You could look back at the stalk and slash sub-genre of horror cinema (predominately known as ‘slasher’ film, or ‘teen slasher’) and cite the book written about serial-psychotic Ed Gein as the root of the genre. Alfred Hitchcock bought the rights to the book and made the pivotal film Psycho in 1960. Along with Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom (1960), Psycho was the major influencing factor that allowed Tobe Hooper and then later John Carpenter to define the sub-genre with their films: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Halloween (1978).

The 2000s are no more. Our top 50 of the decade has been finalised – let the retrospective investigation of the period begin. What did cinema in the 2000s leave us? What were the trends? How did cinema progress? What directors established themselves? What directors committed career suicide? What are your lasting memories of cinema in the 2000s?

Welcome to Top10Films’ Awards for the 2000s. Contenders fight for Best Performance, Best Character, Best Director, Most Memorable Scene, Funniest Moment, and Scariest Moment as well as Best First Ten Minutes and Best Ending.

I vaguely remember my introduction to the horror film. My cousin was visiting, the curtains had been drawn on a sunny afternoon, and John Landis’ An American Werewolf In London had been placed in the VCR. I was seven years old. As I lay in bed for days after all I could see were those green hills shrouded in the black cloak of night, and the warning: ‘Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors,’ delivered in that Yorkshire twang. Brian Glover’s short, controlled outburst – probably his unusual form of goodbye – ‘Beware the moon, lads.’