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The 2010s were a spine-chillingly good decade for horror. James Wan‘s The Conjuring established one of the genre’s most popular franchises ever. It smashed box office records. Most significantly, a wave of more thoughtful horrors like Hereditary, Raw, and The Witch found both commercial success and critical acclaim.
The genre was also not afraid to deal with weighty, relevant themes. Horrors made for some of the decade’s best character studies (The Babadook) and social commentaries (Get Out). Stylistically, A Quiet Place pushed the boundaries of what the genre could achieve without sound. It Follows and The Cabin in the Woods put a tongue-in-cheek (but still frightening) spin on horror tropes. If the 2020s are anything like the 2010s, fans of things that go bump in the night are in for a treat.
‘The Conjuring 2’ (2016) – IMDb: 7.3/10
James Wan’s filmography has some major duds (case in point: Malignant) but The Conjuring series is not one of them. Few horrors can compete in terms of pure thrills and wholesome heroes. The second installment follows the Warrens as they head to England to investigate the Enfield poltergeist, a real alleged haunting in 1977.
Ed and Lorraine Warren make for some of the most likable horror leads in years, thanks to Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson‘s committed performances. Watching them bust ghosts and expel demons just never gets old.
‘It’ (2017) – IMDb: 7.3/10
Many were apprehensive about how well a new adaptation of Stephen King‘s sprawling, unwieldy 1986 novel would turn out, but director Andy Muschietti knocked it out of the park with the first half of this horror epic. It Chapter One captured the book’s dark tone and complex characters without descending into the borderline self-parody of the 1990 miniseries.
The film follows the Losers’ Club as kids when they first confront the shape-shifting clown – and their own demons. The performances by the young leads are top-notch and help elevate It into a kind of supernatural Stand By Me. It proved that even in the 2010s, Stephen King’s stories still have the power to bewitch and entertain.
‘Hereditary’ (2018) – IMDb: 7.3/10
Ari Aster‘s debut film is a suburban nightmare; a tale of loss, grief, and domestic strife disguised as a ghost story. Hereditary premiered less than five years ago, but it’s already entered the conversation as one of the best horrors of all time.
Aster has said that Hereditary is fundamentally a family drama. That’s true: the film is focused on how families can move forward after tragedy when accusations, guilt, and resentment threaten to shatter familial bonds. He explored similar themes to great effect with Midsommar. Hopefully, Aster maintains his winning streak with his next film, Disappointment Blvd., a comedy-horror starring Joaquin Phoenix set to be released next year.
‘Doctor Sleep’ (2019) – IMDb: 7.3/10
The Shining casts a long shadow, so it wasn’t obvious that a sequel to Stanley Kubrick‘s classic would succeed. But, surprisingly, Doctor Sleep is one of the most fun horrors of the last five years, largely because it doesn’t try to rehash The Shining. Instead, Doctor Sleep is almost more of an adventure story.
Ewan McGregor stars as the grown-up Danny Torrance, a psychic who uses his powers to help people connect with their lost loved ones. Meanwhile, a cult hunts down children with supernatural abilities to extend their lifespans. Danny risks his life to protect the cult’s latest target, a girl named Abra (Kyliegh Curran). Doctor Sleep even drew praise from Quentin Tarantino, who called it one of the best movies of 2019.
‘Tucker and Dale vs Evil’ (2010) – IMDb: 7.5/10
Few recent movies upend horror tropes more gleefully than this black comedy from Eli Craig. Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk star as the titular pals, a pair of friendly but goofy hillbillies. Things start to get wild when a group of college students mistakenly believes that Tucker and Dale are murderers out to get them.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil draws on the legacy of films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but flips them. It asks: what if Leatherface was actually a nice guy? The film also proves that you can serve up jokes without skimping on the gore. Indeed, Tucker and Dales vs Evil boasts grisly scenes involving chainsaws, a wood chipper, and a sawmill.
‘A Quiet Place’ (2018) – IMDb: 7.5/10
A Quiet Place begins with a simple premise – an attack by monsters with supersonic hearing – and crafts this into a unique and powerful thriller. The lack of sound makes the viewer focus more on the visuals, where even the simplest shots (of an exposed nail, for example) can build tension.
The chemistry between John Krasinski and Emily Blunt carries the film, and the child stars also more than rise to the occasion. Together, they convincingly portray a family bonded by trauma, struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. A Quiet Place drew praise from the king of horror himself: in a tweet, Stephen King called the film an “extraordinary piece of work.”
‘The Conjuring’ (2013) – IMDb: 7.5/10
It’s no surprise that the first Conjuring launched one of the most successful horror franchises ever – it’s one of the most purely entertaining horror movies of the last few years. James Wan uses the story of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren to spin his high-octane vision.
The film is like horror comfort food, in the best way. It draws on tropes from classics like The Exorcist and Poltergeist but puts a more hopeful and ultimately uplifting spin on its tale of possession. The Conjuring might not have broken any new ground, but it earned its legion of fans by delivering plenty of great scares. Indeed, almost a decade later, that scene with the clap is still chilling.
‘The Skin I Live In’ (2011) – IMDb: 7.6/10
The Skin I Live In offers no jump-scares or schlock, but it might have the most disturbing plot of any film on this list. It follows a plastic surgeon (Antonia Banderas) holding a young woman (Elena Anaya) captive in his home. He uses her to test out his newly-developed synthetic skin. Slowly, the pair’s backstory is revealed to us, and the film heads to some truly dark places.
Like most of director Pedro Almodóvar‘s movies, The Skin I Live In is visually impressive, with stylish cinematography and beautiful mise en scène. He uses the horror concept to put a fresh spin on the familiar themes he has explored throughout his career, including violence, grief, and identity. It makes for a film that lingers on the mind long after the credits have rolled.
‘Train to Busan’ (2016) – IMDb: 7.6/10
Just when the zombie subgenre seemed to be getting stale, this South Korean film from director Yeon Sang-ho burst onto the scene like a runaway train. The premise is simple: a group of survivors tries to travel to safety while hordes of zombies pursue them. But the humans on the train are almost as dangerous as the dead.
The film skillfully uses the train setting to explore social divides and class conflict. It quickly becomes clear that some characters are more than willing to sacrifice others to stay alive. In this regard, Train to Busan is kind of like Night of the Living Dead meets Parasite. Horror aficionado Edgar Wright was a big fan, calling it the “best zombie movie I’ve seen in forever”.
‘Get Out’ (2017) – IMDb: 7.7/10
It was no secret that Jordan Peele had serious comedic chops. His show with Keegan Michael-Key had been cleverly poking fun at social issues for years. But no one expected his feature debut to be one of the most creative films of the decade, a horror doubling as a satire of racial tension in post-Obama America. Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), an African-American man, and his white girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) spend the weekend with her parents. The awkwardness and tension mount from their arrival, eventually culminating in a twisted secret worthy of a Cronenberg movie.
The script crackles with wit, and Peele directs with the confidence of a veteran. In particular, he demonstrates a remarkable talent for misdirection. For example, the scene near the end when the cop car arrives is a master class in toying with the audience’s emotions. At first, the viewer feels exasperation, not relief (revealing in and of itself), but then this is upended by the reveal of who is really in the squad car. Get Out (and follow-ups Us and Nope) catapulted Peele to the forefront of the genre. It should be fascinating to see what other nightmares he has in store for us in the 2020s.
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