The general consensus among filmmakers is that while independently produced movies don't guarantee wide distribution or big payouts, they give directors the opportunity to make their cinematic visions come true with little interference from outside forces. While this means fantastic films sometimes fall under the radar, the advent of streaming services has made these films easier to access.
Independent movies tend to be more experimental, subversive, and outlandish. When it comes to horror, a genre with a massive fanbase, independent films made new strides during the 2000s. Many of these lower-budget features even penetrated the mainstream, launching their stars into blockbuster careers.
Ginger Snaps (2000) - 6.8
Ginger Snaps was way ahead of its time, taking the historically male-dominated werewolf trope in horror and transforming it into a bloody, feminist metaphor for coming into one's own as a woman. Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle star as sisters Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald, whose lives change forever when they are attacked by a werewolf one night.
Ginger begins her lycanthropic metamorphosis, one that makes her ravenous for both food and sex. As Brigitte vows to find a cure for her sister's affliction, Ginger has her way with all kinds of folks around town.
Eden Lake (2008) - 6.8
James Watkins's low-budget British slasher pitches a vacationing couple against a group of violent teenagers. Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender play Jenny and Steve in Eden Lake, who decide to leave the city for the weekend to go camping by a remote lake and visit an old quarry Steve used to frequent.
It couldn't have been a worse decision to make, as the couple is soon tormented and accosted by a gang of local high schoolers. When Jenny reaches out to local adults for help, she soon discovers they are just as sadistic as the kids they raised.
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) - 7.0
For comedy-horror fans, it doesn't get much better than Bruce Campbell playing an elderly Elvis Presley. Bubba Ho-Tep takes this basic premise to the next level, supposing the real Elvis faked his own death and eventually retired at an East Texas nursing home -- a nursing home being taken over by an ancient Egyptian mummy in the film's president.
Good thing Campbell's Elvis is good friends with JFK, a nursing home resident played by the iconic Ossie Davis who claims to be the assassinated former president. Only 32 prints of the film were circulated around film festivals, making Bubba Ho-Tep a hot commodity long before it ever saw a DVD release.
Martyrs (2008) - 7.1
What's the best way to gain insights into whether or not an afterlife really exists? According to the relentlessly gory French film Martyrs, the path toward transcendence involves torturing women until they achieve a kind of twisted state of euphoria.
The brutal plot unravels on-screen with more violence than even the avid horror fan is used to, making it one of the most controversial genre features of all time. Rightfully so, Martyrs is affiliated with the New French Extremity movement
The Descent (2005) - 7.2
Neil Marshall made the independently-produced The Descent for 3.5 million pounds, and it went out to make over $57 million US dollars in worldwide theatres -- making it a box-office winner. How did this graphic, claustrophobic story about a group of female friends who get stuck in an Appalachian cave system occupied by flesh-eating humanoids do so well with mainstream audiences?
The film's universal tale of survival, matched with its fast pace, shocking jump scares, and creature effects, made it stand out. The Descent still remains Marshall's best film by far, one whose success he has yet to recapture.
Timecrimes (2007) - 7.2
Fans of Timecrimes consider the Spanish-language cross-genre thriller one of the best modern takes on time travel. The film stars Karra Elejalde as Héctor, who inadvertently stumbles into a time machine and travels back one hour.
This launches Héctor into a time loop that will only end if he kills his other parallel, multiplying selves. This low-budget venture relies on dark, situational comedy in lieu of special effects to keep audiences engaged.
An American Crime (2007) - 7.3
Based on a true story, An American Crime stars Elliot Page as 16-year-old Sylvia Likens. During the 1960s, Likens and her sister Jenny were left in the care of a suburban single mother named Gertrude Baniszewski, who is played by Catherine Keener in the film.
With the help of both her own and neighborhood children, Baniszewski locked Likens in her basement and tortured her for months. The horror Likens endured is brought to life with brutal realism in An American Crime.
REC (2007) - 7.4
Rec is considered one of the best-found-footage horror films since The Blair Witch Project. This Spanish-language follows a local TV reporter as she decides to spend a night with firefighters.
When they are finally dispatched to help a woman trapped in a tenement apartment complex, the scene quickly escalates into violence. Without giving any reasons, authorities force everyone to remain inside the building, including the TV crew; everyone watches on as the building is sealed off, but the horror is only beginning.
Shaun Of The Dead (2004) - 7.9
A milestone for both British horror-comedy and zombie films, Shaun of the Dead achieved both mainstream and underground fame when it was released. The film centers around lowly sales Shaun, played by Simon Pegg, who finds himself in the midst of a zombie apocalypse while sipping on a pint at his local pub.
With his ragtag gang of misfits, Shaun rallies against the dead trying to feast on his flesh. While Shaun of the Dead was produced independently, it was eventually picked up by Universal Studios for distribution.
Let The Right One In (2008) - 7.9
The Swedish film Let the Right One In is far from a mainstream vampire movie. In fact, it's actually a macabre love story between a bullied 12-year-old boy Oskar and the child vampire Eli who moves into his apartment complex.
Set in the 1980s, the film paints a snowy, frigid portrait of Stockholm and its environs. The only bit of warmth Oskar finds is from Eli, who in turn comes to rely on Oskar for companionship.