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The 20 Most Hyped Horror Movies from 2000 to 2017, Ranked by Real Data

We combined data from 8 platforms into one score. These are the horror movies from 2000 to 2017 people are still obsessing over. Top 5: Get Out (2017), The Conjuring (2013), Black Swan (2010), 28 Days Later (2002), It (2017).

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The 20 Most Hyped Horror Movies from 2000 to 2017, Ranked by Real Data

Not by one critic. Not by one platform's algorithm. We pulled data from 8 platforms simultaneously and ran it through a weighted scoring system that accounts for outliers and cross-platform consistency.

The window is 2000 to 2017, covering everything from The Ring and 28 Days Later through to Get Out and It. These are the horror movies from that era people are still watching, talking about, and obsessing over right now. The top five are Get Out (2017), The Conjuring (2013), Black Swan (2010), 28 Days Later (2002), It (2017).

How the Score Works

Each movie gets a score from 0 to 100. The score is built from 8 individual platform scores, each normalized to a percentile so engagement numbers across different platforms can be compared fairly.

The weights favor buzz and platform interest over pure critical scores, because a film can score low with critics and still be the most talked about horror release of the year. Audience engagement carries the most weight. Critic scores carry the least, but they still matter.

Movies that score consistently across all 8 sources get a consistency bonus. Movies where one platform is going wild while the others are quiet get an outlier penalty. Of the top 20 here, 20 have high confidence ratings, meaning they have strong data from at least 7 of the 8 sources.

The average trending score across this top 20 is 94.5 out of 100.

1. Get Out (2017)

Trending Score: 100.0 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

Get Out lands at #1 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (94.3), YouTube (97.2), Letterboxd (99.2).

Buzz Score: 96.4 | Quality Score: 85.6 | Platform Interest: 96.4

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2. The Conjuring (2013)

Trending Score: 100.0 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

The Conjuring lands at #2 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (88.3), YouTube (93.9), Letterboxd (95.3).

Buzz Score: 93.0 | Quality Score: 75.4 | Platform Interest: 96.1

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3. Black Swan (2010)

Trending Score: 100.0 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

Black Swan lands at #3 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (93.5), YouTube (98.3), Letterboxd (97.6).

Buzz Score: 96.1 | Quality Score: 81.8 | Platform Interest: 82.3

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4. 28 Days Later (2002)

Trending Score: 100.0 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

28 Days Later lands at #4 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (92.4), YouTube (86.1), Letterboxd (90.6).

Buzz Score: 92.6 | Quality Score: 77.3 | Platform Interest: 91.0

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5. It (2017)

Trending Score: 100.0 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

It lands at #5 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (99.4), YouTube (98.9), Letterboxd (96.9).

Buzz Score: 99.2 | Quality Score: 74.0 | Platform Interest: 97.8

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6. The Witch (2015)

Trending Score: 100.0 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

The Witch lands at #6 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (99.6), YouTube (97.6), Letterboxd (92.9).

Buzz Score: 98.3 | Quality Score: 80.0 | Platform Interest: 83.7

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7. The Others (2001)

Trending Score: 99.1 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

The Others lands at #7 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (97.1), YouTube (84.0), Letterboxd (78.0).

Buzz Score: 93.2 | Quality Score: 77.5 | Platform Interest: 85.0

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8. It Follows (2014)

Trending Score: 99.0 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

It Follows lands at #8 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (97.5), YouTube (93.1), Letterboxd (83.5).

Buzz Score: 96.1 | Quality Score: 78.5 | Platform Interest: 76.7

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9. Sinister (2012)

Trending Score: 96.3 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

Sinister lands at #9 with extremely high buzz and well received across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (97.8), YouTube (92.4), Letterboxd (81.1).

Buzz Score: 96.0 | Quality Score: 63.3 | Platform Interest: 88.8

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10. The Conjuring 2 (2016)

Trending Score: 95.4 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

The Conjuring 2 lands at #10 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (68.9), YouTube (98.5), Letterboxd (87.4).

Buzz Score: 86.4 | Quality Score: 71.8 | Platform Interest: 90.7

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11. Insidious (2010)

Trending Score: 94.6 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

Insidious lands at #11 with extremely high buzz and well received across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (87.8), YouTube (92.6), Letterboxd (83.5).

Buzz Score: 91.3 | Quality Score: 62.7 | Platform Interest: 91.1

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12. Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Trending Score: 94.5 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

Annabelle: Creation lands at #12 with extremely high buzz and well received across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (88.8), YouTube (97.8), Letterboxd (71.7).

Buzz Score: 93.2 | Quality Score: 64.8 | Platform Interest: 83.7

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13. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Trending Score: 93.8 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

Shaun of the Dead lands at #13 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (95.1), YouTube (81.2), Letterboxd (92.1).

Buzz Score: 91.6 | Quality Score: 81.0 | Platform Interest: 67.3

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14. Saw (2004)

Trending Score: 93.4 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

Saw lands at #14 with extremely high buzz and well received across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (93.4), YouTube (85.7), Letterboxd (90.6).

Buzz Score: 92.3 | Quality Score: 61.6 | Platform Interest: 89.0

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15. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)

Trending Score: 91.2 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

The Autopsy of Jane Doe lands at #15 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (96.5), YouTube (75.5), Letterboxd (70.9).

Buzz Score: 89.3 | Quality Score: 71.0 | Platform Interest: 72.6

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16. Lights Out (2016)

Trending Score: 90.9 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

Lights Out lands at #16 with extremely high buzz and well received across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (84.8), YouTube (98.1), Letterboxd (70.1).

