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 late 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 I'm looking into our current decade. Obviously, this blog only deals with films released to date. I am sure there will be at least one more great film before the actual end of the decade.
This was a very good decade for horror films. There were great studio horror films, and great independent ones, too. I had a hard time restricting myself to ten films.
Once again, according to the ground rules I handcuffed myself with 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.
Since this list features recent films, I will try to avoid spoilers.
Here's the list:
It's up to Brad Pitt to save the world in this big budget zombie apocalypse film.
This film plays more like an action film than a horror film, and benefits from a high level re-watchability. According to a story in Vanity Fair, this was a very troubled production. They described an entirely different ending that was scrapped in favor of the one currently in the film. To me, the first ending sounded more fun. I wish they would have included it as a bonus feature on the Blu-Ray.
A young man, who was hospitalized for years for killing his parents, teams up with sister to destroy a haunted mirror he believes was responsible for the death of his parents.
Based on his award-winning short film, Mike Flanagan hits a home run with this time and dimension twisting tale of terror. I knew Mike from his time at our shared alma mater Towson University. We really got to know each other when his remarkable film Ghosts of Hamilton Street hit the festival circuit the same time as my first feature 21 Eyes. Sadly, that Twilight Zone-ish film never got the distribution it deserved. Fortunately, he finally made the big time with this film.
Read my interview with Mike Flanagan: Here.
An intensely religious family, living on the edge of the wilderness in early colonial New England, blame their misfortune on witches.
It took me a while to see this film. I put in my Blu Ray player, but my wife made me turn it off as soon as the baby disappeared. (She does not tolerate abuse of babies!) I later watched this film as part of the Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast. Our guests thought it was a perfect film. I disagreed, but it is very good one indeed. It is worth watching for the score, performances and period detail along.
But bad things do happen to children, so you've been warned....
A true crime writer, Ethan Hawke, moves his family into a house that was the site of a horrible murder while he writes his next book. Things go from bad to worse, when he finds some home movies in the house which show a series of murders....
Blumhouse has become a powerhouse in the horror genre, and this is one of my favorites. Why? Maybe it is because Hawke finds some Super 8mm films. Being an old Super 8mm collector, that immediately bumped the film up a couple of stars. This is a genuinely creepy movie.
A group of stereotypical college students head to a deserted college in the woods only to find themselves subjects in a much larger plan.
This is another classic "meta" film that takes a look at the typical tropes of horror films, and places them in a new context. This horror-comedy follows two story lines -- the fate of the college students in the cabin, and the fate of highly-organized government organization manipulating their actions from a bunker deep underground. To say more would be to ruin the film. Just watch and enjoy.
Mankind has been mostly wiped out by an invasion of creatures that hunt entirely by sound. One small family must find a way to survive in this silent world.
Who would have thought John Krasinski would come up with one the decade's best horror films? Not me! This film establishes the stakes beautifully with the killing of a child, and builds compelling suspense since mother Emily Blunt is pregnant and about to give birth. How could a crying baby survive in this world? Watch and find out.
A woman is stalked by an unknown entity, only she can see, after a sexual encounter. The only way to evade the entity would be to have sex with someone else and pass the entity onward, though it would mean near certain death for her partner.
The slasher films of the late-70s and the early-80s always made a not-too-subtle connection between teenage sexual promiscuity and horrible death. This film makes the link much more explicit with its unexplained entity that passes between potential victims through sex. The entity itself is a great, slow-moving monster that rarely appears threatening but whose inexorable nature makes its all the more terrifying. An excellent film! I am looking forward to more films from the writer/director.
A weird children's pop-up book appears at the home of a single mother, and before long the demonic titular creature is terrorizing the family.
Australian Jennifer Kent brings something long too lacking in the horror genre: A female perspective. This chilling film conveys the growing dread of a mother who realizes she is battling something beyond the realm of her experience. I look forward to see more films from Ms. Kent.
A group of teens battle a shape-shifting creature, taking the form of a clown, which appears every generation to feed on the inhabitants of a small town in Maine.
Let's face it: Most Stephen King adaptations suck. Sometimes it is because events that you can buy on paper seem absurd when dramatized, i.e., Maximum Overdrive. But that's not the main problem. I think the main problem is that the producers who buy the rights to the books don't see the need to spend the money needed to make a good film. They are confident that King name alone will put butts in the seats. Fortunately, the producers of this film wanted to make a good film. And they did. My only problem with this film was that they weren't shooting both parts at once. We have to wait too long for part two!
