibility, he uses it to brutally torment his ex-partner (Elisabeth Moss). The film made over $144 million at the worldwide box office on a reported budget of just $7 million.

Aliens with supersonic hearing have invaded the planet in this horror thriller and surprise box office smash. Confined to a remote farm, a loving family must remain absolutely quiet if they want to survive. It was followed by a similarly popular sequel.

A mysterious stranger unleashes a bizarre sickness upon a small village in this South Korean horror classic. When a policeman investigates, he ends up bringing the sickness to his own doorstep. NME film critic Howard Gorman called it the “ultimate supernatural whodunnit.”

Director Jordan Peele’s seminal feature debut layers brilliant satire and social commentary beneath a horror veneer. Follow Black photographer Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) to the starch-white suburbs, where he uncovers a grave conspiracy with racial implications. “It’s a game-changer,” wrote critic Paul Byrnes for the Sydney Morning Herald.