We made a list ranking 5 forgotten ‘90s and 2000s horror movies that are actually great, and that redefine the genre with brains, blood, and bite.
The late ‘90s and early 2000s were a transitional time for horror; the genre became smarter, more self-reflexive, and culturally literate. Wes Craven’s Scream (1996) is a well-known example of that shift. Amidst this evolution, several titles were released to little fanfare or critical acclaim, but they’re smart, stylish, surprisingly subversive, and deserving of a spotlight. Here are 5 lesser-known ‘90s and 2000s horror movies that are actually great, ranked.
5. All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
Director: Jonathan Levine
Beneath its sun-drenched, blood-splattered surface, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is an aesthetically sleek slasher that challenges genre conventions. Amber Heard shines in a breakout role as Mandy Lane, a misunderstood beauty invited by a popular group of high schoolers to spend the weekend at a secluded ranch house where they are stalked by a masked killer. Set against the dusty, golden hues of rural Texas, Mandy Lane evokes the dreamlike quality of a Western, but veers quickly into a summer memory-tainted red.
What sets Mandy Lane apart is its commentary on desire, adolescence and objectification. Her male classmates idolise her, but unlike your typical horror beauty, she remains rather aloof, never indulging in their unabashed fetishization. It’s a slasher that dares to say something about the myth of the “perfect girl”, and the toxicity of male entitlement.
4. Urban Legend (1998)
Director: Jamie Blanks
There is a time-locked magic to Urban Legend, the kind of slick, stylised, pop-cultured pulse that could only exist in the late ‘90s. The film follows a series of murders on a university campus, all of which appear to be modelled after popular urban legends.
It’s fun, fast-paced, and littered with winks to horror history without ever feeling like a parody. It feels more like Scream’s little sister than a twin; it has similar DNA, sure, but with a slightly scrappier edge.
Urban Legend doesn’t shy away from campier elements either, including a performance from Rebecca Gayheart that veers from bubbly to bonkers in the best way. It’s a love letter to campfire stories, a playground for horror tropes, and a reminder that urban myths, much like slashers, endure for a reason.
3. Ginger Snaps (2000)
Director: John Fawcett
Before Jennifer’s Body (2009) made waves as a cult classic, Ginger Snaps laid the groundwork. It’s a coming-of-age tale that uses lycanthropy as a razor-sharp metaphor for puberty, sisterhood, and the monstrous transformation of girlhood.
The film centres around two death-obsessed teenage sisters, Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and Ginger Fitzgerald (Katharine Isabelle), whose bond is pushed to the brink when one of them is bitten by a werewolf.
Ginger Snaps explores the horror of bodily autonomy slipping away, the fear of being sexualised, and the violence society projects on young women. But at its core, it’s a story of growing apart, of identity splitting and reshaping under the pressure of adulthood. It’s gory, yes, but it’s also wickedly smart, darkly funny, and emotionally rich in ways most horror films at the time wouldn’t dare to be.
2. House of Wax (2005)
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Paris Hilton in a horror movie sounds like a punchline—and it sort of was, back then—but it turns out, it’s kind of brilliant. House of Wax follows a group of friends who are unwittingly stranded near a strange wax museum and soon must fight to survive and keep from becoming part of the exhibit.
The film’s emotional core rests on estranged twins Carly (Elisha Cuthbert) and Nick (Chad Michael Murray). Carly is smart, steady, and constantly covering for Nick, who’s been branded the family screw-up. As the group is picked off one by one, their effort to reconnect becomes key to their survival.
House of Wax uses its setting to its advantage. The titular town, eerie, deserted, and literally melting, blends brutal horror and clever set pieces with artful production. The wax museum isn’t just a creepy backdrop; it’s a character of its own, filled with uncanny figures, especially during the jaw-dropping finale where the museum begins to collapse on itself.
1. The Faculty (1998)
Director: Robert Rodriguez
The Faculty leans into a classic alien invasion narrative; high schoolers begin to suspect their teachers have been possessed by aliens, intent on making the students their victims. But what elevates the film is its sharp, well-crafted character work.
On paper, the main ensemble reads like a breakfast club of clichés: the jock, the goth, the burnout, the nerd, the cheerleader, and the new girl. Instead, The Faculty gives every teen a pulse; they’re messy, contradictory, and constantly evolving. Josh Hartnett’s Zeke is a perfect example: a slacker dealing drugs out of his car who turns out to be the group’s unlikely leader, hiding intelligence and heart beneath his grungy exterior.
The exposition never feels heavy, often unfolding through circumstance. The scene where the characters have to get high off Zeke’s supply to determine if any of them are aliens is genius. Each character is given agency, dismantling archetypes and revealing so much about themselves in just one, tight scene.
Though often overlooked, these 5 films capture the intelligent, culturally engaged tremor that made the late ‘90s and early 2000s horror so compelling. Bold, visceral, and brimming with bite, they’re long overdue for recognition.
