The 100 Best 2010s Horror Movies

Adjusted Score: 102757%

Critics Consensus: Under the Shadow deftly blends seemingly disparate genres to deliver an effective chiller with timely themes and thought-provoking social subtext.

Adjusted Score: 102399%

Critics Consensus: The Wailing delivers an atmospheric, cleverly constructed mystery whose supernatural thrills more than justify its imposing length.

Adjusted Score: 120681%

Critics Consensus: Funny, scary, and thought-provoking, Get Out seamlessly weaves its trenchant social critiques into a brilliantly effective and entertaining horror/comedy thrill ride.

Adjusted Score: 109900%

Critics Consensus: The Babadook relies on real horror rather than cheap jump scares — and boasts a heartfelt, genuinely moving story to boot.

Adjusted Score: 99595%

Critics Consensus: Successfully mixing the conventions of the teen and horror genres with a twist, Australian director Sean Byrne makes a striking directorial debut with The Loved Ones.

Adjusted Score: 102799%

Critics Consensus: Tigers Are Not Afraid draws on childhood trauma for a story that deftly blends magical fantasy and hard-hitting realism – and leaves a lingering impact.

Adjusted Score: 99396%

Critics Consensus: A B-movie with an A-level commitment to entertain, Harpoon should hit the target with horror fans in the mood for gory, darkly humorous antics on the open water.

Adjusted Score: 117657%

Critics Consensus: A Quiet Place artfully plays on elemental fears with a ruthlessly intelligent creature feature that’s as original as it is scary — and establishes director John Krasinski as a rising talent.

Adjusted Score: 101887%

Critics Consensus: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night blends conventional elements into something brilliantly original — and serves as a striking calling card for writer-director Ana Lily Amirpour.

Adjusted Score: 97313%

Critics Consensus: Alternately hilarious, gross, and simply diverting, Housebound is the rare horror-comedy that delivers on both fronts.

Adjusted Score: 107928%

Critics Consensus: Smart, original, and above all terrifying, It Follows is the rare modern horror film that works on multiple levels — and leaves a lingering sting.

Adjusted Score: 100701%

Critics Consensus: Train to Busan delivers a thrillingly unique — and purely entertaining — take on the zombie genre, with fully realized characters and plenty of social commentary to underscore the bursts of skillfully staged action.

Adjusted Score: 99882%

Critics Consensus: The Love Witch offers an absorbing visual homage to a bygone era, arranged subtly in service of a thought-provoking meditation on the battle of the sexes.

Adjusted Score: 96300%

Critics Consensus: Smart, powerfully acted, and devilishly clever, We Are Still Here offers some novel twists on familiar territory — and heralds the arrival of a major talent in writer-director Ted Geoghegan.

Adjusted Score: 95756%

Critics Consensus: Most Beautiful Island plunges audiences into a little-seen sector of society, with writer-director Ana Asensio’s fearless performance leading the way.

Adjusted Score: 122843%

Critics Consensus: With Jordan Peele’s second inventive, ambitious horror film, we have seen how to beat the sophomore jinx, and it is Us.

Adjusted Score: 102332%

Critics Consensus: Raw‘s lurid violence and sexuality live up to its title, but they’re anchored with an immersive atmosphere and deep symbolism that linger long after the provocative visuals fade.

Adjusted Score: 99853%

Critics Consensus: Revenge slices and dices genre tropes, working within an exploitation framework while adding a timely — yet never less than viscerally thrilling — feminist spin.

Adjusted Score: 97972%

Critics Consensus: Smart and suspenseful, CAM is a techno-thriller that’s far more than the sum of its salacious parts — and an outstanding showcase for Madeline Brewer in the leading role.

Adjusted Score: 94823%

Critics Consensus: The Devil’s Candy playfully subverts horror tropes while serving up more than enough stylish thrills to satisfy genre enthusiasts.

Adjusted Score: 103972%

Critics Consensus: The Cabin in the Woods is an astonishing meta-feat, capable of being funny, strange, and scary — frequently all at the same time.

Adjusted Score: 99910%

Critics Consensus: Thelma plays with genre tropes in unexpected ways, delivering a thoughtfully twisty supernatural thriller with a lingering impact.

Adjusted Score: 98680%

Critics Consensus: The Endless benefits from its grounded approach to an increasingly bizarre story, elevated by believable performances by filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead.

Adjusted Score: 95450%

Critics Consensus: As ambitious as it is daringly transgressive, Prevenge should thrill fans of pitch-black horror-comedy — and open untold opportunities for writer/director/star Alice Lowe.

Adjusted Score: 94869%

Critics Consensus: Ambitious and beautifully shot, Demon delivers a gripping — and sadly final — testament to the singular talent possessed by director/co-writer Marcin Wrona.

