Highlights from My Journey Watching 666 Horror Films: The Last Decade

By Draven Copeland, Managing Editor

It’s been a ride, but we’re finally at the end: I’m now covering the top hits for each category from the final entries on the long list of horror films I’ve seen. Having reached my goal of 666 horror films watched, I’ve learned a lot about myself, my own fears, and which directors to look out for whenever something new is about to drop.

As this entry in the series will be covering films released in the last decade, these are all picks you may remember coming out – I’ll hopefully still have some films off the beaten path that you may not have heard of, so you can expand your horror horizons a little bit more. That’s what I’m here for!

I’d like to thank you all for reading, and I’d like to thank Imaginary Gardens for letting me do this little series of mine. It’s been fun looking back at the good, the bad, and the disturbing from my adventures watching the movies no kid should be allowed to watch. So, check out my highlights from the last decade of horror, and maybe try one out!

Least Scary of the Bunch

The VelociPastor (2017)

I can’t pretend this isn’t one of my favorite movies of all time, and that’s not even an exaggeration. To me, this is the perfect example of a B-movie horror comedy, made with only 1% of the budget for Sharknado – the low budget is clear from the very beginning, as a flaming car is portrayed as literally just the words “VFX Car on Fire” on the screen while the characters react as if they were actually seeing it. Following a pastor who gains the ability to turn into a velociraptor after being cut by the fossilized tooth of an ancient “Dragon Warrior” on his trip to China, he teams up with a sex worker to defeat Christian ninjas attempting to smuggle cocaine into America. 

It’s truly the most insane movie I’ve ever seen, and a true testament to the genuine quality that can come out of indie “no-budget” filmmaking. Similar to 80s classic comedies like Airplane! and The Naked Gun, the film leans into the absolute ridiculousness of the plot and takes itself way too seriously, which makes for a hilariously enjoyable watch.

Willy’s Wonderland (2021)

Starring Nicholas Cage as a silent drifter who mysteriously breaks down near a Five Nights at Freddy’s-esque children’s pizzeria, Nic must work on cleaning up the run-down business in trade for his car repairs. Before he knows it … surprise! The animatronics come to life and try to kill him, and he fights back to violent effect, killing the evil machines before cleaning up their electronic corpses and getting back to work. Featuring gallons of oil for animatronic blood, an intensely sensual relationship between the drifter and the pinball machine in the break room, and a fantastic wordless performance by Cage, this is the Five Nights movie that the actual Five Nights movies should’ve been.

I guess this could be considered scary if you’re freaked out by animatronics – no shade at all if you are – but the comedic tone present throughout the film really waters down any genuine horror to be had here. It’s still one of my favorite horror comedies of all time, and worlds better than any robotic-horror competition in the modern era, although I will shout out 2025’s Companion in that department.

The Scariest Picks

Saint Maud (2019)

Directed by Rose Glass in her feature film debut, the best way I can describe Saint Maud is it’s like 2019’s Joker if it were a psychological horror film following an insanely pious Christian nurse dealing with PTSD and extreme loneliness as she cares for a dying lesbian woman. As her mental health spirals, Maud begins to believe that God himself is within her and telling her to do increasingly disturbing things that culminate into a horrific final act. 

What I love about this film is its knowledgeable exploration of religious ecstasy and psychosis, as we see everything from Maud’s point of view throughout the film; while any viewer will understand the things she is doing are absolutely crazy, it’s fascinating to put yourself into her shoes and see how she justifies her actions with her beliefs. While this film isn’t as visually horrifying as a lot of other horror films on my watched list, the concept is incredibly psychologically scary because of how realistically it portrays loneliness and PTSD combined with religious psychosis. 

If you’re looking for other great religious horror films, I’d highly recommend 2024’s Heretic and 2019’s The Lodge; they were both very close contenders for this spot in the article, I just had to give Saint Maud a shout-out above the rest.

