Last updated March 2024
Looking for some Best Horror Movies 2003 ? Check out our handpicked collection of 30 must-see Best Horror Movies 2003 you can dive into immediately. Highly acclaimed by both IMDB and our discerning community of users, these Best Horror Movies 2003 earn top marks across the board. Help others separate the wheat from the chaff by voting on the Best Horror Movies 2003 you enjoy most. Your contributions make a real difference!
A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
Plot Summary:
A recently released patient from a mental institution returns home with her sister, only to face disturbing events between her stepmother and the ghosts haunting their house- all of which are connected to a dark past in the family's history
Duration: 114 min
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
IMDB Votes: 67000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Plot tags: mental illness, suicide, ghost, nightmare, losing-it hero, death, tragedy, haunted house, twists and turns, children, guilt, sisters, sister, plot twist, amnesia, delusion, macabre, family relations, stepmother, insanity, danger, mysticism, gory, drug addiction, imaginary friend
Gozu (2003)
Plot Summary:
Minami mistakenly kills a gangster associate of his named Brother. Almost as soon as the murder takes place, the body of the deceased man is gone, prompting Minami to conduct a search. While looking, he finds a mysterious isolated hotel where he decides to take a rest. Not only are the front desk clerks a bit strange, but even the ambiance feels unusual. Minami soon realizes he may have gotten more than he bargained for
Duration: 130 min
IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Plot tags: yakuza, gangster, surrealism, obsession, murder, nightmare, extreme, hitman, mission of murder, mental illness, danger, psychology, macabre, body horror, violent, exploitation, mafia, trippy, dark humor, death, male nudity, japanese mafia, paranoia, twists and turns, ghetto
High Tension (2003)
Plot Summary:
Alexia travels with her friend Marie to spend a couple of days with her family in their farm in the country. They arrive late and they are welcomed by Alexia's father. Late in the night, a sadistic and sick killer breaks into the farmhouse, slaughters Alexia's family--including their dog--and kidnaps Alexia. Marie hides from the criminal and tries to help the hysterical and frightened Alexia, chase the maniac, and disclose his identity in the end
Duration: 91 min
IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
IMDB Votes: 77000
Genere: Horror
Country: France
Plot tags: serial killer, gory, survival, macabre, home invasion, psycho killer, kidnapping, gore, insanity, killing spree, disturbed individual, torture, murder, brutality, psychopath, farmhouse, plot twist, split personality, sadistic horror, massacre, graphic violence, evil man, terror, crazy, blood
Dead End (2003)
Plot Summary:
Christmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life
Duration: 85 min
IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Adventure, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Plot tags: time loop, forest, ghost, supernatural horror, danger, wrong place wrong time, fear, supernatural, road trip, gory, survival, family relations, time travel, holiday horror, family problems, christmas, cabin in the woods, apocalypse, time, gore, plot twist, terror, redneck, lost in the woods, characters killed one by one
Ju-On: The Grudge 2 (2003)
Plot Summary:
While driving, the pregnant horror-movie actress Kyôko Harase and her fiancé are in a car crash caused by the Toshio's friend. Kyôko loses her baby and her fiancé winds up in a coma. Kyôko was cursed together with a television crew when they shot a show in the haunted house where Kayako was brutally murdered by her husband years ago
Duration: 92 min
IMDB Rating: 6.3/10
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Plot tags: vengeful ghost, haunted house, ghost, afterlife, ghost story, revenge, curse, supernatural, danger, abandoned house, curses spells and rituals, suburbs, traffic accident, pregnancy, haunted, graphic violence, post apocalypse, children, wedding, macabre, religion, myth, demonic possession, female villain, gore
One Missed Call (2003)
Plot Summary:
People mysteriously start receiving voicemail messages from their future selves, in the form of the sound of them reacting to their own violent deaths, along with the exact date and time of their future death, listed on the message log. The plot thickens as the surviving characters persue the answers to this mystery which could save their live
Duration: 112 min
IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: Japan
Plot tags: macabre, telephone call, hospital, urban legend, death, supernatural, child abuse, spirit, good versus evil, mysterious death, vengeance, haunted by the past, missing child, supernatural ability, curses spells and rituals, torture, murder, destiny, police detective, illness, technology, gore, ghost, elevator, photograph
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Plot Summary:
After picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a deformed chainsaw-wielding killer and his family of equally psychopathic killers
Duration: 98 min
IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
IMDB Votes: 151000
Genere: Horror
Country: USA
Plot tags: serial killer, massacre, psychopath, macabre, torture, chainsaw, murder, gory, insanity, masked killer, violence, human monster, backwoods, sadistic horror, gore, cannibal, maniac, monster, cannibalism, slaughterhouse, brutality, hitchhiker, blood, group of friends, disfigurement
