00's - the BEST decade of horror

[Tuukka]

Yup, the title says it. I sincerely believe that never before have we had this many quality horror movies in so few years.

Without a doubth most people in here will disagree with me, but I 100% think this way. 00's have provided immensely varied horror films - All the sub genres are alive an well. And instead of following the traditional B-horror movie route, nowadays we have a lot of quality filmmakers tackling the genre.

Nostalgy goes a long way among horror fans. So much in fact, that most either deny or ignore the fact that most "classics" of the genre are in fact badly written, badly directed, badly acted and in general badly made bad movies.

I dig bad horror as well. But I do prefer good horror.

Personally I'm mostly indifferent to horror in 60's and before. Except for a few movies, the "horror" back in the day was tame and cheesy.

The genre didn't really start living until the 70's, but looking back now, I can really only say maybe 20 genuinely good horror movies each from 70's, 80's and 90's. Good meaning that it gets 7/10 or above. The rest was stricly B-movie schlock. Sometimes those movies are enjoyable (worthy of 6/10), more often not. But the artistic merits of those films were generally low.

And then looking at the 00's, for films that have come out in just 7 years... I don't give strong grades easily, and here is what I would give to 00's horror flicks:

9/10:

The Others

8/10:

The Descent
Shaun of the Dead
28 Days Later
Dark Water (original)
The Ring (remake)
High Tension
Bubba Ho-Tep
Saw
The Descent
Dog Soldiers
28 Days Later
Frailty
Identity
Signs
High Tension
Battle Royale
Pan's labyrinth
Blade 2

7/10:

The Hills Have Eyes (remake)
Hostel
Saw 2
Dawn of the Dead (remake)
Devil's backbone
Joy Ride
Constantine
Donnie Darko
Below
Dead End
Final Destination
Slither
Hannibal
Wolf Creek
Cabin Fever
Session 9

...Yes, I know that some of those movies might not be considered strictly as horror, but the line has always been fuzzy. And for sure I have forgotten several movies from that list.

Basicly the 00's has a really nice balance between quality psychological horror, well made B-movie splatter horror. Elegant big budget mainstream horror and energetic low budget cult horror. The genre has never been this rich, and this varied.

And since we still have 3 more years to go, and lot of interesting projects to look for.

I'm I the ONLY person who thinks that horror is doing really great nowadays?



PS. Some might wonder why there aren't more asian movies on that list: Answer is that I still haven't seen that many.

[Tony_Montana]

Now that you mention it, yeah I see where you're coming from. Still we have to mix the bad with the good, and amid all the good we get our (mostly shitty) PG-13 Asian horror remakes, pointless sequels and just plain bad remakes in general (The Omen). I guess that's what keeping many of us horror fans down, but yeah I do see your point.

[yorrick brown]

it is a good run.has been let down by all the remakes.


i like the 80`s.

[XCoRyX]

we've had some good ones of course...but i'm still with the 80s forever and always...

[spacemonkey]

Every era has its ups and downs, but if I had to choose horror films from one era, it would have to be the seventies. The horror films from that time had a reality to them, that the hyper glossy, slick looking films from today can never achieve, even if they try.

Good examples:

The Exorcist (1973)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Jaws (1975)
The Amytiville Horror (1979)
Suspiria (1977)
Carrie (1976)
Alien (1979)
Black Christmas (1974)
Zombie (1979)
The Wicker Man (1973)
The Omen (1976)
The Omen II (1978)
Halloween (1978)
Eraserhead (1977)
Dont Look Now (1973)
Deliverance (1972)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
The Brood (1979)
Dracula (1979)
The Vampire Lovers (1970)
Twins of Evil (1971)
Vampire Circus (1972)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)
Phantasm (1979)
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Its Alive! (1974)
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
The Dunwich Horror (1970)
The Legend of Hell House (1973)
The Changeling (1979)
The Fog (1979)

[Tuukka]

Originally posted by spacemonkey
Every era has its ups and downs, but if I had to choose horror films from one era, it would have to be the seventies. The horror films from that time had a reality to them, that the hyper glossy, slick looking films from today can never achieve, even if they try.

Good examples:

The Exorcist (1973)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Jaws (1975)
The Amytiville Horror (1979)
Suspiria (1977)
Carrie (1976)
Alien (1979)
Black Christmas (1974)
Zombie (1979)
The Wicker Man (1973)
The Omen (1976)
The Omen II (1978)
Halloween (1978)
Eraserhead (1977)
Dont Look Now (1973)
Deliverance (1972)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
The Brood (1979)
Dracula (1979)
The Vampire Lovers (1970)
Twins of Evil (1971)
Vampire Circus (1972)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)
Phantasm (1979)
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Its Alive! (1974)
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
The Dunwich Horror (1970)
The Legend of Hell House (1973)
The Changeling (1979)
The Fog (1979)

Many of the films you mentioned are glossy. For example Wicker Man has such over the top soft focus cinematography, that it doesn't look realistic in any way. Eraserhead has a completely manufactured, stylished world. Argento was always hyper-stylished - How can you claim that something like Suspiria isn't glossy and slick? The Omen has many very stylished interior set scenes (like the whole graveyard sequence). Changeling has stylished, very classy and elaborate cinematography. As does Alien. And so on.

