20 Best Horror Movies Since 2000

The Ritual, released in 2017 and directed by David Bruckner, came out of nowhere and surprised many horror fans with its superb, atmospheric use of the forest setting combined with some out of the blue visual effects which proved just how effectively CGI can be used when the design is done well.

Four friends are on a hiking holiday in Sweden, and opt to take a shortcut through the woods when one of their party suffers an ankle injury. After spending a nightmare-filled evening in an abandoned lodge - complete with strange, antler-headed altar - their journey through the forest becomes increasingly bizarre.

The Ritual combines elements from a number of popular horror movies - The Blair Witch Project, The Wicker Man - without ever feeling like it's a derivative mess. Indeed, what makes this such an effective horror film is just how well it constructs its own world and lore, taking elements of Scandinavian mythology and transforming it into a modern horror film which boasts one of the best final acts in recent years.