4. Paranormal Activity
Ladies and gentlemen, the most profitable film of all time - it grossed over $100m on a $15,000 budget. A film so scary Steven Spielberg locked it away after watching it. And one of my favourite horrors of the decade. The reason being? It scared me senseless, and still does on every repeat viewing. Now, despite being a huge horror fan, I am rarely scared by horror films - the only ones that come to mind as having genuinely scared me are The Exorcist and this. I wont go on about how clever the director is for doing so much for so little, but Oren Peli is a damn good director - he even gives the demon its own theme, like Jaws or Bane, meaning you know when its coming, and you search every inch of the static image when you hear the rumbling bass. But still, it gets you every time. But the best thing about this film is the acting. Katie Featherston (who deserves to be offered more roles because shes fantastic in this) and Micah Sloat create such engaging and layered characters, which is rare for a horror movie - but like the greats, it aims higher than being a cheap shock-fest. Every single time I watch it, whether in pitch black or the harsh light of day, I am on edge - there are so many horrific moments, some of the worst being in the daytime (Katie saying Im fine in her possessed voice is ingrained into my memory and will likely never leave). And I have to say, whilst nowhere near as good, the sequels are actually pretty respectable and can be quite creepy as well - respect to whoever hired the duo behind Catfish. But nothing will match the sheer terror and ingenuity of the original. Without Blair Witch, we wouldnt have had this superior film, so American horror again owes much to that original hit - I havent seen a better horror come out of American since Paranormal Activitys release.