This is the thirteenth entry in our ongoing series covering the best horror films from each year. You regular readers will remember that we began in the 1990s and we started off the 1980s decade with lists for 1980 and 1981. But here we wanted to pivot and continue moving forward in time beyond the 1990s into the 2000s. We will still continue on with the 1980s horror lists, but going forward they will be alternating with their corresponding years from the 2000s. So, we will start with 2000 and 2001 in order to catch up to where we are with the 1980s, and then will alternate 1982, 2002, 1983, 2003, etc. until we finish both decades.
On some level you could say this for every horror decade, but the 2000s are a bit odd as a decade. They start out still riding the wave of the commercially successful teen horror craze of the late 1990s. The decade is also known for the myriad re-imaginings of and outright remakes of classic and older horror films. You also get the fuller transition away from practical effects and toward visual effects and computer-generated imagery (CGI). As such, the 2000s have sadly been somewhat remembered as the era of bad CGI, the overuse of CGI, and the glut of needless remakes. However, there were also original and quality films created each of these years that are worth watching. And some of those remakes or re-imaginings are not necessarily as bad as either you remember or were led to believe. Some of them definitely are, but not all of them. Of the six films on this 2000 horror list, we have a bit of most of these categories. Though they are not slashers, two of the entries are teen horror. Two of the entries are inspired by and are somewhat re-imaginings of older classic horror films and characters.
We are also doing a bit of a format change from previous annual horror lists. Before we had just selected a winning film followed by a list of five honorable mentions in no particular rank order. On this list and going forward we are making the structure clearer and are just doing a straightforward top six horror film selections for each year. And like with previous lists, we also throw in some of what we call “tangential bonus films” at the end. These are films that incorporate horror elements but, in our view at least, do not primarily fit within the horror genre. These tangential bonus films are thus not actually horror films per se but are films that should be enjoyed by horror fans for their comedic, dramatic, or other use of horror elements and subject matter.
1. American Psycho
MPAA Rating: R
American Psycho is based on the novel of the same name from 1991 by Bret Easton Ellis. It tells the story of a 1980s Wall Street investment banker named Patrick Bateman (played wonderfully by Christian Bale) who is a serial killer. While the film is essentially a slasher, it is an intelligent film that, while it is never outright comedic, works as a dark satire on the excess, the superficiality, and the conformity and narcissism of the wealthy during the 1980s. We see Bateman’s superficial relationships with his fiancé (played by Reese Witherspoon) as well as his pseudo-friends and business associates. Part of the reason why Bateman’s psychopathic behavior is not noticed by anyone is because they are also as narcissistic, self-absorbed, and superficial as his own persona. They all look the same, dress the same, and behave the same to the point where even they forget or confuse each other’s names at times. The satire here and essentially the core of the film is about the inhumanity of these types of people and the inhumanity or dehumanization that is socially required of them and that they inflict on others. Bateman as serial killer is perhaps just the most extreme version of that. Another fun aspect of the film is that Bateman is the narrator of the film, and as an insane character he is probably not the most reliable of narrators. So, there is a way of watching this film where you can interpret it so that Bateman might not actually kill anyone.
The script was adapted by Guinevere Turner and Mary Harron, and Harron actually directs as well. Christian Bale delivers a truly remarkable and standout performance as Patrick Bateman. The rest of the film is great, but his lead performance alone is, to use a phrase, worth the price of admission. We also get a solid supporting cast including Reese Witherspoon, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Justin Theroux, and others. Now over twenty years later, American Psycho has aged well and remains a true classic and our clear favorite for best horror film from 2000.
2. Final Destination
MPAA Rating: R
Final Destination is a film that bridges the teen horror type films that characterized the late 1990s and the supernatural or scifi horror subgenres favored by viewers of The X-Files. The film actually began as a draft script for an episode of that television show but was instead expanded to a feature length film. The story centers around a teenager named Alex Browning (played by Devon Sawa) who is set to embark on a plane trip to France with his high school class. However, before takeoff he has a premonition that the plane will explode. He makes a scene on the plane in trying to warn people of the danger, and thus gets himself and a few others kicked off the plane. While they are detained by airport security, they see their plane takeoff and explode within view of the airport. The survivors and the townspeople mourn the loss of these people, but suspicion is also placed on Browning. Death, as a vengeful spirit, feels cheated as these survivors were all supposed to die in the explosion. Death then tries to reclaim these people and devises new ways to take them. As the survivors are then killed off one by one, they must work together to devise a way to cheat death once again.