Adjusted Score: 93814%

Critics Consensus: Thanks to director Zak Hilditch’s patient storytelling and strong work from lead Thomas Jane, 1922 ranks among the more satisfying Stephen King adaptations.

Adjusted Score: 107671%

Critics Consensus: As thought-provoking as it is visually compelling, The Witch delivers a deeply unsettling exercise in slow-building horror that suggests great things for debuting writer-director Robert Eggers.

Adjusted Score: 95385%

Critics Consensus: Bone Tomahawk‘s peculiar genre blend won’t be for everyone, but its gripping performances and a slow-burning story should satisfy those in search of something different.

Adjusted Score: 94748%

Critics Consensus: Carla Gugino carries Gerald’s Game‘s small-scale suspense with a career-defining performance.

Adjusted Score: 92711%

Critics Consensus: Creepy lives up to its title with a suspenseful and thoroughly unsettling – not to mention well-acted – blend of crime procedural and domestic drama.

Adjusted Score: 92058%

Critics Consensus: Riveting and bone-chillingly creepy, Cropsey manages to be one of the best documentaries and one of the best horror movies of the year.

Adjusted Score: 111047%

Critics Consensus: A gripping story brilliantly filmed and led by a pair of powerhouse performances, The Lighthouse further establishes Robert Eggers as a filmmaker of exceptional talent.

Adjusted Score: 111599%

Critics Consensus: Hereditary uses its classic setup as the framework for a harrowing, uncommonly unsettling horror film whose cold touch lingers long beyond the closing credits.

Adjusted Score: 103754%

Critics Consensus: Mandy‘s gonzo violence is fueled by a gripping performance by Nicolas Cage — and anchored with palpable emotion conveyed between his volcanic outbursts.

Adjusted Score: 101966%

Critics Consensus: Green Room delivers unapologetic genre thrills with uncommon intelligence and powerfully acted élan.

Adjusted Score: 95064%

Critics Consensus: The Invitation makes brilliant use of its tension-rich premise to deliver a uniquely effective — and surprisingly clever — slow-building thriller.

Adjusted Score: 90796%

Critics Consensus: Smart, suspenseful, and visually distinctive, Julia’s Eyes marks another modern Spanish thriller that quickens the pulse while engaging the mind.

Adjusted Score: 105983%

Critics Consensus: Smart, subversive, and darkly funny, Ready or Not is a crowd-pleasing horror film with giddily entertaining bite.

Adjusted Score: 92804%

Critics Consensus: Rare Exports is an unexpectedly delightful crossbreed of deadpan comedy and Christmas horror.

Adjusted Score: 91273%

Critics Consensus: Carried by its charismatic young cast, Better Watch Out is an adorably sinister holiday horror film.

Adjusted Score: 102009%

Critics Consensus: It Comes at Night makes lethally effective use of its bare-bones trappings while proving once again that what’s left unseen can be just as horrifying as anything on the screen.

Adjusted Score: 99582%

Critics Consensus: Don’t Breathe smartly twists its sturdy premise to offer a satisfyingly tense, chilling addition to the home invasion genre that’s all the more effective for its simplicity.

Adjusted Score: 97641%

Critics Consensus: Similar to the original in all the right ways — but with enough changes to stand on its own — Let Me In is the rare Hollywood remake that doesn’t add insult to inspiration.

Adjusted Score: 92114%

Critics Consensus: Smartly constructed and powerfully acted, Hounds of Love satisfies as a psychological thriller with a few nasty surprises — and marks writer-director Ben Young as a promising talent.

Adjusted Score: 91931%

Critics Consensus: Gleefully nasty and darkly hilarious, Cheap Thrills lives down to its title in the best possible way.

Adjusted Score: 89513%

Critics Consensus: Luz takes a refreshingly unique approach to horror possession tropes, elevated by a chilly mood and minimalist scares.

Adjusted Score: 96473%

Critics Consensus: Well-crafted and gleefully creepy, The Conjuring ratchets up dread through a series of effective old-school scares.

Adjusted Score: 95468%

Critics Consensus: Worth watching for Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton’s performances alone, Only Lovers Left Alive finds writer-director Jim Jarmusch adding a typically offbeat entry to the vampire genre.

Adjusted Score: 91752%

Critics Consensus: The Girl with All the Gifts grapples with thought-provoking questions without skimping on the scares — and finds a few fresh wrinkles in the well-worn zombie horror genre along the way.

Adjusted Score: 90616%

Critics Consensus: Director Ben Wheatley and writer-stars Alice Lowe and Steve Oram deliver a wicked road trip movie that successfully walks the line between dark comedy and horror.

Adjusted Score: 90575%

Critics Consensus: The Autopsy of Jane Doe subverts the gruesome expectations triggered by its title to deliver a smart, suggestively creepy thriller that bolsters director André Ovredal’s growing reputation.

