The 2000s was an interesting period for horror movies. The trend of fun slashers continued from the 1990s, and the decade had some stand-out films, from The Strangers (2008) to Drag Me To Hell (2009), The Descent (2005), The Ring (2002), and the start of the Final Destination franchise, with the first film coming out in 2001.
There are some excellent scary films from this decade, but like in every 10-year period, there are some films that have gotten a lot of love but might not really live up to the attention. From a movie with a huge twist to the beginning of a beloved franchise, these 2000s horror movies might not be as good as people say.
Updated on October 17, 2022, by Aya Tsintziras: From the Saw movies to Orphan, there are some horror movies from the 2000s that horror fans still watch. This was an interesting decade for the genre that saw anything ranging from fun slasher movies to cheesy flicks focusing on teenagers and remakes of stories from a few decades prior. But when looking for scary movies to watch, there are some popular releases from this time period that feel overrated. From the first entry in the Saw movie franchise to the beloved film where Vera Farmiga's character discovers her child isn't really a child after all, some horror films don't need to be revisited today.
8 May (2002)
For some, May is a forgotten 2000s horror movie. For others, it's a cult classic that has a strong fanbase. The movie did well with critics who liked Angela Bettis's performance as the main character May Canady. At first, it seems like May had a rough childhood and is now odd but trying her best to function. Before too long, it becomes clear that May is a really troubled person. When she starts dating Adam (Jeremy Sisto), she freaks him out, and she kills Adam and her friend Polly (Anna Faris) and talks about needing people's body parts. In the end, May takes the parts of the different people who she has killed and creates a "friend" of her own.
While the movie is about themes like loneliness, which gives it some weight, it's far from an elevated horror movie and is too disturbing to really be interesting to watch. While it is a favorite film for many fans and critics of the horror genre, there are many others that are superior.
7 Cabin Fever (2002)
Chances are that many Boy Meets World fans were excited to watch Rider Strong in Cabin Fever, Eli Roth's 2002 horror movie, but while the film got lots of buzz, the story falls flat. The film has a 62% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, which isn't terrible, and it was popular enough to lead to a remake in 2016. The remake didn't do well at the box office.
While the idea that college students would be infected with a flesh-eating virus is frightening, and the location of a cabin in nature seems like it would be a great horror movie setting, the film feels one-note. There isn't a lot to get excited about here as the characters feel like regular people who are in any horror movie, which makes it tougher to really want them to survive this ordeal.
6 Saw (2004)
Some beloved horror movies are overrated and it could be argued that the first Saw movie falls into that category. Directed by James Wan, Saw is one of the most popular horror films, and fans like the storyline of figuring out who the Jigsaw Killer is.
It's possible to say that the franchise features too much torture and violence without enough plot or story to really keep people interested. The movie is well-crafted as Jigsaw plays with people and decides if they're going to live or die, and the movie does have a main character named Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannell) who audiences follow along with. Some horror fans might prefer more classic and traditional slashers. The franchise continues to be popular and there will be a new Saw movie from Lionsgate.
5 My Bloody Valentine (2009)
My Bloody Valentine (2009) is not only one of the worst horror movie remakes but also an overrated film from the 2000s. This movie is fairly popular as fans like the storyline of a town that has been tormented by a killer who was involved in a mining accident. Audiences also like watching Jensen Ackles play the villain.
When compared to other slasher movies, My Bloody Valentine doesn't have a compelling villain, amazing character development, or a fun sense of humor. While it isn't the most critically acclaimed horror film ever made, it does come up often in discussions of films that are simply entertaining and don't take that much effort to enjoy.
4 Orphan (2009)
Orphan is a pretty popular movie, with audiences loving the story of Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), a young girl who seems fairly creepy but who has maybe just had a hard life. When Esther's adoptive parents begin to wonder if something weird is going on, they learn that she isn't a child at all. The movie has some big names as Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard play the parents Kate and John.
While some people consider this to be a timeless plot twist, others think that it was lame and possible to guess, which makes this a contender for an overrated horror movie from the 2000s. There are many other films with more surprising moments. Taking away the twist, Orphan is pretty bland.
3 Wrong Turn (2003)
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Alan B. McElroy created the Wrong Turn franchise, which has seven movies beginning with the original in 2003 and the most recent in 2021. The movies may be popular, but they feel overrated for several reasons, from the location to the villains themselves.
While the rural setting is meant to be horrifying, as the characters go hiking and find the villains who are inbred cannibals, there are many other movies set in the woods or the country that are more compelling. The killers also aren't that intriguing and aren't given as much personality or backstory as others. When thinking about popular slasher franchises, this one seems like it gets too much hype. It's also true that while slasher films have large fanbases, not every fan of the genre wants to watch cannibals.
2 Cloverfield (2008)
While there will be a new Cloverfield movie, the original doesn't live up to the hype that surrounded it when it was first released. The 2008 film was written by Drew Goddard, who is beloved for directing The Cabin in the Woods. But while that movie approaches horror storytelling in such an intelligent way that people will never stop talking about it, Cloverfield isn't as brilliant.
New York City is taken over by a huge monster and the main characters' reactions are shown through the popular found footage filmmaking style. It's an overrated found footage film as this movie could have been told in a more regular way. While there's no denying that the movie can be viewed as entertaining, especially for those who enjoy monster movies and will see almost anything with this type of premise, it's hard to love Cloverfield when thinking about the Godzilla franchise. Godzilla will always be a superior movie monster who scares people like no other creature can.
1 The Cell (2008)
Several recent Blumhouse films blend sci-fi and horror, and the 2008 movie The Cell did the same thing. Directed by Tarsem Singh, the movie sees Jennifer Lopez in the main role as Catherine Deane, a child therapist who wants to help people who have had terrible experiences. She works with patients using virtual reality and is hopeful that this new technique will work.
While this is a dramatic premise, things get scarier when Catherine beings observing Carl Rudolph Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio), a serial killer with a terrible method of killing people. The movie is less interesting than the classic The Silence of the Lambs, which has a long-lasting '90s horror villain in the brilliant but alarming Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). The main characters in The Cell aren't as memorable as Hannibal and Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) and horror fans don't recall this movie as much as some others. If a film is going to promise to get inside the mind of a killer, nothing beats The Silence of The Lambs.