The mysterious matriarch of a dysfunctional family dies, but her terrifying plans for her descendants continue.
When I saw this trailer, I knew I had to see the film and I was not disappointed. However, it was not the "horror" footage that had me riveted, as good as it was. It was the drama within the grieving family. This is a smart, extremely well-acted film that compelling deals with the madness that often accompanies grief and guilt. It was those scenes which were the most effective.
Honorable Mention:
GET OUT, 2017. I really liked this film with biting social commentary, but I couldn't see it as a Best Picture nominee. Kept getting bumped from the Top 10 because the commentary works better than the horror. THE CONJURING, 2013. Real life demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren hit the big screen in this film. I found their books very helpful when I was dealing with a haunting situation back in the late-'80s. TRAIN TO BUSAN, 2016. I had to choose between this taut Korean film or World War Z to represent the zombie genre in the Top 10. I went with WWZ, but this film is a must-see for fans of the genre. THE NIGHT WATCHMEN, 2017. Great little horror comedy about some inept night watchmen battling clownpires. It's a thing. IT COMES AT NIGHT, 2017. This film garnered a lot buzz and critical praise, but I didn't groove to it. Overrated. UNFRIENDED, 2014. A film told entirely via the perspective of what the lead character sees on her computer monitor? Count me in. Mostly works. THE RITUAL, 2017. A group of city friends going on a hiking trip through Scandinavia and run afoul of a cult worshipping an ancient god. Pretty good Netflix film. THE OPEN HOUSE, 2018. Speaking of Netflix originals, this film has atmosphere galore, but utterly blows it in the end. And, speaking of wasted opportunities, there's the lifeless 2010 reboot of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. That made the lamest sequels look good. The 2010 reboot of the Universal classic THE WOLFMAN is elevated by the performances, but no great shakes. INSIDIOUS, 2010, keeps the possession genre alive and well.
Other Lists:
This was a very good decade for horror films. There were great studio horror films, and great independent ones, too. I had a hard time restricting myself to ten films.
Once again, according to the ground rules I handcuffed myself with 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.
Since this list features recent films, I will try to avoid spoilers.
Here's the list:
10. WORLD WAR Z, 2013
Directed by Marc Forster
Story by Matthew Michael Carnahan & J. Michael Straczynski
Based on the novel by Max Brooks
It's up to Brad Pitt to save the world in this big budget zombie apocalypse film.
This film plays more like an action film than a horror film, and benefits from a high level re-watchability. According to a story in Vanity Fair, this was a very troubled production. They described an entirely different ending that was scrapped in favor of the one currently in the film. To me, the first ending sounded more fun. I wish they would have included it as a bonus feature on the Blu-Ray.
9. OCULUS, 2013
Directed by Mike Flanagan
Written by Mike Flanagan & Jeff Howard
Based on the short film by Mike Flanagan & Jeff Seidman
A young man, who was hospitalized for years for killing his parents, teams up with sister to destroy a haunted mirror he believes was responsible for the death of his parents.
Based on his award-winning short film, Mike Flanagan hits a home run with this time and dimension twisting tale of terror. I knew Mike from his time at our shared alma mater Towson University. We really got to know each other when his remarkable film Ghosts of Hamilton Street hit the festival circuit the same time as my first feature 21 Eyes. Sadly, that Twilight Zone-ish film never got the distribution it deserved. Fortunately, he finally made the big time with this film.
Read my interview with Mike Flanagan: Here.
8. THE WITCH, 2015
Written and directed by Robert Eggers
An intensely religious family, living on the edge of the wilderness in early colonial New England, blame their misfortune on witches.
It took me a while to see this film. I put in my Blu Ray player, but my wife made me turn it off as soon as the baby disappeared. (She does not tolerate abuse of babies!) I later watched this film as part of the Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast. Our guests thought it was a perfect film. I disagreed, but it is very good one indeed. It is worth watching for the score, performances and period detail along.
But bad things do happen to children, so you've been warned....
7. SINISTER, 2012
Directed by Scott Derrickson
Screenplay by Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill
Blumhouse has become a powerhouse in the horror genre, and this is one of my favorites. Why? Maybe it is because Hawke finds some Super 8mm films. Being an old Super 8mm collector, that immediately bumped the film up a couple of stars. This is a genuinely creepy movie.
6. CABIN IN THE WOODS, 2012
Directed by Drew Goddard
Screenplay by Josh Whedon & Drew Goddard
A group of stereotypical college students head to a deserted college in the woods only to find themselves subjects in a much larger plan.
