It’s not easy to figure out the best decade for horror and even though both the 1990s and 2000s are full of important contributions, there’s still one time period that comes out on top.
Horror as a collective genre continues to evolve and explore exciting new places, but something that’s especially satisfying about horror is that each decade truly provides its own flavor and unique approach. Every decade’s films become a response to different factors from that time period, such as social and political movements of the time, which absolutely affects the content that’s produced in both subtle and substantial ways.
The horror genre is currently in a very exciting place that’s not only willing to tackle new subject matter that’s previously been impossible, but a more diverse collection of filmmakers are getting to share their voices and influence horror. The 1980s were such a period of excess when it comes to gore, monsters, and nudity, so the movies in the decade that followed had a lot to prove. The 1990s and 2000s turned out to be incredibly influential decades for horror that established many trends that are still present today, but which one was the better decade overall?
The 1990s, in many ways, were trying to repair the horror genre’s reputation from the broader place that it left in the 1980s. Slasher villains lost their impact and were starting to be viewed as silly; the ‘90s actively fought against that. Slashers with a heavy teen environment like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, or The Faculty became the norm. Additionally, slashers adopted a level of Audition and gender dynamics.
The response to this in the 2000s was much more aggressive; if the meta attitude of the ‘90s was seen as sarcastic, then the 2000s were downright cynical. Saw and Hostel helped the violent and gratuitous 28 Days Later.
There’s no denying that the acceptance of foreign horror from the 2000s is important and the Saw films are still relevant to this day, but the rest of its trends all produce some edgy and regrettable content that can outweigh the material that works. There are lots of sloppy ‘90s horror movies, but the way in which it revived interest in slashers and pushed horror into a direction that’s more deconstructive of the genre was so important. In addition to all of these strong horror trends that thrive in the ‘90s, there are also movies that experimented with new ideas like The Blair Witch Project did with found footage. With all of this in mind, it’s hard to deny the 1990s was the best decade for horror in this showdown.
