The Crypt Charts
The Top 31 Horror Movies of the 2000s
Thirty-one films that defined the 2000s in horror — ranked by the Crypt Score, our audience-first blend of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and viewer votes.
Ranked by Crypt Score · Updated weekly · captured Jul 20, 2026
Eligibility: a title needs at least 2 rating sources and 1,000+ votes to chart — no thin-data entries.
Shaun of the Dead
R2004 · Horror, Comedy · 99m · Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis
Shaun lives a supremely uneventful life, which revolves around his girlfriend, his mother, and, above all, his local pub. This gentle routine is threatened when the dead return to life and make strenuous attempts to snack on ordinary Londoners.
Zodiac
R2007 · Crime, Mystery, Thriller · 157m · Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Robert Downey Jr.
Over the course of a decade, editors of the San Francisco Chronicle entice themselves in the murders of the Zodiac Killer. However, as time runs its course, interest in the case dwindles in the eyes of the professionals. The Killer stops interacting with the public. However, believing he has the answers, an amateur cartoonist from the initial sightings races against time to prevent what he believes is another murder.
Serenity
PG-132005 · Science Fiction, Action, Adventure · 119m · Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk
A group of rebels travel the outskirts of space evading the sinister Alliance regime. Their lives of smuggling and cargo-running are interrupted by a psychic passenger who harbours a dangerous secret. Soon, the crew find themselves being pursued by an Alliance agent who will stop at nothing to find them.
Zombieland
R2009 · Comedy, Horror · 87m · Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
Columbus has made a habit of running from what scares him. Tallahassee doesn't have fears. If he did, he'd kick their ever-living ass. In a world overrun by zombies, these two are perfectly evolved survivors. But now, they're about to stare down the most terrifying prospect of all: each other.
28 Days Later
R2002 · Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction · 113m · Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns
Twenty-eight days after a killer virus was accidentally unleashed from a British research facility, a small group of London survivors are caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected. Carried by animals and humans, the virus turns those it infects into homicidal maniacs -- and it's absolutely impossible to contain.
The Others
PG-132001 · Horror, Mystery, Thriller · 101m · Nicole Kidman, Alakina Mann, James Bentley, Fionnula Flanagan
Grace is a woman who lives in an old house kept dark because her two children, Anne and Nicholas, have a rare sensitivity to light. When the family begins to suspect the house is haunted, Grace fights to protect her children at any cost in the face of strange events and disturbing visions.
American Psycho
R2000 · Thriller, Drama, Crime · 102m · Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Bill Sage
A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
R2007 · Drama, Horror · 116m · Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall
The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett. Based on the hit Broadway musical.
Cigarette Burns
2005 · Horror, TV Movie · 59m · Norman Reedus, Udo Kier, Christopher Redman, Chris Gauthier
With a torrid past that haunts him, a movie theatre owner is hired to search for the only existing print of a film so notorious that its single screening caused the viewers to become homicidally insane.
The Call of Cthulhu
2006 · Horror, Thriller, Fantasy · 47m · Matt Foyer, John Bolen, Ralph Lucas, Chad Fifer
A dying professor leaves his great-nephew a collection of documents pertaining to the Cthulhu Cult. The nephew begins to learn why the study of the cult so fascinated his grandfather. Bit-by-bit he begins piecing together the dread implications of his grandfather's inquiries, and soon he takes on investigating the Cthulhu cult as a crusade of his own.
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue
2009 · Documentary, Horror · 96m · Lance Henriksen, Larry Cohen, Joe Dante, John Carpenter
An exploration of the appeal of horror films, with interviews of many legendary directors in the genre.
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974
2009 · Thriller, Mystery, Crime · 106m · Andrew Garfield, Warren Clarke, Sean Bean, David Morrissey
Yorkshire, 1974. Fear, mistrust and institutionalised police corruption are running riot. Rookie journalist Eddie Dunford is determined to search for the truth in an increasingly complex maze of lies and deceit surrounding the police investigation into a series of child abductions. When young Clare Kemplay goes missing, Eddie and his colleague, Barry, persuade their editor to let them investigate links with two similar abductions that draw them into a deadly world of secrecy, intimidation, shocking revelations and police brutality.
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980
2009 · Thriller, Crime, Drama · 93m · Paddy Considine, Warren Clarke, Maxine Peake, James Fox
After 6 years of brutal murders, the West Yorkshire Police fear that they may have already interviewed The Ripper and let him back into the world to continue his reign of terror upon the citizens of Yorkshire. Assistant Chief Constable of the Manchester Police, Peter Hunter, is called in to oversee the West Yorkshire Police's Ripper investigation and see what they could have missed.
