We are two months away from the 2010s being over. It was, to say the least, a decade full of innovation and change. Especially in film. One genre that particularly felt fresh in spite of a few remakes and reboots is horror. From merchandise to conventions, horror has become prolific again. In turn, studios are more likely to invest in horror movies. Which means films we never dreamt of being made are actually being made today.
But for every runaway hit like The Conjuring or Stephen King's It, there are a number of fright flicks that don't get the attention they deserve. So, bearing that in mind, here are ten horror movies from the last decade that are certifiably underrated.
Big Bad (2016)
Three teenagers agree to be locked inside an old, abandoned jailhouse as part of a school-sanctioned event. But as the night goes on, they realize someone other than their teacher is lurking about. It then quickly becomes clear that there is some kind of unknown beast roaming the grounds.
Big Bad has a protracted, possibly unnecessary prologue that may deter some potential new fans. Yet if they can make it past that, this creature comedy is a surprisingly good time. Best of all, it never takes itself too seriously while still maintaining some semblance of a good ol' chasey horror movie.
Come Back to Me (2014)
A housewife wakes up with no recollection of what happened before she fell asleep. This happens again and again. When she sets up a camera to record her nocturnal activities, she is shocked by what she sees.
Come Back to Me is unfairly written off as a low-budget movie that has the look of a Lifetime thriller. Pushing past its outward appearances, Paul Leyden's debut as a horror director shows great promise. The revelation of what has been happening to the main character is appalling, and the ending is downright startling.
Devil in the Dark (2017)
As two estranged brothers try to reconnect during a hunting trip in the Canadian wilderness, they come across an uncanny entity living in the forest.
Devil in the Dark is not your typical monster movie. In fact, it's far from it. What happens here is more of an involving drama about two siblings who have lost touch for a multitude of reasons. And like the status of their relationship, their fate is up in the air as they come across an unfathomable, presumably malevolent creature in the woods. It's not the stalk n' slash you have come to look for in this kind of movie, but Devil in the Dark goes against the grain in a great way.
After (2012)
When two strangers meet on a bus, their lives are forever changed. One minute, people are everywhere. The next, only these two are left. What is their connection, and how is their bond affecting the rest of the world? And what is this beast that hides in the shadows?
After acts very much like a prolonged episode of The Twilight Zone without feeling too heavy either. It's a mystery worth diving into. On top of things, the emotion at the center of this supernatural meet-cute is fairly touching.
Shopping Tour (2012)
A Russian single mother and her teenage son go on a shopping tour in Finland. And when their bus is guided towards a store that is only opened for them, they and the other tourists are attacked by the cannibalistic locals. As it turns out, this area has a devious, annual tradition.
Shopping Tour is an economical, found-footage horror movie that's more clever than it's given credit for. It's brisk, darkly funny, and, at times, just plain mad. The combination of real-time suspense and surface-level glimpses at regional folklore is a smart choice on Mikhail Brashinskiy's part.
Burning Bright (2010)
A college student might have to forfeit her education so she can take care of her little brother, who has autism. When a hurricane approaches their and their stepfather's home, they find themselves not only braving the inclement weather, but also an unforeseen predator. For someone has locked the siblings inside their home with a ferocious tiger.
Burning Bright is thought to be the unofficial inspiration — and in general, a forerunner in the sub-genre of horror crises amid natural disasters — for Alexandre Aja's Crawl. It's a heart-rending, stressful thriller about fighting the natural elements as well as the cruel hand we're all dealt.
Butterfly Kisses (2018)
A struggling filmmaker is handed a collection of mysterious tapes. On them is the unfinished project of two students who were documenting a local legend native to the area — Peeping Tom. It is believed this shadowy figure appears at the end of a train tunnel after you stare in that direction for one hour without blinking. The deeper the filmmaker investigates the tapes and the footage, the more dangerously obsessed he becomes. And the closer he gets to the real story, he finds out some legends are based on fact.
Butterfly Kisses is an unheralded, found-footage movie that breathes life into the divisive niche. It is slowly gaining an audience, though. This movie is both stirring and frightening in ways you wouldn't expect.
Late Phases (2014)
A cantankerous father and military veteran with impaired vision moves into a retirement community. His neighbors do not like him very much, and his son is frustrated with his father's attitude towards him and his own family. But as night falls, the vet is faced with an enemy he never thought he would encounter in this place — a pack of werewolves.
Late Phases plays out unequally as a character study and a werewolf film. While the furry fiends may be the biggest draw in the movie, they are by no means the antagonist either. That is undoubtedly the main character, who is his own worst enemy in many ways. This peculiar sketch of one man's curmudgeonly outlook juxtaposed against a horror backdrop is absolutely enthralling.
Jug Face (2013)
A teenager named Ada lives in an isolated, backwoods community where its people worship an unseen creature living inside a pit. As part of their indigenous traditions, they sacrifice one member to the aforementioned monster. And that someone is selected based on the face that is carved into a clay jug by a local prophet.
There are multiple threats to Ada's existence in this riveting folk tale about predestination. We have an out-of-sight monster who casts a looming menace. Then, there's the very fact that Ada and her contemporaries exist merely to fulfill a preconceived role. The idea that their actuality is meaningless makes the peril within Jug Face even more horrifying.
The Transfiguration (2016)
Milo is obsessed with vampires. He spends most of his lonely days reading about vampires or watching movies about them. He then meets Sophie, a neighbor who is just as alienated as Milo is. As they become acquainted, Sophie learns that Milo earnestly believes he is a vampire.
Reality and fiction get blurred in this illusory coming-of-age horror. The film's choice of protagonist is refreshing, and its use of vampirism as a coping mechanism for rejection and isolation is haunting. It's true we have plenty of movies that romanticize vampires, but very few of them nail the desire to become one like The Transfiguration does.