Best horror movies from the last decade
While franchise installments continue to populate the horror genre, the last decade has seen a wild uptick in terms of breadth and diversity. As such, the best horror films of the last 10 years incorporate a full spectrum of styles and influences. For example, "Get Out" works just as well as dark comedy or social commentary as it does classic horror. Then there's the just-released "The Lighthouse," which underscores psychological themes and art-house atmosphere with genuine horror tropes.
Additionally, the last decade has seen the consistent emergence of what might be best described as underdog horror hits. Representing genuine vision and originality, movies such as "It Follows," "The Witch," and "Hereditary" made waves in the festival circuit before taking audiences by storm. In the process, they helped maintain an ongoing auteurist trend, which provides a much-needed counterpoint to the standard blockbuster and franchise fare. All the while, they still delivered the chills and thrills that audiences expect from the genre.
Celebrating one of cinema's purest pleasures, Stacker presents the best horror movies from the last decade. To create the list, Stacker compiled recently released data from Letterboxd—an online film database and cinephile community—on the highest-rated horror films of the decade. To qualify, the film had to be listed as "horror" on at least one of the other major movie databases (IMDb, Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, etc.), released in the U.S. theatrically or on streaming services between Jan. 1, 2010 and October 2019, and watched by at least 1,000 Letterboxd users. Letterboxd scores are out of five. Any ties were broken by the number of votes.
As one will soon discover, names like Jordan Peele, Ari Aster, Sion Sono, and Robert Eggers are at the forefront of the modern horror genre. Meanwhile, five female directors appear on the list: Ana Lily Amirpour, Julia Ducournau, Juliana Rojas, Anna Biller, and Jennifer Kent. Along similarly forward-thinking lines, the list is overflowing with international titles, from countries like South Korea, Japan, Iran, Mexico, Estonia, and others. Refusing to be pigeon-holed, the horror genre has arguably never been as diversified as it has been for the last decade.
Genre can be tricky: We believe it helps describe and communicate the vibe of a film, not to serve as a limiting factor on what films can and cannot be. There are no hard and fast lines that define horror, and we, like Letterboxd, agree that leaning into more open interpretations of what fits into genres is best practice for getting a pool of films that represent all possible expressions of a particular genre. Every film on the list has been considered according to the cinematic history and development of horror. Without further delay, here are the best horror movies from the last decade.
#50. The Babadook (2014)
- Director: Jennifer Kent
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.51
- Votes: 98,091
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 94 min
While still grappling with a personal loss, a widow and her son battle a mythical storybook creature. Or is the seemingly real terror all in their heads? Inspired by films like "The Shining," Jennifer Kent's full-length directorial debut walks a fine line between the psychological and supernatural.
#49. Sleep Tight (2011)
- Director: Jaume Balagueró
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.52
- Votes: 4,892
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 102 min
The phrase "misery loves company" gets a film all its own with this Spanish psychological thriller, which was later remade in South Korea. Determined to spread his unhappiness to others, an apartment building concierge goes to disturbing extremes. It's one among several beloved horror films from director Jaume Balagueró, who helped create the "REC" series.
#48. The Love Witch (2016)
- Director: Anna Biller
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.53
- Votes: 19,200
- IMDb user rating: 6.2
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 120 min
Paying homage to a bygone era of gothic horror, Anna Biller's second full-length feature centers on a witch named Elaine. Equipped with various love spells and potions, Elaine seduces a string of men to disastrous results. Bringing the film's influences further to life is a lush Technicolor-style palette.
#47. Under the Shadow (2016)
- Director: Babak Anvari
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.54
- Votes: 13,359
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 84 min
Set in 1980s Iran, this supernatural horror film goes down against a backdrop of perennial warfare. While coping with the real terrors outside their door, a mother and daughter must face a new enemy from within. It won a BAFTA Film Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.
#46. Ready or Not (2019)
- Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.54
- Votes: 25,916
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 95 min
When a young bride joins her new husband for a weekend with his wealthy in-laws, she ends up playing a deadly version of hide-and-seek. Fans of the short story (and subsequent film adaptations) "The Most Dangerous Game" will surely recognize the premise which gets upgraded with various twists and a comic sensibility. To date, the film has earned over $57 million worldwide on a reported budget of just $6 million.
#45. The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
- Director: Drew Goddard
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.54
- Votes: 112,612
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 72
- Runtime: 95 min
Drew Goddard's cult classic sends five friends to a remote cabin in the woods, where they get picked off one by one. If it sounds like a generic slasher premise in the making—that's exactly the point. Hovering just beyond the textbook surface is something far more creative and unique.
