In a list that was first brought to my attention by the A.V. Club, Mark Hofmeyer of Movies, Films, and Flix has compiled a list of the top 21 horror films of the 21st century. The list was compiled by aggregating the critic and user scores from multiple websites and then creating a poll allowing readers to vote on their choices. Make sure to read the entire list here. The top 10 is as follows:
- Cabin in the Woods (2012)
- Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
- 28 Days Later (2002)
- The Descent (2005)
- Let the Right One In (2008)
- It Follows (2014)
- The Babadook (2014)
- Shaun of the Dead (2004)
- Mulholland Drive (2001)
- Drag Me To Hell (2009)
Any list that includes films from Sam Raimi, David Lynch, and Edgar Wright is alright by me. The overall list has a nice amount of diversity that isn’t pandering to just one sub-genre of horror. There could be some debate about whether Mulholland Drive is actually a horror film, but most of David Lynch’s work seems to defy categorization. It’s also nice to see movies on the list that can make fun of horror tropes while still being substantive entries in the genre, as both Cabin and Shaun were genuinely amazing movies even when all of the gore and horror conventions were stripped away. Pan’s Labyrinth was a beautiful film with great creature effects, and Let the Right One In was a nice twist on vampire films. If you listen to our podcast, you’ll already be aware that all of us at HBTVS loved It Follows. Overall, I think the list is very solid and I much appreciate all of the work that went into putting something like this together.
Do you agree, and like this list and the movies on it? Are there any big omissions? Let us know what you think in the comments.
