20 Horror Movies From The 21st Century That Didn't Actually Suck

5. Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil (2010)

This film succeeds primarily because of one thing. You genuinely care and like the title characters, hillbilly cliché creations Tucker and Dale, as their friendship is tested by the lurking evil surrounding them. Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk are excellent as our titular heroes as they travel into the woods to decorate their newly acquired vacation house.

The friendship is a warm one not often seen in horror films and they clearly care about each other. Twenty years earlier, the Memorial Day Massacre saw a group of hillbillies attack a kill some camping students. Flash forward to the present day, and a new group of students are terrified by Tucker and Dale as several unfortunate coincidences make them appear to be crazed monsters.

The film takes many stock clichés from the backwoods horror slasher and turns them upside down as it slowly becomes evident that the real evil is within the group of college students. Of course, the only problem is, they keep getting themselves killed in ridiculous ways like jumping into woodchippers and shooting themselves.

Similar to the earlier Shaun of the Dead, the reason this works is because of a strong script and good acting. It's all too easy with horror films to forget that, if you get those key ingredients right, just like in any other genre, then the rest will fall into place. For all the awful remakes out there, this film has more imagination in its opening ten minutes that the whole witless remake of Nightmare on Elm Street and any other Platinum Dunes monstrosity. For that, we must be thankful.