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The Descent

Horror movies in the 2000s got a bad rap. And not just in the “they don’t make ’em like they used to” variety. The dominant flavor of horror in the 2000s was dubbed “torture porn.” Starting with the first Saw movie in 2004 and accelerated by Eli Roth’s Hostel in 2006, this genre confronted the audience with films that puts its characters through horrific, gruesome ordeals. To its detractors “torture porn” was just that: artless exercises in putting its characters (and audiences) through the wringer. The creativity in these films came from how elaborately staged and twisted its kills could be.

But if torture porn gave horror a bad name, the genre was not content to be so limited. The best horror movies of the decade range from supernatural ghost stories to zombies (fast and slow) to house-in-the-woods terror to heart-stopping claustrophobia. The genre was alive and well during this decade

Here’s a small sample of the best of 2000s horror that is available to stream:

SCARIEST

The setup for The Strangers (2008) couldn’t be better. Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler are a young couple whose relationship may have just ended. He’s proposed, she’s said no, and now they’re stuck spending the night in the country home he had decked out in champagne and rose petals in anticipation that she’d say yes. It’s already the worst night of their lives, and that’s before the mask clad murderers start terrorizing them. The trailer for this movie was the loudest I’d ever heard anyone scream in a theater. The actual film is one of the most terrifying horror movies I’ve ever experienced.
[Stream The Strangers on HBO GO.]

BLOODIEST

The film adaptation of The Ruins (2008), the novel by Scott Smith (A Simple Plan), sometimes struggles to convey just how scary the book is. “Botanical horror” isn’t always the easiest to translate, after all. But one thing that The Ruins definitely does right is blood. When the predatory vines end up inside Stacy (Laura Ramsey), she has to get them out. The result is sickening and deeply scary. [Stream The Ruins on Hulu.]

BEST PERFORMANCE

If it weren’t for Moulin Rouge! that same year, Nicole Kidman probably would have been Oscar-nominated for her performance in Alejandro Amebabar’s The Others (2001). Kidman’s gift for reserved, controlled chilliness was a perfect fit for this misty, ghostly movie that works even before its third-act revelations. [Stream The Others on Filmstruck.]

FUNNIEST

It sometimes feels like a cheat to include horror comedy on a list of horror movies. Being in the mood for the latter means you’re not in the mood for the former. But Edgar Wright’s breakthrough film Shaun of the Dead (2004) absolutely deserves to be on any list of the best 2000s horror movies. The zombie genre had just recently been revived with 28 Days Later [Stream Shaun of the Dead on Showtime.]

CLASSIC THAT HOLDS UP

Some will say that The Ring (2002) pales in comparison to the Korean original, that it’s too American for its own good. Those people are trying way too hard. The Ring became an indelible part of the American nightmare for a reason, and it holds up remarkably well if you revisit it now. The images on that video are still deeply unsettling and the way the film flashes on the faces of the victims oh so briefly is all the film needs to drain the blood from your body. Plus that heart-stopping moment near the end of the film with the girl and the TV and the … just watch it again. But for God’s sake leave the sequel alone. [Stream The Ring on HBO GO.]

WORTH DISCOVERING

It’s no longer the best kept secret in horror, but if you still haven’t sought out the Swedish youth vampire romance Let the Right One In (2008), you really should. If the 2000s were about how the horror genre could be stretched and morphed and adapted to all sorts of setups, the sweetness of this movie, without avoiding the monstrous nature of vampire fiction, is disarming and brilliant. [Stream Let the Right One In on Hulu.]

BEST AVAILABLE TO STREAM FREE

The claustrophobia on display in director Neil Marshall’s The Descent (2005) is some of the most terrifying horror filmmaking in history. The film follows a sextet of women who go cave exploring only to undergo a harrowing ordeal at the hands of the elements, their own secrets, and the terrifying subterranean creatures they find down there. The dread and terror is bone-deep, and the characters are strong enough that your concern for them is real, which only makes everything that’s happening even scarier. Few horror offerings will leave your body coiled with terrified tension like this one will. [Stream The Descent on Showtime.]

OTHER 2000s HORROR TO STREAM FOR FREE

Cabin Fever: Eli Roth’s take on teen horror and flesh-eating gore. [Stream on Hulu]
Cloverfield: One of the best monster movies of the new century. [Stream on Hulu]
Constantine: Keanu Reeves plays a demon hunter consigned to hell, with Tilda Swinton as a sinister archangel.�� [Stream on HBO GO]
High Tension: Final-girl French horror from director Alexandre Aja. [Stream on Hulu]
Saw: Check out where the torture-porn craze began. [Stream on Netflix]
Scream 3: The worst of the four Scream films, but worth it for Parker Posey. [Stream on HBO GO]
Signs: M. Night Shyamalan at his Hitchcockiest. [Stream on Hulu]
Teeth: Clever, brutal indie horror about vagina dentata would probably play well in the current Hollywood climate. [Stream on Netflix]