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Plot Summary:
When Kimberly has a violent premonition of a highway pileup she blocks the freeway, keeping a few others meant to die, safe...Or are they? The survivors mysteriously start dying and it's up to Kimberly to stop it before she's next
Duration: 90 min
IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
IMDB Votes: 179000
Genere: Horror, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Plot tags: survival, destiny, danger, supernatural horror, a vision, supernatural, death, creativity, cheating death, gory, road trip, gore, violence, premonition, macabre, haunted by the past, brutality, blood, escapades, torture, fantasy world, chase, vengeance, life & death, coincidence
Wrong Turn (2003)
Plot Summary:
Chris crashes into a carload of other young people, and the group of stranded motorists is soon lost in the woods of West Virginia, where they're hunted by three cannibalistic mountain men who are grossly disfigured by generations of inbreeding
Duration: 84 min
IMDB Rating: 6.1/10
IMDB Votes: 129000
Genere: Horror, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Plot tags: cannibalism, gory, survival, forest, massacre, danger, youth, manhunt, chase, disfigurement, cannibal, survival horror, trap, bodies, cabin in the woods, strong violent content, friends, monster, friendship, torture, violence spree, brutality, serial killer, gore, death
Willard (2003)
Plot Summary:
Desperate for companionship, the repressed Willard befriends a group of rats that inhabit his late father's deteriorating mansion. In these furry creatures, Willard finds temporary refuge from daily abuse at the hands of his bedridden mother and his father's old partner, Frank. Soon it becomes clear that the brood of rodents is ready and willing to exact a vicious, deadly revenge on anyone who dares to bully their sensitive new master
Duration: 100 min
IMDB Rating: 6.1/10
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Plot tags: rat, dangerous animal, vengeance, workplace, loner, psychopath, misfit, greed, brutality, obsession, loneliness, boss and employee, blood, humiliation, employer employee relationship, danger, social misfits, mentally unstable, rivalry, power relations, creature feature, revenge, adaptation, killer animal, tiny
House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Plot Summary:
Two teenage couples traveling across the backwoods of Texas searching for urban legends of serial killers end up as prisoners of a bizarre and sadistic backwater family of serial killers
Duration: 89 min
IMDB Rating: 6.0/10
IMDB Votes: 92000
Genere: Horror
Country: USA
Plot tags: halloween, psychopath, macabre, gory, urban legend, violent, supernatural, killer clown, brutality, gore, murder, torture, satanic ritual, dark humor, hitchhiker, serial killer, insanity, evil wins, female psychopath, youth, teenage life, monster, crazy, exploitation, violence
Open Water (2003)
Plot Summary:
Two divers are left out at sea without a boat. There’s nothing but water for miles, unless they look at what’s underneath them
Duration: 79 min
IMDB Rating: 5.8/10
IMDB Votes: 56000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: survival, shark, stranded, isolation, shark attack, diving, ocean, panic, lost at sea, animal attack, water, fish, shipwreck, ship, disaster, vacation, loneliness, sea monster, underwater, fear, abandonment, sea, nature, dangerous animal, danger
Gothika (2003)
Plot Summary:
After a car crash, a criminal psychologist (Halle Berry) comes to, only to find that she's a patient in the same mental institution that currently employs her. It seems she's been accused of murdering her husband -- but she has no memory of committing the crime. As she tries to regain her memory and convince her co-workers of her innocence, a vengeful spirit uses her as an earthly pawn, which further convinces everyone of her guilt
Duration: 98 min
IMDB Rating: 5.8/10
IMDB Votes: 118000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, France, Canada, Spain
Plot tags: mental illness, mental institution, serial killer, supernatural, investigation, murder, psychiatrist, insanity, twists and turns, mind game, hospital, haunted house, wrongfully committed, rape, protagonist as suspect, violence against women, supernatural ability, supernatural horror, danger, mentally unstable, ghost, maniac, false accusation, homicidal maniac, female protagonist
Beyond Re-Animator (2003)
Plot Summary:
Once again tampering with mother nature to disastrous results, Dr. Herbert West continues his research while serving time in a maximum security prison for his previous exploits. West's limited prison-cell experiments are suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a new prison doctor and the brother of the girl who suffered from West's experiments 13 years earlier
Duration: 96 min
IMDB Rating: 5.8/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: Spain
Plot tags: mad scientist, zombie, prison, undead, afterlife, insanity, gore, survival, laboratory, monster, gory, experiment, convict, doctor, danger, body horror, rivalry, childhood trauma, sexy nurse, supernatural ability, exploitation, cosmic horror, supernatural, psychopath, zombie apocalypse
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
Plot Summary:
Evil dream-demon Freddy Krueger devises a plan to manipulate the unstoppable Jason Vorhees into hacking up the teenagers of Elm Street in an effort to make people remember the name Freddy Krueger, thus freeing him from limbo
Duration: 97 min
IMDB Rating: 5.7/10
IMDB Votes: 126000
Genere: Action, Horror
Country: Canada, USA
