[Stingy Jack]

Dude, I don't know what your kick is with the slasher flicks. You keep mentioning that the Nightmare on Elm Street series and the Halloween series were great horror films. Personally, I think these films represent a low point in the history of horror films. But that's just me. Sure, they were scary ... until they started making sequel after sequel. Then they stopped trying to be scary, and just kept trying to outdo each other in body count. Then they started to turn into comedies. No, I don't think these films represent great horror.

And you may be right about the defining film of the decade not being a zombie flick. It just seems that zombies are making a comeback. But, to decide what film is going to represent the decade, you have to look at what people are afraid of now, in real life, and decide which horror film represents that fear. I think that the two major real-life fears of our generation are terrorism and disease. And for that reason, I think 28 Days Later is, right now, the horror film of this decade. It capitalizes on our fears, takes itself seriously, and is genuinely scary. But, it is more focused on the disease aspect, even though you could say that the soldiers are terrorists. I think the defining film of the decade would have to involve an unseen enemy (disease), or an enemy in plain sight that we never knew to be hostile (domestic terrorists). Ideally, it will be a combination of these. But, it can't be a slasher flick. Those are tired.