Whether you're trying to get into the spirit of Halloween or just wanting to be scared silly for the next few weeks, there's no better way than to watch a different horror movie every night.
From paranormal hauntings to serial killer sprees, there are all kinds of disturbing-yet-great movies that'll get your heart racing, your palms sweating, your eyes darting away—and a lot of them are modern classics, released in 2000 or later.
Here are the best modern horror movies since the turn of the millennium that you can marathon one per day for an entire month!
Note: These films are ordered by overall scariness, from least scary to most scary. However, the type of scariness—creepy, jumpy, gory—will vary. If you want to know more about a film, we recommend looking it up on either ReelScary or ScaryMeter.
35. Scream (2022)
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette
Horror, Mystery, Thriller (1h 54m)
Taking place 25 years after the events of the original Scream, the 2022 film—the first in the franchise that wasn't directed by Wes Craven—centers on a group of teenagers who are being killed off by another Ghostface.
34. Hostel (2005)
Directed by Eli Roth
Starring Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor Gudjonsson
Horror (1h 34m)
Hostel centers on a group of tourists traveling through Slovakia, who are heading to a particular hostel on the promise that they'll encounter lots of beautiful women there. Nothing could've prepared them for the nightmarish hell they actually encounter.
33. It Follows (2014)
Directed by David Robert Mitchell
Starring Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi
Horror, Mystery, Thriller (1h 40m)
After a sexual encounter with her new boyfriend, Jaime learns that she's now the target of a supernatural killer—and the only way she can free herself is to pass the curse on to someone else by having sex with them.
32. The Babadook (2014)
Directed by Jennifer Kent
Starring Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall
Horror, Mystery (1h 34m)
Amelia is a single mother to her six-year-old son Samuel. Over time, Samuel grows unable to sleep as he develops a paranoid fear of an imaginary monster called The Babadook—and as she tries to comfort him, Amelia also begins to develop the same paranoia.
31. The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015)
Directed by Oz Perkins
Starring Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Boynton
Horror, Mystery, Thriller (1h 33m)
Two girls are left behind as the only ones at Bramford Academy, a Catholic boarding school, over winter break. During that time, one of them begins to display all kinds of odd behaviors caused by a mysterious evil force.
30. Host (2020)
Directed by Rob Savage
Starring Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore, Emma Louise Webb
Horror, Mystery (57m)
Presented entirely in the form of a Zoom video call, Host takes place during the COVID-19 lockdown and features a group of friends who hire a medium to host a virtual seance. When the medium is disconnected from the call, the group begins to experience strange happenings.
29. The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
Directed by Alexandre Aja
Starring Ted Levine, Kathleen Quinlan, Dan Byrd
Horror, Thriller (1h 47m)
A remake of the 1977 film, The Hills Have Eyes follows a family on vacation. While driving through the New Mexico desert, their car breaks down, causing them to become the targets of mutant cannibals.
28. Maniac (2012)
Directed by Franck Khalfoun
Starring Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, America Olivo
Horror, Thriller (1h 29m)
A remake of the 1980 film, Maniac centers on a schizophrenic man named Frank Zeto, who recently took over his family's mannequin restoration business. Having suffered trauma as a child, he now murders women, takes their scalps, and puts them on his mannequins.
27. Oculus (2013)
Directed by Mike Flanagan
Starring Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff
Horror, Mystery, Thriller (1h 44m)
Eleven years ago, a family was torn apart after they unknowingly purchased an antique mirror that causes intense hallucinations. Now, in the present, the daughter of the family tracks down the mirror and aims to document its supernatural powers before destroying it.
26. Suspiria (2018)
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Starring Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth
Drama, Fantasy, Horror (2h 32m)
Susie leaves her family in Ohio to audition for a prestigious dance company in Berlin, which coincides with the recent disappearance of one of their dancers—and rumors come to light that the dance company is actually run by a coven of witches.
25. Lake Mungo (2008)
Directed by Joel Anderson
Starring Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe
Drama, Horror, Mystery (1h 27m)
When Alice Palmer disappears while swimming at a dam and turns up drowned, her family has trouble coming to terms with her death—and as they wrestle to find closure, they learn of disturbing circumstances that haunted Alice up until her drowning.