Plot tags: serial killer, monster, blood, gory, two killers, teenager, gore, murder, violence, brutality, danger, demon, friday the 13th, nightmare on elm street, serial teen killer, small town, homicidal maniac, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, supernatural, death, crossover, disturbed individual, monster versus monster, halloween, violent
Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)
Plot Summary:
After 23 horrifying days of gorging on human flesh, an ancient creature known as the Creeper embarks on a final voracious feeding frenzy, terrorizing a group of varsity basketball players, cheerleaders and coaches stranded on a remote highway when their bus breaks down. The terrified group is forced to come together and do battle against the winged creature hell-bent on completing its grizzly ritual
Duration: 106 min
IMDB Rating: 5.7/10
IMDB Votes: 70000
Genere: Horror
Country: USA
Plot tags: serial killer, scarecrow, supernatural, beast, demon, monster, farm, cheerleader, deadly creature, creature, violence, gore, cornfield, blood, sport team, teenager, father son relationship, rural setting, cannibalism, supernatural ability, creature feature, chase, clairvoyant, basketball team, gory
Dreamcatcher (2003)
Plot Summary:
Four boyhood pals perform a heroic act and are changed by the powers they gain in return. Years later, on a hunting trip in the Maine woods, they're overtaken by a vicious blizzard that harbors an ominous presence. Challenged to stop an alien force, the friends must first prevent the slaughter of innocent civilians by a military vigilante ... and then overcome a threat to the bond that unites the four of them
Duration: 136 min
IMDB Rating: 5.5/10
IMDB Votes: 96000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Plot tags: alien invasion, stephen king, alien, first contact, supernatural, virus, supernatural ability, alien encounter, mind control, apocalypse, danger, transformation, cabin in the woods, monster, evil alien, snow, friends, winter, ufo, life philosophy, body horror, woods, good versus evil, infection, blizzard
Undead (2003)
Plot Summary:
A quaint Australian fishing village is overcome by meteorites that turn its residents into the ravenous undead, leaving a small group of those unharmed to find a way out
Duration: 104 min
IMDB Rating: 5.4/10
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: Australia
Plot tags: apocalypse, zombie, zombie apocalypse, survival, small town, dark humor, virus, zombie attack, gore, alien, alien invasion, undead, save the world, isolation, danger, monster, macabre, infected, epidemic, invasion, living dead, disease, eaten alive, farmhouse, gory
The Haunted Mansion (2003)
Plot Summary:
Workaholic Jim Evers and his wife/business partner, Sara get a call one night from mansion owner, Edward Gracey wants to sell his house. Once the Evers family arrive at the mansion a butler takes them to dine with Gracey. Gracey takes one look at Sara and he thinks she's his lost lover
Duration: 99 min
IMDB Rating: 5.2/10
IMDB Votes: 56000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Plot tags: haunted house, ghost, magic, secret passageway, family relations, supernatural, danger, haunted, escapades, curses spells and rituals, children, reincarnation, afterlife, undead, secret, halloween, family vacation, black, interracial romance, teenage girl, teenager, batman, kingdom, black cast, profanity
The Order (2003)
Plot Summary:
For centuries, a secret Order of priests has existed within the Church. A renegade priest, Father Alex Bernier, is sent to Rome to investigate the mysterious death of one of the Order's most revered members. Following a series of strangely similar killings, Bernier launches an investigation that forces him to confront unimaginable evil
Duration: 102 min
IMDB Rating: 5.1/10
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Plot tags: vatican, murder, religions or cults, supernatural, catholic church, religion, uncover truth, twists and turns, supernatural ability, curses spells and rituals, mysticism, sin, conspiracy theory, church, secret organization, religious, danger, mind game, dishonesty, devil, catholicism, priest, mentor protege relationship, exorcism, alternate reality
Darkness Falls (2003)
Plot Summary:
A vengeful spirit has taken the form of the Tooth Fairy to exact vengeance on the town that lynched her 150 years earlier. Her only opposition is the only child, now grown up, who has survived her before
Duration: 86 min
IMDB Rating: 5.0/10
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Australia
Plot tags: supernatural, lighthouse, child in peril, ghost, supernatural horror, small town, legends and myths, danger, haunted by the past, darkness, boy, monster, spirit, vengeance, brother sister relationship, childhood trauma, good versus evil, demon, schizophrenia, salvation, scared, wizard, help, sunset, death
House of the Dead (2003)
Plot Summary:
Set on an island off the coast, a techno rave party attracts a diverse group of college coeds and a Coast Guard officer. Soon, they discover that their X-laced escapades are to be interrupted by zombies and monsters that attack them on the ground, from the air, and in the sea, ruled by an evil entity in the House of the Dead... Prequel to the House of the Dead video games
Duration: 90 min
IMDB Rating: 2.1/10
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Horror
Country: Germany, Canada, USA
Plot tags: zombie, island, brutality, mad scientist, danger, party, gory, teenage life, chaos, video game, undead, monster, murder, mercilessness, gore, supernatural, zombie attack, zombie apocalypse, living dead, female fighter, infected, ship, violence, death, blood