Tommentary: Top 10 Horror Films of the Decade

The Second Horror Renaissance

Catching up with the times...

While the decade started out slow, finding the conclusion to many film series that should've died off years prior by way of excessive sequels, there was something magnificent happening behind the scenes, that would eventually give way to what some could argue, was the best decade in horror cinema.

Yes, eras like the 70s & 80s brought about many popular horror icons (such as Freddy, Michael, and Jason), but many were shallow, and lacked anything more than cheap thrills. When considering the later years, as horror lost it's popularity, and PG13 fun flicks took the stage, an occasional gem would spring up amidst the cesspool of shallow schlock, but the majority were uninspired carbon copies, or remakes. Films like Scream & The Blair Witch Project worked to keep the industry alive, commenting on the culture that had sprung up around the fandom, and subverting expectations; but it was ultimately not enough to fully resurrected the Golden Age of horror.

As each series progressed, they strayed further and further from the material that made their beginnings so important. Not long after, every horror movie was made with goal of creating a franchise in mind, and it ultimately lead to the dark ages of horror, the LATE 90s, and the first decade of the new millennium. During that time, it felt like every new movie was a budget quick drop, just trying to find an idea that stuck, and when it did, the machine would just pump out as many sequels as it could before the hype died down.

This continued on until sometime around 2013, when the majority of franchises like Saw and Paranormal Activity began to lose the audiences' interest, and tried to end their franchises with nothing more than a whimper. While Hollywood's big names were scrambling to ditch the horror genre, new companies began picking up many avante-garde independent films, and started to treat horror as a legitimate genre deserving of the same respect it's peers received. Blumhouse, Monkeypaw, A24, and a number of small foreign companies began seeing great success in the festival circuit, and it wasn't long, before the industry took notice, with many of their films hitting the big screen.

It was during this time that the line between genres began to blur; combining elements of horror, mystery, drama, and suspense. Horror movies began to transform, and from them, came some of the best titles to EVER grace the screen.