I am a horror fan. Always have been. Always will be. I grew up on a steady diet of late night horror films in the bygone era of Friday and Saturday night horror hosts. I wanted to write a blog about my Top 10 Horror Films, but I had far too many favorites to choose from. Therefore, I am writing a series of blogs dealing with specific decades. Now we're diving into the 2000s.
The 1990s were a terrible decade for horror films. Fortunately, the genre rebounded with a vengeance with the new century. As I was compiling my lists, I grew afraid that I was too much of a product of my time and favoring the films of my youth. Not so. I fully embraced this decade. I had a very difficult time winnowing the list down to ten films. I switched out a number of films.
I also found it interesting that genre seemed to be returning to traditional subject matter: vampires, werewolves, ghosts and zombies. Lots of zombies. And lots of vampires. I think this the first list that I didn't include any science fiction films on. (I am not doing the decades sequentially. Here's the order so far: 80s, 70s, 90s, 60s and now the 00s. Guess which decade will be next?) This decade also features the most films by writer/directors.
Once again, according to the ground rules I laid down in my first list, I do not include crime films about torture or murder, such as Psycho or Silence of the Lambs, that do not feature a supernatural aspect. Nor do I include films about animal attacks like Jaws.
So let's get on with the list:
A writer returns to home to investigate a haunted house that terrorized him as a child only to face a plague of vampires.
I am a big Stephen King fan. Pet Sematary is my favorite of his novels. This film is based on my second favorite one. I like it when King establishes an entire town and then systematically kills everyone off. That's what he does here. I also enjoyed the 1979 version directed by Tobe Hooper and featuring an oily and sinister performance by James Mason, but this version benefits from a better script and higher production values.
Lucie, a victim of ritualistic abuse as a child, seeks revenge on her torturers along with a friend, Anna, who also suffered abuse. Their quest results in Anna becoming a prisoner of the cult herself, and she slowly learns the reason for the abuse.
The one horror subgenre I abhor is so-called torture porn. I am not entertained by cruelty for its own sake. I had little patience for films like Last House on the Left and I Spit on Your Grave from my youth and much less patience for them now. Considering the subject matter, there was little chance of me seeking this film out on my own. However, Harbinger of Doom Al put it on the docket for an upcoming episode of the Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast, which compelled me to watch it. I found it to be an intelligent, if difficult to watch, film. It is also flawed because, much like the later Alien sequels, the filmmakers do not have the answers for the questions they ask! Still, if you like this sort of thing, this should be the sort of thing you like. Others beware. It is not for the faint of heart.
Listen to the Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast review of the film:
Nicole Kidman plays a mother with two light sensitive children who begins to fear her house is haunted.
This is a really creepy film. It scared me, especially the old Victorian death photos. (It had me searching through old family photo albums for dead people.) Kidman does a great job as a woman slowly growing unhinged with fear -- perhaps calling upon her memories of being married to Tom Cruise. The film is extremely effective, the first time you see it. Sadly, it is a twist movie and doesn't back the same punch with repeat viewings.
A couple fears that their house is haunted. The husband begins videotapes the disturbance. The film is those tapes....
Much like The Blair Witch Project, this film went into the theaters with the Internet buzz that it was real. It wasn't real, but it was really scary! It had me by the throat! This is definitely one of the best "found footage" films, alongside the aforementioned Blair Witch and my own 21 Eyes. Still, enough already with the sequels!
A group of vampires invade and terrorize an Alaska town in the arctic in order to take advantage of the continuous night.
A well-written and well-acted vampire film in a fresh environment. Josh Hartnett leads up the excellent cast. Hartnett is an actor for whom I always felt somewhat sorry. The Powers-To-Be in Hollywood obviously decreed that he would be a star and he was cast in film after film without truly connecting with the audience. I mean, after Town and Country and Pearl Harbor, I suspected it was game over for him. Fortunately, he connected in this film and Black Hawk Down. Way to go. (I'll overlook the fact that he followed those films up with Hollywood Homicide, The Wicker Man and The Black Dahlia.)