Host (2020)

At only 56 minutes and filmed entirely over a Zoom call during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, this film is one of the scariest I’ve ever seen – impressively so, considering the very basic plot and effects. Following a group of friends who choose to perform an online séance while they practice social distancing, they inadvertently summon a demon that haunts all of them through the call. Influenced by many of the films I’ve mentioned in this series, including The Blair Witch Project, Lake Mungo, and Ghostwatch, the computer-camera filming style and focus on the characters’ reactions more than the supernatural events themselves make for a very realistic and terrifying experience similar to those films.

Followed up by the honestly horrible Dashcam film in 2021, Host is supremely terrifying and an incredibly creative spin on the found-footage subgenre, bringing horror to the online livestream-chat world that we all lived in during 2020 and beyond. This is a great pick if you don’t have much time but still want to be scared!

Skinamarink (2022)

Inspired by the analog horror trend primarily perpetuated by YouTube shorts and other short-form social media videos, Skinamarink is an experimental film the likes of which I’ve never seen. The very basic and abstract plot features a young boy and his sister who are inexplicably left home alone at night as the doors and windows to the outside world disappear and leave them trapped with a terrorizing, malevolent entity.  Filmed from varying unnatural perspectives and never showing any character’s face clearly, the film evokes childhood fear of the dark through grainy and unconventional cinematography that keeps you from ever knowing what’s happening.

I will say, the viewing experience with this will vary, arguably more so than any film I’ve mentioned thus far; at over an hour and a half and with very little onscreen action or discernible dialogue, Skinamarink can be very boring if the slow-surreal vibes don’t work for you. If you really like experimentalism in film or the analog horror vibes popular on social media, I’d definitely recommend this one, but stay away if you’re easily bored or don’t like not knowing what’s going on.

The Most Disturbing to Watch

Titane (2021)

One of the best French body horror films of the modern era, Titane is easily one of the strangest LGBTQ+ films to come out of the post-French Extremity movement. The plot follows a mentally ill model, Alexia – who compulsively murders people and has sex with cars – as she navigates life hiding from her crimes and nurturing a growing half-human, half-car baby in her womb. Exploring themes of gender transition, found family, trauma, PTSD, loneliness, and paraphilia, the film tells a winding multi-thematic story that is surprisingly emotionally resonant in a lot of moments.

While I feel like it’s not nearly as disturbing as other horror films I’ve talked about in this category before, it definitely has moments of intense violence, oozing body parts, and deviant sexuality that aren’t for the faint of heart. It’s beautifully shot by the award-winning writer/director Julia Ducournau, and is a great entry-level piece to New French Extremity, as it carries a lot of similar themes but isn’t nearly as bothersome as defining films of the movement.

Crimes of the Future (2022)

Written and directed by the creator of body horror in film, David Cronenberg, Crimes of the Future is a really difficult film to describe because it relies heavily on its commentary on the intersections between biological and social evolution, focusing on how advancements in surgical technology could change the way we live our lives. Starring Viggo Mortensen (popular as Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings films), Léa Seydoux (known for Blue is the Warmest Color and the recent James Bond films), and Kristen Stewart (from the Twilight Saga), the film is packed with incredible talent, and the award-winning makeup and practical effects are some of the best in the genre to date – they really are pretty impressively disgusting.

Following a performance artist who has the unique ability to grow new organs in his body and has made a profit by surgically removing these organs in front of audiences with the help of his stage partner, the film explores the meaning of art and the extreme sacrifices that artists make for the sake of their work. Of course, all of this is also tied into the evolutionary commentary, as surgery and sex become practically synonymous, governmental powers fight to eliminate those that evolve for the better, and doctors can’t be trusted to keep one’s evolutionary abilities a secret.

If you’re a fan of Cronenberg’s work or want to see body horror put to philosophical use, this is a great pick for you.

Infinity Pool (2023)

The talent for creating the disturbing must run in the family, as Cronenberg’s son, Brandon Cronenberg, wrote and directed this sci-fi-horror film only a year after his father returned to the horror genre. Like Crimes of the Future, Infinity Pool also uses the genre as a platform for philosophical exploration, this time following a vacationing novelist who is seduced into inadvertently joining a group of ultra-rich hedonists who found a new way to buy their way out of punishment for their crimes.

