Horror movies in the 2000s had an interesting trajectory. With the slasher being the dominant symbol of the genre in the 1980s, the 1990s was a decade with high-budget adaptations of popular books like Interview with the Vampire and Bram Stoker's Dracula playing alongside teen horror films like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The 2000s had to scare not only a new generation that had grown up with horror films but were seeing real-life horror broadcasts on the news every day.
Updated July 21, 2023: This list has been updated with a few new entries to add some more bone-chilling horror to these hot summer days.
The 2000s answered the call with a lucrative era full of frightening films and franchises, preying on the audience’s anxieties, fears, and phobias. New genres like torture porn were born, while the found footage genre found new life. Remakes of popular horror franchises became popular, and the blood and guts were amped up. Here are the best horror films of the 2000s.
Final Destination (2000)
The Final Destination horror franchise kicked off its terrifying tenure in 2000 with its first installment, following a group of teens who manage to cheat death. After Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) has a premonition that the flight he’s on will explode in mid-air, killing him and his classmates, he warns his friends and the group evades death.
Shortly after, the survivors are slowly picked off one by one in shocking and grotesque accidents by an unseen force. What makes Final Destination so scary is that the antagonist is not a tangible being; its death manifested and an entity no one can see. Death will come knocking and if ignored, will strike with a bloody vengeance. A 6th installment is currently in the works that will reportedly feature first responders.
Jeepers Creepers (2001)
A horror movie with not one but two frightening foes? Jeepers Creepers follows siblings Trish and Darry Jenner (Gina Phillips & Justin Long) as they are hunted by both a demonic creature named the Creeper and a terrorizing serial killer. The ancient being awakens every 23 springs for twenty-three days, wreaking havoc and horror on those unfortunate to cross its path. The creature is especially horrifying as not only does it smell fear, it also feasts on human body parts in order to form its own body. The success of the film led to two sequels being released in 2003 and 2017, with a reboot, Jeepers Creepers: Reborn, which was released in 2022.
House of the Devil (2009)
Ti West had a great year in 2022 with the back-to-back releases of X and Pearl and with the third entry in his trilogy, MaXXXine, set for release soon. In 2009 his horror film House of the Devil wowed horror fans as something truly terrifying. The plot follows a college student who is hired to babysit at an isolated house where things go south very fast.
The movie was a homage to the slasher films of the 1980s but also the satanic panic boom that happened in the decade as well. The movie is a homage to many other past horror films, and invoking an older grimier style of horror as opposed to the slick aesthetics of the 2000s made this all the scarier.
The Others (2001)
Alejandro Amenábar made his English language debut with this gothic haunted house masterpiece, featuring a powerhouse performance by Nicole Kidman. Set in 1945 during the aftermath of World War 2, Kidman stars as Grace Stewart, a strict mother raising two photosensitive children. Grace soon suspects that her home is being threatened by paranormal forces.
What unfolds is a film full of pulse-pounding moments that continuously build-up, leading to a terrifying twist. The Others is a spooky horror movie that doesn’t rely on special effects and shocks to scare; its pacing and anxiety-inducing scenes are chilling enough. A remake of the hit is currently in the works by Sentient Entertainment.
Orphan (2009)
Originally guessed as just another family facing horrors through their problematic child, Orphan surprised the audiences with every twist and turn. The movie tells the story of an aggrieved couple trying to cope with losing a child who decides to bring a sweet, well-mannered, and artistic kid called Esther into their home and family.
However, a sense of foreboding follows her to her new home with Kate, the mother, getting a whiff of Esther's malice early on. However, things get more and more unpredictable until it all descends to violence with a shocking reveal. The best part about Orphan is it seemingly came out of nowhere and made sure to make its mark in a way that people won't easily forget. Especially with powerful performances from a stellar cast makes it super disturbing and extremely enjoyable from start to finish. The film was so popular it gained a prequel, Orphan: First Kill, which was released in 2022.
28 Days Later (2002)
British post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later is often credited with reinvigorating the zombie genre and sparking a resurgence of zombie content. The Danny Boyle flick follows a group of survivors in a pandemic-ravaged world as they try to evade those infected with the virus caused by a horrific scientific experiment.
The film was met with critical and commercial success, eventually spawning a sequel released in 2007. 28 Days Later perfectly captures the doomsday and zombie tropes, with the latter being fast-running, blood-thirsty savages. The movie is downright terrifying and leaves viewers on the edge of their seats. Audiences are still waiting for the possible third film, which star Cillian Murphy has recently teased.
Resident Evil (2002)
Loosely based on the video games series of the same name, 2002’s Resident Evil follows amnesiac Alice (Milla Jovovich) as she and Umbrella Corporation commandos fight to contain the zombie-making T-virus. The film is violent and gory and provides one heart-pounding scene after another. Resident Evil, much like 28 Days Later, helped breathe life into the zombie genre. Not only does the movie have the spine-chilling undead, but it also features the characters trapped in an underground research facility that plays on the fear of claustrophobia.
