Let's discuss the horror films of the early 2000s

Darkness Falls scared the fuck out of me as a 12 year old. I watched it at a sleepover and then had to sleep in a tent outside. Very scary villain.

"Boogeyman" with Barry Watson and Emily Deschanel. It is godawful, but a real relic of 2000s horror. I remember finding the trailer really freaky as a 14-year-old.

I always think this was kind of a dire era for horror. I was not a fan of J-horror or the Hollywood versions and slashers went back into hibernation after the original Scream trilogy ended. Then a glut of found footage and 80s horror remakes.

One I still really like is The Skeleton Key with Kate Hudson and Gena Rowlands. I just watched it again last night and it's still as suspenseful and dark as I remember.

R3 "The Skeleton Key" is an excellent film IMO, and features one of Kate Hudson's best performances (which not saying much depending upon who you ask, but still). Gena Rowlands and John Hurt's presences gave the film a bit of prestige it wouldn't have otherwise had. The screenplay is very clever and creepy, and the Southern Gothic atmosphere is off-the-charts. That twist is incredible. It's a mostly forgotten horror film that deserves reassessment.

I have always been a fan of Jaume Balaguero's "Darkness" (2002) with Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, and Iain Glen. While it's got some structural problems, I find it tremendously creepy and the vibe of it is highly unsettling. There is some imagery in it that is truly horrifying. While the story is a bit nonsensical, there is a strong Lovecraftian influence to it all. I think it's a more interesting film than it's given credit for. It got released in the US in a butchered PG-13 cut by the Weinsteins on Christmas Day 2004.

While not technically horror, I thought From Hell was extremely scary when I first saw it. Jack The Rippers's voice and the way we never saw his face, the first extremely dark color palette. It was all very unsettling.

Now I just think it's kind of cheesy.

I don't remember much about From Hell except Heather Graham's terrible acting. She was Keanu in Dracula bad

"From Hell" definitely qualifies as horror. It's a flawed movie, but I think that, stylistically speaking, it's wonderful. It's a very strange movie. I love the look of it. Also, I didn't think Heather Graham was that bad in it.

I haven't seen it in years but I remember Joshua (2007) being extremely unsettling. It's a modern take on The Bad Seed that really got under my skin. Not flashy scary but oppressively suspenseful and bleak. The little kid who plays Joshua is excellent.

I remember my parents renting this in 2001: The Glass House with Leelee Sobieski. I remember when they were trying to make her happen. She played Joan of Arc in a tv movie. The popular aesthetic at the time was cool toned, glossy things, so a glass house was perfect. Another one I remember them renting was a thriller with Sharon Stone and Dennis Quaid, forgot the name. I recall there was some shiny new technology in the film, perhaps a mini dv recorder, something that only existed for a couple years like the palm pilot, quickly supplanted by digital. Even back then I realized that the 90s had been the peak of cinema and I was living through a downturn.

R9 the Sharon Stone/Dennis Quaid flick is Cold Creek Manor. It also had Kristen Stewart as their daughter. Stephen Dorff played the villain in it, and Juliette Lewis played his girlfriend. That film got eviscerated by critics but I think it was an okay thriller—certainly not groundbreaking, but passable entertainment. One of my earliest adolescent/young teen memories of jacking off to a semi-naked man was to that movie. I remember pausing the DVD when Dorff's shirtless character was on screen and being completely transfixed. He played a complete backwoods murdering piece of shit in it, but goddamn was he sexy. I came many a time to it.

[quote] Leelee Sobieski. I remember when they were trying to make her happen.

I remember this time period as well, and it's a most unpleasant memory. She ruined the movie Joyride for me. I was all into the two hot male leads until her character showed up, and then my dick began to wilt. I just didn't find it believable that someone as hot as Paul Walker would be into such an obvious butch lesbian and would risk his life for her over his sibling. It took me out of the whole film. I think her monotone voice made her ineffective as a actress. Like nails on a chalkboard. I was so glad when she faded away.

Never thought of her as a butch lesbian but it's true she had ZERO romantic chemistry with Paul Walker in Joyride, r11.

They had sibling energy. Totally sexless.

Paul Walker and Steve Zahn's gorgeous naked asses are the only thing I remember from "Joy Ride".

I'll remember early 2000s horror fondly because it was the time before Blumhouse took over the genre and ruined it.

"Ghost Ship" (2002) starring Desmond Harrington and cunt extraordinaire Julianna Margulies is a hell of a lot of fun. The opening scene with the steel cable cutting through an entire dance floor is fantastically done. It's a great horror movie.