The late 1990s and early 2000s were an incredibly informative time for millennials, especially when it came to horror movies. The original Scream movie came out in 1996, paving the way for a new era of slashers and supernatural horror thrillers that fans continue to talk about today. The year 2000 was an exciting one for young horror fans, who were finally old enough to start pushing content boundaries.
Whether your parents let you watch horror movies 25 years ago or you had to sneak them at a friend’s house, there was no thrill like watching a scary movie. In those days, it felt like a new horror movie was out every week. Franchises were launched during this time that audiences continue to clamor for to this day. These are some of the best horror movies that turn 25 in 2025, making it the perfect time to revisit these films.
10
‘Scream 3’
Scream revamped the horror genre with its meta approach that acknowledged horror movie tropes while simultaneously engaging with them. It did so well that a sequel came out in 1997, but the third installment, released in 2000, is probably the most meta of them all. It’s not the best Scream movie, but the premise is unbeatable.
The Movie Within the Movie
After surviving the events of the first two films, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is thrust into the world of Hollywood — where a series of movies exist based on her traumatic experiences. Production for Stab 3 is well underway when people start dying on set. Then, it is up to Sydney, Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) to help the cast and crew stay alive.
Scream 3 was written by Ehren Kruger (The Ring) and directed by horror icon Wes Craven, who also directed the first two films. The cast this time around features Parker Posey (The White Lotus), Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy), Emily Mortimer (Paddington in Peru), Scott Foley (Scandal), and the return of Roger Jackson as the voice of Ghostface. Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher also makes a fun appearance!
9
‘The Gift’
Sam Raimi is best known for Spider-Man and The Evil Dead movies, but in 2000 he directed a chilling supernatural thriller starring two-time Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett. With a screenplay by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson (co-writers of Jayne Mansfield’s Car), The Gift is about widow Annie Wilson (Blanchett), a clairvoyant woman who gets wrapped up in the disappearance of a socialite named Jessica King (Katie Holmes).
An All-Star Cast
The Gift is a dark, compelling film with a top-rate cast. Alongside Blanchett and Holmes are Keanu Reeves (John Wick), Giovanni Ribisi (Saving Private Ryan), Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), Kim Dickens (Fear the Walking Dead), Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine), Gary Cole (The Good Wife), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), John Beasley (Rudy), and Rosemary Harris (Spider-Man).
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8
‘Pitch Black’
Pitch Black came out the year before The Fast and the Furious and remains a favorite among Vin Diesel and sci-fi fans. Set in the distant future, Pitch Black follows the crew of a transport ship fighting for survival on a desert planet that is teeming with creatures that have developed a keen taste for blood. Diesel stars as Richard B. Riddick, an infamous criminal who was aboard the ship as a prisoner and is now best suited to help fight the planet’s creatures. The cast includes Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill), Rhiana Griffith (Home and Away), Cole Hauser (2 Fast 2 Furious), Keith David (Hazbin Hotel), Lewis Fitz-Gerald (Pine Gap), and Claudia Black (Stargate SG-1).
A Cult Classic
David Twohy (A Perfect Getaway) directed Pitch Black and wrote the screenplay with Ken Wheat and Jim Wheat (co-writers of Apt Pupil). Pitch Black was nominated for Best Science Fiction Film by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. It also earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination in the screenplay category and five Fangoria Chainsaw Award nominations. Over the years, this sci-fi gem has become something of a cult classic, leading to several sequels, including The Chronicles of Riddick in 2004. It also spawned a prequel and a video game series.
7
‘What Lies Beneath’
Did you know that Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones) and Michelle Pfeiffer (Scarface) starred in a psychological horror movie together? On the surface, What Lies Beneath looks like the average psychosexual thriller that became so popular in the 1990s. It’s actually a tense ghost story set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Vermont countryside.
A Box-Office Hit
Claire Spencer (Pfeiffer) is a former cellist who begins to suspect her house is haunted, though her husband, Norman (Ford), is dismissive of these suspicions. Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) directed the film with a story by Sarah Kernochan (Learning to Drive) and a screenplay by Clark Gregg (Choke).
The cast features Diana Scarwid (Silkwood), Joe Morton (Terminator 2: Judgment Day), James Remar (Dexter), and Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King). What Lies Beneath did incredibly well at the box office, and Pfeiffer’s stellar performance earned her multiple horror nominations. Both Pfeiffer and Ford won Blockbuster Entertainment Awards in the suspense category for their roles.
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6
‘Shadow of the Vampire’
Shadow of the Vampire
- Release Date
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May 15, 2000
- Runtime
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92 Minutes
- Director
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E. Elias Merhige
- Writers
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Steven Katz
Shadow of the Vampire fictionalizes the making of the classic 1922 silent expressionist vampire film Nosferatu. John Malkovich stars as the film’s director, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (Opus), and Willem Dafoe (The Phoenician Scheme) stars as Max Schreck, the actor playing the infamous vampire Count Orlok in Nosferatu. Production goes awry, however, when Schreck becomes too invested in the role. Shadow of the Vampire was directed by E. Elias Merhige (Suspect Zero) and written by Steven Katz (The Knick). The supporting cast is made up of Cary Elwes (Saw), John Aden Gillet (The House of Eliott), Eddie Izzard (Doctor Jekyll), Udo Kier (Swan Song), Catherine McCormack (28 Weeks Later), and Ronan Vibert (Penny Dreadful).
