Rightly or wrongly I look back at the last decade of horror films as one that gave us nothing new. We retread old ground, often with poor remakes or as they became known during the period – the re-imagining. Instead of western audiences enjoying new and interesting tales from the East – a craze that started in the late 1990s with the likes of Hideo Nakata’s 1998 chiller “Ring” or Takashi Miike’s 1999 film “Audition” – we had American producers nicking the stories and replaying them for English-speaking audiences with pretty Californian teenagers.

Hollywood decided to remake not only the best horror films it could find in the east but also its own classics. Added gore, 3D, silly titles, worthless sequels, and vacuous characters were the order of the day. So, to discover the best in horror cinema during the 2000s, audiences had to look elsewhere – to Europe, South America, and Australia. There were some gems to be found in the States, but many of the most unique and frightening horror experiences were to be found elsewhere.

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.

Curtis Hanson has remained the quiet genius amongst Hollywood directors, releasing films infrequently over a career spanning nearly 40 years. In the late 1980s he’s remembered for the Hitchcockian “The Bedroom Window” and pot boiling thriller “Bad Influence” by those lucky enough to see them. More people caught “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle” and “The River Wild in the early 1990s. But he finally received the recognition his directing prowess deserved when he released the massive critical hit “L.A. Confidential”. This was followed three years later with “Wonder Boys” which, for me, is his greatest achievement. Michael Douglas has rarely been better in the role of disgruntled writer Grady Tripp who has to deal with the various social problems of his friends and associates while trying to come to terms with his own neurosis. The film features a great script by Steve Kloves who brings Michael Chabon’s characters to vivid life. Robert Downey Jr.’s small but perfect performance is worth the price of admission alone.

2001 produced a fair few horror films – largely due to the craze in imports and remakes of films from the east. But 2001 also saw the start of one of the finest fantasy trilogies ever made – Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings.

Joe Wright’s “Atonement”
“Dearest Cecilia, the story can resume. The one I had been planning on that evening walk. I can become again the man who once crossed the surrey park at dusk, in my best suit, swaggering on the promise of life. The man who, with the clarity of passion, made love to you in the library. The story can resume. I will return. Find you, love you, marry you and live without shame.”
“Atonement” is widely regarded as one of the finest films of the past ten years. Andrew …

Director Steven Spielberg takes an intricate and realistic view of the American experience of infamous Omaha beach. It was here that the allied army lost so many men due to badly executed and organised pre-battle planning.

Edgar Wright, co-creator of TV’s “Spaced” and director of “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”, compiled his top 10 films for Empire magazine’s poll of the greatest 500 movies.

Film Director and writer Edgar Wright’s Top 10 Films:
1. Raising Arizona
2. An American Werewolf In London
3. Carrie
4. Raidars Of The Lost Ark
5. Boogie Nights
6. Dirty Harry
7. Evil Dead 2
8. Taxi Driver
9. Don’t Look Now
10. Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls