Best horror movies from the last decade

Jacob Osborn

15-11-2019

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Slide 1 of 51: While franchise installments continue to populate the horror genre, the last decade
has seen a wild uptick in terms of breadth and diversity. As such, the best horror films of the last 10
years incorporate a full spectrum of styles and influences. For example, “Get Out” works just as well
as dark comedy or social commentary as it does classic horror. Then there’s the just-released “The
Lighthouse,” which underscores psychological themes and art-house atmosphere with genuine
horror tropes. Additionally, the last decade has seen the consistent emergence of what might be
best described as underdog horror hits. Representing genuine vision and originality, movies such as
“It Follows,” “The Witch,” and “Hereditary” made waves in the festival circuit before taking
audiences by storm. In the process, they helped maintain an ongoing auteurist trend, which provides
a much-needed counterpoint to the standard blockbuster and franchise fare. All the while, they still
delivered the chills and thrills that audiences expect from the genre. Celebrating one of cinema’s
purest pleasures, Stacker presents the best horror movies from the last decade. To create the list,
Stacker compiled recently released data from Letterboxd—an online film database and cinephile
community—on the highest-rated horror films of the decade. To qualify, the film had to be listed as
"horror" on at least one of the other major movie databases (IMDb, Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes,
etc.), released in the U.S. theatrically or on streaming services between Jan. 1, 2010 and October
2019, and watched by at least 1,000 Letterboxd users. Letterboxd scores are out of five. Any ties
were broken by the number of votes. As one will soon discover, names like Jordan Peele, Ari Aster,
Sion Sono, and Robert Eggers are at the forefront of the modern horror genre. Meanwhile, five
female directors appear on the list: Ana Lily Amirpour, Julia Ducournau, Juliana Rojas, Anna Biller,
and Jennifer Kent. Along similarly forward-thinking lines, the list is overflowing with international
titles, from countries like South Korea, Japan, Iran, Mexico, Estonia, and others. Refusing to be
pigeon-holed, the horror genre has arguably never been as diversified as it has been for the last
decade. Genre can be tricky: We believe it helps describe and communicate the vibe of a film, not to
serve as a limiting factor on what films can and cannot be. There are no hard and fast lines that
define horror, and we, like Letterboxd, agree that leaning into more open interpretations of what fits
into genres is best practice for getting a pool of films that represent all possible expressions of a
particular genre. Every film on the list has been considered according to the cinematic history and
development of horror. Without further delay, here are the best horror movies from the last decade.
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Best horror movies from the last decade

While franchise installments continue to populate the horror genre, the last decade has seen a wild
uptick in terms of breadth and diversity. As such, the best horror films of the last 10 years
incorporate a full spectrum of styles and influences. For example, “Get Out” works just as well as
dark comedy or social commentary as it does classic horror. Then there’s the just-released “The
Lighthouse,” which underscores psychological themes and art-house atmosphere with genuine
horror tropes.

Additionally, the last decade has seen the consistent emergence of what might be best described as
underdog horror hits. Representing genuine vision and originality, movies such as “It Follows,” “The
Witch,” and “Hereditary” made waves in the festival circuit before taking audiences by storm. In the
process, they helped maintain an ongoing auteurist trend, which provides a much-needed
counterpoint to the standard blockbuster and franchise fare. All the while, they still delivered the
chills and thrills that audiences expect from the genre.
Celebrating one of cinema’s purest pleasures, Stacker presents the best horror movies from the last
decade. To create the list, Stacker compiled recently released data from Letterboxd—an online film
database and cinephile community—on the highest-rated horror films of the decade. To qualify, the
film had to be listed as "horror" on at least one of the other major movie databases (IMDb,
Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, etc.), released theatrically or on streaming services between Jan. 1,
2010 and October 2019, and watched by at least 1,000 Letterboxd users. Letterboxd scores are out
of five. Any ties were broken by the number of votes.

As one will soon discover, names like Jordan Peele, Ari Aster, Sion Sono, and Robert Eggers are at the
forefront of the modern horror genre. Meanwhile, five female directors appear on the list: Ana Lily
Amirpour, Julia Ducournau, Juliana Rojas, Anna Biller, and Jennifer Kent. Along similarly forward-
thinking lines, the list is overflowing with international titles, from countries like South Korea, Japan,
Iran, Mexico, Estonia, and others. Refusing to be pigeon-holed, the horror genre has arguably never
been as diversified as it has been for the last decade.

Genre can be tricky: We believe it helps describe and communicate the vibe of a film, not to serve as
a limiting factor on what films can and cannot be. There are no hard and fast lines that define horror,
and we, like Letterboxd, agree that leaning into more open interpretations of what fits into genres is
best practice for getting a pool of films that represent all possible expressions of a particular genre.
Every film on the list has been considered according to the cinematic history and development of
horror. Without further delay, here are the best horror movies from the last decade.

Warning: The slideshow contains graphic movies stills that may be disturbing to some users. Caution
advised.