#44. The Guest (2014)
- Director: Adam Wingard
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.55
- Votes: 33,189
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 100 min
On the heels of the surprise hit "You're Next," director Adam Wingard returned to terrorize another family in a violent and comedic fashion. Their name is the Petersons and they experience a string of horrific events after bringing a young man into their home. As it turns out, the man has some twisted ideas about standing up for one's self.
#43. The Conjuring (2013)
- Director: James Wan
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.56
- Votes: 101,153
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 112 min
Delivering a lucrative jolt to the "exorcism" sub-genre, this hit horror flick kicked off an entire franchise. Set in 1971, it follows paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) as they investigate a haunting in Rhode Island. According to legend, the reportedly true story upon which this film is based is even scarier.
#42. The House That Jack Built (2018)
- Director: Lars von Trier
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.57
- Votes: 34,136
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 42
- Runtime: 152 min
Lars von Trier's controversial drama stars Matt Dillon as a serial killer named Jack, who recounts 12 years of unchecked murder and madness. Sparing no gruesome detail, it prompted outrage and walkouts as early as its Cannes debut.
#41. Bedevilled (2010)
- Director: Jang Cheol-soo
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.58
- Votes: 3,105
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 115 min
Hoping for a change of pace, a young bank employee visits her friend on the small island of Mudo. Once there, she discovers that the friend has been subject to brutal torture and abuse from various locals. It all paves the way for an attempted escape plan and gruesome revenge story in this South Korean horror thriller.
#40. Stoker (2013)
- Director: Park Chan-wook
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.59
- Votes: 36,353
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 99 min
The English-language debut from South Korean director Park Chan-wook, "Stoker" kicks off with the tragic death of a husband and father named Richard Stoker (Dermot Mulroney). While coping with the loss, Richard's wife (Nicole Kidman) and daughter (Mia Wasikowska) take his long-lost brother into their home. That's when things get weird.
#39. It (2017)
- Director: Andy Muschietti
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.59
- Votes: 204,037
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 135 min
No list of best horror movies is complete without a Stephen King adaptation, not to mention one that cracked $700 million at the worldwide box office. The first chapter in a two-part saga, "It" pits a group of friends against a shape-shifting clown straight out of their worst nightmares. The movie was so impactful that the World Clown Association blamed it for ruining their reputation.
#38. Helter Skelter (2012)
- Director: Mika Ninagawa
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.60
- Votes: 1,749
- IMDb user rating: 6.4
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 127 min
Based on a serialized manga, this Japanese horror drama centers on a top supermodel named Lilico. In her pursuit of a perfect face and body, Lilico undergoes multiple plastic surgeries. When complications and side effects manifest, it sends her life into a tailspin and takes others along for the ride.
#37. Cold Fish (2010)
- Director: Sion Sono
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.60
- Votes: 3,858
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 146 min
Upon landing a job at the local fish store, a young woman discovers that the seemingly kind owners are homicidal maniacs. So goes this blood-soaked cult classic from Sion Sono, which was loosely based on the exploits of real-life serial killers Sekine Gen and Hiroko Kazama. It garnered acclaim at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals before getting released in America by the horror website Bloody Disgusting.
#36. Mandy (2018)
- Director: Panos Cosmatos
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.61
- Votes: 54,357
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 121 min
An oversaturated color palette and brooding King Crimson song set the template for this psychedelic revenge film from Panos Cosmatos. The secluded and blissful life of a young couple is upended by drug-gulping cult members, who kill one partner and leave the other for dead. Armed with assorted weapons and his unquenchable anger, the surviving partner (Nicolas Cage) dispenses with vigilante justice.
#35. Guilty of Romance (2011)
- Director: Sion Sono
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.62
- Votes: 1,924
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 56
- Runtime: 144 min
The conclusion to an informal trilogy, this horror drama finds director Sion Sono once again sparing no explicit detail or stylistic device. It opens with a grisly murder scene in one of Tokyo's love hotels, before going back in time to track the story of two women. As the film jumps between past and present, a frank exploration of sex and violence unfolds.
#34. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)
- Director: Eli Craig
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.62
- Votes: 38,385
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 89 min
Turning the cabin horror sub-genre on its head, this gory comedy introduces two well-intentioned rednecks named Tucker and Dale. While vacationing in a dilapidated mountain house, Tucker and Dale are mistaken for crazed killers by a group of preppy college students. A big hit on the festival circuit, the movie plays with various horror tropes to surprisingly earnest effect.