This is another classic "meta" film that takes a look at the typical tropes of horror films, and places them in a new context. This horror-comedy follows two story lines -- the fate of the college students in the cabin, and the fate of highly-organized government organization manipulating their actions from a bunker deep underground. To say more would be to ruin the film. Just watch and enjoy.
5. A QUIET PLACE, 2018
Directed by John Krasinski
Story by Bryant Woods & Scott Beck
Mankind has been mostly wiped out by an invasion of creatures that hunt entirely by sound. One small family must find a way to survive in this silent world.
Who would have thought John Krasinski would come up with one the decade's best horror films? Not me! This film establishes the stakes beautifully with the killing of a child, and builds compelling suspense since mother Emily Blunt is pregnant and about to give birth. How could a crying baby survive in this world? Watch and find out.
4. IT FOLLOWS, 2014
Written and Directed by David Robert Mitchell
A woman is stalked by an unknown entity, only she can see, after a sexual encounter. The only way to evade the entity would be to have sex with someone else and pass the entity onward, though it would mean near certain death for her partner.
The slasher films of the late-70s and the early-80s always made a not-too-subtle connection between teenage sexual promiscuity and horrible death. This film makes the link much more explicit with its unexplained entity that passes between potential victims through sex. The entity itself is a great, slow-moving monster that rarely appears threatening but whose inexorable nature makes its all the more terrifying. An excellent film! I am looking forward to more films from the writer/director.
3. THE BABADOOK, 2014
Written and Directed by Jennifer Kent
A weird children's pop-up book appears at the home of a single mother, and before long the demonic titular creature is terrorizing the family.
Australian Jennifer Kent brings something long too lacking in the horror genre: A female perspective. This chilling film conveys the growing dread of a mother who realizes she is battling something beyond the realm of her experience. I look forward to see more films from Ms. Kent.
2. IT, 2017
Directed by Andy Muschietti
Based on the novel by Stephen King
A group of teens battle a shape-shifting creature, taking the form of a clown, which appears every generation to feed on the inhabitants of a small town in Maine.
Let's face it: Most Stephen King adaptations suck. Sometimes it is because events that you can buy on paper seem absurd when dramatized, i.e., Maximum Overdrive. But that's not the main problem. I think the main problem is that the producers who buy the rights to the books don't see the need to spend the money needed to make a good film. They are confident that King name alone will put butts in the seats. Fortunately, the producers of this film wanted to make a good film. And they did. My only problem with this film was that they weren't shooting both parts at once. We have to wait too long for part two!
1. HEREDITARY, 2018
Written and Directed by Ari Aster
The mysterious matriarch of a dysfunctional family dies, but her terrifying plans for her descendants continue.
When I saw this trailer, I knew I had to see the film and I was not disappointed. However, it was not the "horror" footage that had me riveted, as good as it was. It was the drama within the grieving family. This is a smart, extremely well-acted film that compelling deals with the madness that often accompanies grief and guilt. It was those scenes which were the most effective.
Honorable Mention:
GET OUT, 2017. I really liked this film with biting social commentary, but I couldn't see it as a Best Picture nominee. Kept getting bumped from the Top 10 because the commentary works better than the horror. THE CONJURING, 2013. Real life demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren hit the big screen in this film. I found their books very helpful when I was dealing with a haunting situation back in the late-'80s. TRAIN TO BUSAN, 2016. I had to choose between this taut Korean film or World War Z to represent the zombie genre in the Top 10. I went with WWZ, but this film is a must-see for fans of the genre. THE NIGHT WATCHMEN, 2017. Great little horror comedy about some inept night watchmen battling clownpires. It's a thing. IT COMES AT NIGHT, 2017. This film garnered a lot buzz and critical praise, but I didn't groove to it. Overrated. UNFRIENDED, 2014. A film told entirely via the perspective of what the lead character sees on her computer monitor? Count me in. Mostly works. THE RITUAL, 2017. A group of city friends going on a hiking trip through Scandinavia and run afoul of a cult worshipping an ancient god. Pretty good Netflix film. THE OPEN HOUSE, 2018. Speaking of Netflix originals, this film has atmosphere galore, but utterly blows it in the end. And, speaking of wasted opportunities, there's the lifeless 2010 reboot of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. That made the lamest sequels look good. The 2010 reboot of the Universal classic THE WOLFMAN is elevated by the performances, but no great shakes. INSIDIOUS, 2010, keeps the possession genre alive and well.
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
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.
Listen to me read some chapters here:
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