The ’00s horror movies that time forgot

By Alex Wiggan

The 2000s were a fascinating decade for horror. Between the rise of torture horror, the J-horror remake boom, supernatural movies, found footage films, creature features, an endless supply of straight-to-DVD titles, and many post-Scream slashers, there was an enormous amount of horror being produced between 2000 and 2009.

As such, not all of the ’00s horror has survived in the cultural memory. For every Saw or 30 Days of Night which are still championed to this day, there is a Darkness Falls or The Cave, which are largely forgotten about.

Why? Well, it could be because these films never struck a chord the first time around, or it could be because they were never that amazing to begin with.

But if you’re a horror fan who wants to indulge in movies from the 2000s, and who is forgiving of some of the not-so amazing offerings, you may not be interested in just the A-grade films. You might want to expand your awareness of ’00s horror by soaking up as many of the lesser-remembered films from this era instead.

Well, you’ve come to the right place. Below you’ll find a selection of forgotten horror from the 2000s which you may want to dip your toe into.

Some of the movies are genuine gems, some are flawed films, and some are probably best left in the ’00s, but all are worth mentioning because they’ve slipped through the cracks. So, if you’ve worked your way through the obvious 2000s horror hits and want to go digging a little deeper, here are some horror flicks from 2000 to 2009 that you probably don’t remember.

OK, so first up let’s note five films from the year 2000 which you may or may not recall. The first of which is Bless the Child – a supernatural horror about a woman who discovers her niece is being sought by a Satanic cult.

This one was a box-office bomb, and certainly not a hit with the critics, but you may wish to take a look at Bless the Child (2000) because a.) it stars Kim Basinger and Jimmy Smits, who always deliver great performances, and b.) it was directed by the late Chuck Russell.

This is the same Chuck Russell who directed A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), as well as the excellent remake of The Blob (1988). Russell also helmed the Jim Carrey mega-hit, The Mask.

Outside of Bless the Child, you may want to take a look at Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000), the largely ignored sequel to 1998’s fun slasher, Urban Legend; the Winona Ryder apocalyptic supernatural horror, Lost Souls (2000); and the Brittany Murphy teen slasher, Cherry Falls (1999).

OK, so technically Cherry Falls is a ’90s movie, as it was premiered at Marché du Film in France in ’99, but it didn’t get a theatrical release until 2000. It’s also one of those hidden gems that really deserves a look, but kind of got lost in the mix following a huge influx of slasher movies at the time.

The film is perhaps also overlooked at times because lead actress Brittany Murphy passed away in 2009. As such, there will be a generation of film fans growing up now who are unaware of her films.

And then from here there is the mind-bending psychological horror, The Cell (2000), which stars Jennifer Lopez and Vincent D’Onofrio. This one is another gem, which revolves around a psychologist who enters the mind of a comatose serial killer.

Directed by Tarsem Singh, The Cell is visual tour de force, which includes some mesmerising and gruesome imagery. The story also has a Silence of the Lambs vibe, so if that movie is your sort of thing then The Cell is definitely one to pop on your watch list.

OK, sliding into 2001 and with Buffy the Vampire Slayer at its peak of popularity on television, a number of Buffy actors took to the big screen to appear in horror movies. Now these films will probably be remembered by old school Buffy fans who watched everything and anything with their favourite actors, but anyone who didn’t follow Buffy the first time around may not be aware of these films.

The first is the slasher, Valentine (2001), which starred David Boreanaz. The movie followed the story of a group of friends who are stalked by a killer sporting a Cupid mask. The second film is Soul Survivors (2001), which starred Eliza Dushku.

Soul Survivors is a psychological horror-thriller about a young college student who begins to hallucinate strange visions, following the death of her boyfriend. The film was a box-office flop and another one which did not meet the approval of critics, but your opinion may differ.

2001 also offered up the brilliant gothic horror, Frailty (2001). Directed by and starring Bill Paxton, this one didn’t feature any Buffy actors, but is really worth your time if you’re not familiar with it.

The story focuses on a small family – two young brothers and their father – who descend down a very dark path. Father believes he has been asked by God to destory demons disguised as every day folk, and he enlists his children to help in the killings.

Frailty was a moderate success at the box-office, but certainly wasn’t a break-out hit, which is why it’s largely overlooked today. However it’s a solid horror that deserves far more attention, especially if you’re a fan of the late Bill Paxton.

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Moving into 2002 and we’ll return to the theme of Buffy actors for another title, the supernatural horror, They. This one starred Marc Blucas (Riley in Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and focused on a group of adults experiencing night terrors.

Moving away from Buffy (for a moment), and 2002 also delivered the Anna Paquin supernatural horror, Darkness (2002); as well as the Stephen Dorff supernatural horror FeardotCom (2002). This one centred its story around a New York detective investigating a series of mysterious deaths connected to a troubling website.

Over to 2003 for another horror movie featuring a Buffy actor, which this time is Darkness Falls starring Emma Caulfield. This one is a supernatural horror about a vengeful spirit known as the Tooth Fairy.

And then it’s over to 2005 for Wes Craven’s werewolf picture, Cursed (2005); the supernatural folk horror, The Skeleton Key (2005); and underground monster movie, The Cave (2005). Plus, in a change of pace, the animated movie, The Batman vs. Dracula (2005).

This one was released direct-to-video back in ’05 as a spin-off of The Batman TV show and is a fun bit of action horror. As the title suggests, the story pits Gotham’s Dark Knight against the Prince of Darkness himself, Count Dracula.

Moving into 2006 now for The Covenant – a supernatural fantasy about magic and witchcraft. This one stars a pre-MCU Sebastian Stan, and is from director Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Deep Blue Sea, Exorcist: The Beginning, etc).

From here we continue with the werewolf action horror, Skinwalkers (2006), before moving into 2007 for the Christian horror thriller, Three (aka Thr3e); as well as the straight-to-video sequel, Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007). This one is a follow-up to the better-known ’90s horror, House on Haunted Hill (1999).

And then rounding things off with Shutter (2008) and The Fourth Kind (2009). The former is a remake of a 2004 Thai film and focuses on the spirit of a dead girl, while the latter is a sci-fi-horror pseudo documentary about an alien abduction.

The 2000s was a big decade for horror, with more than 200 horror movies released between 2000 and 2009. DVD was hugely successful at the time, which really helped to push horror on home video; video stores still existed, so film fans wanted as much choice as possible; and movie studios were keen to offer title after title because there was a huge market for this genre.

But in recent years, the arrival of streaming has resulted in a large number of these horror movies falling through the cracks. Algorithms tend to push the bigger, better known titles from this decade (Resident Evil, Final Destination, etc), and unless you really do a deep dive, you aren’t going to just stumble across a forgotten film from 2003.

So, hopefully the above suggestions will expand your horror knowledge. You may not care for all of the movies, and some you might find are best left to the history books, but if you want to try some ’00s movies you didn’t see first time around, these could be ones for you.