Last good horror/thriller?

Horror movies that have been genuinely creepy and terrifying and not just cheap gore-filled slash-fests that rely upon ''jump'' techniques (revealing the ghost in the mirror with a big musical crescendo is a pet peeve of mine) have been very few and far between in recent times. There is so little out there that can be deemed original or even remotely scary viewing. But in the last decade or so, some movies have stood out for me as having genuine moments of creepiness and horror, that made goosebumps rise...

-The Sixth Sense: more psychological than pure horror really, but it definitely has its moments where you do feel a sense of horror. Superb performances from Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette make this truly inspiring as a modern masterpiece of film making. While it does not neatly fit into the horror pigeonhole (nestling more comfortably in the more ''Supernatural Psychological Chiller''....) it is nonetheless one of the most confident, assured and critically acclaimed films to fall under the sweeping umbrella genre of horror that has been made in cinema history.

-Eden Lake: again, this British film relies more upon suspense and a psychological edge rather than pure horror to drive home it's brilliance. The plot revolves around a young city-yuppie couple who try to escape their lives for the weekend to the idyllic countryside. They are increasingly hassled by a group of local teenagers. Things start to rapidly escalate and the film enters into survival horror of the highest calibre. The most frightening element of the whole film is how ''normal'' and ''everyday'' the threat and horror is and how easy violence is meted out. The clichés fly mightily, but some great performances make sure that this film stands out amongst the crowd of Naughties' horror movies.

-28 Days Later: another British flick, this time we have one of the most brilliant forays into the zombie film sub-genre ever. Britain lies ravaged and broken by a super-virus that turns normal humans into bloodthirsty and vicious killing machines. The few uninfected survivors struggle to survive in the harsh landscape of a country torn apart. Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson and Christopher Eccleston all play roles in this superior horror flick, which boasts some genuinely horrifying moments, but also ratchets up the tension and suspense masterfully several times throughout. Was also followed up by 28 Weeks Later which is also a very good film and well worth a look.

-Saw: despite the litany of progressively more awful sequels that now pollute late night-TV, the original Saw was revolutionary when released in 2004. Again, like most of the better horrors, it relied more on suspense and psychological elements, rather than straight out slash-and-gash (though there was no shortage of gore on display throughout, perfect for those of weak dispositions). It has since spawned the sub-genre of 'digital horror movies' and was even such a pop-culture icon in the mid-to-late Naughties, it inspired Christopher Moltisanti of The Sopranos to attempt to produce his own "Saw meets The Godfather Part II" horror movie, released as 'Cleaver'.

t4k30 wrote: »

The fourth kind. Terrifying !!

I haven't seen that- I'd love to see a good horror actually- who directed it?

Trevor Coulahan wrote: »

Ils (Them)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Them_(2006_film)

Yes, have to agree totally with this one. It was one of the films I forgot to mention. I found it to be one of the most truly unnerving and chilling horror movies to be released in the last while.

Mike Litoris wrote: »

Session 9 is the best horror/thriller/mystery I've seen in a long long time.

Strange, I found it absoloutley dire. It has the honour of being one of the only two dvds Ive ever given away. That, and Jaws 3...says it all for me