20 Best Horror Movies Since 2000

Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to the Japanese master, Akira Kurosawa) kick started the 21st century with a fitting supernatural horror film which presaged the disconnection and malaise humanity would face in an online world, where real life connections fall by the wayside in favour of an ever-increasing digital presence.

Kairo followed on from the wave of J-horror which found great success in the late 90s, although Kurosawa wisely eschewed adopting the Japanese folklore which dominated the likes of the Ring and Grudge movies. Split into two intersecting storylines, it's a story which explores the afterlife spilling over into the real world, and depression and anxiety in the digital age creating a new kind of Hell on earth.

This is a film of sometimes glacial pacing which lulls the audience into a false sense of security, before unleashing some of the most chilling yet refined ghostly visuals in the history of cinema. A sense of dread permeates each frame, crafting a real feeling of isolation and loneliness which is ultimately as horrific as the spectres which haunt the protagonists.