Some horror films resonate particularly for milennials because of how they impacted their lives. Coined by Will Strauss and Neil Howe, the term millennial refers to those who would come into their adulthood at the turn of the millennium. While people still debate the lower end of the range, anyone born between 1981 and 1996 is considered a millennial. There were mixtapes, Nokia phones were the height of tech innovation, and Blockbuster stores were the best spots to meet cinephiles when they were growing up. Some great movies about millennials resonate with the entire generation and are considered cinematic classics.
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Some of these movies that capture the quintessential millennial experience came out in the mid-to-late 2000s and early 2010s, also the time of TV shows that millennials find relatable. However, the movies that define the millennials and their generation aren’t always the most relatable millennial movies, since they came out well into millennials’ adulthood. One of the quintessential millennial cinematic experiences is catching a late-night screening of some ’80s or ’90s horror movie at too young an age. In fact, some iconic horror movies defined millennials’ childhoods growing up.
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10
Freddy Krueger Murders Tina
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
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A Nightmare on Elm Street
R
Horror
8/10
20
9.2/10
Release Date
November 9, 1984
A Nightmare on Elm Street, released in 1984, explores the terror faced by a group of teenagers haunted in their dreams by Fred Krueger, a vengeful spirit. As they confront a series of mysterious deaths, Nancy Thompson uncovers the truth about Krueger’s dark past and seeks to stop him.
Cast
Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, Charles Fleischer, Joseph Whipp, Lin Shaye, Joe Unger, Mimi Craven, Jack Shea, Ed Call, Sandy Lipton, David Andrews, Jeff Levine, Donna Woodrum, Shashawnee Hall, Carol Pritikin, Brian Reise, Ash Adams, Don Hannah, Leslie Hoffman, Paul Grenier
Runtime
91 minutes
Director
Wes Craven
Writers
Wes Craven
Producers
John Burrows, Joseph Wolf, Robert Shaye, Sara Risher
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Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street introduced the world to one of the most iconic horror movie villains, who continues to be the inspiration for Halloween costumes all over the world. Played by Robert Englund, Freddy is known for his red and black jumper, a top hat, and his hands, which have needles for fingers. Since the movie came out in theaters in ’84 and on VHS in ’85, it was a VHS classic during the ’80s and the ’90s. As a result, many millennials watched the film when they were still too young for the gory practical effects.
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It features one of the most gruesome 1980s horror movie deaths that scarred an entire generation of viewers. Amanda Wyss plays Tina, who falls asleep and has a terrifying dream of being chased by Freddy. She nearly escapes but is then caught when she finds the backdoor of her house is locked. Freddy slashes her chest open, throws and drags her around the room, takes her lifeless body up to the ceiling, and drops her on her bed in a pool of blood. It is the first murder in the film and establishes how dangerous Freddy Krueger can be.
9
Donnie’s Skeleton Costume
Donnie Darko (2001)
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Donnie Darko
R
Drama
Documentary
Fantasy
Mystery
Sci-Fi
7/10
8.2/10
Release Date
October 26, 2001
After troubled teen Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes on a local golf course after a night of sleepwalking, he has a vision of a man in a rabbit suit telling him that the world will end in 28 days. Returning home, Donnie sees that a jet engine has fallen on his bedroom in the night, and begins to feel increasingly detached from reality. Scrambling to make sense of the bizarre and unexplainable events that have altered his life, Donnie finds himself unravelling a tangled web of disaster and fate.
Cast
Jake Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daveigh Chase, Mary McDonnell, James Duval
Runtime
113 minutes
Director
Richard Kelly
Writers
Richard Kelly
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Most of Gen Z were still too young to even watch TV to catch Donnie Darko on TV, let alone in theaters. Meanwhile, millennials, who were mostly in their teens, were enthralled by the movie’s weirdness. Alongside October Sky, this film marked Jake Gyllenhaal’s breakthrough in the industry. He plays the titular Donnie, a kid haunted by a strange rabbit-like spirit who tells him about the end of the world.
Interestingly, the same skeleton costume that became famous with Donnie Darko made a movie appearance in an iconic ’80s movie, The Karate Kid, where Johnny wore it with his group during the costume party.
A unique time-travel movie with an immoral character at its center, Donnie Darko is a cheesy dark movie that still inspires people’s inner goths. It came at a time when gothic and alt fashion was making an unexpected resurgence, and every millennial in their young adulthood or late teens was inspired by it. The moment when Donnie first appeared in his skeleton costume on Halloween day defined the gothic fashion choices and Halloween costume choices for younger millennials.
