I’ve been watching horror movies since I was way too young to watch them. That was well before 2011, of course, but by 2011, I was in my horror movie watching prime.
I happen to think the 2010 to 2016 era was a golden age for modern horror. And 2011 is right in there.
So, I decided to focus on 2011 today. I dug into various movie review platforms and box office data sources to determine the best horror movies of 2011.
Plus, I added my personal top 2011 horror films list at the end. Enjoy.
(Want to see the best from every year? Check out my list of top horror films of all time.)
Highest-Rated 2011 Horror Movies
In 2011, my records show that around 70 horror movies were released to the public. (Disclaimer: I’m sure that’s ignoring some very low-budget ones with bad marketing.)
There were some gems and duds that year, for sure. I saw many of them. But to cover the complete list, I dove into data from Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Metacritic to reveal the very best.
Aggregate Ratings
Here, I’ve averaged the ratings from Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Metacritic to give you the definitive list of best 2011 horror films. Aggregate ratings are out of 100 possible points.
| Film | Aggregate Rating | Streaming Platforms | Director | Country |
| The Tunnel | 79 | YouTube | Carlo Ledesma | Australia |
| Juan of the Dead | 73.5 | YouTube | Alejandro Brugués | Spain, Cuba |
| Livid | 73 | YouTube | Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury | France |
| Absentia | 72.5 | Amazon Prime Video, Plex, Hoopla, Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango, Microsoft Store | Mike Flanagan | United States |
| You’re Next | 70.7 | YouTube | Adam Wingard | United States |
| Husk | 67.5 | Plex, Starz / Starz Channels, Philo (with Starz), Amazon Video and Apple TV | Brett Simmons | United States |
| The Innkeepers | 66.7 | YouTube | Ti West | United States |
| Fright Night | 66.7 | YouTube | Craig Gillespie | United States |
| The Woman | 63.7 | YouTube | Lucky McKee | United States |
| Marianne | 57.5 | YouTube | Filip Tegstedt | Sweden |
Best Horror Films of 2011, According to Rotten Tomatoes
Now let’s look at the highest-rated horror films of 2011 according to Rotten Tomatoes ratings:
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Streaming Platforms | Director | Country |
| The Tunnel | 100% | YouTube | Carlo Ledesma | Australia |
| Livid | 89% | YouTube | Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury | France |
| Absentia | 87% | Amazon Prime Video, Plex, Hoopla, Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango, Microsoft Store | Mike Flanagan | United States |
| Juan of the Dead | 83% | YouTube | Alejandro Brugués | Spain, Cuba |
| Husk | 83% | Plex, Starz / Starz Channels, Philo (with Starz), Amazon Video and Apple TV | Brett Simmons | United States |
| The Innkeepers | 81% | YouTube | Ti West | United States |
| You’re Next | 80% | YouTube | Adam Wingard | United States |
| The Woman | 73% | YouTube | Lucky McKee | United States |
| Fright Night | 72% | YouTube | Craig Gillespie | United States |
| Marianne | 68% | YouTube | Filip Tegstedt | Sweden |
Best Horror Films of 2011, According to IMDb
And what did IMDb think about horror movies in 2011?
| Film | IMDb | Streaming Platforms | Director | Country |
| You’re Next | 6.6 | YouTube | Adam Wingard | United States |
| Juan of the Dead | 6.4 | YouTube | Alejandro Brugués | Spain, Cuba |
| Fright Night | 6.4 | YouTube | Craig Gillespie | United States |
| The Woman | 6 | YouTube | Lucky McKee | United States |
| The Tunnel | 5.8 | YouTube | Carlo Ledesma | Australia |
| Absentia | 5.8 | Amazon Prime Video, Plex, Hoopla, Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango, Microsoft Store | Mike Flanagan | United States |
| Livid | 5.7 | YouTube | Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury | France |
| The Innkeepers | 5.5 | YouTube | Ti West | United States |
| Husk | 5.2 | Plex, Starz / Starz Channels, Philo (with Starz), Amazon Video and Apple TV | Brett Simmons | United States |
| Marianne | 4.7 | YouTube | Filip Tegstedt | Sweden |
Interestingly, the IMDb ratings community didn’t agree with the opinion of Rotten Tomatoes. The top three horror movies of 2011 are completely different on both lists.
Best Horror Films of 2011, According to Metacritic
And good old Metacritic tossed a few more films into the mix:
| Film | Metacritic | Streaming Platforms | Director | Country |
| You’re Next | 66 | YouTube | Adam Wingard | United States |
| The Innkeepers | 64 | YouTube | Ti West | United States |
| Fright Night | 64 | YouTube | Craig Gillespie | United States |
| Paranormal Activity 3 | 59 | YouTube | Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman | United States |
| The Woman | 58 | YouTube | Lucky McKee | United States |
| Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark | 56 | YouTube | Troy Nixey | United States |
| The Awakening | 53 | YouTube | Nick Murphy | United Kingdom |
| Final Destination 5 | 50 | YouTube | Steven Quale | United States |
| Red State | 50 | Tubi, Plex, Fandango at Home Free, Amazon Prime Video (Free with Ads), Amazon Video, Apple TV & Fandango At Home | Kevin Smith | United States |
| Grave Encounters | 33 | YouTube | The Vicious Brothers | Canada, United States |
Highest-Grossing Horror Movies of 2011
Maybe I’m a snob, but I generally don’t use box office numbers to determine which horror movies are worth watching. But that’s just me.