Rec (2007)
![Manuela Velasco in [REC] (2007)](https://static1.moviewebimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/manuela-velasco-in-rec-2007.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
While found footage films made up a big part of the 2000s horror genre, there are few that actually manage to make a mark. In fact, what's more, interesting in Rec is that the movie tells its story with a new-footage style structure with a reporter helming the narrative. Manuela Velasco's Angela Vidal, a TV news reporter, goes on a routine all-night patrol with some local firefighters. However, things take an ugly turn when the firefighters get paged to a house under siege, and they get locked down in the house with a deadly virus on the hunt that turns infected into cannibals.
Angela gets determined to find out the truth of the matter with her camera person Pablo as her help as they slowly make their journey into madness one room of the house at a time. Rec is a masterpiece in regard to showing what good filmmaking can make of a low-budget, found-footage movie by maximizing on its dark and desolate ambiance and perpetual sense of doom that hangs heavy around every frame. Not to mention a stellar performance from the cast that makes everything all the more convincing and one of the truly terrifying movies of that time.
Saw (2004)
Known for its stomach-churning violence and torture, Saw features victims Adam and Lawrence (Leigh Whannell & Cary Elwes), who awaken in a rundown room with one simple instruction: one must kill the other in order to protect his family. The shocking horror flick introduced the world to the menacing Jigsaw, a deranged serial killer who enjoys testing his victims morally.
Upon its release in 2004, the film grossed over $100 million on a million-dollar budget, becoming one of the most profitable horror movies since 1996’s Scream. Despite being labeled torture porn, the film became the first installment of the Saw franchise, with a tenth entry on the way in 2023.
Friday the 13th (2009)
The 2000s saw a major boom in horror remakes, but the best and most terrifying of the slashers goes to the 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th. Acting as a mashup of the first four entries in the original franchise, this film looked to make Jason Voorhees scary for a new generation. He is faster and more brutal. While the film is a good time in terms of over-the-top kills one expects from the franchise, there is a true sense of nastiness that shows why Jason Voorhees scared audiences in the first place.
The Ring (2002)
Arguably one of the most iconic and well-known horror films of the 2000s, The Ring features one of the most unassuming antagonists to ever grace the screen: a videotape. A remake of the 1998 Japanese horror film Ring, the American version stars Naomi Watts as a journalist who investigates a videotape that allegedly kills the viewers 7 days after watching it.
The Ring is a movie that makes audiences sleep with the lights on, and includes creepy visuals and a haunting atmosphere. The vengeful spirit Samara is truly hair-raising, with her sinister appearance a thing of nightmares.
The Descent (2005)
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People squeamish of tight spaces and disturbing creatures are in for quite the ride with The Descent, a horror movie following six women who struggle for survival inside a cave system. Combating not only claustrophobia but also deranged humanoids, the group must battle to make it out alive.
The nerve-wracking premise of being stuck in a dark, tight space while also fighting to escape grotesque creatures is anxiety-inducing, and audiences everywhere were left in a cold sweat. Viewers never know who will make it out alive of those dark, damp caves.
Session 9 (2001)
Session 9 is a low-budget psychological horror film that follows an asbestos abatement crew cleaning up an old abandoned mental asylum. As they do their job, mysterious events happen, which causes tension, and as they listen to old tapes, something might be more off at this asylum than one might think.
Session 9 has an incredibly haunting atmosphere, but what truly makes it scary is the lack of answers. The movie never gives the viewer a definitive answer if there is a supernatural element at play or if it is just the stress of these long working hours that are impacting them, and the idea of being in a place so run down bleeds into their psyche. It truly breaks down what it means to be haunted, both in a literal and figurative sense.
Paranormal Activity (2007)
Paranormal Activity features mockumentary-style filming and low-budget effects that captured horror audiences everywhere. The story centers on a couple who are being haunted by supernatural forces. They decide to set up cameras to catch what is terrorizing them, leading to terrifying realizations. The film was shot for $15,000 over 7 days and went on to gross over $190 million.
Paranormal Activity was so scary for moviegoers that during a test screening, many people walked out due to being so frightened. The film has since produced 6 sequels.
The Strangers (2008)
Cult-favorite The Strangers is a psychological horror film that focuses on couple Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) as they combat three masked criminals who invade their home. Drawing inspiration from the Manson family Tate-LaBianca murders, The Strangers is an exploration of stranger-on-stranger violence and the concept of safety.
Though not gory or full of jump scares, the film is eerie and downright chilling, with the suspense and fear growing with each scene. The premise of a home invasion is frightening, and the added element of masked intruders with no real explanation or motivation is goosebump-worthy.