8 Greatest Horror Movies of the 21st Century (According to People Who Read The New York Times)

Now that we are a quarter of the way through the 21st century, people are starting to theorize about what this century of film will look like. The New York Times surveyed 500 “notable names” in Hollywood and came up with a list of the greatest films of the 21st century, so far. Because there was much criticism and discussion of the list, the newspaper then turned to their readers and asked them the same question.

More than 200,000 readers voted and the top 10 responses were:

1. Parasite (2019)
2. Mulholland Drive (2001)
3. No Country For Old Men (2006)
4. There Will Be Blood (2007)
5. Interstellar (2014)
6. The Dark Knight (2008)
7. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
8. Spirited Away (2002)
9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
10. The Social Network (2010)

Parasite and Mulholland Drive are lightly horror-ish, so you could argue the genre is already performing better on this reader survey than it generally does in award shows and rankings. There are straight horror movies that made the list, though. Read on for each horror movie that was included in the top 100.

The best horror movies of the 21st century:

#17: Get Out (2017)

“Oh, white girls. They get you every time.”

Jordan Peele’s first feature film is this psychological horror movie about a black man, Chris, who visits his white girlfriend’s family for the first time. While Chris senses something is wrong, politeness prevents him from running until things reach a fever pitch. Get Out was ranked as the 8th best movie of the century on the Hollywood insider’s list.

#41: Zodiac (2007)

“Just because you can’t prove it doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”

Director David Fincher had three movies make the top 100: Zodiac, The Social Network and Gone Girl. Based on the true crime case of the Zodiac serial killer, the movie follows Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle who becomes obsessed with the case. Because the real life mystery is unsolved, the film’s ending may not be satisfying. However, Zodiac is a masterclass in suspense and a truly frightening movie overall.

#49: Memories of Murder (2003)

“What kind of detective sleeps well?”

Directed and co-written by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Bong Joon-ho, Memories of Murder follows two police detectives who seek to solve a series of rape/murders in rural South Korea.

#52: Sinners (2025)

“You keep dancing with the devil… one day he’s gonna follow you home.”

Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, Sinners sees Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as twin brothers Smoke and Stack. The brothers return to their hometown in the Mississippi Delta and set about opening up a juke joint. On the night of the grand opening, the twins’ friends and family face threats from the outside.

#62: Hereditary (2018)

“I never wanted to be your mother.”

Written and directed by Ari Aster in his feature debut, Hereditary is a family drama told through the vehicle of horror. The Grahams are already mourning the loss of the children’s grandmother when a new tragedy fractures the family’s bonds. Supernatural events occur as the family descends into trauma and terror. We have Hereditary ranked on our Scariest Horror Movies Ever Made list in the #1 spot.

#74: Black Swan (2010)

“I just want to be perfect.”

Darren Aronofsky directed this psychological horror movie that was nominated for five Academy Awards, with Natalie Portman winning for Best Actress. Black Swan sees Portman as Nina, a ballerina whose obsession with perfection allows her to fit the White Swan role in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. However, she struggles to capture the sensuous nature of the dual role’s alter ego, the Black Swan. As the performance draws nearer, Nina’s mental health declines.

#97: The Lighthouse (2019)

“You think yer so damned high and mighty cause yer a goddamned lighthouse keeper? Well, you ain’t a captain of no ship and you never was, you ain’t no general, no copper, you ain’t the president, and you ain’t my father — and I’m sick of you actin’ like you is! I’m sick of your laugh, your snoring, and your goddamned farts.”

Robert Eggers directed The Lighthouse from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother, Max Eggers. The Lighthouse is genre-defying but it is a mix of psychological horror, period drama and dark fantasy. It follows two 19th century lighthouse keepers who begin to lose their minds amidst the grueling boredom and isolation of their occupation.

#99: Midsommar (2019)

“Dani, do you feel held by him? Does he feel like home to you?”

This is Ari Aster’s second feature film on this list. Midsommar follows Dani, a young woman who has recently lost her entire immediate family to a shocking tragedy, as she accompanies her begrudging boyfriend and his friends on a trip to visit a remote commune in Sweden. The group is excited to experience the commune’s Midsommar celebration, but the locals’ customs turn out to be more violent than expected.

Close calls:

• These horror movies were near the list’s cutoff: #104: Nope (2022), #105: American Psycho, #126: The Substance (2024) and #136: The Witch (2015).
• And these darker films made the top 100 over on the Hollywood insiders list: #43: Oldboy (2005), #62 Memento (2001) and #98 Grizzly Man (2005).
• Swedish vampire movie Let the Right One In (2008) nabbed the #70 spot on the Hollywood insiders list, but fell to #231 in the readers poll.
• Finally, if you need even more movies to watch, these thriller (and one dark fantasy) movies also made the top 100: #21: Children of Men (2006), #39: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), #67: The Handmaiden (2016), #77: The Prestige (2007), and #79: Gone Girl (2014).

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Do you agree with New York Times readers? What horror movies would you place in the “100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century” category?

Further reading:

• 34 Scariest Movies of All Time