While this film is rated R, it is still presented as accessible to a teenage audience and the kills are not overly gory. However, the ‘fun’ of the film regarding the deaths is the almost Rube Goldberg-ian way in which Death tries to kill them to have the deaths appear to be accidents in Death’s natural correction of the unnatural or supernatural circumstances that resulted in them surviving the plane. While Devon Sawa is the lead performance, the strength of the film is really in the ensemble including the likes of Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Seann William Scott, Amanda Detmer, etc. We also get a memorable minor role from the great Tony Todd. The film was directed by James Wong. It was commercially successful and would spawn an entire franchise including four sequels thus far and a potential fifth sequel is supposedly in the works.
3. Ginger Snaps
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
In addition to Final Destination, Ginger Snaps was the other solid teen horror film from 2000. However, Ginger Snaps places our teenage protagonists in very different circumstances as this is a werewolf movie. Our story centers on two teenage sisters, named Ginger and Brigitte, who are living in the town of Bailey Downs (likely located in Canada). The town has recently been plagued by a series of violent deaths of dogs, and it is believed that there is a particularly vicious dog on the loose that is attacking family dogs. The two sisters are of similar age and have similar dark personalities and dress essentially as ‘goth girls’. The older sister, Ginger (played by Katharine Isabelle) has her first period. While the sisters were out one night, Ginger is attacked by the werewolf. The werewolf gets hit and killed by a van driven by a local drug dealer. Because she is bitten, Ginger begins her long transformation into a werewolf. The film thus intentionally plays with this connection between puberty, menstruation, and physical maturation into adulthood with werewolf transformation. The younger sister (played by Emily Perkins) tries to uncover what is happening to her sister and works with the aforementioned local drug dealer to develop a way to cure Ginger before she harms or infects more people.
The film is executed well overall, and the puberty/menstruation analogy really works and makes the film particularly unique and memorable. There are not many other werewolf movies that focus on women as the protagonists and as the werewolf. The emotional core of the film is really the relationship between the sisters, and both Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle deliver in these roles. The two have great chemistry together. Mimi Rogers also delivers a particularly solid and memorable performance as their mother. Ginger Snaps was not a hit commercially, but it was critically acclaimed and has developed a cult following in the past two decades. It remains essential viewing for the year and for fans of teen horror and werewolves.
4. Shadow of the Vampire
MPAA Rating: R
Shadow of the Vampire is one of the most unique vampire movies that we have ever seen. It accomplishes that feat by being a different type of meta-storytelling. Previous meta-horror movies of the Scream variety have the characters aware that they are in a horror movie narrative. Shadow of the Vampire removes the self-awareness of the characters but maintains the movie-within-the-movie trope of some meta-horror films. And this one also adds a layer of alternate history. Shadow of the Vampire is an alternate history take on the making of the actual 1922 vampire horror film Nosferatu. In this alternate history version of events, Max Schreck is not the name of the actor playing the character of Count Orlok. In this version, vampires are real beings though their existence is a secret to the public. Count Orlok is an actual vampire who takes on the persona of Max Schreck in order to star in this actual 1922 Nosferatu film. The story is thus an alternate history version of the filming of the actual 1922 Nosferatu film where the director F.W. Murnau (played by John Malkovich) recruits an actual vampire (played by Willem Dafoe) to play the lead vampire character in the film. It is thus a fictional account of the making of a real film. Because it is a horror film with a ‘real’ vampire, the filming of the film-within-a-film does not go smoothly and our Count Orlok begins actually feeding on the actors and the production staff as Murnau loses even the facade of control that he wants to imagine he has over this actual vampire.
Hopefully, that account of the plot is not too confusing. What is also noteworthy and effective about Shadow of the Vampire is that given the film-within-a-film element it exhibits a lot of the tropes and filming techniques of the silent film era. John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe are essentially the co-leads, and both give strong performances, though Dafoe’s performance was more critically acclaimed. Dafoe was nominated for the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, though sadly he did not win either. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Makeup. We also get memorable supporting performances by people like Cary Elwes, Eddie Izzard, Udo Kier, and others. Overall, Shadow of the Vampire is an effective and well-made film that should not be overlooked when discussing the best films of the year and the best vampire films of the 2000s decade.
