5 Best Ghost Movies of the Last Decade

With Halloween just around the corner it times to start busting out the scary movies. Everybody has their preferred scary movie: slashers, monster movies, or maybe even demons. However there's something something about an old fashioned ghost story that tingles the spine in a way nothing else does. That slow creeping feeling that causes viewers to start to question every creek of their own house. This is the time for a good haunting so sit down with one of these prime examples of ghost movies from the last decade.

5) Below 2002
In the midst of World War II a small group of survivors from a British survivors from a destroyed hospital ship are picked up in the Atlantic Ocean by an American submarine. The sub is commanded by Lt. Brice (Bruce Greenwood) since the ship's Captain recently perished under rather unclear circumstances. When things on the ship start to wrong for strange reasons the crew first suspects the bad luck of having the rescued British nurse (Olivia Williams) on board. However when things get worse the crew soon begins to whisper of something darker and more sinister at work causing their misfortune.

The classic question for haunting stories is if there's strange and scary stuff going on why don't the characters just leave? Below offers an answer so perfect that it's a wonder it wasn't done before. It's rather difficult for somebody to run away from the supernatural when they're thousands of feet under the sea in a metal tube. The sense of being truly trapped by the environment is palpable throughout the film. The World War II setting also lends itself to some great moments of tension and fear. While the sense of danger is always present the feeling of the supernatural is something that builds more steadily over time and it reaches a very rewarding peak by the end. This film features a strong cast including such notable character actors as Jason Flemyng and Zach Galifianakis (who shows that he can be more than just the funny guy.)

4) The Eye 2002
Mun (played by Angelica Lee) is a classically violinist who has been blind since the age of two. Now in her twenties she receives an eye cornea transplant from a donor and is granted the gift of sight once again. However what's she sees is not the world as it is meant to be seen. Mun sees ghostly figures accompanying people shortly before they die. Referred to a psychologist named Dr. Wah (Lawrence Chou,) Mun's mental state in brought into question. However the good doctor grows closer to her and together they set out to find out more about the woman who's eyes Mun is now using and why she is seeing the haunting images of death everywhere.

Korean film makers the Pang Brothers created a slightly off kilter ghost movie with The Eye because Mun isn't seeing people who are dead. Instead she's having visions of people who are about to die. However given that the visions she sees relate to the manner of their death it's as though she's seeing future ghosts. The film also takes great pains to toy with the Mun's mind. Since she's been blind nearly her entire life it is not immediately evident to her that what she's seeing is not how things are meant to be. Her lack of visual reference reaches a clever peak when Mun realizes that she doesn't even see her own reflection in the mirror. The film has a wonderful atmosphere that's established right from the start with a wonderfully simple yet creepy title sequence. Oh and forget about the American remake with Jessica Alba, it's a pale imitation at best.

3) The Orphanage 2007
Laura (played by Belén Rueda) grew up in a seaside orphanage and upon her adoption was left with fond memories of her time there and the other children. Now grown, married to doctor named Carlos (Fernando Cayo) and with an adopted son of her own named Simón (Roger Príncep.) The trio move into the now abandoned orphanage that Laura grew up in with the intention of re-opening it to take care of children with special medical needs. Laura and Carlos have not yet told their adopted son that he is adopted, or that he is HIV positive (though they keep him on a strict regime of medication.) Simón has always had imaginary friends, but since moving the orphanage he has met new ones, who like to play games. Particularly Simón says that he met Tomás in a cave on the beach, and he invited him back to the house. Soon Simón vanishes and as days turn into months Laura becomes convinced that Tomás and the other "children" that Simón has met are behind the disappearance.

First time director Juan Antonio Bayona, under the guiding hand of producer Guillermo Del Toro, has constructed a very resonate film. The Orphanage plays the long game, building it's tension and atmosphere over the entire course of the film. The setting lends itself a certain natural sense of foreboding but it's the slow build and how it frays on Laura throughout the film that really lends it the movie it's power. The desperate mother is a somewhat standard character in these sorts of movies but Rueda plays the part with such determination that none of the genre cliches ever come into play. The sense of things getting worse and worse, each event lending less hope for the safe return of Simón makes the film actually quite emotionally wrenching by the end. There are moments that are frightening but it's primarily in the build up of tension through careful pacing and use of sounds. There aren't many jump scares but the few that are present in the movie are doozies. The film also ends truly beautifully, which is not to be taken for granted as so many supernatural themed movies fall apart with their conclusions.

2) The Devil's Backbone 2001
Spain 1939, the Spanish Civil War is nearing it's inevitable end with Franco's army poised for victory. Carlos (Fernando Tielve) is the son of a soldier who's fighting on the losing side of the war. Carlos is left by his tutor at an orphanage run by the kindly old Dr. Casares (Federico Luppi.) It's a rough time for all, with the war still going on around them, in fact there is an unexploded bomb sitting in the middle of the courtyard. However the greatest worries of the orphans are not the war. One is Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega), a former orphan now grown and working at the orphanage who takes pleasure in bullying the children. The other is the ghost of a young boy who's been seen roaming about the halls. When Carlos encounters the ghost it whispers to him that many will die. Is the spirit issuing a threat, or a warning?

After tackling vampires and giant bugs, modern horror master Guillermo Del Toro (writer/director of Hellboy) took on ghosts in this wonderfully creepy story and surprisingly touching story. Much like he would do again later in Pan's Labyrinth, Del Toro contrasts the real world horror of war and isolation with the supernatural fears the children are facing. The ghost isn't really the main focus of the story much of the time but it all fits together beautifully into a fully formed tapestry of youths trapped in a time and place that is not meant for them. The film handles the children characters extremely well, which is not something to be taken for granted as many children in scary movies are insufferable. The imagery of the film is particularly haunting and sights like the unexploded bomb ticking away in the courtyard will stay with views long after the very satisfying conclusion of the movie.

1) The Others 2001
In the English countryside during the immediate aftermath of World War II a trio of servants arrive at a house to work for Grace Stewart (played by Nicole Kidman) and her two children. The children suffer from a rare disorder which causes them to be extremely sensitive to bright light. The result is a series of complicated rules designed to keep the house in constant darkness save for candle light. The arrival of the new help seems to set off a series of disquieting events, starting as subtle as out of place noises and children playing with an imaginary friend. However the events soon escalate and begin to push Grace to the edge. A classic ghost story in the truest sense. A large house, flickering candles, thumping noises and the constant questioning of whether or not it's all in the character's heads.

Nicole Kidman gives what may be the single best performance of her career in The Others. Grace is a character who could easily have been difficult to watch. She's controlling, often on edge and with a rather quick temper. Somehow Kidman manages to bring the humanity of this character to the forefront without dull the harsh edges that are so important to the story. While there are certainly moments of tension the film is rarely full on frightening. But then again a good ghost story isn't meant to scare in the way that a story of a deranged killer is. A good ghost story creates an atmosphere, it builds on a general sense of something wrong and leaves the audience questioning life and death. The Others succeeds perfectly by this standard. While the twist ending was somewhat under-appreciated at the time (as were most twists in the wake The Sixth Sense) it actually is extremely clever and gives a wonderful and rather philosophical spin on the events for those who care to delve a little deeper.