Many memorable and influential horror films came out during the 2000s. At the turn of the century audiences had grown familiar with slashers and haunted-house stories, so filmmakers pushed boundaries by blending genres, experimenting with new camera techniques and special effects, and developing darker, more intimate tones. The decade delivered gritty cinema verité–inspired found-footage works, … Read more

Rebecca (2020) Director: Ben Wheatley Screenwriters: Joe Shrapnel, Jane Goldman, Anna Waterhouse Starring: Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Goodman-Hill, Keeley Hawes, Sam Riley, Ann Dowd The tale of Rebecca, adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 novel, is a study in atmosphere, memory and the corrosive weight of a vanished presence. Ben Wheatley’s … Read more

Michael Haneke’s Funny Games: A Horror That Confronts Its Own Audience Do films exist without spectators? If no one is present to witness the images projected on the screen, why are they recorded at all? Is a horror movie successful if no one in the theater lets out a single scream? These questions sit at … Read more

Saint Maud (2019/20)Director: Rose GlassScreenwriter: Rose GlassStarring: Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Knight, Lily Frazer, Turlough Convery, Rosie Sansom, Marcus Hutton In recent years the indie horror scene has shifted away from cheap jump scares and toward quiet, atmospheric dread. Films such as The Witch, It Follows and Hereditary helped steer the genre toward psychological … Read more

Horror remains one of cinema’s most influential genres. From German Expressionism in the 1920s through to the provocative work of modern A24 and Blumhouse productions, horror has repeatedly reshaped film language—introducing camera techniques, set design standards, makeup and visual effects innovations, and timeless monster archetypes. Despite over a century of boundary-pushing filmmaking, the Academy Awards … Read more

This article was written exclusively for The Film Magazine by Jack Cameron. New Order (2020) Director: Michel Franco Writer: Michel Franco Starring: Naian González Norvind, Diego Boneta, Mónica Del Carmen, Darío Yazbek New Order begins with a disorienting montage of images: people in panic, violent outbursts, and bodies littering urban streets. The sequence is deliberately … Read more

The 1970s are widely regarded as a golden era for horror cinema. That decade established many of the conventions, visual techniques, and narrative approaches that influenced the slasher boom of the 1980s and the horror films that followed. Low-budget filmmakers and established directors alike pushed boundaries, experimenting with vivid practical effects, tense atmospheres, and shocking … Read more

The Exorcist (1973) Director: William Friedkin Screenwriter: William Peter Blatty Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Lee J. Cobb, William O’Malley, Kitty Winn Nearly fifty years after its release, The Exorcist still stands as one of the most discussed and unsettling horror films ever made. Its reputation is sustained by real-world … Read more

Young Frankenstein (1974) Director: Mel Brooks Screenwriters: Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder Starring: Gene Wilder, Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Gene Hackman Mel Brooks’s 1974 comedy Young Frankenstein, co-written with Gene Wilder, remains one of cinema’s most affectionate and enduring parodies of classic horror. Built as an overt tribute to Mary Shelley’s novel … Read more

Nomadland (2020) Director: Chloé Zhao Screenwriter: Chloé Zhao Starring: Frances McDormand In 1957, Jack Kerouac published On the Road, a defining work of the Beat Generation that turned the American highway into a metaphor for freedom, discovery and life lived on the margins. Kerouac’s wanderings celebrated the journey itself rather than any destination, and his … Read more