8
Samara Climbs Out of the TV
The Ring (2002)
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The Ring
PG-13
Mystery
Horror
8/10
8/10
Release Date
October 18, 2002
An American remake of the original Japanese supernatural horror film, Ring, The Ring follows a journalist who discovers she has seven days to live after watching a cursed videotape. Attending the funeral of a girl who dies under mysterious circumstances, the victim’s mother asks Seattle journalist Rachel to investigate the death. After learning about the urban legend behind the video tape the girl watched, Rachel views the tape in the hopes of finding a lead – only to find herself succumbing to the same curse.
Cast
Martin Henderson, Naomi Watts, Amber Tamblyn, David Dorfman, Brian Cox
Runtime
115 minutes
Director
Gore Verbinski
Writers
Ehren Kruger
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One of the scariest supernatural horror movies of all time is Hideo Nakata’s Ringu. It caused the resurgence of Asian horror and the quality of horror films from the continent has only improved over time. Gore Verbinski, who would become famous for directing the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, directed the English-language remake of Ringu, titled The Ring, in 2002. Its widespread popularity led to an entire franchise of films that continues to entertain viewers.
The plot of The Ring is based on an old Japanese urban legend about a cursed VHS tape. Even though the film came out after the turn of the millennium, when the popularity of VHS was dying, the movie quickly garnered a cult fandom among millennials. VHS had defined the lives of millennials, and so, the film’s premise intrigued them all. The scene when, at the end of seven days, the possessed girl — Samara climbs out of the well, crawls over to the screen on the other side and climbs out of the TV, changed the lives of millennials.
7
Marty Peels His Face in a Hallucination
Poltergeist (1982)
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Poltergeist
PG-13
Supernatural
Horror
4/10
9.3/10
Release Date
June 4, 1982
A remake of the 1982 horror film of the same name, Poltergeist revolves around the Bowen family, whose home has been invaded by evil, supernatural forces.
Cast
Jane Adams, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris, Sam Rockwell, Nicholas Braun
Director
Tobe Hooper
Writers
Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, Mark Victor
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Since it came out in ’82, every millennial who watched Poltergeist has done so at a much younger age than they should have. In their defense, the film follows a family who live in a haunted house, where the youngest daughter, who is barely five years old, is the primary victim. So, surely, if a five-year-old is involved, the movie shouldn’t, on paper, have very traumatizing scenes. However, for the most part, even if it’s not very gory, Poltergeist feels terrifying, because the peril underscores every moment as the spirits wreak havoc in the lives of the central family.
Poltergeist continues to scar millennials today because it’s a horror movie that hits differently as a parent. That is an added trauma related to the movie, because one gory scene that nearly went too far already terrified every millennial who saw the film in their childhood. Dr. Marty looks into the mirror and halucinates that he is peeling his face off with his own hands. The perfectly executed practical effects make it too real to ever heal from the impact of seeing that at a young age.
6
Malcolm Realizes He Is Dead
The Sixth Sense (1999)
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The Sixth Sense
PG-13
Thriller
Drama
Horror
Mystery
8/10
33
8.9/10
Release Date
August 6, 1999
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense is a psychological thriller about a young boy who can see and communicate with ghosts. Bruce Willis as Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who tries to help Cole, played by Haley Joel Osment, while grappling with his own personal demons. The movie features a twist ending that has become iconic in pop culture.
Cast
Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Haley Joel Osment, Olivia Williams, Donnie Wahlberg
Runtime
107 minutes
Director
M. Night Shyamalan
Writers
M. Night Shyamalan
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M. Night Shyamalan’s reputation as a master of the climactic cinematic twist started with his breakout film in ’99, The Sixth Sense. He had worked on a couple of comedy dramas prior to it, and then made the switch to horror, a decision that would change his career forever. Bruce Willis, who will always be most famous for playing John McClane in Die Hard, one of the best Christmas movies without Santa Claus, plays the protagonist Malcolm. He might just be Willis’ second most famous character.
The twist reveal in The Sixth Sense is so popular that many people who haven’t seen the film also know it.
After surviving a tragedy, Malcolm, who is a child therapist, meets a nine-year-old boy and decides to try to help him. Shyamalan’s eerie filmmaking adds a sinister tone to Malcolm’s experiences. However, no one can predict while watching the movie, that Malcolm actually died at the very beginning of the film and has been a ghost throughout. The moment when he realizes it is one of the quintessential millennial movie moments. The twist reveal in The Sixth Sense is so popular that many people who haven’t seen the film also know it.
