Following the advent of Wes Craven's Scream, the new decade saw a resurgence in horror movies ideas. There was violence, viscera, and variety — something for everyone. However, not everything from the 2000s was as good as the best.
The horror genre isn't an easy one to crack, much less master. These auteurs in the aughts definitely understood that.
10 Best: Dawn Of The Dead (2004) - 7.3
The 2000s were chock full of horror remakes, some good, some absolutely dreadful. Dawn of the Dead, possibly to everyone's surprise, was one of the good ones. The movie is a loose remake of George A. Romero's iconic zombie film of the same name. "Loose remake" because it has very little in common with the original, aside from zombies and the mall setting. But it's a relentless, rapid-paced gorefest full of great scares and characters. It's one of Zack Snyder's best movies.
9 Worst: The Wicker Man (2006) - 3.7
One of the remakes that didn't succeed expectations was 2006's The Wicker Man. Serving as a remake of the iconic 1973 original, this one starred Nicolas Cage Edward Malus, and while Cage can prove a commanding actor, he was truly awful in this. The Wicker Man was instantly memed by much of the internet, and its bee sequence has since become an iconic piece of horror history. Just not for the right reasons.
8 Best: The Devil's Backbone (2001) - 7.4
Before he struck it big with movies like Blade II and (especially) Pan's Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro directed this humane ghost story about a young boy in the Spanish Civil War. This movie actually shares a lot in common with Pan's Labyrinth, and while it obviously wasn't as popular, it's arguably just as good. del Toro proved that he was exceptional director, both of the humane and the supernatural, crafting one of the greatest ghost movies of the 21st century.
7 Worst: The Fog (2005) - 3.7
The Fog is yet another remake, this one of the 1980 John Carpenter original. Carpenter directed many classic horror films throughout his lifetime, but The Fog always remained one of his lesser known movies.
Unfortunately, this 2005 remake didn't do anything to improve its reputation. The movie had a pretty decent cast, but even their obvious talents couldn't save this dreadful film.
6 Best: 28 Days Later... (2002) - 7.6
Zombie movies were a thing of the '70s and '80s. Until 28 Days Later reinvigorated the dead genre (no pun intended) with a more down to Earth story and fast zombies. In traditional films of its kind, zombies shambled and walked with a gait suiting their status as walking corpses. But 28 Days Later flipped this on its head, offering "zombies" that ran at lightning speeds and screeched with a piercing menace.
5 Worst: FeardotCom (2002) - 3.4
FeardotCom is every bit as terrible as its abysmal title suggests. The movie looked to capitalize on the "fear" of the internet, as it was a new and emerging technology that no one really knew what to do with. It's essentially just The Ring but with the Internet instead of a VHS, as people mysteriously die 48 hours after visiting a specific website. The story could have conjured up some interesting social commentary, but it didn't. It fails in nearly every regard.
4 Best: Saw (2004) - 7.6
Saw was an independently produced film from Twisted Pictures. Made on a measly budget of just $1.2 million, Saw ended up recouping 10x its investment with a worldwide gross of $103 million, making it one of the most profitable horror films ever made.
It helped launch a franchise, and while the succeeding movies saw increasingly diminishing returns, Saw proved a monumental film that revolutionized the genre.
3 Worst: The Gingerdead Man (2005) - 3.4
The Gingerdead Man deserves some credit for leaning into its ridiculous premise and not taking itself very seriously. But there's a way to do that while retaining some dignity. The Child's Play series is fully aware of how silly it is, and it uses clever tongue-in-cheek humor to compensate. The Gingerdead Man is nothing but a pale imitation of its obvious influence, and the idea of a killer gingerbread man is just too ridiculous, even for a horror-comedy.
2 Best: Let The Right One In (2008) - 7.9
Let the Right One In is the second foreign film on this list (after The Devil's Backbone). Released in its native Sweden under the title Låt den rätte komma in, this is a rare "romantic horror" about a young and lonely boy befriending a vampire. It was critically adored for reinvigorating the tired and derivative vampire subgenre, and it contained just as many heartwarming moments as bloodcurdling (and blood spilling) ones. It's a horror movie with heart.
1 Worst: Alone In The Dark (2005) - 2.4
Uwe Boll is an infamous director, particularly within the gaming fandom. He has directed many video game adaptations, each of which seem worse than the last. Alone in the Dark is his attempt at adapting the iconic survival horror franchise, being very loosely adapted from The New Nightmare. The movie has a very rare rating of 1% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus stating it's "inept on almost every level." That about covers it.
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