Returning to ‘Nosferatu’ 24 Years Later
While Dafoe played the vampire in Shadow of the Vampire‘s Nosferatu, he recently returned to the classic vampire tale as a different character. In 2024, writer-director Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse) cast Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz in his own Nosferatu adaptation. The character is a Swiss philosopher interested in the occult. In the original Nosferatu, this character is called Professor Bulwer, also known as Dr. Van Helsing.
5
‘The Cell’
Before she starred in the romantic comedies The Wedding Planner and Jersey Girl, Jennifer Lopez was in a few horror movies. One of the most well known is The Cell, where she plays Dr. Catherine Deane, a child psychologist hired to explore the psyche of serial killer Carl Rudolph Stargher (Vincent D’Onofrio) using experimental virtual reality technology. Other members of the cast include Vince Vaughn (Freaky) as an FBI agent and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths) as Dr. Miriam Kent.
Awards and Accolades
Tarsem Singh, best known for writing and directing The Fall starring Lee Pace in 2006, made his directorial debut with The Cell. I Am Legend scribe Mark Protosevich wrote the screenplay. The movie did well at the box office, and while critics were divided, the film received an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup. Jennifer Lopez won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Action in the Science Fiction Category. Legendary critic Roger Ebert gave The Cell four stars, calling it “one of the best films of the year.”
4
‘Ju-On: The Curse’
Written and directed by Takashi Shimizu (Reincarnation), Ju-On: The Curse follows Shunsuke Kobayashi, played by Yūrei Yanagi (Ringu), a teacher who discovers a terrifying truth when he tries to find out why one of his students has been missing class. The cast also includes Chiaki Kuriyama (Battle Royale), Hitomi Miwa (Crazy Lips), Asumi Miwa (The Great Yokai War), Takako Fuji (Princess Mononoke), Takashi Matsuyama (Kamen Rider Kuuga), and Ryōta Koyama (Fireworks) as missing student Toshio Saeki.
Adaptations and Sequels
Ju-On: The Curse is the first installment in the Ju-On movies. The third installment, Ju-On: The Grudge, is the basis for the 2004 American remake The Grudge, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar (I Know What You Did Last Summer). The films inspired a stage play adaptation in 2023.
3
‘Ginger Snaps’
Ginger Snaps
- Release Date
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August 1, 2000
- Runtime
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108 minutes
- Director
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John Fawcett
- Writers
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Karen Walton, John Fawcett
Ginger Snaps is a classic Canadian horror movie that continues to be taught to film students to this day. It was written by Karen Walton (Elevated) and directed by John Fawcett, who later went on to create Orphan Black with Graeme Manson in 2013. Emily Perkins (Stephen King’s It) and Katharine Isabelle (American Mary) star as death-obsessed sisters Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald, who are determined to flee the suburbs at any cost.
The Savagery of Girlhood
When Ginger gets her first period, the smell of blood draws in the creature that’s been killing dogs all across town. Ginger and Brigitte escape the attack, but learn that Ginger was bitten in the scuffle. In the days that follow, Ginger begins to change in ways Brigitte can’t explain. She becomes violent and impulsive, leading Brigitte to wonder if her sister has been bitten by a werewolf. Ginger Snaps went on to win Best Canadian Feature Film – Special Jury Citation at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival. It spawned a sequel, a prequel, and holds a 90% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
2
‘Final Destination’
Final Destination
- Release Date
-
March 17, 2000
- Runtime
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98 minutes
- Director
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James Wong
- Writers
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Jeffrey Reddick, James Wong, Glen Morgan
- Producers
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Craig Perry, Glen Morgan
-
-
-
-
Kristen Cloke
Valerie Lewton
A huge horror franchise was born with the release of Final Destination in 2000. The movie was directed by James Wong (The One), who wrote the screenplay with his The X-Files co-writer, Glen Morgan (Willard), and Jeffrey Reddick (Don’t Look Back). Devon Sawa (Casper) stars as Alex Browning, a teenager who disrupts death’s design when he foresees a plane crash and saves six of his fellow passengers who should have died that day. Unfortunately, death won’t let any of them off that easily.
25 Years And Going Strong
Final Destination also stars Ali Larter (Landman), Kerr Smith (Dawson’s Creek), and the legendary Tony Todd (Candyman). Over the past 25 years, this film has inspired five sequels, a series of novels, and a comic book. The most recent film installment, Final Destination: Bloodlines, has done particularly well with fans and critics. Tony Todd can be spotted in all the movies, appearing for the last time in Bloodlines before his death in 2024.
1
‘American Psycho’
American Psycho is a dark comedy horror movie based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis. Christian Bale stars as meticulous investment banker Patrick Bateman, who hides psychopathic urges behind a calm, cool, and professionally successful facade. The cast features Shadow of the Vampire‘s Willem Dafoe along with Matt Ross (The Aviator), Bill Sage (The Pale Door), Jared Leto (Morbius), Josh Lucas (Yellowstone), Samantha Mathis (Little Women), Chloë Sevigny (Zodiac), Justin Theroux (The Leftovers), and Reese Witherspoon (Big Little Lies).
Women in Film
Mary Harron (The Notorious Bettie Page) directed American Psycho and wrote the screenplay with Guinevere Turner (Saint Clare). It was rare for a woman to write or direct a horror movie during the 1990s and 2000s, so the fact that this one was written and directed by women is really something special. American Psycho won Best Movie from the 2001 International Horror Guild. It also won Best Wide-Release Film and Best Actor for Christian Bale at the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, with nominations for Best Screenplay, Best Score, and Best Supporting Actress Chloë Sevigny. The movie holds an 85% rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