A lonely and much-bullied 12-year-old Scandinavian boy befriends a "girl" and lets her into his life without realizing, at first, that his new friend is a vampire.
If you have been reading my horror blogs, you know I love me a good vampire movie and this a good one. Transferring the vampire mythology to school age youths gives the tale more poignancy, without the silly YA romanticism of the concurrent Twilight film. In some ways, this is more of a coming of age tale of two adolescent outsiders than a traditional horror movie. Still, it is a dark film as chilling as a long Scandinavian night. Check it out. Avoid the American version.
(Third vampire film on the list. That's a record for me.)
Everyone who watches a creepy VHS gets a phone call warning them they will die seven days later. That gives reporter, Naomi Watts, a week to uncover the mystery of the tape.
Remember when J-horror was all the rage? The emphasis was always on atmosphere, sound design, pale white skin and long black hair. I was grooving to it, despite the fact that I never knew how these ghosts were supposed to kill people. Scare them to death? I guess so. I found the movie very creepy, and my questions about the mechanics of the plot didn't bother me until after it was over. Sadly, I find it hard to take this film seriously after seeing it spoofed in Scary Movie.
(I wonder if the ghost has switched over to DVD yet, or jumped straight to streaming?)
A group survivors of a zombie apocalypse attempt to survive in large shopping mall.
The original film, by George A. Romero, is both a genuine and sentimental favorite of mine. I viewed the impending remake with both dread and hostility. However, the film won over me immediately. The opening title sequence is worth the price of admission alone. Love that Johnny Cash song. Liked the rest of the soundtrack, too. Unlike in the original film, the zombies are the fast-moving variety, but I'm not going to quibble. It's a Dawn of the Dead for a new generation. It is a worthy inheritor that can stand on its own.
A competitive group of female friends, who share the hobby of spelunking, get lost in a cave system and become the prey of a mutated, underground humanoid race.
The Descent is definitely the scariest and most thrilling film on the list. It is a dark, claustrophobic film. Afraid of things that go bump in the night? How about things that go bump in a narrow cave that you can't escape? Love it. Neil Marshall is a force to be reckoned with in the genre. His previous film, and feature debut, Dog Soldiers nearly made my Top 10 as well. Keep up the good work!
A slacker, Simon Pegg, is determined to win the admiration of long-suffering girlfriend during a zombie apocalypse, but will their friends ruin his plan and possibly cost them their lives?
Yeah, I did it. I declared a comedy the best horror film of the decade. It definitely was not the scariest film, but it was the best written and best directed and best acted one. It is an endlessly rich viewing experience. I have watched it innumerable times and I always find something new to enjoy.
I was an early devotee of the film. I was given a bootleg DVD of the film many months prior to the film's release in the United States. I talked it up endlessly. I loved the chemistry between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who plays his ne'er-do-well friend in the film. I would watch anything the two them did together. The funny thing is that, as good as they film is, the same team would surpass it with their next film Hot Fuzz. (Their final film in the Cornetto trilogy, The World's End, is also good, but not up to the same standard. I credit that minor failing to a role reverse between Pegg and Frost and the characters they would normally play.) If you like zombie films and you like comedies, go no further!
Other notables:
HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, 2009. This Ti West film has the authentic feel of a 'seventies devil film. Starts slow, but packs a punch. DOG SOLDIERS, 2002. Neil Marshall's feature debut is an exciting werewolf film. 28 DAYS LATER..., 2002. Probably should have made the Top 10, but I already had too many zombie films. SAW, 2004. Saw the Scary Movie spoof first. Hard to take the film seriously after that. DRAG ME TO HELL, 2009. Sam Raimi returns to the genre. Pretty good, but not Top 10. GINGER SNAPS, 2000. Another great little werewolf film. LAND OF THE DEAD, 2005. Zombiemeister Romero lets his social commentary get the best of him this time out. HOSTEL, 2005. Torture porn. Not interested. THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, 2005. A serious film based on a real case. ZOMBIELAND, 2009. This was a good year for ZomComs, but I went with Shaun instead, despite the assist from Bill Murray here. THE LOST ROOM, 2006. Not horror, but my favorite mini-series on the SyFy channel. BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON, 2006. Best take on the slasher genre since Scream. SESSION 9, 2001. Moody and atmospheric. Horror movies are like retail. It's always: Location, location, location! SIGNS, 2002. Aliens, who can be killed by water, invade the Earth. Really? I mean, really? TWILIGHT, 2008. Nah. JEEPER CREEPERS. 2001. Saw it and liked it before I found out the director was a convicted child molester. Come on, Hollywood. What are you thinking?