Adjusted Score: 89997%

Critics Consensus: Its reach may exceed its grasp, but with Berberian Sound Studio, director Peter Strickland assembles a suitably twisted, creepy tribute to the Italian Giallo horror movies of the ’70s that benefits from a strong central performance by Toby Jones.

Adjusted Score: 89529%

Critics Consensus: A compelling story cleverly told, We Are What We Are quenches horror buffs’ thirst for gore while serving up serious-minded filmmaking and solid acting.

Adjusted Score: 88724%

Critics Consensus: Recklessly assembled and occasionally compelling in spite of itself, A Field in England showcases a singularly brilliant voice in British cinema.

Adjusted Score: 88529%

Critics Consensus: The Transfiguration tells a quieter, more deliberately paced tale than genre fans might expect, but for those with the patience to let it sink in, it offers its own rewards.

Adjusted Score: 88173%

Critics Consensus: A thrillingly effective update on a classic story, Depraved jolts a familiar monster back to life with a potent blend of timely themes and old-school chills.

Adjusted Score: 106801%

Critics Consensus: Well-acted and fiendishly frightening with an emotionally affecting story at its core, It amplifies the horror in Stephen King’s classic story without losing touch with its heart.

Adjusted Score: 91606%

Critics Consensus: Dark, violent, and drenched in dread, Goodnight Mommy is perfect for extreme horror enthusiasts — or filmgoers who prefer to watch between splayed fingers.

Adjusted Score: 91739%

Critics Consensus: Ghost Stories offers a well-crafted, skillfully told horror anthology that cleverly toys with genre tropes while adding a few devilishly frightful twists.

Adjusted Score: 89208%

Critics Consensus: Like the best horror/comedies, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil mines its central crazy joke for some incredible scares, laughs, and — believe it or not — heart.

Adjusted Score: 87458%

Critics Consensus: Mayhem delivers stylish violence by the bloody bucketful — and grounds all the titular chaos in sharp humor and surprisingly effective real-world economic angst.

Adjusted Score: 96184%

Critics Consensus: Its message may prove elusive for some, but with absorbing imagery and a mesmerizing performance from Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin is a haunting viewing experience.

Adjusted Score: 94859%

Critics Consensus: An action-packed creature feature that’s fast, terrifying, and benefits greatly from a completely game Kaya Scodelario, Crawl is a fun throw-back with just enough self-awareness to work.

Adjusted Score: 87280%

Critics Consensus: Tragedy Girls injects familiar teen tropes with just enough up-to-the-minute commentary — and pitch-black humor — to work as an irreverently entertaining diversion.

Adjusted Score: 104882%

Critics Consensus: Ambitious, impressively crafted, and above all unsettling, Midsommar further proves writer-director Ari Aster is a horror auteur to be reckoned with.

Adjusted Score: 88495%

Critics Consensus: Ouija: Origin of Evil swerves its franchise’s planchette unexpectedly to YES with a surprisingly scary and dramatically satisfying follow-up to its lackluster predecessor.

Adjusted Score: 87011%

Critics Consensus: The Hole in the Ground artfully exploits parental fears with a well-made horror outing that makes up in sheer effectiveness what it lacks in originality.

Adjusted Score: 86098%

Critics Consensus: Imperfect yet intriguing, The Wind offers horror fans an admirably ambitious story further distinguished by its fresh perspective and effective scares.

Adjusted Score: 85450%

Critics Consensus: Creepy, provocative, and aesthetically absorbing, Evolution marks a satisfying step forward for director/co-writer Lucile Hadzihalilovic.

Adjusted Score: 94349%

Critics Consensus: Part revisionist war drama, part zombie thriller, and part all-out genre gorefest, Overlord offers A-level fun for B-movie fans of multiple persuasions.

Adjusted Score: 85939%

Critics Consensus: Trollhunter is a mockumentary with an appropriate level of creeping dread, but one that also benefits from generous helpings of dry wit.

Adjusted Score: 83861%

Critics Consensus: Never flinching during its descent into depravity, I Saw the Devil is a pulverizing thriller that will give bloody satisfaction to audiences who like their revenge served with fiery rage.

Adjusted Score: 82969%

Critics Consensus: Writer-director Bobcat Goldthwait’s first foray into horror doesn’t break any new ground, but it does wring fresh terror from a well-worn genre formula — and offers a few nasty laughs in the bargain.

Adjusted Score: 82919%

Critics Consensus: Compact and effective, In Fear offers discerning horror fans a smart and disturbing plunge into the depths of cinematic anxiety.

Adjusted Score: 82719%

Critics Consensus: Southbound doesn’t entirely avoid the jarring shifts common to anthology films, but thanks to some thrilling twists and turns, this horror road movie is a surprisingly smooth ride.

