Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of the Decade

Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of the Decade

It’s Halloween season and we’re over half way through the decade, which means it’s a great time to share my 10 favorite horror films of the decade. 

10. Alien: Romulus: To me, I thought Alien: Romulus is easily the best film in the Alien franchise since Aliens. The franchise from Alien 3 to Alien: Covenant has been very hit or miss. Alien: Romulus got back to the great side of the franchise by getting back to the simplistic nature of the franchise. Ridley Scott’s prequels got a bit too philosophical and over complicated the mythology. What Fede Alvarez does so well with his film is create dread in these tight spaces. This film takes place on a ship and that means all of the creatures can easily get you. You feel the danger and that tension throughout the film. He also does a great job of setting things up in the first act of the film that come back and have payoff in the back half of the film. I feel like this movie makes several of the creatures scarier than they’ve been in the past, specifically the face huggers that I don’t know if they’ve ever been scarier. Probably the most important thing about this film is that it made me want to go on another adventure with these characters. I’m excited that we’re getting that sequel. I’m bummed that Fede isn’t returning but the characters are what I’m excited for. 

9. Talk to Me: This is my favorite horror film of 2023, I’m missing some of the other big horror films of 2023. But I really dug Talk to Me and I thought it was a very solid horror film that created some of the most horrifying images of the decade. This film has multiple scenes and moments that have stuck with me. That’s one of the things that makes The Philippou Brothers some of the most exciting voices in the horror community is their imagery. They had Bring Her Back come out earlier this year. I wasn't a big fan of the movie but the gnarly bloody imagery was great. One of the things that really surprised me about the film was that it had better characters that earned their stupid decisions. These characters constantly make stupid decisions that can ruin a movie. But in the case of this film, they found a way to make them relatable. You understand what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. They add more humanity and relatability to this film. This is one of the horror films of the decade that has stuck with me the most. I’m very curious about what they’re going to do with the sequel Talk 2 Me, and hopefully it’s another hit like this film and not a miss like Bring Her Back. 

8. Last Night in Soho: I know a lot of people didn’t enjoy this film and found it to be Edgar Wright’s worst film. At the time, I’d hadn’t seen any of Wright’s other films. I just really dug this film and like Talk to Me has a bunch of images that stuck with me. But here it’s because of the camera angles that had me engaged in the film. The scene where Matt Smith is swing dancing with Anya Taylor-Joy but then in one shot cuts to him swing dancing with Thoasmin McKenzie’s character is a scene that has stuck with me. Beyond that, the film does a great job of transporting you to a time and a place. That’s a good thing considering the main character is literally transported to a different time and a place. When she goes into the past it feels like a completely different world from the present. There’s some great performances in here, the central performances from Taylor-Joy, McKenzie, and Smith are all fantastic. This is a film that people could argue might not be a horror film. But there is scary imagery in here and it does get creepy at points, even though it does lean more into the psychological thriller side of things. No matter what genre you want to categorize it in, I really dug this film and I think it’s one of the most under-appreciated films of the decade so far. 

7. Scream (2022): I actually made a mistake watching the Scream films out of order. I started with this film, not realizing it spoils the original, then watched the previous films when Scream VI came out. Regardless I think this is a great legacy sequel that sets up an interesting new direction for the franchise while honoring the franchise of the past. This film introduces a fun new set of characters played by solid actors. It’s kind of fun watching this film now where several of the actors from this film have gone on to be successful. In particular Mikey Madison who recently won an Oscar for Anora. The director of Anora, Sean Baker said when he saw this film he knew he wanted Mikey for Anora. They bring back our legacy cast for just the right amount. They don’t dominate the screen at all but have enough to do where it’s fun to see them again. With there being an 11 year gap between this film and Scream 4 and with legacy sequels being  super popular, the film is able to find a fresh new way to do the commentary that doesn’t feel like anything that came before. The film is really funny and sharp with how it’s commenting on sequels and how slashers have evolved over the years. As this was my introduction to the Scream franchise, I found the reveal of who our Ghostface(s) were to be pretty surprising and worked for me. 

6. The Substance: This is one that I could see a lot of people having much higher on the list and rightfully so. Given that this is a list of the best horror films of the decade, I really like all of these movies and that includes The Substance. What I love about The Substance is that it delivers the gnarly body horror that you expect while also having something to say. It’s a film that’s commenting on getting older and how people set unrealistic beauty standards for celebrities. They use this in the form of body horror and in a way that feels so organic and natural. The film is very on the nose with its messaging, but it never gets preachy about it. All of the ideas that it’s exploring is all done through story and storytelling like how commentary and messaging should be done. Demi Moore absolutely crushed it in this film, she should’ve won the Oscar for Mikey Madison. Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid also give really fun and interesting performances that didn’t get quite the awards buzz that Moore got but still very good. Like several of the films on this list, there’s plenty of imagery in here that stuck with me. In particular the final 15-20 minutes is one of the best WTF finales I’ve seen in a long time. 

