Top 5 Horror Movies of the 2010s

At this time of year, everyone always talks about A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, The Thing, and other films from the golden age of horror. These films will always be wonderful, especially compared to today’s horror films. Many modern “scary” movies are just pointless gore-fests or cliched ghost stories bereft of charm and originality.

However, there are a few films of the last decade that may someday be considered classics, just like the horror movies of the 70s and 80s. These films have good acting, good stories, creepy music, and memorable monsters. Here, we’ll look at 5 of the best fright flicks of the 2010s.

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The Purge

Released in 2013, The Purge was a somewhat creative and experimental film working on a simple premise: every year, there is a “purge” in America making all types of crime legal for 12 hours. Somehow, this purge makes America better, with both the crime and unemployment rates dropping immensely for the rest of the year.

Would something like this really work? Of course not. But it’s a fun idea for a horror film, as there’s nothing more harrowing than becoming a possible victim and not having access to police until the morning.

Created by writer/director James DeMonaco, the film spawned three sequels, a TV show, and an upcoming fourth sequel. Critics haven’t been too kind to the franchise, but the filmmakers are clearly doing something right, as the films are definitely successful. The reasons for this are probably the tension associated with the franchise as well as the current turmoil of division within the government and the populace.

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Insidious

Many think that the first Insidious film was one of the scariest movies of recent memory.

Released in 2011, the film was directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, the same duo responsible for creating the Saw franchise. The filmmakers arguably did an even better job than they did with their first franchise, filling every frame of the movie with dread and suspense.

In the film, a family is plagued by the supernatural as their young son slips into a coma. The boy becomes a conduit for evil spirits who wish to take over his body and enter the reality of mortals. The spirits are truly frightening to look at, especially the red faced demon. And the old woman trying to possess the father? Yeah, don’t think about that before you fall asleep.

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The Conjuring

James Wan is a fantastic horror director. In addition to Saw and Insidious, he also helped create the Conjuring universe, serving as director for the first film and helping write the backbone of the story for the rest of the franchise.

The Conjuring was released in 2013. Based on the efforts of real life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, it exhibited wonderful tension and great performances by the actors. Patrick Wilson played Ed Warren. The actor had previously starred in another Wan movie, Insidious, and he’s come to be known as something of an icon in the horror community. The character’s wife, Lorraine, was portrayed by the always excellent Vera Farmiga, and she along with Wilson serve as the backbone of the story.

And what a story it is. The Warrens arrive at the farmhouse of the Perron family. The family has experienced frequent paranormal events, and they fervently hope that the ghost experts can restore peace and sanity to their home. Aside from the supernatural dangers of the Perron home, the Warrens also have to protect their own family from other dangers, including a malicious doll known as Annabelle.

The first Conjuring spawned a full-fledged horror franchise, with spin-off films such as The Nun and the Annabelle films.

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Get Out

It was only a couple of years ago that Jordan Peele wrote and directed a film called Get Out. This filmmaker was mostly known for his comedy, including his hit show, Key and Peele, with Keegan-Michael Key.

The horror community was surprised to discover that Peele is actually a mastermind of suspense, just as talented with scares as he is with laughs. His style honored the work of past horror directors such as Wes Craven and M. Night Shyamalan, but it was still quite unique compared to most other modern films.

In Get Out, a young black man named Chris meets the parents of his white girlfriend. But he soon discovers that these parents and their friends are actually very sinister. These villains are systematically targeting African-American individuals, and their plan is quite fiendish – it involves hypnotism, surgery, and total control.

The film is incredibly suspenseful, and it was praised for its atmosphere and the performances of the actors. It shows the evils of racism, and its structure is very layered and complex. It was even nominated for Best Picture at the 90th Academy Awards. Peele released another horror film, Us, this year to similar praise from critics.

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IT

Who doesn’t love a good Stephen King adaptation? Most of them are entertaining, even if they don’t quite match the level of dread in the original novels. But in 2017, one of them came pretty close.

An evil being is living in the town of Derry. It preys on children. It can transform into your greatest fear, but It’s most common form is that of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. It’s cruel, hungry and vicious. And It will never stop.

This monster is a part of King’s incredibly complex fictional world involving creation, death and rebirth. There are many entities and deities in this fictional universe, mostly described in The Dark Tower series and related books.

One movie, or even a couple, could not possibly tell the full story of King’s mythological world, but they don’t have to. The most important element to a story like this is fear, and It has that element in spades.

In addition to the fact that the film is creepy and disturbing, the performances of the young actors are absolutely fantastic, and viewers are left wishing for the story to continue. The music, especially the Pennywise theme, is also quite memorable. All in all, the film is arguably even better than the It miniseries of 1990.

It: Chapter 2 was released this year. It too (It 2) could have made it on this list, but it wasn’t quite as shocking or well-made as the first one.

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What horror films released in the last decade have been your favorite? Anything we left of the list? Let Your Geek Sideshow and tell us in the comments below!

For even more creepy content and ghoulish giveaways, check out Spooktacular.com. Sideshow’s Spooktacular 2019 runs from October 24th-31st. You don’t want to miss out on this week-long celebration of all things frightening and fun!