11. The Descent
One of the most surprisingly effective horror films I've ever seen, The Descent has a plot that sounds like a recipe for disaster but it manages to become an almost unbearably tense piece of filmmaking. Six women plan a spelunking trip and find themselves in an unexplored and unmapped cave. Things go desperately wrong when they find themselves pitted against a race of devolved humanoids who dwell in the cave and the survivors have to band together to try and escape. The Descent is a marvelously crafted film, imbibed with top-notch performances from its cast, fantastic cinematography, and great monsters to top it all off. Like all the best horror films, The Descent conjures up a wonderfully bleak atmosphere and the twists and turns eventually lead up to a particularly shocking ending. The Descent was very well received and earned a rare distinction by becoming one of the few horror movies to ever appear on Sight & Sounds yearly top 10 list. Despite appearing on many lists of best modern horror films, The Descent is still not as well known as lesser horror films like Paranormal Activity or Insidious, despite it being one of the most unique horror film of recent years.