On the other hand, at least these 00's films don't look "glossy", but gritty and realistic:

Shaun of the Dead
28 Days Later
High Tension
Bubba Ho-Tep
The Descent
Dog Soldiers
28 Days Later
Frailty
High Tension
Battle Royale
Hostel
Dead End
Wolf Creek
Cabin Fever

[Kings-Rook1]

Generally speaking, the genre just keeps getting better. New ideas develop, old ideas get “re-imagined” or launched in new directions, technology allows for greater artistic expression and realism, etc, etc, etc…I really don’t think it is fair to compare this decade with the last seven (horror moves have been around since the 30’s!). The 00’s have a distinct advantage and I bet in 2010 someone will be saying the same thing you are right now, especially with performance capture innovations, virtual photorealistic production techniques and the new digital 3D format.

If it wasn’t for Remero doing his thing back in 68, would we have Boyle (28 Days Later) or Wright (Shaun of the Dead) doing their thing 30 years later? The 00’s are better, but only because they are standing on the shoulders of those who paved the way and have a bigger audience and stronger backing from the studios.

SpaceMonkey has put together a real nice list (love the 70’s!) and just about every one is an iconic horror classic and none are remakes…imagine that.

[CreeperBEATNGU]

I think the best horror films are The Descent, Hannibal, The Devil's Rejects, Aja's Hills Have Eyes, the Jeepers Creepers films, The Ring, Haute Tension, Wolf Creek, Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Candyman, A Nightmare on Elm Street, the SAW trilogy, Open Water, 28 Days Later, Donner's The Omen, Pumpkinhead...

I think the majority of the genre's elite has been made from 2000 and up.

Out of the older classics, I think Halloween, Alien, The Exorcist, Carrie, Rosemary's Baby, amongst others... are overrated and/or not very good.

Sure the 2000's suffered from the surge of PG-13 watered down ghost flicks and remakes cashing in on the success of The Ring(which was a great film that had a horrible influence), but gritty, uncompromising, balls to the wall horror in the vein of the SAW series and Rob Zombie and Alexandre Aja's films came along to save the genre from that downward spiral and make it more for the actual genre buffs again.

[Beenthere]

Some sub genres were not so great in the 21st century so far. Vampires, werewolves (no, Underworld is mostly action and Curse...) and sci fi/horror did not have paramount achievements in my book. And when the cannibals in the jungle will be back?:D

As for zombies, some ghosts and slashers - yes, I agree with you.

[Tuukka]

Originally posted by Beenthere
Some sub genres were not so great in the 21st century so far. Vampires, werewolves (no, Underworld is mostly action and Curse...) and sci fi/horror did not have paramount achievements in my book. And when the cannibals in the jungle will be back?:D

As for zombies, some ghosts and slashers - yes, I agree with you.

Werewolves movies have always been kind of a small sub-genre, but:

Dog Soldiers 8/10
Ginger Snaps 7/10

I thought both those movies managed to tackle the genre in an original manner. Also I thought Underworld movies were fun... Cursed was pretty crappy, thought. As was Van Helsing.

Vampire movies:

Shadow Of a Vampire 7/10
Blade 2 8/10
Night Watch (I don't like it, but many love it)

...Ok, not that many quality items, but there are more to come. 30 Days Of Night at least looks VERY interesting.

[Dehydrator]

There is no denying that this decade has lots of quality offerings in the genre. Although naturally there are some movies on your list that wouldn't make it on mine ("Blade 2", "Signs" , "28 Days later") and some that would aren't ("Deathwatch", "Kontroll", "The Machinist") the 00s are a step up from the 90s (and the 80s too perhaps) in this regard for sure.

I don't however agree at all about your statements concerning the former decades; for me there are tons of movies who'd justify the same good ratings from the 60's alone (for instance Mario Bava's work or some of Hammer's). It's not a matter of nostalgia (I can't be nostalgic about a time where I wasn't yet thought about to be born) but of taste : If you're willing to ignore the qualities of this stuff and shrug it off as "badly acted and directed" (criticisms that will, in the eye of the viewer who takes his current place in time as the nonplusultra also fit for the 2000 movies in 30 or even 20 years time as well) it's your loss really. If you care, just put some examples in here for movies you think that fall under the category of "badly written ect.", I might catch your point then.

