**This list was updated March 2019 for a lot of new additions. There have been some fantastic horror films the last couple of years.**
It’s probably obvious to regular readers that I’m rarely a fan of modern day horror films. I’m sure I come across as quite picky since my ratings for current horror films, even ones I seemed to enjoy, are usually pretty low. I’d never call horror my favorite genre (it’s sci-fi) but that’s probably because there are far more bad films within this genre than in any other. But when a genuinely good horror comes along, I love it! Unfortunately, the good ones have just been few & far between since about 1987 (when the awesome A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors was released). 😉
So, even though horror films of the Seventies & Eighties will forever be my favorites, I wanted to prove that I have actually liked a few since 1987. However, most of the movies on this list still come nowhere near the genius of things like The Shining & The Omen but there’s been an improvement in the quality of horror releases the past couple of years. Hopefully this continues.
One quick note: I’VE EXCLUDED HORROR COMEDIES! When working on this list, I ended up with lots of them as I’ve liked so many since the year 2000. As I already did a list of My Top Ten Horror Comedies, I’ve decided to leave them out to keep things simple. I’m also leaving out some films I like that I don’t consider horror and see more as “thrillers”, such as my guilty pleasure The Purge films & the excellent Battle Royale, and some monster movies like Cloverfield & The Host. I’ve also left out Slither, which I put into My Top Ten Body Horror Movies list.
So, here are My Top Ten 21st Century Horror Movies counting down to my favorite (but let’s be annoying & make it a Top 20…):
TOP TWENTY:
20. The Secret Of Marrowbone
19. The House Of The Devil
18. Ginger Snaps
17. [Rec]
16. Land Of The Dead
15. Gerald’s Game
14. The Others
13. Final Destination
12. A Quiet Place
11. The Orphanage
TOP TEN:
10. TIE: A Tale Of Two Sisters & Let The Right One In
9. The Descent
8. Mandy
7. The Mist
6. 28 Days (& Weeks) Later…
5. It Follows
3. It (2017)
2. The Babadook
Some Honorable Mentions:
Saw (first film only – hate the rest)
The Conjuring
The Innkeepers
The Boy
Absentia
Honeymoon
The Wailing
Pontypool
Hereditary
Us
Cinema Parrot Disco 
Yes! The Descent would definitely be one of my favourite horrors.
Yes! The Descent is great. Awesome, claustrophobic atmosphere. Glad to hear from a fan. : )
These are great, though I thought Slither was a horror comedy. lol
Ha! I’ve had this argument with my hubby already. ; ) Yep, it’s a horror comedy. However, I left it off my Horror Comedy list as I instead decided to include it in my Top Ten Body Horrors list. So, I decided to include it here too. Because I love it & it’s an absolute favorite (although, yeah – body horror with comedic elements). I have all kinds of “rules” for my lists that make sense only to me… Lol! ; )
Great list! Its nice to see the Others and the Orphanage there. Funny Games (2007), Insidious (2010) and Battle Royal (2000) are some of my other favourites from 2000s. Do see the Witch – I am sure it would have made your top 21, though I was less impressed with it than some others were…
Thanks! : ) I didn’t really like Insidious. Is Funny Games the original or remake (can’t remember if they had the exact same name)? I have the original on DVD but have never watched it – it looks very disturbing. Hmm… I hadn’t thought of Battle Royale as I guess I didn’t see it as a “horror” in the same way I didn’t consider any Tarantino films for this list. Do like it, though! : ) (In fact, I’m reading the book right now…)
Fun list. I’m a big fan of both Conjuring films. Far better than I ever expected. Also like The Descent.
Thank you! The Conjuring was great. I was a bit disappointed with the second one, though. Glad so many people also like The Descent! : )
You’ve certainly seen more horrors than I. Of your main list, I’ve only seen The Babadook, which is actually the best kind for me: scary, effective, and not gory. Other favorites of mine would be The Others and The Conjuring, which I guess fall into the same category. Been meaning to see the second Conjuring. I’d also recommend 2015’s Hidden for the same reason, and King of Thorn, though it’s bloody in parts.
I’ve seen quite a few, which is weird as I don’t exactly love horror these days. I FAR prefer the exact type you’ve mentioned so I’m definitely going to look into your recommendations. Thanks! I love your recommendations – you often manage to surprise me with some unique stuff. : )
Aww, thanks! Glad to hear that. There’s plenty more where that came from!
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Nice to see some foreign language titles on your list! 🙂
Thank you! I put them on there just for you… 😉 lol – Okay, not really. Foreign horror just happens to often be better than a lot of the English language shit that gets pumped out! Ugh. There are SO many bad American horrors….
Some good picks here!
Thank you, Zoë! And Absentia got an honorable mention… ; )
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I’ve only seen a few of these but I did like them.
Cool! Which ones? You liked them because I have good taste… 😉 lol
Let the Right One In is probably one of my favourite 21st Century movies, horror or otherwise. I mean, I don’t know how high I’d put it on that list, but it’d be on there. The Babadook is excellent too, and I have a soft spot for Land of the Dead.
I really must see It Follows and The Descent, though. And I’ve been saying that about the latter for over 10 years now! Crikey…
Oh, I’d genuinely love to know what you think of It Follows. It’s…. “Different”… I loved it but plenty hated it. And, yay – hubby thinks I suck for liking Land of the Dead. : )
The main thing I’d heard about It Follows was “instant classic”, but more recently I’ve seen negative takes. I guess I ought to get round to finding out for myself!
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Great list of movies. Glad to see It Follows, and Ginger Snaps on here I would have put Train to Busan over the remake of Dawn of the Dead but glad to see its on your list.
Thanks! I do admit that I adore Dawn Of The Dead for some reason, even though it has its faults. (The original is one of my all-time favorite films, though). 🙂 And, man, I had just realized that I missed a film in my update. I forgot Mandy!!! Crap. Looks like I have to update this list again. 🙂
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