Top Five Horror Films of This Past Decade

Watching horror films and getting the pants scared of us has been a favorite pastime for several decades now. Each decade brings only a few really terrifying horror films that sticks in the minds of it's viewers for many reasons and many years to come. The sixties brought us Night Of The Living Dead. With the seventies came The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and on it goes. Most Horror films will be forgotten about but those few that stick with all of us movie goers will long be remembered for the sheer terror and fright they made us feel the first time we watched them and will continue to do so. This is my list of top five horror films of this past decade.

5. ~Saw~ Released in 2004 this movie introduced us all to a new kind of horror film one which tests the limits of gore, paranoia, and sadistic voyeurism. The story revolves around two men who wake up in what appears to be a run down bathroom. They have no idea why they are there, where they are or who took them. They are given tasks via tape recorder by a madman dubbed the jigsaw killer to complete, that challenge not only their tolerance for pain but require them to desensitize themselves and do whatever it takes to get their own self out of the situation they are in.

I chose this one as number five on my list because it is like watching a snuff film, it is terrifying to watch knowing that someone is watching your every move yet you don't know who, you don't know why and you are helpless to get out of the situation unless you dehumanize yourself and submit to the Jigsaw's sadistic demands. All around horrifying film.

4. ~28 Days Later~ Is a British post apocalyptic horror film released in 2002. Stars Cillian Murphy as a man who awakens from a coma 28 days after a rage virus which is highly contagious was released into the London public causing a near wipeout of the entire population, save for a few other survivors and a group of rebel soldiers they meet later on. This movie is slow in it's direction for most of the film but there are short spurts of violence and mayhem that seem as if they are meant to make you feel as though you are right there with them running terrified and utterly devastated.

I chose this film as number four for one particular scene in which one of the survivors (a father) gets one blood drop in his eye caused by a flying bird overhead. This scene is frightening, sad and quick. He realizes he has only a moment to tell his daughter that he loves her and to run away from him, then you watch him change in a matter of just seconds. It's quick and violent and in my opinion one of the best short scenes to ever be featured in a horror film, brilliant direction and acting.

3. ~ The Happening~ Released in 2008 starring Mark Walhberg and Zooey Deschanel this horror story begins in Central Park New York with the death of someone appearing to have jumped off of a roof. Soon people watch in horror as others seem to follow in the dead mans path. Loss of conscious control of their bodies and their minds makes people commit suicide in some very disturbing ways. They will come to find out that it is not a terrorist act but an act from the plant life that seems to be communicating with each and every other plant that these humans need to be destroyed because they have become like pests to them so they release toxins into the air that cause anyone who comes into contact with the toxic air to commit suicide.

This movie was odd but it made my list because it seems almost plausible that humans can irritate the planet so much that it decides to work together to rid itself of the pesky people who pollute it, and that is a scary thought.

2. ~30 Days Of Night~ This is my favorite of all time vampire films. Released in 2007 this film stars Melissa George and Josh Hartnett as a husband and wife on the verge of divorce who must band together with a handful of other survivors to try and stay alive for the thirty days of total darkness that has overcome their town as it usually does every year in Barrow Alaska.

This movie made my list because the vampires were for once what they are meant to be, bloodthirsty and evil lacking any kind of human feelings except for their thirst for blood. They are terrifying in looks and the way they stalk their prey is awesomely freaky to watch. These are what vampires are supposed to be, bloodthirsty psycho killers period, no romance no happy fun times just a lot of blood and gore and big sharp vampire teeth.

1.~The Strangers~ One of the most terrifying psychological horror films of all time is The Strangers released in 2009 stars Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman as a couple who are spending the night at an isolated vacation house after having gone to a wedding reception. They soon realize they are not alone in the area as someone repeatedly knocks on their door. They watch outside their window as three people (1 man 2 women) wearing masks stare right back at them. Throughout the course of the night they are stalked and terrorized by the creepy trio who disables their phones and takes their car keys leaving them no way out of their frightening situation.
I chose this one as number one because it is loosely based on tales of murder and torture. This is an unfortunate look into what everyone hopes will never become a reality for them. This is what happens when
when psychopaths decide to hunt their prey and then terrorize them for their own amusement. Disturbing an all around bone chilling thriller that almost made me puke in my mouth at the end, left me feeling sick a movie that can do that to a person is one really great horror film.

That is my list of top five horror films of this past decade. I'm sure the future decade will bring many more new terrifying scares to the screen for each and every one of us to enjoy.

References:

http://www.imdb.com/title/plot/strangers

http://www.imdb.com/title/thirtydaysofnight/

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_days_later