#33. Upgrade (2018)
- Director: Leigh Whannell
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.62
- Votes: 47,297
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 100 min
One of the greatest films that audiences forgot to see in 2018, "Upgrade" takes place in the not-too-far-off future. Upon losing his wife and most of his motor functions in a tragic mugging incident, a man (Logan Marshall-Green) agrees to partake in an experimental program. Now equipped with a computer chip named STEM, he embarks on a semi-comedic and thoroughly graphic quest for revenge.
#32. It Follows (2014)
- Director: David Robert Mitchell
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.62
- Votes: 115,391
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 83
- Runtime: 100 min
With its synth-heavy soundtrack and retro tropes, David Robert Mitchell's sophomore effort brings classic 1970s and 1980s horror full circle. After falling victim to a sexually transmitted curse, a young woman (Maika Monroe) must constantly evade a supernatural terror. Shot on a budget of just $1.3 million, it premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and went on to become one of the year's biggest indie hits.
#31. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
- Director: Dan Trachtenberg
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.63
- Votes: 125,092
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 103 min
What began as a spec script called "The Cellar" became the second installment in the "Cloverfield" series. Upon waking from a car accident, a woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) finds herself locked inside an inescapable shelter. The men keeping her there say it's for her own protection, but can she trust them?
#30. Good Manners (2017)
- Directors: Marco Dutra, Juliana Rojas
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.64
- Votes: 4,111
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 73
- Runtime: 135 min
When Clara is hired as the nanny for Ana's unborn child, the two women forge a tight bond. Their atypical relationship and the film's tonality both take an abrupt turn once the child is born. At that point, the low-key drama goes full creature feature.
#29. Bone Tomahawk (2015)
- Director: S. Craig Zahler
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.64
- Votes: 33,294
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 72
- Runtime: 132 min
Like most films from S. Craig Zahler, this one unfolds at a gradual pace before culminating with a series of graphic encounters. Set at the turn of the 20th century, it follows a group of rugged men as they hunt down cannibal kidnappers. That brings them straight into the enemy's lair, where unspeakable evils await.
#28. Kotoko (2011)
- Director: Shin'ya Tsukamoto
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.65
- Votes: 823
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 91 min
J-pop artist Cocco conceived the original story for this psychological drama, in which she also stars. Suffering from mental illness, Kotoko (Cocco) creates a hostile living environment and loses custody of her only child. Rife with kinetic camerawork and top-notch performances, it won the Venice Horizons Award at the 2011 Venice Film Festival.
#27. Tumbbad (2018)
- Directors: Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi, Adesh Prasad
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.65
- Votes: 1,878
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 104 min
Human greed unleashes the full wrath of an ancient god in this acclaimed epic. Hindi filmmaker Rahi Anil Barve spent decades bringing the work to life, producing a 650-page graphic storyboard along the way. Culling from various genres, the movie defies convention and categorization alike.
#26. Shin Godzilla (2016)
- Directors: Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.65
- Votes: 17,932
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 120 min
Japan is plunged into chaos when a giant lizard monster emerges from the sea, wrecking all forms of havoc upon buildings and people. A reboot of the nation's most beloved franchise, this monster movie dispenses with a rather familiar storyline. That said, filmmakers drew further inspiration from the recent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
#25. Annihilation (2018)
- Director: Alex Garland
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.65
- Votes: 156,454
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 115 min
Director Alex Garland's follow-up to "Ex Machina" similarly punctuates a sci-fi premise with assorted horror tropes. It follows biologist and former U.S. soldier Lena (Natalie Portman) into a realm known only as The Shimmer, where reality and fantasy collide. Just below the hallucinatory surface are several humanistic themes, including grief and self-destruction.
#24. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
- Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.69
- Votes: 26,257
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 101 min
With help from IndieGogo backers, Ana Lily Amirpour created a full-length version of her previous short film. Described as "the first Iranian vampire Western," it finds the inhabitants of a ghost town being victimized by a lonely vampire. Presented in black and white, the movie mixes various genres and influences to create an utterly unique experience.
#23. Raw (2016)
- Director: Julia Ducournau
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.69
- Votes: 60,192
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 99 min
After tasting meat for the first time, a young vegetarian (Garance Marillier) takes her new cravings to shocking extremes. Chock full of graphic content, the film uses its vampire-like premise to explore themes of lost innocence. Writing for The New Republic, critic Josephine Livingstone called it a "gorgeously moving film...albeit one best viewed on an empty stomach."
