Favorite Horror Movies of the Decade

As this decade comes to a close, I am going to take a look back at some of the best films in a variety of categories. From Best Picture winners to horror movies and everything in between, I hope to provide you some insight into some gems you may have missed and maybe you can take a look back on the decade and decide which films you like, loved, or maybe do not ever want to see again.

The first of this series is coming in the form of Horror. Horror films took an interesting turn this decade, one that has led to it becoming a more respected genre. While the typical B horror movies still exist, auteurs like Jordan Peele and Ari Aster have begun to create films that are being recognized by the Academy. Some dubbed this elevated horror, while others push back against this term as a snobby way to view this films. However you feel, it can't be denied that horror movies have become more slick, and some don't always feel like conventional horror at all.

Here are some of my favorite horror movies from this decade and a few of my thoughts about each one.

Final Destination 5

After just describing the artistic side that horror has begun to take the form of, I come out with the goofiest of this list. Final Destination 5 continues the Final Destination franchise and comes up with more innovative death scenes, plenty of blood, but features a twist at the end that ties the whole series together in a satisfying way. Not the best movie by any means, but one of my personal favorites.

The Witch

To start off, this one is not going to be a crowd pleaser. A period piece taking place in 1630s New England, the accents are thicker than the haze covering the small farm land. No flashy kills or funny one liners but instead immense dread and a lot of unease. Just because it does not feature conventional horror stereotypes makes it no less scary. And best of all it is currently streaming on Netflix.

Get Out

The highest grossing movie on this list, chances are you have probably seen this one. Jordan Peele made the jump from comedy to horror in maybe the most fascinating media development of the decade. The thrills of the movie keep us guessing on the first go around, but the layers are good enough to have a high level of rewatchability.

The Cabin in the Woods

A mystery box that the less you know about the better. What starts as a pretty standard cabin in the woods slowly turns into something much more sinister and clever. It's currently available to stream on Apple for less than a dollar.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

Another horror-comedy of sorts, Tucker and Dale face off against evil itself. Whereas the teens in the woods believe our titular heroes are axe wielding psychopaths, the two think the teens have a suicide pact in which they are randomly killing themselves. Cue death by woodchipper, among many others. While it slows down a little in the third act, the first two feature enough jokes and blood to make any horror fan happy.

Don't Breathe

Don't Breathe permanently ruined Thanksgiving for me. And it also turned what could have been a hokey premise into something much more. Takes a lot of tropes (old man alone in house, something hidden in basement) and turns the terror up on them. The kids thought they were breaking in, but what they have to break out is even more surprising.

Green Room

More terror than pure horror, yet still features grotesque imagery and incredibly realistic injuries and wounds. Sir Patrick Stewart flipped his classic genial persona to a hardened Neo Nazi as one the scariest monsters to come out of the decade in film. And it features some good music from a genre I wouldn't normally listen to.

The Visit

M. Night Shyamalan finally returned with an ultra low budget horror movie that was suitably creepy and returned Shyamalan to his horror roots. The classic twist brought chills to my arms and instantly turned the tension up. And the twist comes about halfway through the movie, meaning we had to sit through the ramifications for the rest of the movie. And it's actually good found footage (a genre that was thankfully mostly left in the 2000s).

Hush

A movie that doesn't turn the technology off, but instead uses it as part of the terror (a feat hard to do in the modern world). Another movie that could have relied on its premise for cheap scares instead takes time to set up pay offs that are incredibly rewarding. It is currently streaming on Netflix.

Unsane

Takes technology to the extreme by actually shooting the movie on an iPhone. We can never truly trust what we are seeing as we are being led by a potentially unreliable narrator, or maybe she is telling the truth the entire time. Super intense and engaging for the entire run time and emerges us into the story through extreme close ups and a fishbowl effect on the lens.

Wish I had seen but never got the chance:
The Babadook, Sinister, You're Next, The Love Witch, and Let Me In