From paranormal hauntings to serial killer sprees, there are all kinds of disturbing-yet-great movies that’ll get your heart racing, your palms sweating, your eyes darting away—and a lot of them are modern classics, released in 2000 or later. Without further ado, here are our picks for the best modern horror movies worth watching over the course of a month, one every day. These films are ordered by overall scariness, from least scary to most scary. However, the type of scariness—creepy, jumpy, gory—varies across all of them. If you want to know more about a film, we recommend looking it up on either ReelScary or ScaryMeter.
31. Hush (2016)
Maddie is a deaf-mute horror writer who lives alone in an isolated forest. One day, her friend Sarah comes to drop off a copy of her book—and, unbeknownst to Maddie, Sarah ends up being murdered by a masked killer right outside. Now, Maddie is his next target.
30. It Follows (2014)
After a sexual encounter with her new boyfriend, Jaime learns that she’s now the target of a supernatural killer—and the only way she can free herself is to pass the curse on to someone else by having sex with them.
29. The Babadook (2014)
Amelia is a single mother to her six-year-old son Samuel. Over time, Samuel grows unable to sleep as he develops a paranoid fear of an imaginary monster called The Babadook—and as she tries to comfort him, Amelia also begins to develop the same paranoia.
28. As Above, So Below (2014)
Scarlett is a scholar in search of the legendary Philosopher’s Stone, which she believes is located in the Catacombs of Paris. With the help of her ex-boyfriend and her cameraman, they explore beneath the city streets—and find much more than they expected.
27. The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015)
Two girls are left behind as the only ones at Bramford Academy, a Catholic boarding school, over winter break. During that time, one of them begins to display all kinds of odd behaviors caused by a mysterious evil force.
26. Host (2020)
Presented entirely in the form of a Zoom video call, Host takes place during the COVID-19 lockdown and features a group of friends who hire a medium to host a virtual seance. When the medium is disconnected from the call, the group begins to experience strange happenings.
25. Oculus (2013)
Eleven years ago, a family was torn apart after they unknowingly purchased an antique mirror that causes intense hallucinations. Now, in the present, the daughter of the family tracks down the mirror and aims to document its supernatural powers before destroying it.
24. 28 Days Later (2002)
Jim awakens from a coma in a London hospital only to find it completely deserted. As it turns out, a highly contagious virus called “Rage” was accidentally unleashed on society and caused widespread catastrophe, and now he needs to find his way to safety.
23. Suspiria (2018)
Susie leaves her family in Ohio to audition for a prestigious dance company in Berlin, which coincides with the recent disappearance of one of their dancers—and rumors come to light that the dance company is actually run by a coven of witches.
22. Lake Mungo (2008)
When Alice Palmer disappears while swimming at a dam and turns up drowned, her family has trouble coming to terms with her death—and as they wrestle to find closure, they learn of disturbing circumstances that haunted Alice up until her drowning.
21. 1408 (2007)
Based on a short story by Stephen King, 1408 centers on an author who investigates houses that are supposedly haunted. One such place is Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in New York City, where he starts to experiece strange events that keep him trapped there.
20. The Strangers (2008)
During their stay in a vacation home, James and Kristen find themselves terrorized by three masked strangers who keep them trapped—and no matter how hard they fight, escape seems unlikely.
19. The Woman in Black (2012)
Set in England during the early 1900s, The Woman in Black centers on a recently widowed lawyer who travels to a remote village to pick up some documents, only to find that a vengeful spirit is haunting the lands.
18. Paranormal Activity (2007)
When Katie and Micah discover that they’re being haunted by a paranormal presence in their home, they set up cameras to capture all of the strange occurrences—and it only gets worse over time.
17. V/H/S (2012)
When a criminal gang is approached by a mysterious person who offers a lot of money in exchange for stealing a VHS tape, they agree. But when they break in, they find a dead man in front of a TV playing white noise, and they decide to watch some of the tapes.
16. Session 9 (2001)
In need of business, the owner of an asbestos abatement company secures a bid to clean up asbestos in an abandoned mental asylum. While working, the crew uncovers a set of audio tapes that document the psychiatric treatment sessions of a former patient.
15. Lights Out (2016)
When her little brother starts having unusual experiences with a supernatural entity that makes him fearful, Rebecca must face her own fears to help him—by investigating and resolving the spirit’s strange attachment with their mother.
14. Evil Dead (2013)
In this soft reboot of 1981’s The Evil Dead, a group of five friends head to a remote cabin in the woods, where they find a Book of the Dead. They inadvertently summon supernatural entities living in the surrounding forest that start to possess and kill them.
13. The Conjuring (2013)
In this classic film that kicked off the Conjuring Universe, two paranormal investigators are hired to help the Perron family, who are being terrorized by a dark presence and strange happenings.
12. The Last House on the Left (2009)
In this modern remake of the 1972 film, a gang kidnaps and brutalizes a young woman. Later, during a storm, the same gang unknowingly shelters in a vacation home owned by the victim’s parents—who get revenge on them through increasingly wicked acts.
11. Insidious (2010)
After a married couple and their son move into a new house, the son falls into a coma with no signs of recovery. Over time, disturbing paranormal events terrorize the parents, who discover that evil spirits have trapped their son in another dimension called The Further.
10. Grave Encounters (2011)
In Grave Encounters, the production crew of a ghost hunting reality TV show lock themselves in an abandoned mental asylum while they hunt for proof of paranormal activity—and they find it.
9. I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
I Spit on Your Grave is a modern remake of a 1978 film, in which a novelist goes on an isolated retreat to work on her next book. After she’s brutally gang-raped by five locals, she stalks her attackers and seeks revenge.
8. The Wailing (2016)
In a remote Korean village, a policeman is tasked with investigating a strange phenomenon to save his daughter: after the recent arrival of a stranger, a mysterious sickness began spreading amongst them.
7. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
When an unidentified body lands on the autopsy table, a father-and-son coroner duo are tasked with figuring out who the woman was. But as they investigate the body, they’re disturbed by supernatural events that point to dark secrets around her identity.
6. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018)
Based on the real-life mental hospital of the same name, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum centers on the crew of a horror web series who visit the eponymous asylum with plans for a livestream. But as they venture deeper into the building, they discover more than they expected.
5. The Descent (2005)
A group of six thrill-seeking women go on a spelunking adventure, only to be trapped when the cave entrance collapses behind them. As they venture deeper inside in hopes of finding an exit, they learn that they aren’t the only ones within this complex cave system.
4. REC (2007)
When a TV reporter and her cameraman follow a group of emergency workers into an apartment building, they end up locked inside with an unusual infection that’s rapidly spreading.
3. Sinister (2012)
When a true crime writer moves with his family into a new home, he discovers a box of Super 8 films that depict gruesome murders by a serial killer from decades ago—and as he investigates further, he learns of a much darker influence behind it all.
2. Hereditary (2018)
After the death of their grandmother, the Graham family is torn apart by grief and a mysterious presence that haunts them. As they try to find ways to deal with their grief, they uncover disturbing truths about their grandmother and what’s happening to the family.
1. Ju-On: The Grudge (2002)
In what has become one of the most internationally famous horror movies of all time, Ju-On: The Grudge features a vengeful spirit who curses and haunts anyone that enters the house they reside in—and that curse follows them to their eventual deaths.
