My eight favorite horror movies of the 00s

Looking back at decade’s end, I note that the movies of the new millennium don’t appear to be featured prominently on many of 8sails’ “our eight favorites” lists. In particular, most of the stuff on the horror-related lists tends to be 1980s or earlier.

In part that’s justified. The lists reflect the staff’s taste, and our tastes tend to stray away from movies that fit with the trends of the new century. But some folks out there are still making good horror pictures, usually despite the current flow of the industry as a whole. So at the start of the 10’s, here’s a quick nod to the good horror movies of the past decade.

The Call of Cthulhu – Though this is of recent vintage, it consciously imitates the expressionist horror movies of the silent era. In other words, if someone had made a movie out of H.P. Lovecraft’s classic tale shortly after it first saw print, it might have looked a great deal like this. The production is a delightful demonstration of just how much can be done with a small budget and a little imagination.

The Burrowers – This entry is distinguished by two elements. First, it’s one of the few times that horror and the western have been successfully combined. Second (and better yet), the monsters are both innovative and scary. As is their modus operandi.

The Last Winter – Global warming is frightening stuff, so it was only a matter of time before somebody found a way to make it into an effective horror picture. Thankfully this isn’t some epic global destruction slop like 2012 or The Day After Tomorrow. Instead it borrows a trick from The Thing – something gets thawed out that shouldn’t have – and takes it in a sinister new direction.

Let the Right One In – To Sweden we go for this icky little vampire movie. Though it has its faults – not the least of which is that it’s a vampire movie – it does some interesting things with bloodsucker mythology.

28 Days Later – And next to England. This takes Romero’s flesh-ripping zombies and speeds them up to a frantic, dangerous pace. Thus in short order all Britain is awash in innocent people transformed into rabid, hungry monsters. Thank goodness the place is an island.

From Hell – Okay, let’s be fair. Though Hollywood hasn’t exactly been at the forefront of good horror cinema for awhile now, every once in awhile the studios do turn out something that’s worth a look. This isn’t exactly the first time a gifted detective has been pitted against Jack the Ripper. Nor is it the first time that a conspiracy of aristocratic Masons has been implicated in the killings. But Alan Moore’s version of the tale combines historical detail with solid storytelling, and the Hughes brothers trim it down nicely to bring it to the screen.

The Ring – This is the most popular picture on the list; it made a bit of a stir when it hit theaters thanks to the watch-a-video-and-die-in-seven-days gimmick. Though it might have been just as good with a smaller budget (or in the original Japanese version), the slick cinematography is a nice addition.

The Cry – And finally, here’s a hope that the increasing Hispanic presence in the United States will eventually bring Latin American folk legend into the horror genre. Thus far most of what I’ve seen from this area has been mediocre vampires and a couple of poor excuses for chupacabras. So even though this La Llorona tale isn’t exactly an immortal classic of the silver screen, it is nonetheless a significant and potentially important step in the right direction.