12 Best 2000s Horror Movies

By Vlad Zakh · March 24, 2025

Saw launched a whole torture-horror subgenre on a shoestring budget, while The Ring proved American J-horror remakes could work with restraint. The Dawn of the Dead remake earns its place by moving much faster, Drag Me to Hell is Sam Raimi’s gleefully cartoonish curse movie, and Orphan is worth going into blind. The Others, Shaun of the Dead, Let the Right One In, Paranormal Activity, Hostel, The Descent and 28 Days Later round out the list.

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

IMDb ★ 7.2 RT 77% Metacritic 59

Survivors barricade themselves in a shopping mall during a fast-spreading zombie outbreak.

Directed by Zack Snyder · 1h 41m · Rated R

1 win & 17 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel, Starz Roku Premium Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Drag Me to Hell (2009)

IMDb ★ 6.6 RT 92% Metacritic 83

A loan officer is cursed by a scorned client and has three days to break it.

Directed by Sam Raimi · 1h 39m · Rated PG-13

7 wins & 24 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Peacock Premium, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Orphan (2009)

TMDB ★ 6.7

A premise so committed to its twist that it's worth going in blind.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra · 2h 03m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Others (2001)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A quiet, old-fashioned ghost story that earns its final twist.

Directed by Alejandro Amenábar · 1h 41m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 92% Metacritic 76

A slacker's zombie-apocalypse survival plan is mostly just going to his regular pub.

Directed by Edgar Wright · 1h 39m · Rated R

Nominated for 3 BAFTA Awards14 wins & 20 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Let the Right One In (2008)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 98% Metacritic 82

A vampire story that is really a quiet, unsettling friendship between two twelve-year-olds.

Directed by Tomas Alfredson · 1h 55m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award76 wins & 59 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Paranormal Activity (2007)

TMDB ★ 6.3

A couple sets up cameras to document escalating supernatural disturbances haunting their home at night.

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Hostel (2005)

TMDB ★ 6.0

Blunt, mean and unmistakably a product of its torture-horror moment.

Directed by Eli Roth · 1h 34m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Peacock Premium, Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Peacock Premium Plus, MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Descent (2005)

IMDb ★ 7.2 RT 87% Metacritic 71

A caving expedition traps a group of women underground with something else that lives there.

Directed by Neil Marshall · 1h 40m · Rated R

8 wins & 22 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, BFI Player Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

28 Days Later (2002)

IMDb ★ 7.5 RT 87% Metacritic 73

A man wakes from a coma to find Britain emptied out by a rage-fuelled virus.

Directed by Danny Boyle · 1h 53m · Rated R

10 wins & 32 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Apple TV, Apple TV Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Saw (2004)

IMDb ★ 7.6 RT 50% Metacritic 46

James Wan's debut traps two strangers in a room with a killer's twisted game as the only way out.

Directed by James Wan · 1h 43m · Rated R

9 wins & 10 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Ring (2002)

IMDb ★ 7.1 RT 72% Metacritic 57

A journalist investigates a videotape rumoured to kill its viewers within a week.

Directed by Gore Verbinski · 1h 55m · Rated PG-13

14 wins & 12 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Peacock Premium, Paramount+ Amazon Channel · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

12 Best 2000s Horror Movies

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Orphan (2009)

The Others (2001)

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Let the Right One In (2008)

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Hostel (2005)

The Descent (2005)

28 Days Later (2002)

Saw (2004)

The Ring (2002)

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