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Top 6 Horror Movies From The 2010s

The decade of the 2010s was phenomenal for horror fans. Horror found its way back into the mainstream, leading to a diverse collection of movies for lifelong horror addicts and new fans to the genre. Here are the best movies of the 2010s.

By

Black Swan

The 2010s were transformative years for mainstream horror movies.

Here, we’ll look at 6 of the best movies from that decade. For a deeper dive into 2010s horror, reference my full list at Creepy Catalog.

6. Get Out (2017)

Jordan Peele won Best Original Screenplay at the 2018 Academy Awards for Get Out.

In 2017, Jordan Peele exploded onto the mainstream horror scene with the release of his first horror movie, Get Out. The movie stars Daniel Kaluuya as a Black man who travels with his White girlfriend (Allison Williams) to her hometown, but something about the predominately White population feels sinister right from the start. Get Out deals with heavy issues like racism with a skilled touch that makes its themes clear, but the movie never resorts to being preachy. What is less clear for some people is what genre Get Out might fall into. If you ask the Golden Globes, it’s a comedy. But really, Get Out is a fantastic thriller that turns into a horror movie by the final act. It also established Jordan Peele as a filmmaker to watch.

5. Raw (2016)

A few people in attendance at screenings of Raw at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival were reported to have fainted during the movies more graphic scenes.

From Julia Ducournau, Raw is a coming-of-age movie featuring cannibalism. The movie stars Garance Marillier as Justine, a student at a veterinary school who, as a lifelong vegetarian, discovers an emerging craving for meat. While the movie can be taken at face value as a kind of shocker that evolved from the horrors of the New French Extremity movement, Raw can just as easily be read as a metaphorical exploration of any number of dangerous desires. Any way you look at it, Raw is one of the most compelling movies of the 2010s, and Julia Ducournau is one of the most interesting filmmakers to emerge during the decade.

4. The Wailing (2016)

The Wailing keeps viewers guessing about what is really happening right up until the final scene.

South Korean horror movies exploded in worldwide popularity in the 2010s, and The Wailing is arguably the very best pure horror movie produced in South Korea during that decade. In The Wailing, a small-town police officer, Jong-goo (Kwak Do-won), becomes entangled in a series of brutally violent murders in a nearby village. The murders are being committed by villagers who appear to be afflicted with some sort of illness, but rumors and paranoia lead Jong-goo to believe something far more sinister is behind everything. The first third of the movie is filled with humor as we get to know Jong-goo and his family, but the film takes some hard turns into gore, despair, and supernatural horror as the layers of the mystery are slowly revealed.

3. It Follows (2014)

Writer/director David Robert Mitchell intentionally incorporated items and scenery from multiple decades to make the movie feel like a “place outside of time.”

It Follows feels like a throwback to an older era of horror in the best possible way. Maika Monroe takes center stage as Jay, a young woman who is relentlessly stalked by a supernatural entity after having sex with her boyfriend for the first time. Monroe’s performance is beautiful, portraying Jay as confused, hurt, and terrified all at the same time. It Follows is a quiet movie filled with dread that is punctuated by surprising moments of unnerving terror. The visuals give the movie a retro aesthetic and a timeless appeal, and the music feels like it was inspired by the works of John Carpenter.

2. Black Swan (2010)

Black Swan is a dream-like study in the maddening effects of obsession and art, and it’s one of the most mesmerizing movies of the 2010s.

Black Swan is a masterful psychological horror movie from eclectic filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. Natalie Portman won Best Actress at the Academy Awards for her role as Nina Sayers, a ballerina overwhelmed by the mental and physical stresses heaped upon her by her mother and by her desire to take the lead role in Swan Lake. But really, the whole cast deserves praise what they created here. Barbara Hershey is unnerving as Nina’s mother, Vincent Cassel is ominous as the ballet director, Mila Kunis is mysterious as Nina’s rival, and Winona Ryder is scary as the ballet company’s former star.

1. Hereditary (2018)

Hereditary was the highest grossing movie worldwide for A24 before being dethroned in 2022 by Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Hereditary is an easy choice for the #1 horror movie of the 2010s. Toni Collette’s Oscar-worthy performance drives the movie forward with an unsettling rage that feels almost too real. Ari Aster’s precise directing turns a somewhat familiar plot structure into something entirely unique and utterly terrifying. And the layering of a supernatural horror film involving possession on top of an intense family drama gives the more horrifying aspects of Hereditary roots in relatability. Hereditary isn’t just one of the best horror movies of the 2010s, it’s one of the best horror movies ever.