TOP 13 MODERN SCARY FILMS!

Independent Films, Movie Reviews, Film Profiles

We all love the classic horror films but what about the new ones? Scary movies from the last 10 years? I've made my list, here's my Top 13 Modern Scary Films! Boo!

Transcripts / Production notes / Scripts

TOP 13 MODERN HORROR FILMS
1) “Trick ‘r Treat” – This criminally-underseen 2007 Halloween anthology from writer/director Michael Dougherty brought fun back to the horror genre. From serial killers to vindictive ghosts, this film features four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween. Each vignette is more frightful and fun than the first. This is a Halloween treat you’ll want to see for decades to come.

2) The Descent – Writer/director Neil Marshall succeeded in making us care for the characters in this 2005 caving-expedition-goes-horribly-wrong film. We root for the explorers, all female, as they are pursued by a strange breed of predators.

3) “Saw” – The first film, released in 2004, is still the best of the franchise. Arguably the father of modern-day torture porn, “Saw” delivered the blood-curdling guts, as well as the glory. Its creepy atmosphere and unpredictable ending gave birth to the boogeyman of this generation – Jigsaw.

4) “28 Days Later” – Long before director Danny Boyle accepted his well-deserved Best Director Oscar for “Slumdog Millionaire,” he was busy updating the zombie genre with “28 Days Later.” Cillian Murphy gave a memorable performance as Jim, the man who wakes up alone only to discover that the world has been invaded by zombies. It’s an existential film at its finest.

5) “Let the Right One In” – Remade in America recently as “Let Me In,” the original Swedish film from director Tomas Alfredson is still the better version. John Ajvide Lindqvist adapted his own novel, and came up with a gruesome but affecting love story between a bullied boy and a mysterious 12-year-old girl who just happens to be a vampire.

6) “The Devil’s Rejects” – Rob Zombie wrote and directed this sequel to “House of 1000 Corpses.” His usage of humor over gore, choice of music, and atmospheric tension remind me of an assured workmanship similar to Martin Scorsese. That’s a high comparison, of course, but in the world of gothic horror, Zombie is a maestro.

7) “The Ring” – The first of a string of Japanese horror movie remakes is still the best. Before helming “Pirates of the Caribbean,” Gore Verbinski tried his hand at making an effective horror film and he succeeded. Big credit goes to the wonderful chemistry between Naomi Watts and David Dorfman. They effectively play a mother and son team who must escape a vengeful ghost.

8) “Rec” – “Quarantined” is essentially a shot-by-shot remake of this far-better Spanish-language film about a young TV reporter and her cameraman who experience nightmare inside an apartment building. The thrills build up all the way to its head-shattering ending.

9) “Shaun of the Dead” – Sure the film is funny, but it’s also scary. The beauty of this 2004 zombie flick from director Edgar Wright is its equal distribution of laughs and scares. Simon Pegg, who co-wrote the script with Wright, gave a memorable performance as Shaun, a man with girlfriend and mommy issues who is also dealing with an entire community of flesh-eating zombies.

10) “The Devil’s Backbone” – Set in Spain in 1939 right after the country’s Civil War, Guillermo Del Toro directed this 2001 masterpiece about a ghost in an orphanage. This is a great character-study where the horror elements symbolize war. Brilliant!

11) “Paranormal Activity” – The simplicity of this film is what makes it powerful. Put a couple together and have them be videotaped showing spooky things that go bump in the night, and voila, you have a successful Hollywood venture that is a hit for critics and audiences alike. We never saw the demon in the film. Writer-director Oren Peli made us use our imagination. And that’s a good thing!

12) Dawn of the Dead – Before making “300,” Zack Snyder paid homage to George Romero’s 1978 film. This one examines our society’s unbalanced social structure by using the zombie genre. The result is a fun, creepy, and thought-provoking allegory on human nature.

13) “American Psycho” – Director Mary Harron dug deep into the mind of a psychopathic killer with help from star Christian Bale. Based on the book by Bret Easton Ellis, the film captured the mood of the excessive 80s. “American Psycho” is a serial killer movie that used capitalism as its framework.

Runners-up: “The Mist,” “The Others,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “Wolf Creek,” “High Tension,” “Hostel,” “Frailty,” “Joy Ride,” “28 Weeks Later,” “Battle Royale,” “Drag Me to Hell,” “Cloverfield,” “May,” “Hot Fuzz”

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