Other Lists:
The 1990s were a terrible decade for horror films. Fortunately, the genre rebounded with a vengeance with the new century. As I was compiling my lists, I grew afraid that I was too much of a product of my time and favoring the films of my youth. Not so. I fully embraced this decade. I had a very difficult time winnowing the list down to ten films. I switched out a number of films.
I also found it interesting that genre seemed to be returning to traditional subject matter: vampires, werewolves, ghosts and zombies. Lots of zombies. And lots of vampires. I think this the first list that I didn't include any science fiction films on. (I am not doing the decades sequentially. Here's the order so far: 80s, 70s, 90s, 60s and now the 00s. Guess which decade will be next?) This decade also features the most films by writer/directors.
Once again, according to the ground rules I laid down in my first list, I do not include crime films about torture or murder, such as Psycho or Silence of the Lambs, that do not feature a supernatural aspect. Nor do I include films about animal attacks like Jaws.
So let's get on with the list:
10. SALEM'S LOT, 2004
Directed by Mikael Salomon
Screenplay by Peter Filardi
Based on the novel by Stephen King
A writer returns to home to investigate a haunted house that terrorized him as a child only to face a plague of vampires.
I am a big Stephen King fan. Pet Sematary is my favorite of his novels. This film is based on my second favorite one. I like it when King establishes an entire town and then systematically kills everyone off. That's what he does here. I also enjoyed the 1979 version directed by Tobe Hooper and featuring an oily and sinister performance by James Mason, but this version benefits from a better script and higher production values.
Lucie, a victim of ritualistic abuse as a child, seeks revenge on her torturers along with a friend, Anna, who also suffered abuse. Their quest results in Anna becoming a prisoner of the cult herself, and she slowly learns the reason for the abuse.
The one horror subgenre I abhor is so-called torture porn. I am not entertained by cruelty for its own sake. I had little patience for films like Last House on the Left and I Spit on Your Grave from my youth and much less patience for them now. Considering the subject matter, there was little chance of me seeking this film out on my own. However, Harbinger of Doom Al put it on the docket for an upcoming episode of the Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast, which compelled me to watch it. I found it to be an intelligent, if difficult to watch, film. It is also flawed because, much like the later Alien sequels, the filmmakers do not have the answers for the questions they ask! Still, if you like this sort of thing, this should be the sort of thing you like. Others beware. It is not for the faint of heart.
Listen to the Yippee Ki Yay Mother Podcast review of the film:
8. THE OTHERS, 2001
Written and Directed by Alejandro Amenabar
Nicole Kidman plays a mother with two light sensitive children who begins to fear her house is haunted.
This is a really creepy film. It scared me, especially the old Victorian death photos. (It had me searching through old family photo albums for dead people.) Kidman does a great job as a woman slowly growing unhinged with fear -- perhaps calling upon her memories of being married to Tom Cruise. The film is extremely effective, the first time you see it. Sadly, it is a twist movie and doesn't back the same punch with repeat viewings.
7. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, 2007
Written and Directed by Oren Peli
A couple fears that their house is haunted. The husband begins videotapes the disturbance. The film is those tapes....
Much like The Blair Witch Project, this film went into the theaters with the Internet buzz that it was real. It wasn't real, but it was really scary! It had me by the throat! This is definitely one of the best "found footage" films, alongside the aforementioned Blair Witch and my own 21 Eyes. Still, enough already with the sequels!