24. 1408 (2007)
Directed by Mikael Håfström
Starring John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack
Fantasy, Horror, Mystery (1h 44m)
Based on a short story by Stephen King, 1408 centers on an author who investigates houses that are supposedly haunted. One such place is Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in New York City, where he starts to experiece strange events that keep him trapped there.
23. The Strangers (2008)
Directed by Bryan Bertino
Starring Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward
Horror, Mystery, Thriller (1h 26m)
During their stay in a vacation home, James and Kristen find themselves terrorized by three masked strangers who keep them trapped—and no matter how hard they fight, escape seems unlikely.
22. Titane (2021)
Directed by Julia Ducournau
Starring Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle, Garance Marillier
Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi (1h 48m)
When a young girl named Alexia winds up in a car accident, her skull is damaged to the point that she needs a titanium plate placed in her head. Now, not only is she sexually attracted to cars, but she's also a showgirl-turned-murderer on the run.
21. Barbarian (2022)
Directed by Zach Cregger
Starring Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long
Horror, Mystery, Thriller (1h 42m)
It's one thing to show up at the Airbnb you've booked only to find out that it's been double-booked. It's worse when you're a young woman and the one who's double-booked is a man. But it's just the worst when that Airbnb houses a dark secret within.
20. The Woman in Black (2012)
Directed by James Watkins
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciarán Hinds
Drama, Fantasy, Horror (1h 35m)
Set in England during the early 1900s, The Woman in Black centers on a recently widowed lawyer who travels to a remote village to pick up some documents, only to find that a vengeful spirit is haunting the lands.
19. Paranormal Activity (2007)
Directed by Oren Peli
Starring Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs
Horror, Mystery (1h 26m)
When Katie and Micah discover that they're being haunted by a paranormal presence in their home, they set up cameras to capture all of the strange occurrences—and it only gets worse over time.
18. Smile (2022)
Directed by Parker Finn
Starring Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner
Horror, Mystery, Thriller (1h 55m)
Based on the short film Laura Hasn't Slept, Smile centers on a therapist named Rose Cotter whose mentally unwell patient calmly slits her own throat before her. Ever since then, she begins to experience increasingly disturbing events that threaten her sanity.
17. V/H/S (2012)
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, and Tyler Gillett
Starring Calvin Lee Reeder, Lane Hughes, Adam Wingard
Horror (1h 56m)
When a criminal gang is approached by a mysterious person who offers a lot of money in exchange for stealing a VHS tape, they agree. But when they break in, they find a dead man in front of a TV playing white noise, and they decide to watch some of the tapes.
16. Session 9 (2001)
Directed by Brad Anderson
Starring David Caruso, Stephen Gevedon, Paul Guilfoyle
Drama, Horror, Mystery (1h 37m)
In need of business, the owner of an asbestos abatement company secures a bid to clean up asbestos in an abandoned mental asylum. While working, the crew uncovers a set of audio tapes that document the psychiatric treatment sessions of a former patient.
15. Lights Out (2016)
Directed by David F. Sandberg
Starring Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Maria Bello
Horror, Mystery (1h 21m)
When her little brother starts having unusual experiences with a supernatural entity that makes him fearful, Rebecca must face her own fears to help him—by investigating and resolving the spirit's strange attachment with their mother.
14. Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Directed by Lee Cronin
Starring Mirabai Pease, Richard Crouchley, Anna-Maree Thomas
Horror (1h 36m)
Evil Dead Rise is a standalone film with its own self-contained story, but also has references to other Evil Dead movies that deepen it for fans. This one centers on two estranged sisters who must survive against deadites, the undead demonic spirits that drive most of the horror in the franchise.
13. The Conjuring (2013)
Directed by James Wan
Starring Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston
Horror, Mystery, Thriller (1h 52m)
In this classic film that kicked off the Conjuring Universe, two paranormal investigators are hired to help the Perron family, who are being terrorized by a dark presence and strange happenings.