The titular “infinity pool” refers to a futuristic machine used to create clones, a process which the criminally condemned foreigners can pay for in order for their copies to suffer the death penalties they have accrued on their vacation. Exploring the horrific depths of depravity that the rich can buy their way out of, Infinity Pool is a very interesting, albeit increasingly hard to watch as the film goes on. While some might find it to be needlessly indulgent, I think the overindulgence is the message – and it’s still not nearly as graphic as older films I’ve talked about here before.

The Worst Ones

The Mean One (2022)

Dodging copyright lawsuits by never calling “The Mean One” the Grinch and changing the name of the Christmas town to Newville instead of Whoville, I initially went into this film excited because David Howard Thornton was cast as the mean green slasher. Known for his role as Art the Clown in the incredibly successful Terrifier franchise, Thornton doesn’t disappoint here; everything else does, however, and his role in the film was badly edited and surprisingly small, considering he plays the main antagonist.

Set years after the Grinch murdered Cindy Lou’s family on Christmas night, she returns to her hometown and is hunted down by the monstrous killer when her arrival lures him from his cave in the mountains. After CGI bloodfests ensue, the film ends with a video-game-like beat-down between the two, which is admittedly pretty funny to watch. While this is easily one of the worst films I’ve ever seen in my life, it’s still enjoyable enough to watch if you go into it with no expectations for anything coherently good.

Crackcoon (2023)

It’s a raccoon that goes on a killing frenzy when it ingests a fictional designer drug based on crack. What more could you really need from a movie?

One of the wildest B-movies out there, this is actually a fun watch – it’s just horrendously badly-written and poorly-acted, which kind of adds to the charm. With decent practical blood effects and an adequately ridiculous plot, Crackcoon is more of an exercise in putting crazy shit to camera than it is any kind of coherent piece of art. I still liked it better than Cocaine Bear, though.

The Most Underrated Ones

Cam (2018)

Delving into the world of webcam modeling that still remains relatively unexplored in cinema to this day, Cam follows a camgirl who discovers her profile has been taken over by a terrifying döppelganger livestreaming increasingly disturbing content and gaining more followers than she had before. Along with surreal visuals and a twisting plot, the film discusses the extreme competition in the online adult modeling sphere and the lengths that performance artists in the profession will go to gain followers.

Similar to Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, Cam’s use of look-alikes to explore a shattered sense of self works as both a vehicle for creepy situations and psychological analysis. For me personally, the film’s very realistic understanding of internet culture and those involved in both the watching and the performing of live pornography is what sets this movie apart from many films of all genres that have attempted to analyze such an ever-changing demographic. It’s also plenty creepy and feels like a feature film version of a Black Mirror episode, so that’s fun too!

Butterfly Kisses (2018)

This may actually be the most underrated film I’ve ever seen. A meta-horror found footage/mockumentary film, Butterfly Kisses follows a group of documentarians attempting to disprove a recently discovered set of tapes filmed by students claiming they had summoned a shadowy spirit named Peeping Tom. According to the students on the tapes, the spirit appears in the distance of the summoners’ eyesight, coming closer and closer with every blink until they can feel his eyelashes against theirs, at which point he consumes them.

It’s one of the best adaptations of an urban legend into a horror film, as the concept itself is terrifying enough, even while the film keeps the viewer on their toes as to whether the footage is real or not. The subtle jokes made towards those over-analyzing found footage movies are also hilarious, even including the director of The Blair Witch Project in a cameo featuring him talking shit about the student’s films, calling them “derivative” of his film. The entire movie is free on YouTube and many streaming platforms, if you’re into found footage frights, I’d definitely recommend this one.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person [original title: Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant] (2023)

One of my personal favorites of all time, this French romantic horror-comedy drama is basically like if Twilight was well-written – I’m so sorry, I love Twilight, but the writing is so terrible. The overlong title of this film is pretty much the plot: a young vampire girl doesn’t feel comfortable killing humans for food, so she’s looking for someone who wants to die so that her first time will be easier on her. When she finds a teenage boy who fits exactly the description she’s looking for, she tries to enact her plan, but ends up catching feelings for him when they become close as she builds up the courage to kill him.