#22. November (2017)
- Director: Rainer Sarnet
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.71
- Votes: 2,927
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 115 min
It's 19th-century Estonia and the Black Death has consumed a small village, taking the literal form of various creatures and demons. To survive the cold and dark winter, locals resort to all sorts of magic and trickery. When a young boy and girl conjure mythical powers hoping to spark a romance, tragedy ensues.
#21. Climax (2018)
- Director: Gaspar Noé
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.71
- Votes: 41,302
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 97 min
Controversial filmmaker Gaspar Noé unveils a new bag of tricks in this psychedelic drama, which unfolds over the course of a single night. While gathered for a rehearsal, a group of young dancers accidentally consume heavy amounts of LSD. What starts as ecstasy slowly descends into psychotic agony.
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#20. Suspiria (2018)
- Director: Luca Guadagnino
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.73
- Votes: 65,084
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 152 min
Dario Argento's iconic Italian horror film gets an art-house upgrade from award-winning director Luca Guadagnino. Protracting upon the original in every conceivable way, it peels back the layers of a dance company to reveal the evils lurking therein. Chloë Grace Moretz, Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson, Mia Goth, and others star.
#19. Coherence (2013)
- Director: James Ward Byrkit
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.74
- Votes: 31,154
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 89 min
Upon gathering for a dinner party on the night of an astronomical anomaly, eight friends undergo a series of mind-bending events. At the heart of the story are heady theoretical concepts like "quantum decoherence" and parallel universes. Reportedly shot on a budget of just $50,000, the film cleverly confines most of its action to a single location.
#18. Green Room (2015)
- Director: Jeremy Saulnier
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.74
- Votes: 78,306
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 95 min
Striking a middle ground between thriller and horror, Jeremy Saulnier's second full-length film delivers no shortage of gut-wrenching violence. It follows a rock band to their gig at a skinhead bar in the Pacific Northwest, where they witness a murder. Now considered collateral damage, the band must fight to survive.
#17. Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)
- Director: Issa López
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.76
- Votes: 4,142
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 83 min
There are ghosts in Issa López's dark fantasy film, but the everyday violence of the Mexican drug war is just as terrifying. After being orphaned by the local cartel, young Estrella desperately wishes for the return of her dead mother. It paves the way for a haunting meditation in every sense of the concept.
#16. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
- Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.77
- Votes: 81,885
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 73
- Runtime: 121 min
Filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos brings his twisted sensibility to this art-house thriller, which takes place in a vaguely familiar world. When a respected surgeon (Colin Farrell) falls victim to a deadly curse, he must make a harrowing sacrifice or suffer fatal consequences. Instead of straightforward horror, the film delivers a perennial atmosphere of mystery and dread.
#15. Us (2019)
- Director: Jordan Peele
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.77
- Votes: 151,582
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 116 min
On the heels of "Get Out," Jordan Peele returned to the horror genre with this wildly successful follow-up. It follows the Wilson family to Santa Cruz, Calif., where they come face to face with deadly doppelgangers. Critics were far more receptive than audiences, who largely felt it was a step down for Peele.
#14. A Quiet Place (2018)
- Director: John Krasinski
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.77
- Votes: 189,615
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 90 min
Equipped with ultra-sensitive hearing abilities, aliens lay most of civilization to waste in this lucrative invasion movie. A man (John Krasinski) and his family survive by keeping quiet, but they must do more than that when delivering their new baby. Krasinski returned to direct a hotly anticipated sequel, which wrapped filming in September and will premiere in 2020.
#13. Train to Busan (2016)
- Director: Yeon Sang-ho
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.80
- Votes: 70,335
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 72
- Runtime: 118 min
While taking the train from Seoul to Busan, a man and his family must deal with a sudden zombie outbreak and its apocalyptic repercussions. Even those suffering from zombie fatigue might want to check out this briskly paced action thriller. In South Korea, it was the first film of 2016 to break the audience record of over 10 million theatergoers.
#12. The Witch (2015)
- Director: Robert Eggers
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.83
- Votes: 123,517
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 83
- Runtime: 92 min
Robert Eggers' full-length directorial debut announced a major voice in cinema and horror alike. Set in 17th-century colonial America, it portrays a small Christian family as it's torn apart by forces of witchcraft. Eggers performed vast amounts of research before bringing the story to life, cultivating what he later described as "a Puritan's nightmare."