6. 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, 2007
Directed by David Slade
Comic by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith
A group of vampires invade and terrorize an Alaska town in the arctic in order to take advantage of the continuous night.
A well-written and well-acted vampire film in a fresh environment. Josh Hartnett leads up the excellent cast. Hartnett is an actor for whom I always felt somewhat sorry. The Powers-To-Be in Hollywood obviously decreed that he would be a star and he was cast in film after film without truly connecting with the audience. I mean, after Town and Country and Pearl Harbor, I suspected it was game over for him. Fortunately, he connected in this film and Black Hawk Down. Way to go. (I'll overlook the fact that he followed those films up with Hollywood Homicide, The Wicker Man and The Black Dahlia.)
5. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, 2008
Directed by Tomas Alfredson
Screenplay by John Ajvide Lindqvist, based on his novel
A lonely and much-bullied 12-year-old Scandinavian boy befriends a "girl" and lets her into his life without realizing, at first, that his new friend is a vampire.
If you have been reading my horror blogs, you know I love me a good vampire movie and this a good one. Transferring the vampire mythology to school age youths gives the tale more poignancy, without the silly YA romanticism of the concurrent Twilight film. In some ways, this is more of a coming of age tale of two adolescent outsiders than a traditional horror movie. Still, it is a dark film as chilling as a long Scandinavian night. Check it out. Avoid the American version.
(Third vampire film on the list. That's a record for me.)
4. THE RING, 2002
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Screenplay by Ehren Kruger
Based on the novel by Koji Suzuki
Everyone who watches a creepy VHS gets a phone call warning them they will die seven days later. That gives reporter, Naomi Watts, a week to uncover the mystery of the tape.
Remember when J-horror was all the rage? The emphasis was always on atmosphere, sound design, pale white skin and long black hair. I was grooving to it, despite the fact that I never knew how these ghosts were supposed to kill people. Scare them to death? I guess so. I found the movie very creepy, and my questions about the mechanics of the plot didn't bother me until after it was over. Sadly, I find it hard to take this film seriously after seeing it spoofed in Scary Movie.
(I wonder if the ghost has switched over to DVD yet, or jumped straight to streaming?)
3. DAWN OF THE DEAD, 2004
Directed by Zack Snyder
Screenplay by James Gunn
Based on the screenplay by George A. Romero
A group survivors of a zombie apocalypse attempt to survive in large shopping mall.
The original film, by George A. Romero, is both a genuine and sentimental favorite of mine. I viewed the impending remake with both dread and hostility. However, the film won over me immediately. The opening title sequence is worth the price of admission alone. Love that Johnny Cash song. Liked the rest of the soundtrack, too. Unlike in the original film, the zombies are the fast-moving variety, but I'm not going to quibble. It's a Dawn of the Dead for a new generation. It is a worthy inheritor that can stand on its own.
2. THE DESCENT, 2005
Written and Directed by Neil Marshall
A competitive group of female friends, who share the hobby of spelunking, get lost in a cave system and become the prey of a mutated, underground humanoid race.
The Descent is definitely the scariest and most thrilling film on the list. It is a dark, claustrophobic film. Afraid of things that go bump in the night? How about things that go bump in a narrow cave that you can't escape? Love it. Neil Marshall is a force to be reckoned with in the genre. His previous film, and feature debut, Dog Soldiers nearly made my Top 10 as well. Keep up the good work!
1. SHAUN OF THE DEAD, 2004
Directed by Edgar Wright
Screenplay by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg
A slacker, Simon Pegg, is determined to win the admiration of long-suffering girlfriend during a zombie apocalypse, but will their friends ruin his plan and possibly cost them their lives?
Yeah, I did it. I declared a comedy the best horror film of the decade. It definitely was not the scariest film, but it was the best written and best directed and best acted one. It is an endlessly rich viewing experience. I have watched it innumerable times and I always find something new to enjoy.