5
Gage Slits Jud’s Achilles Tendon
Pet Sematary (1989)
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Pet Sematary
R
Horror
Fantasy
Thriller
Release Date
April 21, 1989
Runtime
103 Minutes
Director
Mary Lambert
Eager to start afresh, the young doctor, Louis Creed, and his family–his wife, Rachel, their daughter, Ellie, and their two-year-old toddler, Gage–move to their new home in the small rural town of Ludlow, Maine, alarmingly close to a busy highway. However, after the inadvertent death of Rachel’s cherished tomcat in an awful accident, reluctantly, a desperate Louis will take his friendly neighbor’s advice to bury it in an ancient Micmac graveyard: a mystical burial ground imbued with alleged reanimating powers. Now, despite the terrible results and the insistent warnings from a recently deceased, tragedy-stricken Louis has no other choice but to go back to the Indian cemetery, in high hopes that, this time, things will be different. Nevertheless, can the dead truly return from the grave?
Cast
Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne, Brad Greenquist, Miko Hughes
Writers
Stephen King
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Based on Stephen King’s 1983 novel of the same name, Mary Lambert’s Pet Sematary is a classic ’80s horror film that has, since its release, inspired a sequel and a remake series. It tells the story of a family who move into a new house in a rural town in Maine, close to a magical cemetery. After their pet cat dies, their neighbor Jud introduces them to the burial ground that revives the dead, albeit as undead. When their son Gage dies, his father, despite warnings about what happens when humans are put through the ritual, buries him there.
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2
Gage expectedly turns murderous, and claims Jud as his first victim. With patient panning, cinematography and a tense score, the scene shows Jud walking through the family’s house and up to Gage’s room. As soon as he’s there, Gage, who has stolen a scalpel, slits Jud’s achilles tendon in a shot that zooms in on his leg as seen below the bed. Jud is almost immediately rendered immobile on his feet, and if you know any millennials who never let their feet dangle from their beds, they most likely watched Pet Sematary as a kid.
4
Heather Sees The Witch
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
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The Blair Witch Project
R
Horror
Mystery
8/10
22
5.9/10
Release Date
July 30, 1999
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The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 horror film that follows three film students who venture into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland. As they document their search for the Blair Witch legend, strange and unsettling events unfold. Presented as found footage, the film is directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, and it pioneered the found footage genre in mainstream cinema.
Cast
Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams, Heather Donahue
Runtime
81 minutes
Director
Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick
Writers
Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
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When one thinks of iconic millennial horror movies, The Blair Witch Project immediately comes to mind. It is considered to be the first film of its scale that was marketed almost entirely on the internet. The film’s website and the IMDb pages of the actors for a whole year made it seem like they had gone missing. Web forums began filling up with rumors and conspiracy theories as the marketing campaign added a sense of realism to the film’s events.
It also popularized the found footage genre and inspired a franchise.
The found footage pseudo-documentary format changed the lives of millennials as many started dedicating all their time to unearthing the real mystery. It also popularized the found footage genre and inspired a franchise, starting with Book of Shadows the very next year, a horror movie sequel that should never have been made. The most defining moment of the film is perhaps when the whole group starts running and Heather shrieks after noticing the witch, but the camera doesn’t pan away from her. This subversive use of viewers’ fear of the unknown captivated millennials’ imagination.
3
Casey Gets a Phone Call
Scream (1996)
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Scream
R
Crime
Horror
Mystery
23
9/10
Release Date
December 20, 1996
Wes Craven flips the horror-slasher genre on its head with the 1996 release of Scream, the first in the long-running franchise. The residents of Woodsboro discover a series of murders are being committed by a dangerous ghost mask-wearing killer with an obsession for classic horror movies. To survive, a group of high school students, a reporter, and a town deputy will have to subvert horror expectations and stay one step ahead of the killer.
Cast
Drew Barrymore, Kevin Patrick Walls, David Booth, Carla Hatley, Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich
Runtime
111 minutes
Director
Wes Craven
Writers
Kevin Williamson
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Wes Craven permanently changed the slasher genre with his subversive horror film Scream, which plays on the relatively formulaic structure of slashers. Its self-referential writing, the brutality of its villain, and the ending reveal cemented it as a box office smash that went on to inspire a franchise which is still set to have more installments. Ghostface is a horror movie character who helped reshape genre expectations, by having no fixed identity and making an unforgettable entrance.
