The Best Horror Movies Of The Decade That Didn't Take Place In This Decade
List Rules Vote up the movies that mined scares from the past to make a great movie for the '10s.
Looking back at the 2010s, it's hard to ignore the impact that horror movies had on the decade. In a landscape dominated by big-budget blockbusters, relatively small-budget horror films began to break out all over the cinematic landscape. It has also been a decade of horror nostalgia, and many scary movies of the last 10 years didn't actually take place in the 2010s. This was true of both indie horror films and bigger-budget movies, like IT (2017), which became one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time.
Some of these films came from first-time directors, launching their careers into the stratosphere overnight. Others came from the twisted minds of well-established filmmakers. From the 17th-century Massachusetts wilderness to the scorching Summer of '84, these are all of the best horror films of the decade that took place in the past.
When Does It Take Place? 1971
Why Is This Setting Scary? The Conjuring is based on real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, and the film follows the duo as they investigate a haunted Rhode Island farmhouse in 1971.
What's The Best Throwback Scare? When a small child is nearly pulled out of their farmhouse bed.
Actors: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Joey King, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, + more
Released: 2013
Directed by: James Wan
When Does It Take Place? 1989
Why Is This Setting Scary? IT is based on Stephen King's hit horror novel of the same name. Set in the 1980s, the story follows the young members of the Losers Club as they uncover a menacing mystery in the small town of Derry, Maine.
What's The Best Throwback Scare? Pretty much anything involving Pennywise, who is modeled after Victorian-era clowns.
Actors: Jaeden Lieberher, Bill Skarsgård, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, + more
Released: 2017
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
When Does It Take Place? 1887
Why Is This Setting Scary? Guillermo Del Toro's Crimson Peak is gothic horror at its most charming. The film follows a young woman as she moves to her new husband's family estate in the English countryside, only to discover that it's plagued by the souls of the departed.
What's The Best Throwback Scare? When Edith is confronted by a ghost that crawls up from underneath the floor.
Actors: Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, Mia Wasikowska, Doug Jones, + more
Released: 2015
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
When Does It Take Place? 1630s
Why Is This Setting Scary? Roger Eggers's film debut is definitely one of the best horror films of the decade. The movie follows a banished pilgrim family as they try to survive alone in the wilderness, only to come across a forest-dwelling witch that changes their lives forever. The period-accurate dialogue only adds to the film's sense of dreadful realism, and it shows what an often watered-down folk legend would look like in real life.
What's The Best Throwback Scare? The demonic rabbit that causes William's rifle to backfire.
Actors: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, + more
Released: 2015
Directed by: Robert Eggers
