There are so many brilliant horror films out there that some are bound to slip through the proverbial cracks. Some trends of the 2000s horror scene have definitely subsided, but it was certainly an interesting decade for the genre. Horror fans saw the emergence of some great horror directors, like Karyn Kusama, James Wan, and Ti West.
There was also the beginning of some pivotal horror franchises, like did not receive the legacy they deserved.
Slither (2006)
This sci-fi black comedy horror film was the directorial debut of renowned director James Gunn. A malicious, perceptive alien parasite falls inside a meteorite on Wheelsy, South Carolina, where it infects affluent inhabitant Grant Grant, possessing his body and engrossing his brain. With the parasite controlling him, "Grant" starts to transmute into a misshapen, tentacled monster.
He also captures and infects a resident woman, Brenda, to be a “mother” for his extra-terrestrial larvae. His wife, Starla, grows apprehensive over the differences in his physique and his conduct, and Grant attacks her. The police come to Starla’s rescue and Grant flees, leading to a manhunt (or alien hunt) all over town.
Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon (2006)
This mockumentary black comedy slasher is a really original take on horror and what it can mean. It’s filmed as a documentary unfolding in a universe where the murderers portrayed in well-known slasher movies are real. A female reporter called Taylor Gentry and her cameramen record the arrangements of Leslie as he plans to enlist in a group of other slasher baddies.
Leslie maintains he’s a boy from an urban legend who slaughtered his family, before supposedly getting murdered by the townspeople, but having actually survived. He explains his intents but declines to truthfully clarify his motives. Leslie intends to coordinate a carnage at his so-called family place, a derelict farm deep in the forest.
Macabre / Rumah Dara [Dara's House] (2009)
This Indonesian slasher did not receive much recognition outside its own country, even though it definitely deserved it. Two newlyweds, Adjie and Astrid, along with their three friends, are traveling to the airport when they run into Maya, a strange girl who claims she’s been robbed. The group drive her to her place deep into the woods.
Maya presents them to her mother Dara, a youthful-looking woman of few words. Dara persists that their comion should be rewarded with a feast. Here, the night transforms into a blood-soaked nightmare for the group, who find themselves ensnared by Dara and her cult-like lethal protégés, raised to methodically exterminate gullible ersby for one perverse purpose.
1408 (2007)
The usual haunted hotel plus stressed writer motif of Stephen King comes together in this adaptation of his short story. Mike Enslin, a non-fiction writer who authors books about his personal experiences in haunted locations, receives a mysterious invitation to go to room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel.
The hotel manager tries to persuade him not to enter the room; no one lasts over an hour in there. Mike is skeptic by nature and despite his work does not believe in the supernatural. He insists, takes the room, and from the first moment things aren’t normal. The radio-clock abruptly begins playing "We've Only Just Begun" by The Carpenters, and the display starts a countdown from 60:00…
Planet Terror (2007)
This horror comedy was authored, directed, shot, and partially edited by Robert Rodriguez. It was part of the double feature Grindhouse, together with Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. After an experimental nerve gas is unintentionally discharged at an isolated military base in Texas, those subjected to the gas turn into cannibalistic zombies out for blood.
A mixture of people, including the stripper Cherry, her dubious ex-boyfriend Wray, an iron-willed doctor, the resident sheriff, and others must unite to live through the night as the bloodthirsty monsters terrorize the whole town and may take over the world.
Hard Candy (2005)
From the moment it starts, one can feel that something is not right here. The obvious reason why is that 14-year-old Hayley (Ellen Page) meets 32-year-old photographer Jeff (Patrick Wilson) on a date, gets in his car, goes to his house… that’s the idea. They met online and Jeff has an unhidden preference for teenage girls.
But then things start to go wrong in an unexpected way. Jeff drinks a screwdriver that Hayley mixed, faints, and wakes up tied and threatened by her, accused of horrible crimes. Or is it just a vague suspicion that she has? The merciless thread of this film unfolds in a slow but terrifying burn, as viewers witness the lengths each character is willing to go to.
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Directed by Karyn Kusama and starring Megan Fox as Jennifer and Amanda Seyfried as Anita/Needy, this film was poorly received upon its release and many feel it has been overshadowed by Kusama’s following projects.
However, it has definitely been redeemed in the eyes of many critics and media outlets, as well as in the eyes of fans that now consider it a clever feminist allegory (especially after the MeToo movement), as well as and possessed.
Gothika (2003)
“Even if you tell the truth... no one will listen. You know why? Because you're crazy. And the more you try to prove them wrong, the crazier you'll appear.” These are the words said to Dr. Miranda Grey by her former psychiatric patient after she finds herself on the other side of the iron bars.
Miranda is an accomplished psychiatrist who works in the female ward of a mental hospital. After an encounter with a paranormal entity, she wakes up in her hospital and is told that her husband was murdered… and she is the prime suspect.
The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
This film was based on Clive Barker’s short story of the same name. Leon is a photographer who wishes to take exceptionally graphic urban shots. He is disappointed when gallery proprietor Susan says he doesn’t take risks. Bolstered, he goes into the subway at night and takes shots of an imminent sexual assault before intervening.
The day after, the almost victim goes missing. Interested, Leon studies s of analogous disappearances. His research leads him to a butcher called Mahogany, who he presumes has been murdering subway commuters for the last 3 years. Leon shows his pictures to the cops, but Detective Hadley distrusts him; his immersion rapidly turns into a shadowy fascination.
House Of 1000 Corpses (2003)
This movie was written and directed by Rob Zombie (obviously, who else could it be?) and it is officially one of the most disturbing movies any horror fan could see in their life. One day before Halloween in 1977, four friends (Bill, Jerry, Mary, and Denise) go on an off the beaten track road-trip to write a guide about eccentric roadside attractions in America.
In no time, the young travelers happen upon Captain Spaulding's “Museum of Monsters and Men”, just to become obsessed with the homegrown legend of a disturbed serial-killer doctor, and meet an enigmatic hitchhiker, Baby. Yet, when the unwary assembly are introduced to Baby's odd family after getting a flat tire, a never-ending night of dread, torment, and killing follows. Can they escape alive from the House of A Thousand Corpses?