I was an early devotee of the film. I was given a bootleg DVD of the film many months prior to the film's release in the United States. I talked it up endlessly. I loved the chemistry between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who plays his ne'er-do-well friend in the film. I would watch anything the two them did together. The funny thing is that, as good as they film is, the same team would surpass it with their next film Hot Fuzz. (Their final film in the Cornetto trilogy, The World's End, is also good, but not up to the same standard. I credit that minor failing to a role reverse between Pegg and Frost and the characters they would normally play.) If you like zombie films and you like comedies, go no further!
Other notables:
HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, 2009. This Ti West film has the authentic feel of a 'seventies devil film. Starts slow, but packs a punch. DOG SOLDIERS, 2002. Neil Marshall's feature debut is an exciting werewolf film. 28 DAYS LATER..., 2002. Probably should have made the Top 10, but I already had too many zombie films. SAW, 2004. Saw the Scary Movie spoof first. Hard to take the film seriously after that. DRAG ME TO HELL, 2009. Sam Raimi returns to the genre. Pretty good, but not Top 10. GINGER SNAPS, 2000. Another great little werewolf film. LAND OF THE DEAD, 2005. Zombiemeister Romero lets his social commentary get the best of him this time out. HOSTEL, 2005. Torture porn. Not interested. THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, 2005. A serious film based on a real case. ZOMBIELAND, 2009. This was a good year for ZomComs, but I went with Shaun instead, despite the assist from Bill Murray here. THE LOST ROOM, 2006. Not horror, but my favorite mini-series on the SyFy channel. BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON, 2006. Best take on the slasher genre since Scream. SESSION 9, 2001. Moody and atmospheric. Horror movies are like retail. It's always: Location, location, location! SIGNS, 2002. Aliens, who can be killed by water, invade the Earth. Really? I mean, really? TWILIGHT, 2008. Nah. JEEPER CREEPERS. 2001. Saw it and liked it before I found out the director was a convicted child molester. Come on, Hollywood. What are you thinking?
Other Lists:
Top 10 Comedies of the 2000s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1990s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1980s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1970s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1960s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1950s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1940s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1930s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 2010s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 2000s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1990s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1980s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1970s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1960s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1950s
Top 15 Horror Films of the 1930s and 1940s
My 10 Favorite James Bonds Films
My 10 Favorite Faith Based Films
My 10 Favorite Laurel & Hardy Shorts
Top 10 Comedies of the 1990s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1980s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1970s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1960s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1950s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1940s
Top 10 Comedies of the 1930s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 2010s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 2000s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1990s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1980s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1970s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1960s
Top 10 Horror Films of the 1950s
Top 15 Horror Films of the 1930s and 1940s
My 10 Favorite James Bonds Films
My 10 Favorite Faith Based Films
My 10 Favorite Laurel & Hardy Shorts
The 10 Worst Films I Paid To See!
My 5 Favorite Westerns
7 Guy Films
20 Films, or Confessions of a Misspent Youth
The Marx Brothers Films Ranked
The Chaplin Mutual Shorts Ranked
Beatles Albums Ranked
My 20 Favorite Beatles Songs
My 5 Least Favorite Beatles Songs
My 5 Favorite Rolling Stones Albums
My 5 Favorite Dylan Albums
My 5 Favorite Westerns
7 Guy Films
20 Films, or Confessions of a Misspent Youth
The Marx Brothers Films Ranked
The Chaplin Mutual Shorts Ranked
Beatles Albums Ranked
My 20 Favorite Beatles Songs
My 5 Least Favorite Beatles Songs
My 5 Favorite Rolling Stones Albums
My 5 Favorite Dylan Albums
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Listen to me read some chapters here:
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I have few more favourites in 2000s, 1408 (2007), The Fog (2005), Queen of the Damned(2002) and the Gravedancers (2006).
ReplyDeleteI didn't see Queen of the Damned, but I really liked the other films.
ReplyDelete