#11. Midsommar (2019)
- Director: Ari Aster
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.85
- Votes: 104,676
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 72
- Runtime: 147 min
Putting a modern spin on the Pagan ritual sub-genre, Ari Aster's sophomore effort sends a group of friends to a remote Swedish commune. It's there that they partake in a rare festivity, which is centered on the concepts of death and renewal. One can probably guess where the story goes from here, though don't assume there are no surprises in store.
#10. The Skin I Live In (2011)
- Director: Pedro Almodóvar
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.86
- Votes: 32,332
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 120 min
Pedro Almodóvar's foray into horror and suspense buries its melodramatic themes beneath a subversive veneer. Determined to craft invincible skin, a brilliant plastic surgeon (Antonio Banderas) turns a mysterious woman into his human guinea pig. Despite some Cronenberg-esque overtones, this film is unmistakably the product of its creator.
#9. Take Shelter (2011)
- Director: Jeff Nichols
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.87
- Votes: 26,425
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 120 min
Haunted with apocalyptic visions, a man (Michael Shannon) tears his family apart while preparing for a storm that may never come. Executing a slow build, director Jeff Nichols tasks his audience with determining whether the main character is prophetic or delusional. All is revealed in the movie's final moments.
#8. The Wailing (2016)
- Director: Na Hong-jin
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.88
- Votes: 24,777
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 156 min
A stranger arrives in a small town and seems to bring a deadly sickness with him, which spreads amongst the villagers. When an investigator's daughter shows symptoms, he's in a race against time to uncover the truth. Critics were near-universal in their acclaim of this harrowing South Korean horror flick, citing its deft blend of various genre elements.
#7. I Saw the Devil (2010)
- Director: Kim Jee-woon
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.93
- Votes: 28,273
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 142 min
After losing his fiancé to a demented serial killer, a secret agent goes beyond the pale in his pursuit of justice. It paves the way for a shockingly gruesome game of cat and mouse, in which the line between predator and prey gets forever blurred. The film had its U.S. premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, where it was picked up for a limited theatrical release.
#6. Hereditary (2018)
- Director: Ari Aster
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.96
- Votes: 161,756
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 127 min
A grandmother passes away and leaves more than just memories behind in Ari Aster's acclaimed debut. While coping with the loss, a woman (Toni Collette) and her family suspect that they've inherited something sinister. Anchored by Collette's performance, the film provides an even-handed blend of gothic horror and domestic drama.
#5. One Cut of the Dead (2017)
- Director: Shin'ichirô Ueda
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.99
- Votes: 12,358
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 96 min
Gut-busting in both the literal and figurative sense, Shin'ichirô Ueda's horror comedy follows a hack filmmaker and his crew to an abandoned World War II facility. What's supposed to be a low-budget zombie movie becomes something far more effective when actual zombies emerge. Shot for just $27,000, the film rode a wave of positive buzz to achieve major box office success in Japan.
#4. Black Swan (2010)
- Director: Darren Aronofsky
- Letterboxd user rating: 3.99
- Votes: 160,940
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 108 min
After securing the lead role in "Swan Lake," a talented ballet dancer (Natalie Portman) descends into madness. Director Darren Aronofsky employs a dark and claustrophobic aesthetic while conveying themes of psychological suffocation. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, with Portman winning for Best Actress.
#3. What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
- Directors: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi
- Letterboxd user rating: 4.04
- Votes: 99,540
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 86 min
Chronicling the life of three vampire flatmates, this beloved mockumentary strikes a deft balance between mundane comedy and graphic violence. When the flatmates recruit a fourth member, jealousy and drama ensues. A TV series adaptation was recently renewed on FX for a second season.
#2. Get Out (2017)
- Director: Jordan Peele
- Letterboxd user rating: 4.13
- Votes: 279,936
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 104 min
When visiting his white girlfriend's rich parents for the weekend, a young black man falls into a deadly trap. Infusing classic horror conventions with prescient comedy, Jordan Peele's directorial debut grabbed the zeitgeist by the jugular. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and became the first African American to do so.
#1. The Lighthouse (2019)
- Director: Robert Eggers
- Letterboxd user rating: 4.25
- Votes: 22,988
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 83
- Runtime: 109 min
Filmed on 35mm in black and white, the latest effort from Robert Eggers takes place in late 19th-century New England. While working together in a remote lighthouse, two men (Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson) struggle to retain their respective sanities. Moody and atmospheric, the film's built-in folklore plays out like a prolonged fever dream.
