20 Scariest Horror Movie Moments Of The 21st Century
The scares you'll be telling your grandkids about...
Horror, as a genre, has undertaken quite a journey in rising from the era of video nasties.
The turn of the century ushered in a wave of new trends and fads, some more welcome than others, which at times threatened to hold an iron grip on the cinematic horror scene, ranging from found footage and remakes of Asian horrors to endlessly violent and exploitative torture porn.
The scariest movies have never forgotten that real fear is created through atmosphere rather than the cheapness of bloody gore, and for the most part, that’s something that doesn’t need to rely so heavily on overly fancy effects and advanced computer-generated frights.
The true devil is in the details, in the effort that directors take to ramp up suspense and attack the viewer psychologically. These are the scares, by and large, that stand the test of time and unnerve us just as much on the fifth viewing as the first. This is as true today as it was at the dawn of film.
With every passing year adding more cinematic material to history, it’s become more essential than ever for horror films to truly distinguish themselves with creative scares that really stand out in the proverbial crowd. Some have passed this challenge with flying colours, creating works of horror for future generations to emulate, and hopefully, try to better.
20. Simon Recording - Session 9 (2001)
Session 9 is generally devoid of quality, featuring a career-worst performance by David Caruso threatening to turn the film into more of a comedy than a horror, but it does do a startlingly good job at creating atmosphere.
The greatest character here is by far the abandoned asylum itself, with its deserted halls and ominous rooms almost so tangibly full of eerie history, you feel like you could choke on it. If these walls could talk… they’d only be scarier.
The film garners tension using a series of recorded sessions detailing the evaluation of former patient Mary Hobbes, steadily peeling back the layers of her dissociative identity disorder. One of her personalities, “Simon”, is ominously built up as a feared figure of dread, hinted to be directly involved in the murky events that led to Mary’s hospitalisation.
When we finally hear the voice of “Simon”, it’s remarkably effective. There’s something about his origins within a tape recording found in an already terrifying asylum that makes it all the more fearful. Simon’s twisted laughter as he reveals Mary’s murder of her family feels coated with the darkness of the film’s setting.
The final line is one that festers in the mind long after the credits roll: “Where do you live, Simon?” “I live in the weak and the wounded.” It’s a fitting reminder that the real monsters and ghouls of the world are simply the ones that live amongst us, hidden in plain sight, and buried in fractured psyches.