Drew Barrymore was set to play Sidney Prescott, but instead chose to play Casey, so that viewers would be shocked when the person on the poster died within the first 15 minutes of the film, leaving them to guess who the heroine might actually be, which provided Neve Campbell, who played Sidney Prescott, the protagonist, her breakout role in Hollywood.
Ghostface calls an unsuspecting Casey and decides to quiz her on horror movie trivia after showing her that he has captured her boyfriend. He threatens to kill both of them if she fails the quiz and then goes on to chase Casey through the house before killing her. Prank calls became even more popular during the ’90s with the introduction of handsets which allowed people to talk from any place in the house. So, Ghostface’s introduction taps into that, the fear of home invasions, and the obsession with horror movie trivia, to give millennials an incredible scene they will never forget.
2
Jigsaw Gets Up
Saw (2004)
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Saw
R
Horror
Mystery
Crime
4/10
12
7.7/10
Release Date
October 29, 2004
Saw is the first installment in the horror franchise directed by James Wan. Released in 2004, the film follows two men who awake shackled in a derelict bathroom, discovering they are part of a sadistic game orchestrated by the enigmatic Jigsaw, requiring them to follow cryptic instructions to survive.
Cast
Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Ken Leung, Makenzie Vega, Michael Emerson, Shawnee Smith, Dina Meyer, Tobin Bell, Alexandra Bokyun Chun, Mike Butters, Paul Gutrecht, Benito Martinez, Ned Bellamy, Avner Garbi, Hans Raith, Oren Koules
Runtime
103 minutes
Director
James Wan
Writers
James Wan, Leigh Whannell
Producers
Gregg Hoffman, Mark Burg, Oren Koules
Production Company
Twisted Pictures
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Millennial horror cinema is characterized by an uptick in torture horror. The movies associated with this generation consistently challenged the limits of audience’s tolerance by increasing the amount of gore and introducing more inventive ways of eliciting disgust. While the rest of the franchise is perhaps bloodier and features more innovative traps, the first Saw movie is the most impactful. Filmmakers have tried recreating its narrative structure and mimicking its level of gore for the past couple of decades.
Sawis set in a fictional bathroom where two men are chained to objects at the far ends of the room. They are given tasks to complete in exchange for their lives. The tasks are demanding, often involving self-mutilation. The disturbing premise and its use to explore people’s tendency to lead dishonest lives are classic millennial horror movie traits. However, the most iconic moment inSawisn’t one of violence. The corpse in the room gets up at the end and is revealed to be the Jigsaw killer. Introducing Jigsaw with a Shyamalan-like twist was a great creative choice!
1
The Log Truck
Final Destination 2 (2003)
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Final Destination 2
R
Horror
Mystery
Release Date
January 31, 2003
Runtime
90 Minutes
Director
David R. Ellis
Final Destination 2 follows a group of strangers as they desperately try to escape an inevitable and gruesome fate after a premonition saves them from a deadly highway pileup. Seeking to cheat death, they must uncover the mysterious pattern of their survival while striving to evade a series of fatal accidents meticulously orchestrated by an unseen force.
Cast
A.J. Cook, Ali Larter, Michael Landes, Terrence T.C. Carson, Jonathan Cherry, keegan connor tracy, Lynda Boyd, James Kirk, Justina Machado, David Paetkau, Tony Todd, Sarah Carter, Alejandro Rae, Shaun Sipos, Andrew Airlie, Noel Fisher, Christina Jastrzembska, Eileen Pedde
Writers
Jeffrey Reddick, J. Mackye Gruber, Eric Bress
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One of the most memorable millennial horror movie experiences that defined the generation was watching Final Destination and developing new irrational fears. While the fearsome circumstances introduced by the movie seemed unlikely, the fact that they mostly employ objects and situations one encounters is what makes it particularly frightening. Moreover, the film can be sobering with its exploration of the inevitability of death. Fans of the inventive horror franchise will be excited to know that it’s returning with a new movie soon.
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Elaborate fantastical lore involving Death explains the phenomena in the franchise, but their memorable practical effects make the movies and the scary moments grounded. The most traumatizing scene in the franchise is in the first sequel movie. The film opens with a scene on the highway where a log truck will cause a pileup of bodies. The logs in the truck go smashing through the windshield of a car and a series of accidents begin from there. Ask a millennial to drive behind a log truck and watch their reaction — the scene scarred an entire generation for life.
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Category: Entertainment