5. Hellraiser: Inferno
MPAA Rating: R
Given that in our 1990s lists we did not include the third or fourth Hellraiser films, you might be surprised to see that the fifth Hellraiser film made the list for this year. However, while Hellraiser: Inferno was the first in the series to be released direct-to-video, it is actually one of the best films in the entire series. There are a few elements that really elevate this film above most others in the series. For one, unlike the third and fourth films in the series, Inferno returns to the central narrative theme in the original about the evil of humanity in their pursuit of their own greed and in particular their own physical and sensory pleasures and indulgences. The Cenobites are not supposed to be the main characters and are not supposed to be the source of evil akin to a slasher villain. Instead, the Cenobites are a type of ‘lawful evil’ and it is the human pursuit of evil that brings them into the domain of the Cenobites. Second, because the main human characters are supposed to be the ‘villains’ of the story, the Cenobites should not (and in Inferno do not) have significant screentime. They should be used sparingly for a stronger effect. Again, proper Hellraiser stories are not about this race of demons. Instead, Hellraiser stories are about how evil human beings come into contact with and are captured by this race of demons. Third, Inferno tells a noir type of story about an evil and corrupt cop pursuing a case, and that noir narrative style is different than other entries in the series. Because of that, some viewers dismiss this film. But we are actually fans of noir or neo-noir films and think that style is implemented effectively here. Additionally, Inferno leans into the psychological horror themes of a film like Jacob’s Ladder. Some viewers wanting a gorefest might not like that, but we do, and it is done well here. The fourth reason is that Scott Derrickson serves as writer and director. Inferno is a surprisingly quality first film by Derrickson who would go on to have a successful career in horror. Inferno allowed him to experiment with a lot of techniques and in retrospect you can see early versions of things that he would explore further in say 2012’s Sinister or 2021’s The Black Phone. And fifth, Inferno actually has one of the most memorable and satisfying endings of any film on this 2000 horror list. Many horror films start with a great premise but flounder by the end. Inferno has a great ending that in a way is worth watching over again on its own.
The one real negative thing that we can say about Hellraiser: Inferno is that this is noticeably a low budget film. Inferno would have been improved by an increase in the meager $2 million budget especially in the areas of special effects and production design. But having said that, Derrickson does a lot with the limited resources available to him, and Inferno is a surprisingly quality, memorable, and rewatchable film. Again, it is easily one of the best entries in the franchise. We also appreciate the cast performances, and especially Craig Sheffer in the lead role as our evil and corrupt police detective. Nicholas Turturro and James Remar are particularly memorable in their supporting roles. And obviously, Doug Bradley is wonderful in this as our lead Cenobite, Pinhead, who makes the most of his scenes given the appropriately limited screentime for the character.
For the most part, you would be correct to not expect much from a direct-to-video horror film. However, despite its low budget limitations, Hellraiser: Inferno is the rare exception and gets a solid recommendation from us even if you have never seen other Hellraiser films.
6. Hollow Man
MPAA Rating: R
As they mention in the JoBlo video, Hollow Man is one of those films that was underappreciated in its time and has unfortunately been largely forgotten by popular culture. While it is not a straightforward adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells novel The Invisible Man from 1897, it is of course inspired by that classic story and the film functions as a type of modern reinvention of this type of invisible man horror story. Sebastian Cane (played by Kevin Bacon) and Linda McKay (played by Elisabeth Shue) lead a research team that is trying to develop a serum for the military that will make people invisible and bring them back again. After some initial setbacks Cane has a breakthrough one night and figures out the solution. The team is able to successfully bring render invisible a gorilla and bring it back from invisibility. Cane then lies to the military about the team’s progress and decides to begin a human trial on himself. While the team succeeds in rendering him invisible, they fail at bringing him back. This prolonged invisibility and the frustrations of failure exacerbate Cane’s narcissistic and psychotic tendencies eventually to the point where he decides to embrace his new existence and eliminate his research team and others familiar with the project.
Hollow Man was directed by legendary director Paul Verhoeven who had previously directed classics such as 1987’s RoboCop, 1990’s Total Recall, 1992’s Basic Instinct, and 1997’s Starship Troopers. While it may not be Verhoeven’s best film, it is still a quality production, and his talent certainly elevates it. The two leads in Kevin Bacon and Elisabeth Shue are wonderful together and have a great chemistry. We also get memorable supporting cast performances from Josh Brolin and Kim Dickens. Hollow Man was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Overall, it is easily one of the best invisible man type movies that has ever been made and contains an effective story, memorable characters and performances, and notably quality visual effects for its time.
