Okay guys - this one is going to be a little bit difficult, to say the least - mainly because,
well - this decade isn’t over just yet - and I’ve got a hint of a feeling that perhaps
some of the best horror films of the 2010’s are yet to be revealed.
I’m looking at you, Ari Aster.
Nevertheless - thankfully, the 2010’s have been a sterling effort in the recombobulation
of how horror cinema has adapted to the ever changing tide of the things that go bump in
the night.
This decade has been a time where the paranormal has made its return - and the supernatural
has seeped its way out of every corner of screenwriting - and thankfully, horror cinema
has taken itself seriously again.
It’s been a great decade for horror so far - so let’s take a look at some of the best.
Hello horror fans - what’s going on, and once again welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube - Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch - as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Scariest Horror Movies From The 2010’s
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that clip was from - of course, 2012’s The Cabin In The
Woods, written by the genius that is Joss Whedon and directed by Drew Goddard - and
you know what I’m going to say already, don’t you?
The 2010’s have been a fantastic decade for horror so far, perhaps the best decade
since the 80s - so it’s hard to squeeze absolutely everything into this five point
list.
So consider The Cabin In The Woods our Number 6 Entry - and honorable mentions go out to,
I Saw The Devil, The Wailing, Upgrade, Annihilation, You’re Next, It Follows, Grave Encounters,
The Ritual, IT: Chapter 1, The Babadook, The Endless, The Void - yeah, you get the picture,
right?
Kicking off at Number 5 - The Conjuring, 2013
Which - I imagine, some of you may consider to be pretty low on this list - but trust
me, it’s a close one.
Nevertheless, there is no doubting - no matter whether you saw it as a product of mass-marketed-Hollywood-machine
horror - 2013’s The Conjuring is a fantastic horror film - and most importantly, it served
to reignite an essence of the genre that had otherwise been lost in the first decade of
the 21st century.
And not only that, but it served to cement James Wan as the trailblazer of horror cinema
that he rightfully is.
The Conjuring ignited a wave of paranormal horror fans back into the fandom, after getting
a first taste of the New Flesh in 2010’s Insidious - and so Wan later galvanized the
form in the best way possible, take a stab at The Perron Family Haunting of Ed and Lorraine
Warren Fame - because everyone loves some demonology, right?
Directed by James Wan and written by Chad and Carey Hayes - The Conjuring tells the
infamous tale of the Perron family and their haunted house out in Harrisville, Rhode Island.
Starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as Lorraine and Ed Warren respectively - The
Conjuring works because it gradually lets us become absorbed by its narrative - much
in the same fashion as the late 60’s and early 70’s haunted house horror - and it
does that deliberately, without us ever getting chased off by the sublime or the ridiculous.
The Conjuring is a horror film with a delicate balance - if at any point, a scene became
too over the top - our immersion would be utterly ruined.
But thankfully for us - that never happens, and as an audience we’re given the respect
to be able to follow the Warren’s tale to its rightful conclusion.
The thing that set The Conjuring apart, was that James Wan had the foresight to treat
both his subject matter with respect - as well as we as an audience.
It set the tone for the rest of the decade, and although the wider franchise was average
at best - The Conjuring has cemented itself as a very important horror film.
Coming in at Number 4 - Train to Busan, 2016
Guys.
I love this film.
I really do, and I can rightfully say that the next four entries on this list are pretty
much neck and neck for the top spot, so it’s a hard choice.
But like I said - the 2010’s have been a fantastic decade for horror - and more so
than anything else, international cinema has been carving a path with some of the most
innovative and creative approaches in horror.
This spot was a toss up between the other incredible 2016 Korean horror, The Wailing
- but for me, Train to Busan is just far too good to pass up.
Zombie horror is a darling of the genre - and ever since George A. Romero tantalized our
tastebuds with the hordes of the living dead, the zombie apocalypse became a tried and tested
formulaic approach to horror cinema.
But with that comes complacency, and that dead horse quickly became well and truly beaten.
But 2016’s Train to Busan had something to say about that.
Directed by Yeon Sang-ho, and written by Park Joo-suk, Train to Busan did something that
many modern zombie horrors had forgotten - it injected some much needed humanity into an
otherwise stark landscape.
This film works because we care about the people that are caught on it’s terrifying
train ride, in carriages packed with flesh hungry zombies - men, women and children - and
it’s filmmakers go to incredible lengths to tell their stories, whilst still giving
us the blood, guts, gore and entrails that we expect.
There’s not much more I can say about Train to Busan - there’s a reason why it’s made
many of these lists already, and if you haven’t seen it yet - you really, really should.
Next up at Number 3 - Get Out, 2017
And like I said, these next few spots are neck and neck.
Where do I even begin with 2017’s Get Out - other than the fact that this was Jordan
Peele’s directorial debut - who still somehow managed to pull off the mammoth task of writing
and directing one of the most important - and equally terrifying horror movies of the decade.
Get Out is a horror film like no other - and in many ways, it is genreless in it’s approach.
In many instances, its as hilarious as it is horrifying - testament to Jordan Peele’s
ear for both character and dialogue, and his unrivaled experience as both a comedy writer
and an actor.
But then - that’s where the horror slowly begins to emerge in Get Out, as it unwinds
itself through a few strange encounters here - and a few off-handed comments there.
It doesn’t come with a killer in a mask, or an ancient curse unlocked from an antique
box.
The horror of this film comes with the sublime - and it's in the ridiculousness of the situation,
where Jordan Peele shines a torch on the malintent and underlying perversions of race, class
and identity.
Narratively speaking, Get Out is also near perfection.
It tells the tale of Chris, played by the incredible Daniel Kaluuya, of Skins, Doctor
Who and Black Mirror fame - a black man who’s girlfriend, Rose - invites him to finally
meet her parents, a wealthy white family who live in Upstate New York.
What is otherwise an anxious social situation for any young couple to be in - gradually
begins to spiral into something else completely, and if you haven’t already seen Get Out
- I will say no more, because part of it’s terrifying charm is in the slow, trickle of
terror that Jordan Peele masterfully demonstrates.
Get Out is one of the finest films of the decade, and it marked a point in one of the
most exciting new minds in horror.
Swinging in at Number 2 - The Witch, 2015
Alright guys - you know what I always say - never, ever piss of a witch - and perhaps
the greatest cinematic depiction of cautionary folklore, New England Mysticism, the bleak
despair of historical Puritanism and the trials and tribulations of Colonial Life - all of
those things wrapped up into an absolutely beautiful, stunning, visual representation
of everything that civilization has ever thought and felt about Witches, Witchcraft - and persecution.
All of those things - are the embodiment of 2015’s The Witch.
And if you can’t tell already - I absolutely *adore* this film, and it’s one of my favourite
horror films ever made.
For me, it is the perfect horror experience - but partly because of that, it’s also
incredibly divisive.
Because taste is relative - and this film is clearly not everyone’s cup of tea.
But whatever - this is my list, and The Witch is incredible.
Written and directed by the genius that is Robert Eggers - again, in his directorial
debut - which is becoming a recurring theme in the upper entries of this list - but it
also goes to say something important about the fresh, innovative new direction that horror
cinema has taken this decade.
It’s exciting - isn’t it?
The Witch tells the tale of a Puritan family in 1630s New England - who are banished from
their Colonial Settlement, and forced to venture into the bleak wilderness to carve out a new
life for themselves in the unforgiving landscape.
And that’s it - that’s all I’ll say - because in that opening sequence, Robert
Eggers sets the stage for an incredibly human tale of despair - one that covers the meaning
of religion, family - identity - possession - the curiosity of the human mind.
I could go on and on.
But I’ll end on one note - The Witch is as atmospheric as it is timeless - and it
marks a turning point in horror cinema.
And finally - coming in at our Number 1 spot - Hereditary, 2018
Pound for pound - Hereditary is the scariest film of the decade.
I’m just gonna come out and say it.
Because it is.
And guess what, it was *another* directorial debut - because hell yeah humanity, we’re
knocking it out of the horror park at the minute.
Many people have compared Hereditary as this generations The Exorcist - and I think in
many ways it just may well be - because it’s been so long since a film like this affected
so many people in the exact same way.
The Conjuring is a scary film - for sure - but only half of us would be truly terrified by
it’s scenes.
Films like The Void and The Endless are gross, both cerebrally and physically - but Hereditary
is all of these things - all at the same time, and it manages to weave such a rich tapestry
that it’s difficult *not* to analyse the Seven Hells out of it.
And then we have to talk about Ari Aster, the writer and director of this magnum opus
of horror - and the fact that this guy came out of nowhere to take horror cinema by storm,
is such an exciting journey to be on.
I won’t say anything about the plot to Hereditary, because if you haven’t seen it - go into
it blind, and experience the hell out of it - because as those final 20 or so minutes
sink in - you will be --- affected.
Put it that way.
Also, Toni Collette, who plays Annie Graham - alongside her son Peter, played by Alex
Wolff - are just, something else entirely - and if a horror film ever deserved an academy
award for a performance - it’s this one.
But another important point - is that this decade is not over just yet - and Ari Aster
has his sophomore film ready to be released this July.
Midsommar.
And if you’re asking me?
I think that there’s a very good chance it’ll take the top spot if we ever do a
part 2.
I’m excited.
Are you?
Well - there we have it horror fans, our list for the Top 5 Scariest Horror Movies From
The 2010s - so far, anyways - because there’s much more where that came from.
Well, what did you guys think?
I know that there’ll be many, many more entries to add to this list - so why don’t
you let me know YOUR Top 5 Scariest Horror Movies From This Decade - down in the comment
section below.
Before we depart from today’s video, let’s first take a quick look at some of your more
creative comments from over the past few days.
CHEROKEE’S FINEST INDIAN says --
Rec seems a lot like the movie quarantine.
-- And yes - that is because Quarantine is an American remake of the original Spanish
Language film, REC.
Now no hate - but the original is far superior.
And finally, EDsavant ignited an incredibly controversial debate by saying -
The decade started in 2001 not 2000, why can’t anybody grasp this.
-- And … well, EDsavant - you’re either an incredible wind-up merchant, or you are
incredibly misinformed.
So if someone was born in 1990, are you telling me they were born in the eighties?
That’s not acceptable.
Well - there we have it horror fans - unfortunately that’s all we’ve got time for in today's
video.
Cheers for sticking around all the way until the end.
You know the drill by now, hit that thumbs up button - as well as that subscribe bell,
and we’ll be seeing you in the next one.
As per usual, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch - you’ve been watching Top 5
Scary Videos - and until next time, you take it easy.