Ghost Adventures
2007 · Documentary, Horror · 87m · Zak Bagans, Nick Groff, Aaron Goodwin
In 2007, The Sci-Fi Channel premiered "Ghost Adventures," a raw documentary in which 3 men go to Virginia City, NV and Goldfield, NV on a ghost hunting expedition. Virginia City is rife with macabre lore and reputed to be one of the most haunted cities in America. Ghost Adventures has won a Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary that was given by the New York International Film & Video Festival.
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream
2006 · Documentary, Horror · 87m · Alejandro Jodorowsky, George A. Romero, Perry Henzell, John Waters
From 1970-1977, six low budget films shown at midnight transformed the way we make and watch films.
Sherlock Holmes
PG-132009 · Action, Adventure, Crime · 129m · Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong
Eccentric consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson battle to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy England.
Frequency
PG-132000 · Science Fiction, Crime, Thriller · 118m · Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel, Shawn Doyle, Elizabeth Mitchell
When a rare phenomenon gives police officer John Sullivan the chance to speak to his father, 30 years in the past, he takes the opportunity to prevent his dad's tragic death. After his actions inadvertently give rise to a series of brutal murders he and his father must find a way to fix the consequences of altering time.
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983
2009 · Thriller, Crime, Drama · 105m · David Morrissey, Lisa Howard, Chris Walker, Shaun Dooley
Detective Chief Superintendent Maurice Jobson is forced to remember the very similar disappearance of Clare Kemplay, who was found dead in 1974, and the subsequent imprisonment of local boy Michael Myshkin. Washed-up local solicitor John Piggott becomes convinced of Myshkin's innocence and begins to fight on his behalf, unwittingly providing a catalyst for Jobson to start to right some wrongs.
The Iceman Confesses: Secrets of a Mafia Hitman
NR2001 · Documentary, Crime, Thriller · 43m · Richard Kuklinski, Mark Musto, Rocco Fazzolari, Rich Lounello
Richard Kuklinski was a devoted husband, a loving father...and a ruthless killer. A decade after HBO last visited him in prison, the convicted murderer, who freely admits having whacked more than 100 people in cold blood, takes viewers back inside his cold, calculating mind. In this follow-up to America Undercover's 1992 film The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer, Kuklinski provides all-new insights about his exploits as one of the Mafia's most notorious assassins...and reveals some shocking confessions for a number of previously unsolved murders.
Saw
R2004 · Horror, Mystery, Crime · 103m · Tobin Bell, Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover
Two men wake up to find themselves shackled in a grimy, abandoned bathroom. As they struggle to comprehend their predicament, they discover a disturbing tape left behind by the sadistic mastermind known as Jigsaw. With a chilling voice and cryptic instructions, Jigsaw informs them that they must partake in a gruesome game in order to secure their freedom.
Identity
R2003 · Mystery, Thriller · 90m · John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes
Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.
Frailty
R2002 · Drama, Thriller, Crime · 100m · Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe, Matt O'Leary
A mysterious man arrives at the offices of an FBI agent and recounts his childhood: how his religious fanatic father received visions telling him to kill people who were in fact "demons."
I Am Legend
PG-132007 · Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller · 101m · Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok
Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone.
Red Dragon
R2002 · Crime, Thriller, Horror · 124m · Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson
Former FBI Agent Will Graham, who was once almost killed by the savage Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter, now has no choice but to face him again, as it seems Lecter is the only one who can help Graham track down a new serial killer.
Dawn of the Dead
R2004 · Horror, Science Fiction · 101m · Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, Michael Kelly
A group of survivors take refuge in a shopping mall after the world is taken over by aggressive, flesh-eating zombies.
Planet Terror
R2007 · Horror, Action, Thriller · 105m · Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodríguez, Marley Shelton, Josh Brolin
Two doctors find their graveyard shift inundated with townspeople ravaged by sores. Among the wounded is Cherry Darling, a dancer whose leg was ripped from her body. As the invalids quickly become enraged aggressors, Cherry and her ex-boyfriend El Wray lead a team of accidental warriors into the night.
Cloverfield
PG-132008 · Action, Thriller, Science Fiction · 85m · Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David
Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives.
The Ring
PG-132002 · Horror, Mystery · 115m · Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Brian Cox
Journalist Rachel Keller investigates a strange videotape that may be behind the untimely deaths of four teenagers. There is an urban legend about this tape: the viewer will die seven days after watching it. Rachel tracks down the video... and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery of the Ring in order to save herself and her son.
The Mist
R2007 · Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller · 126m · Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden, Toby Jones, Marcia Gay Harden
After a violent storm, a dense cloud of mist envelops a small Maine town, trapping David Drayton and his five-year-old son in a local grocery store with other local residents. They soon discover that the mist conceals deadly horrors that threaten their lives, and worse, their sanity.
Triangle
R2009 · Horror · 99m · Melissa George, Liam Hemsworth, Emma Lung, Rachael Carpani
When Jess sets sail on a yacht with a group of friends, she cannot shake the feeling that there is something wrong.