If you’re someone who pays attention to that kind of stuff, here are the highest-grossing horror movies of 2011.
Domestic (U.S.)
These are the top 2011 horror movies in terms of domestic (U.S.) box office revenue:
| Film | Domestic (US) Box Office | Streaming Platforms | Director | Country |
| Final Destination 5 | $42,587,643 | YouTube | Steven Quale | United States |
| Red Riding Hood | $37,662,162 | YouTube | Catherine Hardwicke | United States |
| Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark | $24,046,682 | YouTube | Troy Nixey | United States |
| Shark Night 3D | $18,877,153 | Amazon Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home and Microsoft Store | David R. Ellis | United States |
| The Thing | $16,928,670 | Amazon Video, Apple TV / iTunes, Fandango at Home (Vudu) & Tubi | Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. | United States |
| The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) | $141,877 | Shudder, AMC+, Philo, Amazon Prime and Apple TV / MS | Tom Six | United Kingdom |
| The Innkeepers | $78,396 | YouTube | Ti West | United States |
| 11-11-11 | $32,771 | YouTube | Darren Lynn Bousman | Spain, United States |
| Juan of the Dead | $18,000 | YouTube | Alejandro Brugués | Spain, Cuba |
| The Tunnel | $1,532 | YouTube | Carlo Ledesma | Australia |
International
And these are the top horror films of 2011 in terms of international box office revenue:
| Film | International Box Office | Streaming Platforms | Director | Country |
| Red Riding Hood | $97.8 million | YouTube | Catherine Hardwicke | United States |
| Grave Encounters | $5.4 million | YouTube | The Vicious Brothers | Canada, United States |
| Shark Night 3D | $41.4 million | Amazon Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home and Microsoft Store | David R. Ellis | United States |
| Fright Night | $41 million | YouTube | Craig Gillespie | United States |
| Drive Angry | $40.9 million | Tubi, Fandango at Home Free, Plex, Hoopla, Amazon Prime Video, Fandango at Home and Apple TV | Patrick Lussier | United States |
| Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark | $38.3 million | YouTube | Troy Nixey | United States |
| The Thing | $31.5 million | Amazon Video, Apple TV / iTunes, Fandango at Home (Vudu) & Tubi | Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. | United States |
| Red State | $2 million | Tubi, Plex, Fandango at Home Free, Amazon Prime Video (Free with Ads), Amazon Video, Apple TV & Fandango At Home | Kevin Smith | United States |
| Final Destination 5 | $157.9 million | YouTube | Steven Quale | United States |
| The Innkeepers | $1.2 million | YouTube | Ti West | United States |
Take from that what you will, but I do find it fascinating that the ratings and box office numbers often don’t match each other (in any year).
My Personal Favorite Horror Films from 2011
So far, we’ve been pretty scientific. So let’s change the pace a little.
Here are my five personal favorite horror movies I saw in 2011:
Paranormal Activity 3
This remains one of the scariest horror movies I’ve ever seen. I had to leave the theater for a minute just to catch my breath.
Paranormal Activity 3 is a found-footage horror film that goes back in time. It shows what happened years before the first two movies. A young family starts to notice strange things in their home. The movie uses home video cameras to build a sense of realism. Shadows move. Doors slam. Something unseen is getting closer.
Streaming Platforms: YouTube
You’re Next
You’re Next is a smart and bloody home invasion horror movie, and it took mumblegore films to new heights. A family reunion turns deadly when masked attackers show up to terrorize everyone. The film mixes suspense, dark humor, and brutal violence. It keeps you guessing who will survive and who won’t.
Streaming Platforms: YouTube
The Innkeepers
Another mumblegore great from Ti West, The Innkeepers is a slow-burn ghost story with a creepy, old-fashioned feel. It takes place in a quiet hotel that’s about to close down. Two employees decide to explore the building’s haunted past. The film starts light, with a bit of humor and charm. But strange things begin to happen. The tension builds slowly, focusing on mood and mystery.
Streaming Platforms: YouTube
Grave Encounters
Grave Encounters is a found-footage horror film with a chilling setup. A ghost-hunting TV crew locks themselves inside an abandoned mental hospital for the night. They expect to fake scares and film a show. But the building is not empty. And it doesn’t want them to leave. The movie uses night-vision, shaky cameras, and tight hallways to build tension. Strange noises turn into terrifying events. Reality starts to fall apart.
Streaming Platforms: YouTube
Absentia
I’m a big fan of Mike Flanagan’s (and I met him in a rural Alabama bowling alley once; long story), so this one had to make the list.
Absentia is a quiet, haunting horror film. It follows a woman who is finally ready to declare her missing husband dead. But when her sister comes to stay, strange things begin to happen. There’s an old tunnel near their home. People say it’s just part of the neighborhood—but it feels wrong. As the sisters try to move forward, the past starts creeping back.
Streaming Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, Plex, Hoopla, Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango, Microsoft Store
Methodology
To create these lists of best 2011 horror films, I built a database of all known horror films. I included ratings, directors, box office numbers, languages, countries of origin, and many other data points.
Then, I filtered that database for 2011. From there, I sliced and diced by review platform ratings, aggregate ratings, and box office numbers.
But my personal list of 2011 favorites had no methodology at all. Up to you which list you like better.
😱
Alex Lindley is a writer, editor, and perhaps the world’s biggest horror and sci-fi movie fan. He started DarkFilmTheories.com to fill the void left by the removal of IMDb forums—where some of the best discussion about film meanings, themes, and theories once happened.
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