Adjusted Score: 91991%

Critics Consensus: The Conjuring 2 can’t help but lose a bit of its predecessor’s chilly sting through familiarity, but what remains is still a superior ghost story told with spine-tingling skill.

Adjusted Score: 92819%

Critics Consensus: Unsane unleashes Steven Soderbergh’s inner B-movie maestro, wading into timeless psychological thriller territory and giving it a high-tech filmmaking spin.

Adjusted Score: 86192%

Critics Consensus: You’re Next‘s energetic and effective mix of brutal gore and pitch black humor will please horror buffs and beyond.

Adjusted Score: 84339%

Critics Consensus: It doesn’t break any rules of the genre, but The Innkeepers serves as additional proof that Ti West is a young director that discriminating horror fans can trust.

Adjusted Score: 82279%

Critics Consensus: Smart, stylish, and well-acted, What Keeps You Alive proves it’s still possible to spin an engrossing horror yarn without fundamentally altering established formula.

Adjusted Score: 81405%

Critics Consensus: Baskin complements its gory thrills with heavy atmosphere and deliberate pacing, adding up to a horror outing that plays with the mind as enthusiastically as it ruins the appetite.

Adjusted Score: 100544%

Critics Consensus: Halloween largely wipes the slate clean after decades of disappointing sequels, ignoring increasingly elaborate mythology in favor of basic – yet still effective – ingredients.

Adjusted Score: 89201%

Critics Consensus: Lean and solidly crafted, The Shallows transcends tired shark-attack tropes with nasty thrills and a powerful performance from Blake Lively.

Adjusted Score: 82157%

Critics Consensus: Apostle resists easy scares in favor of a steady, slow-building descent into dread led by a commanding central performance from Dan Stevens.

Adjusted Score: 80455%

Critics Consensus: The Monster uses its effectively simple setup and a powerful lead performance from Zoe Kazan to deliver a traditional yet subtly subversive — and thoroughly entertaining — horror story.

Adjusted Score: 90139%

Critics Consensus: Like the bestselling series of books that inspired it, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark opens a creepy gateway into horror for younger genre enthusiasts.

Adjusted Score: 81280%

Critics Consensus: Kill List is an expertly executed slow-burn crime thriller that thrives on tension before morphing into visceral horror.

Adjusted Score: 80887%

Critics Consensus: The Void offers a nostalgic rush for fans of low-budget 1980s horror — and legitimate thrills for hardcore genre enthusiasts of all ages.

Adjusted Score: 83505%

Critics Consensus: Anna and the Apocalypse finds fresh brains and a lot of heart in the crowded zombie genre – not to mention a fun genre mashup populated by rootable characters.

Adjusted Score: 78771%

Critics Consensus: Tales of Halloween boasts a number of fun scares and is overall more consistent than many horror anthology films, even if it isn’t quite as dark or nasty as the classics of the genre.

Adjusted Score: 79482%

Critics Consensus: Barry Levinson’s eco-horror flick cleverly utilizes familiar found-footage methods in service of a gruesome yet atmospheric chiller.

Adjusted Score: 79078%

Critics Consensus: Slow-building and atmospheric, The Blackcoat’s Daughter resists girls-in-peril clichés in a supernatural thriller that serves as a strong calling card for debuting writer-director Oz Perkins.

Adjusted Score: 78032%

Critics Consensus: Smart, stylish, and nail-bitingly tense, Honeymoon packs more slow-building horror than many bigger-budget productions.

Adjusted Score: 77635%

Critics Consensus: Admirably eclectic yet more consistent than most horror anthologies, Nightmare Cinema should entertain viewers in the mood for a good old-fashioned creepshow.

Adjusted Score: 83308%

Critics Consensus: Lights Out makes skillful use of sturdy genre tropes — and some terrific performances — for an unsettling, fright-filled experience that delivers superior chills without skimping on story.

Adjusted Score: 81900%

Critics Consensus: With an emphasis on dread over gore and an ending that leaves the door wide open for sequels, Oculus could be just the first spine-tingling chapter in a new franchise for discerning horror fans.

Adjusted Score: 77008%

Critics Consensus: Though the genre is well worn at this point, director Jim Mickle focuses on strong characterization and eerie atmosphere to craft an effective apocalyptic vampire chiller that also manages to pack a mean punch.

Adjusted Score: 81030%

Critics Consensus: Mom and Dad‘s gonzo premise serves as an effective springboard for a wickedly dark, bloody comedy – and an appropriately over-the-top performance from Nicolas Cage.

Adjusted Score: 78971%

Critics Consensus: Playing exactly to expectations for a movie about killer fish run amok, Piranha 3-D dishes out gore, guffaws and gratuitous nudity with equal glee.

Adjusted Score: 78037%

Critics Consensus: The Voices gives Ryan Reynolds an opportunity to deliver a highlight-reel performance — and offers an off-kilter treat for fans of black comedies.