As the end of 2025 approaches, we here at Gore In The Store feel that now may be a good time to take stock of the state of genre cinema in the 21st century. Over the past two and a half decades, genre cinema has expanded not only in popularity but also in stylistic ambition and storytelling. Where before, horror seemed to come in stages of popularity: serial killers and vampires being all the rage before slashers gave way to meta-slashers, with ghost stories and tales of the supernatural closing out the end of the 20th century.

The 21st century got off to a slow start as remakes of past glories dominated the landscape, giving the impression that the genre’s most inventive days were behind it. The chaos of the early 21st century, however, from 9/11 and the Iraq War, seemed to rekindle a creativity in the imagination of writers and directors, kickstarting a wave of confrontational horror. This era gave rise to what became known as “torture-porn,” a sub-genre that somehow became popular at the box office. Alongside this was the prevalence and availability of video cameras in our day-to-day lives, turning found footage into another viable delivery system for horror while zombies rose from the grave once again to swarm slowly not only across cinema screens but books, comics, games, and television screens as well.

While superheroes started to dominate cinema screens after this, the indie genre scene started to truly thrive, making inroads into the mainstream. It has been said that horror thrives in times of unrest, and the past few years can definitely attest to that. What is truly surprising, however, is how prevalent the genre has become. This year alone has seen a string of critically acclaimed horror movies find success at the box office, a fact that should be celebrated, especially as reports of cinema attendance reaching record lows are now appearing with worrying regularity. Horror movies now seem to be gradually increasing in scale, while at the same time, more personal stories from queer filmmakers and people of colour are finding bigger audiences than ever, taking horror cinema into new, unexplored, and exciting territory.

To celebrate a quarter century of truly extraordinary cinema, Gore In The Store asked 25 contributors, including writers for the site, industry professionals, and fans, to share their personal favourite genre film of the century so far. As you will see over the next few weeks, there is a wide selection that shows the leaps and bounds that horror has made in the first twenty-five years of this century alone. Where we go from here, well, who knows what horrors the future holds both onscreen and off? But in the meantime, let’s take a look back at the films that have thrilled us, disturbed us, and given us the most pleasure.