31 Movies of Halloween Challenge
There are only 10 days until Halloween! How many movies have you watched during the 31 Movies of Halloween Challenge? This week we are talking about 2000’s horror movies. The 00’s were a weird time for the genre. Thanks to Scream, self-referential movies were still swarming the genre. Some were great, others were mediocre at best. People once again became tired of this new schtick. Keep reading to our latest Halloween Movie list for a great mix of haunted house, ghost stories, werewolves and more.
What Made 2000’s Horror Movies So Good
00’s horror movies moved on from Vampires. Zombies and Asian ghosts were the soup du jour. Studios started taking a chance on new stories which resulted in new icons being born. Samara taught us to be afraid of the videotape and TV. Sam taught us to obey the etiquette of Halloween. Zombies learned to sprint causing us to reevaluate our survival tactics. Thanks to Shaun of the Dead, we decided to wait for it all to blow over in the Winchester. The 4th wall was mostly retired with the surprising exception of Leslie Vernon, a little-seen but hilarious horror comedy.
George A. Romero returned to the zombie genre with Land, Diary and Survival of the Dead movies. Honestly, they were kinda disappointing, but as fans we still watched them. That being there were so many new entries to the genre, that featured great storytelling and monsters, that we were kind of spoiled for choice.
Our Must Watch List of 2000’s Horror Movies
So to help you pick movies to watch during our 31 Movies of Halloween Challenge, here are 31 films from the Nineties we’d recommend you give a try. We have sorted this list alphabetically to try and be as unbiased as possible!
1. 28 Days Later
The movie that gave us sprinting zombies & revitalised the zombie genre!
The plot: “Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary..”
2. 30 Days of Night
Note to self. Do not live in a place, that is a great destination for vampires.The plot: “After an Alaskan town is plunged into darkness for a month, it is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires..”
3. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
An amazing horror comedy, that perfectly balances the slasher movie with a documentary feel.
The plot: “The next great psycho horror slasher has given a documentary crew exclusive access to his life as he plans his reign of terror over the sleepy town of Glen Echo..”
4. Bubba Ho-Tep
Elvis Presley and J.F.K fight an ancient evil, while in old folks home. Oh, and Bruce Campbell is in it!
The plot: “Based on the Bram Stoker Award nominee short story by cult author Joe R. Lansdale, Bubba Ho-tep tells the “true” story of what really did become of Elvis Presley..”
5. Cabin Fever
Yucky, gorey, fun and did we mention gorey?
The plot: “A group of 5 college graduates rent a cabin in the woods and begin to fall victim to a horrifying flesh-eating virus, which attracts the unwanted attention of the homicidal locals..”
6. Cloverfield
Giant Monster destroys New York.
The plot: “A group of friends venture deep into the streets of New York on a rescue mission during a rampaging monster attack..”
7. Dawn of the Dead
A great remake of George A Romero’s movie. Combining the running zombies with Romero’s shopping centre is epic!
The plot: “A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman, and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall..”
8. Dog Soldiers
There is no spoon! Werewolves vs soldiers. It is so much fun.
The plot: “A routine military exercise turns into a nightmare in the Scotland wilderness..”
9. Drag Me to Hell
Sam Raimi goes back to his horror roots & give us a chilling horror story.
The plot: “A loan officer who evicts an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point..”
10. Final Destination
When Death wants you, everything can kill you.
The plot: “After a teenager has a terrifying vision of him and his friends dying in a plane crash, he prevents the accident only to have Death hunt them down, one by one..”
11. Freddy vs Jason
Freddy Krueger vs Jason Voorhees vs mouthy teens. What more could you want?
The plot: “Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees return to terrorize the teenage population. Except this time, they’re out to get each other, too..”.”
12. Ginger Snaps
Puberty is hard. It’s made harder when you are bitten by a werewolf.
The plot: “Two death-obsessed sisters, outcasts in their suburban neighbourhood, must deal with the tragic consequences when one of them is bitten by a deadly werewolf..”
13. Hostel
You will squirm in your seat watching this. Don’t have dinner beforehand. You have been warned.
The plot: “Three backpackers head to a Slovak city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them..”
14. Let the Right One In
We can’t say too much without spoiling this. Just watch it!
The plot: “Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl..”
15. May
Gives a new meaning to doll parts and friends forever.
The plot: “A lonely young woman traumatized by a difficult childhood and her increasingly desperate attempts to connect with the people around her is sent into a murderous tailspin..”
16. REC
The first in a super fun zombie series. You’ll feel claustrophobic watching this.
The plot: “A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying..”
17. Saw
The birth of Jigsaw & Billy the Puppet! Also that ending!
The plot: “Two strangers, who awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, soon discover they’re pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer..”
18. Shaun of the Dead
One of our favourite movies of all time. The music, the humour and the BFF goals!
The plot: “A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living..”
19. Slither
James Gunn teams up with Nathan Fillion and Michael Rooker to make an alien invasion movie.
The plot: “A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters..”
20. Splinter
A monster in an isolated gas station. This surprisingly great movie, that more people need to see.
The plot: “Trapped in an isolated gas station by a voracious Splinter parasite that transforms its still living victims into deadly hosts, a young couple and an escaped convict must find a way to work together to survive this primal terror..”
21. Switchblade Romance / High Tension / Haute Tension
A little French movie, that stayed with us long afterwards. Also features an amazing use of Muse’s New Born.
The plot: “Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia’s parents’ secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls’ idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror..”
22. The Descent
Think it’s bad being stuck in caving system? Try adding being underground, with monsters.
The plot: “A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators..”
23. The Exorcism of Emily Rose
A courtroom tries to deal with the aftermath of a failed exorcism. Flashbacks and psychological head melt ensue.
The plot: “A lawyer takes on a negligent homicide case involving a priest who performed an exorcism on a young girl..”
24. Ju On: The Grudge
A Japanese haunted house movie. We watched this from behind a pillow.
The plot: “A mysterious and vengeful spirit marks and pursues anybody who dares enter the house in which it resides..”
25. The Mist
We love when Stephen King movies are done right. We love and hate Frank Darabont for giving us this movie with that gut punch.
The plot: “A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives..”
26. The Ring
Watch the videotape. Die within 7 days. What’s scary about that? Well…Samara is.
The plot: “A journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it..”
27. The Strangers
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you were home…” truly terrifying.
The plot: “A young couple staying in an isolated vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants..”
28. Triangle
Groundhog day in the horror genre, on a cruise ship.
The plot: “A group of friends suffer a yachting accident and take refuge on a cruise drifting on the open sea, but quickly realize they were better off on the upturned yacht.”
29. Trick r Treat
A new horror icon is born. Meet Sam! Also, the twists and turns of the anthology are fantastic.
The plot: “Five interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband; and a mean old man meets his match with a demonic, supernatural trick-or-treater..”
30. Wolf Creek
Forget drop bears, Mike is the reason to fear the Australian Outback!
The plot: “Three backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged in a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local..”
31. Zombieland
Featuring a great practical guide surviving the zombie apocalypse and zombie Bill Murray.
The plot: “A shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting tough guy trying to find the last Twinkie, and a pair of sisters trying to get to an amusement park join forces to travel across a zombie-filled America..”
The Challenge
This is the end of our 2000’s horror movie list. How many movies have you watched so far? Have we missed any that you would recommend? Let us know.
If you need more inspiration, feel free to have a read of our 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s horror lists