[EVILxxx]

Only a handful of horror flicks from the past few years have knocked my socks off. The Descent, Session 9, & Donnie Darko spring to mind immediately but not a whole lot else. Oh an I'm sure Pans Labyrinth will be great as well. The 00's have been pretty good overall I think but this decade has also damaged the genre in many ways. Mainly studios funding every remake they see that will turn them a profit.

[Dehydrator]

Originally posted by EVILxxx
. The 00's have been pretty good overall I think but this decade has also damaged the genre in many ways. Mainly studios funding every remake they see that will turn them a profit.

Absolutely agree. Remakes have taken the part of sequels in the 80s and 90s. Although it spawned a small number of quality stuff, overall it just displays at how low the creativity and will to take risks of the "mainstream" industry has sunken. The horror-audience of today is not innocent however, people would rather go and see just how awful a remake is than giving something new a chance. At least that's how I feel considering that movies like the Micheal Bay Version of TCM (just typing this feels disgusting) made enough money to warrant sequels of their own.

[Frank the Tank]

Come to think of it, this has been a very good and varied decade for horror. Way better than the 90's. I don't know if it can beat the 70's or 80's though. There's a certain charm to the movies of those decades that no movie from this decade can recreate.

[KillerKlown]

The seventies rule.

[Valo the Crow]

The 80's gets my vote.:cool:

[Corpse Candle]

...The genre didn't start kicking off until the 70's..????


Not meaning to sound rude but have you seen Hammer films of the 1960's or Universal from the 1930's?

Horror was full of steam way befire the 70's and a lot of the ground work was done before Micheal Myers set his eyes upon his first edged weapon.
Hitchcock was around before many of the stated films and he didn't work in a glossy format.

The 00's is an okay decade but spoilt by the sheer amount of bullshit remakes pouring out of hollywood. I used to regard the 1980's with more respect but after you see a few of the stand out films from that decade you soon get tierd of the slasher and gore pictures it has to offer.
There is a fair number of films that have been good this decade and it's better than the 90's.
However if you want a great decade of chillers take a look at the 1960's and 1970's for some brilliant pictures.

The 1950's had it's fair share of B-Movies but also turned out some classics too. I think saying the 00'S is the best decade yet when it hasn't even finished is a little...short sighted.

[CletusHorniblow]

I have to say that this decade really does get much more hatred than it deserves, now that I think about it. It's not up to par with the 70's and 80's yet (at least not for me) but it's already beat the 90's and is neck and neck with the "classic" era...but we still have a while to go, afterall it's only 2007.

[floydtheater07]

I gotta disagree with the original post. Sure, the 21st century has had a few decent horror films (Signs, Session 9, 28 Days Later), but for the most part, I think the films that have come out lately are an embarassment to the genre. So much so that I have almost lost all interest in horror flicks.

First of all, I don't equate gore with horror. This decade has given rise to a breed of horror films that are at best shocking, but certainly never scary. I mean, the SAW movies??? Come on...the first one was alright, but none of those were really scary. I laughed through most of them...


Then you have the terrible remakes. I'm not one of those close-minded people who hates remakes in general. In fact, I usually get excited when I hear that a favorite film of mine is being remade. However, all the horror remakes recently have been horrendous. I can't begin to explain, but it is quite disappointing.


Most horror flicks lately have just been too generic or formulaic. "Let's cast good looking actors in shallow roles and watch them get cut up." I guess it sells tickets to the junior high crowd, but I want my horror films to either have substance (The Exorcist, The Vanishing) or to be primal and chaotic (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre...original version). Instead, I get a lot of really uninteresting stuff.

[LordSimen]

Horror Films this decade that I liked:

The Descent
Dog Soldiers
28 Days Later
The Dawn of the Dead (Remake)
The Hills Have Eyes (Remake)
Haute Tension
Cry Wolf
Bubba Ho-Tep
Hostel
Cabin Fever
American Psycho (2000 counts, don't it?)
Battle Royale
Feast
Slither
Ghost of Mars
Wolf Creek
Seed of Chucky
Constantine
Blade 2
From Hell
The Cell
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
The Devil's Backbone
The Devil's Rejects
House of Thousand Corpses
Silent Hill
Hannibal
Ginger Snaps
Frailty
Shaun of the Dead
Land of the Dead
Wrong Turn
Final Destination
Red Dragon
Hollow Man
Toolbox Murders (Remake)
Dreamcatcher
Freddy vs. Jason
Shadow of a Vampire
Jeepers Creepers
Williard
The Mothman Prophecies
Saw
Saw II
Saw III
The Others
Pitch Black
Secret Window
Signs


I guess some of these could be considered more "thrillers" than "horror films" but I tried to think of all the movies since 2000. Probably missed a few.