The 2010s of horror was a decade of inconsistency and a hectic range of quality. There was everything from mediocre remakes of classics to an onslaught of cheap productions and critically acclaimed indie hits. Yet, as erratic as the decade was, there were still plenty of excellent movies.
Regardless of which era of horror cinema you’re talking about, there will always be standouts. It’s inevitable that a selection of superb flicks will arise among the sea of forgotten features lost to time. From low-budget indies to breakthrough film debuts, the 2010s have blessed audiences with some genuinely fantastic movies.
10The Cabin In The Woods
It’s challenging to offer a unique modern spin on a classic film genre. Especially concerning the horror genre, nearly every subgenre has been done previously. It was this desire to revitalize horror that drove Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon to write The Cabin in the Woods.
Centering on a group of teenagers surviving against the myriad of monsters and mysterious organizations seeking their collective demise, 2011’s The Cabin in the Woods took the titular concept and completely spun it on its head.
9It Follows
While the 2010s saw plenty of soulless remakes and shoddily-produced cash grabs, the horror genre was also blessed with some exceedingly fresh movies during the decade. When looking at the best of the best from the years, no conversation is complete with It Follows.
David Robert Mitchell’s slow-burn horror paragon is dripping with masterful filmmaking, superb acting, and bona fide inventiveness. Centered on Jay Height (played excellently by Maika Monroe), It Follows focuses on Jay being stalked by a mysterious entity only she can see.
8Annihilation
Among horror’s litany of various subgenres, there’s perhaps none more strikingthan cosmic horror. Primarily narratives fixated around ancient evils or terrors beyond human comprehension, cosmic horror has been responsible for some of the most visionary creative narratives ever written.
If there were a magnum opus of cosmic horror filmmaking, it would be 2018’s Annihilation. An adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s novel of the same name, Annihilation, was directed and written by the brilliant Alex Garland and boasts an all-star cast and breathtaking visuals.
7Green Room
It’s hard to tell a truly unique story, the kind of narrative that has yet to be seen throughout the century of evolving cinema. Yet occasionally, a gifted director or writer will develop a one-of-a-kind standout film among the sea of unoriginality.
Enter 2015’s Green Room, written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier. Revolving around a young punk-rock band being hired to perform at a neo-Nazi club only to become trapped in said club, Green Room is brutal, suspenseful, and will have your stomach turning.
6It Comes At Night
There have been plenty of regrettable circumstances of a film’s marketing damaging its commercial viability. Whether from a misinformed narrative ora misleading trailer, it can impair a film’s financial success. In the case of It Comes at Night, it was the former that harmed it.
It Comes at Night was falsely advertised as a ‘monster’ story when, in reality, the ‘It’ in the title refers to paranoia. Directed and written by Trey Edward Shults, It Comes at Night is a tragically underrated horror masterwork.
5Bone Tomahawk
At one point, Westerns were some of the most widespread and celebrated cinema releases. From the masterful movies featuring Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone to the more art house productions, it’s safe to say Westerns have fallen from the limelight.
Still, there’s been a handful ofmarvelous modern Westerns, with one of the finest being 2015’s Bone Tomahawk. Revolving around a group of men venturing to rescue people kidnapped by a cannibalistic tribe, Bone Tomahawk features a cast of grade-a talent and razor-sharp direction.
4A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Since Bram Stoker’s original Dracula, vampires have long been an endearing feature of the horror zeitgeist. From the abhorred Twilight movies to the host of celebratedCastlevaniavideo games, it seems like every flavor of the vampiric tale has been done.
2014’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a one-of-a-kind vampire story that takes inspiration from Westerns as well. Directed and written by Ana Lily Amirpour, the plot spotlights the life of a solitary vampire in the Iranian ghost town Bad City.
3Under The Shadow
If you’re looking for unique movies, you’d be wise to look outside the United States to get your fill. From Japan to Germany and everywhere in between, you’ll find plenty of variety. Horror, especially, has loads of quality foreign films under its wide banner.
2016’s Under the Shadow was directed and written by Babak Anvari and was a co-international production between the UK, Jordan, and Qatar. This phenomenal feature focuses on a mother and daughter haunted in 1980s Tehran during the War of the Cities.
2The Witch
It’s easy to forget that one of the most defying trends from 2010s horror was the onslaught of cheap, maladroitly produced movies. It’s difficult to pinpoint which film marked the beginning of the rise of indie horror glory, but if there was a candidate, it might be The Witch.
Directed and written by Robert Eggers, The Witch is justly heralded as a horror masterpiece, and for a good reason. From its truly masterful direction to its commitment to capturing the period, there’s plenty to admire.
1Hereditary
Regarding the genre that’s most particularly routinely excluded from the award scene, it would be horror. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Golden Globes or the Oscars; you’d be hard-pressed to find a genre of films more unfairly neglected from the conversation.
If there were a horror picture deserving of being showered with accolades, it would be Ari Aster’s critically acclaimed feature film debut, Hereditary. With fantastic acting, nightmarish visuals, flawlessly constructed screenplay, and immaculate storytelling, Hereditary is a jewel in the horror genre crown.