It’s a cute movie – not scary at all, but heavily underrated and a great date movie if you’re looking for a teenage romance/vampire vibe. What sets this one apart is its humanistic understanding of depression and loneliness, and its beautifully candid cinematography and fun take on vampirism in the modern world. Please do yourself a favor and check this one out, you won’t be disappointed.

The Best Ones

The Substance (2024)

If you had any amount of investment in the 2025 Academy Awards, you have certainly heard of this feminist body-horror masterpiece. Using the genre to explore the societal perception of female aging and the pitfalls of vanity in a system set up for eventual failure, writer/director Coralie Fargeat continues to be the greatest contributor to feminist horror in the modern age. Starring Demi Moore in her return to the big screen, every part of this film is absolutely perfect; from the masterful cinematography and writing, to the Academy Award-winning makeup/gore design, no part of The Substance isn’t supremely intriguing.

Even if you don’t buy into the film’s subtext, the creative creature designs and ultra-nasty visuals are some of the best of the modern age, combining the practicality from 80s classics with the storytelling and shot-framing popular in modern cinema today. If you like modern returns to the subgenre like Crimes of the Future and Infinity Pool that I mentioned earlier, this is easily the best there is right now.

MadS (2024)

This incredibly creative French film ties with 2007’s [REC] for the title of my favorite zombie film of all time. Shot entirely in one 85-minute take, the combination of trippy drug-fueled aesthetics of films like 2018’s Climax and the flesh-eating viral undead plague we all know and love works so well in this movie in ways I never would’ve expected – especially considering the fact that it was quietly released as a Shudder original with no promotion at all. Following a young man trying out a new hallucinogenic drug and encountering an infected young woman on his drive back home, it’s unclear until the final act whether the virus is real or just a figment of the man’s anxiety-ridden trip.

With very unique effects, such as a subtle glow in the eyes of the infected, and tremendously performed infections that are made to look like someone violently tweaking out on drugs, the combination of hallucinogenic imagery and the fears of viral infection is so perfect, I don’t know why it isn’t explored more. Combine all of that with an impressively choreographed film-length single shot, the likes of which I’ve never seen before, MadS is a cinematic experience that doesn’t get nearly enough love. 

Sinners (2025)

I mean, I had to include this one; there’s no way I could talk about the best horror films of the last decade without mentioning the masterpiece that is Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. Using costumes from Coogler’s unrealized Marvel Blade film and starring longtime collaborator, Michael B. Jordan, this is not only one of the quintessential films in modern horror but a beautiful love letter to African American culture throughout time. I may be biased, as Coogler is in my top three directors of all time, but it’s safe to say this is an immediate classic and will be a mainstay in popular culture for some time to come – if my word isn’t enough, check out the record-breaking 16 nominations it received from the 2026 Academy Awards.

Following two twin brothers who open a “juke joint” for the local Black community deep in the Mississippi south of 1932, chaos quickly ensues when an Irish vampire lures partiers out into the night and turns them into undead monsters, one by one. Playing off themes of cultural appropriation, racism, and the unique spirituality of cultural music, this action-horror film subtextually touches on all of these topics and more, all while still being a fun watch for any horror fan out there. Please watch this if you somehow haven’t already, it really is that good.

Conclusion

Well, that’s it, folks: the best of the best and the worst of the worst from my journey watching 666 horror movies. I hope I had a few on here that you might not have heard of, or gave a shout out to ones you’ve been hoping would get one. There’s so much more I could say about all of the films I’ve covered and even more for ones that I haven’t, such as the super-freaky demonic indie film Traumatika, the amazing stop-motion masterpiece Mad God (that was made over the course of 30 years by special effects legend, Phil Tippet), and the relatively unknown psychological thriller-horror Watcher. 

If you’ve read all the way through the series, thank you, and I hope everyone has a good time with these picks, as I certainly did. This is your sign to make stupid goals for yourselves; they could become the doorway to finding even more enjoyment in the things you love the most!

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