5. Companion: Another horror film that stars Jack Quaid as a boyfriend and I really dug this film. I wasn’t able to catch it in the theater but I watched it on HBO Max when it dropped and I really dug this film. This is the type of horror film that leans into my liking and tastes. It’s not a super ambitious horror film, trying to be the greatest horror film of all time. No, the writers and director had an interesting and clever idea for a film and told it really well. One of the things about the film that really worked was that every 15-20 minutes there was some twist and turn that makes you evaluate everything that came before. The film is constantly keeping you guessing and engaged. There’s multiple moments in the film where I went “WTF” because I was so shocked by where the film was going. Like pretty much every film on this list there’s some great performances in here. Between this film and Heretic, I think Sophie Thatcher has proven that she’s one of the best actresses of her generation and I want to see her keep on doing small scale horror films. Jack Quaid is playing a very complex character where he gets to be charming but also has to be creepy and unsettling too. One of my favorite movies of 2025. 

4. Strange Darling: Like Last Night in Soho this is a film that people can debate whether or not it’s a horror film. I think this is a horror film similar to how The Silence of the Lambs is a horror film. This is a film that I went into not knowing anything about it. I knew it was a thriller of some kind. Going into this film not knowing anything about it was the best possible way to watch this film. The film is a very simple cat and mouse thriller but the fun twist here is that it’s told out of order. Where it starts in the middle of the story, then we see the beginning then the end. The film is constantly able to keep you guessing and engaged as you don’t know what’s going to happen next. There’s constantly information thrown at you that makes you change your perspective on things. JT Mollner as our writer and director does a great job making the film engaging and thrilling from beginning to end. Between this film and The Long Walk, he’s turned into a filmmaker that I’m keeping my eye out on. Whenever he has a new film coming out, I’m paying attention and will get very excited for it. If you haven’t seen this film I highly recommend you do, I believe it’s streaming on Paramount+. 

3. Heretic: My favorite horror film of 2024 and one of my favorite movies of 2024 in general. This film I thought just worked on multiple different levels and is once again a horror film that feels like it’s on my wave length. It’s taking a very simple premise with an interesting hook of this religious horror film that’s testing the rules of religion through this game and it tells it so well. You get a film that is anchored by a great performance by Hugh Grant. I love this performance so much because it’s going against everything that he’s known for. You get this performance where he has the charm that you expect but the creepy bent to it that makes it creepier. The two girls stuck in this puzzle are also really good; they’re captivating and engaging in a completely different way from Grant. I also appreciate that it wasn’t a film that was lecturing the audience about religion. Whenever Hugh Grant’s character would try and knock down the religion, the two girls would have a counter argument. It had these interesting ideas and philosophies that it was exploring. I was invested and engaged in these ideas even after the film ended. This was my favorite horror film of 2024 and I think it’s simply fantastic. 

 

2. Sinners: Quite possibly the most celebrated wide released film of 2025 so far. A horror film that will likely get a whole lot of nominations this awards season. This is the movie of 2025 where I left and I thought this is why I love movies. Because it’s a big budget original film with movie stars and a top tier director given free reign to do whatever he wants. Sinners is a great genre blender that’s a vampire film about racism that’s also a celebration of blue grass music. It’s a film that on paper shouldn’t work but since Ryan Coogler is a masterful director he’s able to make this super compelling and interesting film. The fact that it’s all able to feel like one more is also very remarkable. With it blending together so many different genres that shouldn’t go together it’s easy for this film to collapse and be too ambitious for its own good. There’s a scene in the middle of the film where it’s showcasing music across different decades and once again on paper the scene shouldn’t work but it does in the context of the film. I think Sinners is a film that because of its success I hope people learn from it. What I mean by that is you have a film that has something to say, it’s discussing social commentary but it’s doing it all through story and story telling so the film never gets preachy. 

1. Weapons: I’ve talked about Weapons a whole lot since it was released. This is my favorite movie of the year so far and I don’t see anything topping it. Zach Cregger crafted a movie that had me engaged from beginning to end. As soon as the film starts it hooks you with the basic premise of the film and your eyes are glued to the screen until the very end. Cregger wisely told the film in chapter form so you’re focused on these different characters throughout the film. Each chapter ends on a cliffhanger so when it ends you’re still engaged because you want to see what’s going to happen and when the character’s story is going to be resolved. I was very nervous with this film if all of my love was going to disappear because of the final answers for what’s really going on. I thought the final answers and reveals for what’s going on 100% worked for me. Cregger is also able to build this sense of dread in the film with such simple imagery. The shot of Aunt Gladys walking past the tinted glass is so creepy. The scene with the scissors in the car is one of the creepiest scenes I’ve seen in a movie. Speaking of Aunt Gladys, Amy Madigan deserves to be in the best supporting actress conversation this awards season. She gives the best performances of the year and I don’t think she’ll get in but she 100% deserves it. All around, Weapons is a pretty fantastic film that I loved from beginning to end and both times that I’ve watched it.