With recently successful horror releases like Fresh and Scream, what better time to take a look at some of the best horror films of the previous decade, according to the thousands of cinephiles over at Ranker?
The 2010s were amazing for horror fans. The decade included both a large number of iconic reboots, as well as completely original visions by some truly incredible filmmakers, both new to the genre and familiar faces.
Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
Insidious: Chapter 2 is writer Leigh Whannell and director James Wan's second film in the popular Insidious paranormal-horror film series. The movie takes place after the events of the first film, as the Lambert family believes they have defeated the evil spirits haunting them, but they quickly find out how hard evil spirits actually are to shake.
While this isn't one of the best Insidious movies and wasn't as well-received critically as the original, it did a lot better at the box office and sparked a franchise, with multiple films to follow.
The Cabin In The Woods (2011)
The Cabin In The Woods is a very creative horror movie by director Drew Goddard that manages to take many well-known horror tropes and make fun of them by turning them upside down and making the movie something completely original.
The film is about a group of friends having fun in a remote cabin, but they quickly begin discovering the truth behind the cabin. The Cabin In The Woods is an unexpected cult classic that stars Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, and Richard Jenkins.
Get Out (2017)
Get Out is a groundbreaking social horror film about a young Black man who is visiting his white girlfriend's family for the first time, and his uneasiness about their reception of him quickly reaches a boiling point. The film is written and directed by Jordan Peele, who was relatively new to the genre at the time of the film's release and mainly known for his work in comedy.
Get Out is the most critically successful horror movie of the 2010s, earning Peele an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film is truly scary and thought-provoking and features one of the best horror movie sidekicks of all time.
A Quiet Place (2018)
A Quiet Place is a post-apocalyptic horror film about a family that's forced to live in silence as they hide from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing. The film is written and directed by John Krasinski, another newcomer to the horror genre, and did very well critically as well as at the box-office sparking multiple sequels.
The film also stars Krasinski, as well as his wife, Emily Blunt, as the husband-wife duo battling for their family's lives, and fans absolutely loved the on-screen chemistry the two shared. Fans often cite A Quiet Place as one the best alien invasion movies ever made.
The Autopsy Of Jane Doe (2016)
The Autopsy Of Jane Doe is about a father and son, who are both coroners, and it centers around a mystery involving the murder of an unidentified young woman as they work on the body. The film is directed by Andre Ovredal and features incredible performances from Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch as the titular father-son.
The film is one of the more underrated horror movies of the 2010s, as it had a relatively low budget and didn't do that well at the box office. However, fans loved the simple and straightforward narrative that featured well-played twists and turns.
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
The Conjuring 2 is director James Wan's horror sequel in the Conjuring franchise and is about Ed and Lorraine Warren traveling to North London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued with evil spirits.
The film wasn't as well-received critically as the original, but it was still a box-office hit, as fans absolutely loved the incredibly haunting antagonist of the film, The Nun. The Conjuring 2 stars Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, and Madison Wolfe.
It (2017)
It is the terrifying adaptation of Stephen King's iconic novel of the same name and is about a group of bullied kids grouping together to fight against a shape-shifting monster and then returning to kill the monster once and for as adults when it returns.
The film and eventual sequel were incredibly successful commercially and critically, as fans loved how true to the novel the adaptation was. It also features incredible performances from the entire all-star cast, featuring Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Martell, and Finn Wolfhard. Many fans consider this to be one of the Stephen King movies with the best re-watch value.
Insidious (2010)
Insidious is a paranormal horror movie about a family looking to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose son in a different realm called "The Further." The film is written by Leigh Whannell and directed by James Wan and is the first film in the Insidious franchise.
Insidious was made on a relatively low budget, but was incredibly well-received upon release and went on to spark three sequels. It features outstanding performances from Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Ty Simpkins.
The Conjuring (2013)
The horror genre in the 2010s was truly dominated by James Wan, as he directed or at least had a hand in making most of the best and most successful horror films of the decade.
The Conjuring is just another example of this, as Wan stunned and absolutely terrified audiences with the movie about paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren as they work to help a family being terrorized by a dark presence. The film features iconic performances from Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson in the titular roles of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
Sinister (2012)
Sinister is a terrifying horror movie about a true-crime writer finding a box of old Super-8 movies in his new home that suggests the murders he is currently investigating are linked to a serial killer from the '60s.
The movie is written and directed by Scott Derrickson and features stand-out performances from Ethan Hawk, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Juliet Rylance. Sinister takes familiar horror tropes and uses them in new and unique ways to scare anyone who watches it to the end.