My favourite horror movies of the 21st century
by unikukka | created - 08 Nov 2012 | updated - 5 months ago | PublicMy kind of horror is subtle and suspenseful, with good eerie atmosphere. This list contains mostly mysteries and ghost stories, with some exceptions.
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1. 28 Days Later (2002)
R | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Alex Palmer
Votes: 445,981 | Gross: $45.06M
My favourite zombie film. Credible and well-written.
2. The Orphanage (2007)
R | 105 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep, Mabel Rivera
Votes: 163,634 | Gross: $7.16M
An eerie slow-spaced Spanish ghost story.
3. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
R | 114 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
After being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Lim Soo-jung, Yum Jung-ah, Kim Kap-su, Moon Geun-young
Votes: 68,288
My favourite of all the Korean ghost movies I've seen.
4. Hansel and Gretel (2007)
TV-14 | 117 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
After meeting a mysterious girl on an dark stretch of road, a young salesman is invited to a beautiful house with bizarre secrets and no way to escape.
Director: Pil-sung Yim | Stars: Cheon Jeong-myeong, Eun Won-jae, Shim Eun-kyung, Jin Ji-hee
Votes: 4,945
A different Grimm adaptation Korean-style.
5. The Ring (2002)
PG-13 | 115 min | Horror, Mystery
A journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it.
Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox, David Dorfman
Votes: 375,146 | Gross: $129.13M
For once US remake actually succeeds with a creepy disturbing atmosphere.
6. Trick 'r Treat (2007)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Horror
Five interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: an everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband; and a mean old man meets his match with a demonic, supernatural trick-or-treater.
Director: Michael Dougherty | Stars: Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes
Votes: 104,643
Halloween anthology with four interwoven stories. Sets the perfect mood for Halloween!
7. Halloween (2007)
R | 109 min | Horror
After being committed for 15 years, Michael Myers, now a grown man and still very dangerous, escapes from the mental institution and immediately returns to Haddonfield to find his baby sister, Laurie.
Director: Rob Zombie | Stars: Scout Taylor-Compton, Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, Brad Dourif
Votes: 130,604 | Gross: $58.27M
I don't see this as a remake, I see it as a story of young Mike Myers and I did find it intriguing.
8. Alone (I) (2007)
105 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Deceased Siamese twin returns to haunt surviving sister
Directors: Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom | Stars: Marsha Wattanapanich, Vittaya Wasukraipaisan, Rachanu Boonchuduang, Hatairat Egereff
Votes: 5,770
Another good Korean ghost story; more dynamic and straightforward.
9. Dorothy Mills (2008)
R | 102 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A psychiatrist is assigned to work on the case of a disturbed young girl.
Director: Agnès Merlet | Stars: Carice van Houten, Jenn Murray, David Wilmot, Ger Ryan
Votes: 5,986
Fascinating little mystery movie from Ireland.
10. Cold Prey (2006)
Not Rated | 97 min | Horror, Thriller
5 young Norwegians head up to the mountains to snowboard. One breaks his leg and it's getting dark soon, so they spend the night in a big, abandoned hotel, closed 30 years ago. They are not alone.
Director: Roar Uthaug | Stars: Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Rolf Kristian Larsen, Tomas Alf Larsen, Endre Martin Midtstigen
Votes: 19,626
Norwegian slasher film that has a fresh feel to it.
11. Paranormal Activity (2007)
R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery
After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.
Director: Oren Peli | Stars: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong
Votes: 256,259 | Gross: $107.92M
Against all odds it manages to be scary.
12. Lake Mungo (2008)
R | 87 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Strange things start happening after a girl is found drowned in a lake.
Director: Joel Anderson | Stars: Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe, Talia Zucker
Votes: 29,004
Slow-spaced pseudo-documentary style movie that I found surprisingly unsettling.
13. Troll Hunter (2010)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
A group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.
Director: André Øvredal | Stars: Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg, Knut Nærum, Glenn Erland Tosterud
Votes: 79,570 | Gross: $0.25M
A fun Norwegian pseudo-documentary that I just loved for some weird reason.
14. The Woman in Black (2012)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A young solicitor travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.
Director: James Watkins | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciarán Hinds, Emma Shorey
Votes: 192,677 | Gross: $54.33M
An elegant ghost story with a macabre atmosphere.
15. Absentia (I) (2011)
R | 87 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A woman and her sister begin to link a mysterious tunnel to a series of disappearances, including that of her own husband.
Director: Mike Flanagan | Stars: Katie Parker, Courtney Bell, Dave Levine, Justin Gordon
Votes: 20,078
A subtle but suspenseful low budget film with eerie atmosphere.
16. Mama (I) (2013)
PG-13 | 100 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
After a young couple take in their two nieces, they suspect that a supernatural spirit named Mama has latched onto their family.
Director: Andy Muschietti | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse
Votes: 191,095 | Gross: $71.63M
A well-crafted, atmospheric horror story with hauntingly beautiful cinematics.
17. Byzantium (2012)
R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Residents of a coastal town learn, with deathly consequences, the secret shared by the two mysterious women who have sought shelter at a rundown hotel.
Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton, Sam Riley, Caleb Landry Jones
Votes: 45,951 | Gross: $0.08M
Beautiful vampire film by ever so wonderful Neil Jordan.
18. The Babadook (2014)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A 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.
Director: Jennifer Kent | Stars: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney
Votes: 247,366 | Gross: $0.92M
Beautifully scary.
19. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
In the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire.
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour | Stars: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Navabi
Votes: 38,645
Odd and charming. Gorgeous black and white cinematography.
20. Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A depressed musician reunites with his lover. However, their romance, which has already endured several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt
Votes: 108,178 | Gross: $1.88M
Deliciously atmospheric. Love the actors and the music fits perfectly. This one I'll watch over and over again ♥
21. What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Horror
Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires who are struggling with the mundane aspects of modern life, like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.
Directors: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi | Stars: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Jonny Brugh
Votes: 200,335 | Gross: $3.33M
A mockumentary at it's best. Would love to know how those silly vampires are doing nowadays. They are absolutely adorable ♥
22. Crimson Peak (2015)
R | 119 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds - and remembers.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam
Votes: 158,325 | Gross: $31.09M
Visually stunning gothic tale. Bloody & beautiful.
23. The Visit (I) (2015)
PG-13 | 94 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two siblings become increasingly frightened by their grandparents' disturbing behavior while visiting them on vacation.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie
Votes: 151,537 | Gross: $65.21M
I found this one quite unique. The idea is original enough and it really works. Manages to be both funny and disturbing.
24. The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
R | 92 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
Director: Robert Eggers | Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Julian Richings
Votes: 301,066 | Gross: $25.14M
"Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"
25. Green Room (2015)
R | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar.
Director: Jeremy Saulnier | Stars: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Patrick Stewart
Votes: 139,292 | Gross: $3.22M
Sure it's brutal, realistic and violent to the point you might call it dreadful. But for some weird reason I found it absolutely thrilling and entertaining.
26. The Love Witch (2016)
Unrated | 120 min | Comedy, Horror, Romance
A modern-day witch uses spells and magic to get men to fall in love with her, with deadly consequences.
Director: Anna Biller | Stars: Samantha Robinson, Jeffrey Vincent Parise, Laura Waddell, Gian Keys
Votes: 19,920 | Gross: $0.23M
Very retro, wonderfully 60's, beautiful work of art.
27. I Remember You (2017)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A story about a young man and two women who move into a small abandoned town in Iceland to renovate an old house. Little do they know the town has a dark history.
Director: Óskar Thór Axelsson | Stars: Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir, Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, Thorvaldur Kristjansson
Votes: 5,305
Atmospheric Islandic ghost story. Beautiful and not predictable at all.
28. Ghost Stories (I) (2017)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, Horror
After receiving a file with details of three unexplained cases of apparitions, skeptical professor Phillip Goodman embarks on a terrifying trip.
Directors: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman | Stars: Samuel Bottomley, Deborah Wastell, Amy Doyle, Daniel Hill
Votes: 36,971 | Gross: $0.14M
Clever, atmospheric and psychological. Flavored with humor. Very English.
29. Hereditary (2018)
R | 127 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.
Director: Ari Aster | Stars: Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff
Votes: 378,380 | Gross: $44.07M
Starts as a family drama and descends into supernatural madness. Unconventional movie with stellar cast.
30. The Lodge (2019)
R | 108 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A soon-to-be stepmom is snowed in with her fiancé's two children at a remote holiday village. Just as relations begin to thaw between the trio, some strange and frightening events take place.
Directors: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz | Stars: Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell, Lia McHugh, Richard Armitage
Votes: 57,885
Literally chilling psychological thriller that keeps you guessing.
31. Saint Maud (2019)
R | 84 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A pious nurse becomes dangerously obsessed with saving the soul of her dying patient.
Director: Rose Glass | Stars: Morfydd Clark, Caoilfhionn Dunne, Jennifer Ehle, Marcus Hutton
Votes: 47,055
Disturbing, emotional, unpredictable. Stylishly executed.
32. The Dark and the Wicked (2020)
Not Rated | 95 min | Horror
On a secluded farm in a nondescript rural town, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers to mourn, and soon a darkness grows, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that something evil is taking over the family.
Director: Bryan Bertino | Stars: Marin Ireland, Michael Abbott Jr., Julie Oliver-Touchstone, Lynn Andrews
Votes: 22,569
33. Last Night in Soho (2021)
R | 116 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Aspiring fashion designer Eloise is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s, where she encounters dazzling wannabe singer Sandie. But the glamour is not as it seems, and the dreams of the past crack and splinter into something darker.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Diana Rigg
Votes: 177,116
34. Caveat (2020)
Not Rated | 88 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A lone drifter suffering from partial memory loss accepts a job to look after a psychologically troubled woman in an abandoned house on an isolated island.
Director: Damian Mc Carthy | Stars: Ben Caplan, Johnny French, Leila Sykes, Inma Pavon
Votes: 6,975
35. The Black Phone (2021)
R | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
After being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer's previous victims.
Director: Scott Derrickson | Stars: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Davies
Votes: 194,446 | Gross: $90.12M
36. Piggy (2022)
Not Rated | 99 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
An overweight teen is bullied by a clique of cool girls poolside while holidaying in her village. The long walk home will change the rest of her life.
Director: Carlota Pereda | Stars: Laura Galán, Richard Holmes, Carmen Machi, Irene Ferreiro
Votes: 12,992
37. Lords of Chaos (2018)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Horror
A teenager's quest to launch Norwegian Black Metal in Oslo in the early 1990s results in a very violent outcome.
Director: Jonas Åkerlund | Stars: Rory Culkin, Emory Cohen, Jack Kilmer, Sky Ferreira
Votes: 19,383 | Gross: $0.25M
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