Buzz Score: 90.4 | Quality Score: 62.7 | Platform Interest: 78.5

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17. 28 Weeks Later (2007)

Trending Score: 90.2 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

28 Weeks Later lands at #17 with extremely high buzz and well received across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (97.0), YouTube (63.6), Letterboxd (74.8).

Buzz Score: 87.5 | Quality Score: 69.8 | Platform Interest: 69.6

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18. The Babadook (2014)

Trending Score: 86.7 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

The Babadook lands at #18 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (74.0), YouTube (95.9), Letterboxd (83.5).

Buzz Score: 85.2 | Quality Score: 79.6 | Platform Interest: 54.0

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19. Scream 3 (2000)

Trending Score: 83.9 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

Scream 3 lands at #19 with extremely high buzz and well received across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (89.4), YouTube (62.3), Letterboxd (78.7).

Buzz Score: 83.8 | Quality Score: 54.0 | Platform Interest: 76.1

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20. American Psycho (2000)

Trending Score: 80.2 / 100 — HIGH confidence, 8/8 sources

American Psycho lands at #20 with extremely high buzz and critically acclaimed across platforms. Strongest signals from Reddit (93.2), YouTube (82.5), Letterboxd (98.4).

Buzz Score: 91.3 | Quality Score: 71.3 | Platform Interest: 41.3

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What the Data Actually Shows

The most interesting thing about running this analysis on the 2000 to 2017 window is how clearly it splits into two distinct waves.

The first half of the 2000s was dominated by franchise horror and found footage. Films like Saw, Paranormal Activity, and The Ring built massive audiences through pure fear and word of mouth, long before social media existed as a distribution mechanism. Their current scores are almost certainly understating how culturally dominant they were at the time.

The second half shifted toward what critics started calling elevated horror. Films like The Witch, The Babadook, and It Follows scored high on critic metrics but also built serious long-term rewatch communities on Letterboxd and Reddit. They are the films that turned horror into a genre serious film fans would defend.

The films that score high on both buzz and quality in this window are the ones that crossed from genre into genuine cultural conversation. They are still being recommended, still being written about, still being argued over.

How to Use This List

If you want something that is genuinely terrifying and widely loved, look for films with high quality scores and high confidence ratings.

If you want something that defined an era of horror, look at the films from 2000 to 2009 with high buzz scores. They built their reputations before algorithms existed.

If you want to find something that is flying under the radar but scoring well with serious film fans, look for films with high Letterboxd and IMDB scores but lower Reddit and YouTube numbers.

Every film on this list has a full page on NotScare with jump scare counts, trigger warnings, content warnings, and streaming availability. If you have specific sensitivities or you are watching with someone who does, check the page before you sit down.

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Featured Movies

It

In a small town in Maine, seven children known as The Losers Club come face to face with life problems, bullies and a monster that takes the shape of a clown called Pennywise.

Insidious

Insidious

A family discovers that dark spirits have invaded their home after their son inexplicably falls into an endless sleep. When they reach out to a professional for help, they learn things are a lot more personal than they thought.

Scream 3

Scream 3

As bodies begin dropping around the Hollywood set of STAB 3, the third film based on the gruesome Woodsboro killings, Sidney and other survivors are once again terrorized by another Ghostface killer.

Annabelle: Creation

Annabelle: Creation

Several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a doll maker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the doll maker's possessed creation—Annabelle.

The Conjuring 2

The Conjuring 2

london, england

Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits.

Lights Out

Lights Out

Rebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother's experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with a supernatural spirit attached to their mother.

Sinister

Sinister

True-crime writer Ellison Oswalt is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims' home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.

28 Weeks Later

28 Weeks Later

Twenty-eight weeks after the spread of a deadly rage virus, the inhabitants of the British Isles have lost their battle against the onslaught, as the virus has killed everyone there. Six months later, a group of Americans dare to set foot on the Isles, convinced the danger has passed. But it soon becomes all too clear that the scourge continues to live, waiting to pounce on its next victims.

The Conjuring

The Conjuring

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most terrifying case of their lives.

Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead

Shaun lives a supremely uneventful life, which revolves around his girlfriend, his mother, and, above all, his local pub. This gentle routine is threatened when the dead return to life and make strenuous attempts to snack on ordinary Londoners.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe

The Autopsy of Jane Doe

Father and son coroners receive a mysterious unidentified corpse with no apparent cause of death. As they attempt to examine the "Jane Doe," they discover increasingly bizarre clues that hold the key to her terrifying secrets.

The Babadook

The Babadook

A grieving single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book manifests in their home.

Get Out

Get Out

Chris and his girlfriend Rose go upstate to visit her parents for the weekend. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.

Black Swan

Black Swan

A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake".

28 Days Later

28 Days Later

Twenty-eight days after a killer virus was accidentally unleashed from a British research facility, a small group of London survivors are caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected. Carried by animals and humans, the virus turns those it infects into homicidal maniacs -- and it's absolutely impossible to contain.

Saw

Saw

Two men wake up to find themselves shackled in a grimy, abandoned bathroom. As they struggle to comprehend their predicament, they discover a disturbing tape left behind by the sadistic mastermind known as Jigsaw. With a chilling voice and cryptic instructions, Jigsaw informs them that they must partake in a gruesome game in order to secure their freedom.

It Follows

It Follows

A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.

The Witch

The Witch

In 1630, a farmer relocates his family to a remote plot of land on the edge of a forest where strange, unsettling things happen. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, each family member's faith, loyalty and love are tested in shocking ways.

The Others

The Others

Grace is a religious woman who lives in an old house kept dark because her two children, Anne and Nicholas, have a rare sensitivity to light. When the family begins to suspect the house is haunted, Grace fights to protect her children at any cost in the face of strange events and disturbing visions.

American Psycho

American Psycho

A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.

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