12. The Last House on the Left (2009)
Directed by Dennis Iliadis
Starring Garret Dillahunt, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn
Horror, Thriller (1h 50m)
In this modern remake of the 1972 film, a gang kidnaps and brutalizes a young woman. Later, during a storm, the same gang unknowingly shelters in a vacation home owned by the victim's parents—who get revenge on them through increasingly wicked acts.
11. Insidious (2010)
Directed by James Wan
Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins
Horror, Mystery, Thriller (1h 43m)
After a married couple and their son move into a new house, the son falls into a coma with no signs of recovery. Over time, disturbing paranormal events terrorize the parents, who discover that evil spirits have trapped their son in another dimension called The Further.
10. Grave Encounters (2011)
Directed by Colin Minihan, Stuart Ortiz, and The Vicious Brothers
Starring Benjamin Wilkinson, Sean Rogerson, Ashleigh Gryzko
Horror, Mystery (1h 32m)
In Grave Encounters, the production crew of a ghost hunting reality TV show lock themselves in an abandoned mental asylum while they hunt for proof of paranormal activity—and they find it.
9. I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
Directed by Steven R. Monroe
Starring Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard
Horror, Thriller (1h 48m)
I Spit on Your Grave is a modern remake of a 1978 film, in which a novelist goes on an isolated retreat to work on her next book. After she's brutally gang-raped by five locals, she stalks her attackers and seeks revenge.
8. The Wailing (2016)
Directed by Na Hong-jin
Starring Jun Kunimura, Hwang Jung-min, Kwak Do-won
Drama, Horror, Mystery (2h 36m)
In a remote Korean village, a policeman is tasked with investigating a strange phenomenon to save his daughter: after the recent arrival of a stranger, a mysterious sickness began spreading amongst them.
7. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
Directed by André Øvredal
Starring Brian Cox, Emile Hirsch, Ophelia Lovibond
Horror, Mystery, Thriller (1h 26m)
When an unidentified body lands on the autopsy table, a father-and-son coroner duo are tasked with figuring out who the woman was. But as they investigate the body, they're disturbed by supernatural events that point to dark secrets around her identity.
6. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018)
Directed by Jung Bum-shik
Starring Wi Ha-joon, Yoo Je-yoon, Lee Seung-wook
Horror (1h 35m)
Based on the real-life mental hospital of the same name, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum centers on the crew of a horror web series who visit the eponymous asylum with plans for a livestream. But as they venture deeper into the building, they discover more than they expected.
5. The Descent (2005)
Directed by Neil Marshall
Starring Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid
Adventure, Horror, Thriller (1h 39m)
A group of six thrill-seeking women go on a spelunking adventure, only to be trapped when the cave entrance collapses behind them. As they venture deeper inside in hopes of finding an exit, they learn that they aren't the only ones within this complex cave system.
4. REC (2007)
Directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza
Starring Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano
Horror, Mystery, Thriller (1h 18m)
When a TV reporter and her cameraman follow a group of emergency workers into an apartment building, they end up locked inside with an unusual infection that's rapidly spreading.
3. Sinister (2012)
Directed by Scott Derrickson
Starring Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone
Horror, Mystery, Thriller (1h 50m)
When a true crime writer moves with his family into a new home, he discovers a box of Super 8 films that depict gruesome murders by a serial killer from decades ago—and as he investigates further, he learns of a much darker influence behind it all.
2. Hereditary (2018)
Directed by Ari Aster
Starring Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne
Drama, Horror, Mystery (2h 7m)
After the death of their grandmother, the Graham family is torn apart by grief and a mysterious presence that haunts them. As they try to find ways to deal with their grief, they uncover disturbing truths about their grandmother and what's happening to the family.
1. Ju-On: The Grudge (2002)
Directed by Takashi Shimizu
Starring Megumi Okina, Misaki Itō, Misa Uehara
Horror (1h 32m)
In what has become one of the most internationally famous horror movies of all time, Ju-On: The Grudge features a vengeful spirit who curses and haunts anyone that enters the house they reside in—and that curse follows them to their eventual deaths.
