The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
2009 · MovieA German surgeon connects several people surgically into a continuous human chain. The film's concept is its primary content.
Ranked by HorroRated · Updated October 19, 2026
Best Horror Movies of 2009
HorroRated has reviewed 15 horror movies released in 2009, ranked here best first. The Human Centipede (First Sequence), The Descent: Part 2 and Zombieland lead the list, all rated Highly Recommended.
Rules, caves and one unforgettable surgeon: in 2009, Zombieland taught survival by checklist, and The Descent: Part 2 sent its lone survivor back underground. Orphan brought Esther home to a family with no idea what they had adopted, and Tom Six's The Human Centipede (First Sequence) built a whole film on a premise nobody forgets.
2009 horror movies, best first
15 films
The Descent: Part 2
2009 · MovieA sheriff and a team of cavers take an amnesiac Sarah back into the cave system to find her missing friends. Something is still alive in the tunnels.
Zombieland
2009 · MovieColumbus wakes up in a zombie apocalypse and joins a group of survivors who have developed very specific rules for staying alive.
Orphan
2009 · MovieKate and John Coleman adopt a nine-year-old Russian girl from a local orphanage and bring her home. Esther is not what she appears to be.
The Collector
2009 · MovieArkin breaks into a house to rob it and finds a family being held captive inside an elaborate network of traps by someone already inside with them.
The Haunting in Connecticut
2009 · MovieThe Campbell family rents a Connecticut house to be closer to the hospital treating their teenage son's cancer. Matt has visions that his illness can't fully account for.
The Last House on the Left
2009 · MovieMari Collingwood and a friend are lured to a motel room by a boy they just met, and his family of escaped killers is waiting. When the gang later takes shelter in the Collingwoods' lake house, Mari's parents find out exactly who they let in.
My Bloody Valentine (2009)
2009 · MovieTom returns to Harmony after a decade away and gets caught in the middle of a new series of killings at the local mine on Valentine's Day.
Saw VI
2009 · MovieJigsaw's rules keep expanding through new disciples and new traps while the investigation into his organization gains momentum.
Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead
2009 · MovieA prison transport convoy is attacked in the West Virginia woods and the surviving guards and inmates have to work together against something living in the woods.
Halloween II (2009)
2009 · MovieRob Zombie's sequel picks up where the remake left off and pushes further into his vision of what Michael Myers is and where he comes from.
The Final Destination
2009 · MovieThe survivors of the last premonition are still alive and death is working through the backlog starting with a racetrack disaster.
Friday the 13th (2009)
2009 · MovieFriends camping near Crystal Lake to find a hidden marijuana crop run into Jason, and Whitney disappears. Weeks later her brother Clay comes looking for her, just as a new group settles into a lake house nearby.
Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever
2009 · MovieA flesh-eating virus gets into a bottled-water plant and reaches a high school on prom night. By the end of the dance, soldiers have locked the doors.
Anacondas: Trail of Blood
2009 · MovieA blood orchid serum has made a giant anaconda almost impossible to kill, and it's loose in the mountains of Romania. A dying billionaire's mercenaries want the serum. Dr. Amanda Hayes wants it destroyed, along with the snake.
No 2009 films match that filter right now.
2009 in Horror, by the Numbers
- Reviewed
- 15 films: 6 Highly Recommended, 2 Recommended, 5 Worth a Look and 2 If You're Curious
- Average score
- 2.8 of 5 tapes, against 3.3 across all 519 movies in the archive
- Leading subgenres
- Survival Horror (7 films), Psychological (5)
- Made outside the US
- The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (Netherlands); The Descent: Part 2 (United Kingdom)
- Streaming in the US
- 12 of 15, 9 of them free, as of November 10, 2026
Ranked by HorroRated score, then Picks, then newest release. How the year lists work
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Frequently Asked Questions About 2009 Horror Movies
What is the best horror movie of 2009?
Six films from 2009 share HorroRated's top verdict, Highly Recommended: The Human Centipede (First Sequence), The Descent: Part 2, Zombieland and Orphan, plus 2 more. They're tied, so the list shows the newest first, starting with The Human Centipede (First Sequence).
Which 2009 horror movies are part of a franchise?
Six of the 15 films come from franchises with a HorroRated watch-order guide, a bigger share than in most years: The Human Centipede (First Sequence), Saw VI, Halloween II (2009), The Final Destination and Friday the 13th (2009), plus 1 more.
Which 2009 horror movies can you watch for free?
The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (Tubi), The Descent: Part 2 (The Roku Channel) and Orphan (The Roku Channel), plus 6 more: they stream free in the US as of November 10, 2026, with ads or a library card.