Tangential Bonus 1: Unbreakable
MPAA Rating: PG13
Unbreakable is a film that has shown up on several other of our lists, so it should come as no surprise to regular readers to see it again here as a horror adjacent film. As we said back on the 2000s superhero movie list:
“M. Night Shyamalan’s take on and deconstruction of the superhero genre, specifically of the origin story, was way ahead of its time. This is one of those movies that if you plucked it out of time and released it to the public now, it would still feel fresh. If anything, Unbreakable is actually more important now given how ubiquitous the superhero genre has become on film. The success of the film… was that it works on multiple narrative and stylistic levels. If you go into this film wanting just another satisfying Shyamalan thriller, then it definitely delivers on that with a twist ending and everything. And honestly, given the marketing of this film coming off the success of The Sixth Sense, that is what I am sure most of that first crop of viewers were expecting. But for someone reading this list now who then goes to watch it knowing that it is a superhero movie, the film is as satisfying when the viewer knows what it is. Part of the strength of the film is that it is not reliant upon the twist. I maintain my minimal critique from before that Bruce Willis’ performance is a bit too subdued and does not showcase much emotional range. But still, that’s nitpicking as this is a great film.”
By taking both sides of the equation seriously, Shyamalan was able to deliver a film that would genuinely appeal to fans of his thriller-horror type of films as well as genuinely appeal to fans of the burgeoning superhero films. Now over twenty years since it was released, Unbreakable is still one of the most groundbreaking superhero films ever made. Because of his dark and grounded style, the film utilizes the thriller-horror elements to enhance the superhero origin story.
Tangential Bonus 2: Battle Royale
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Maybe we could make an argument that Battle Royale is a horror film, but it works better when viewed as a type of dystopian action-thriller film. The film is based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Koushun Takami. For the plot, set in a dystopian Japan., the government takes classes of junior high school students and forces them to violently kill each other off over the course of a few days on a remote island. The film follows one such class of students and their attempts to survive this battle royale and maybe even put an end to the entire program.
The film is definitely beloved by critics and is a solid cult classic. While the Hunger Games films from the 2010s have a somewhat similar premise, Battle Royale is a vastly superior film to anything in that series. Battle Royale contains memorable performances by Takeshi Kitano, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, and others. Battle Royale truly is a treat and comes highly recommended to everyone that can stomach a significant amount of violence.
Tangential Bonus 3: Frequency
MPAA Rating: PG13
Frequency was another one of these films that was a minor hit at the time but has been largely forgotten by popular culture. Frequency is a sci-fi thriller involving a particularly strong solar wind that allows a father and son to communicate with each other through the same ham radio separated by 30 years (1969 and 1999). However, as the two are communicating over this time expanse the younger man, John Sullivan (played by Jim Caviezel), bonds with his father, Frank Sullivan, (played by Dennis Quaid) who died when he was a young boy. They are able to change the past through John’s knowledge of the future as they have Frank avoid the firefighting mistake that had cost him his life. However, whenever you change the past the changes always bring about unintended consequences. And in this case, Frank being alive alters a specific event enough so that a serial killer survives what was a hospital error previously, and thus he is able to continue his killing spree in New York City targeting nurses. One of the victims of that string of serial murders ends up being Frank’s wife (and thus also John’s mother) Julia Sullivan (played by Elizabeth Mitchell). Now the two must work to change the past again and stop this killing spree and catch this serial killer.
Frequency was directed by Gregory Hoblit, who had previously directed 1998’s Fallen. Frequency has a similar feel at times to Fallen, especially in the sequences involving the serial killer subplot. We also get relatively strong and memorable performances from the entire cast, including our two leads in Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel, as well as Andre Braugher, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Noah Emmerich. And while it is a very minor role, Frequency is actually the first film appearance of Michael Cera as a child actor. Overall, Frequency is a surprisingly solid film that has held up well and deserves to be rediscovered by genre fans and by a wider audience.
Tangential Bonus 4: Scary Movie
MPAA Rating: R
Scary Movie is a parody of the teen slasher films from the late 1990s, especially 1996’s Scream and 1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer, though it makes reference to myriad other films as well. Scary Movie was created by the Wayans brothers and features their particular type of humor. If you have seen pretty much any other Wayans movie, then you can no doubt imagine the tone and presentation of this film. This film was wildly successful and spawned an entire series of four sequels. It also inspired a number of similarly themed genre ‘Movie’ movies throughout the 2000s decade that quickly became tired and derivative. However, this first Scary Movie film is the best of the bunch. While Scary Movie might not be great in its own right–and contains some gay jokes that have probably not aged well–it is reasonably amusing for those that enjoy the 1990s teen slashers. Plus, it has a great cast delivering fun and ridiculous performances including Anna Faris, Shannon Elizabeth, Cheri Oteri, Regina Hall, David Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Kurt Fuller, and of course the various Wayans family members.
Doctored Entertainment 