Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 2010’s. This is the fifth in a series of articles covering the top lesser known Eco-Horror Films by decade. Eco-Horror features narratives about Global Warming, Climate Change, Biohazards and other ecological disasters that affect the environment. A majority of these films also include elements of Natural Horror (or Animals Attack) films where the animal, mammal or marine life has suffered a mutation due to environmental negligence by humans.
Most Eco-Horror Films reside within the Horror, Sci-Fi and Thriller genres and are often closely aligned with other film subgenres including Disaster Films, Survival Dramas, Monster Films, Survival Horror Films, Biotech Films, Dystopian Future Films, Films About Genetic Engineering, Aquatic Thrillers, Conspiracy Thrillers and Films About Pandemics & Viruses.
Eco-Horror narratives tend to parallel the societal and ecological concerns of the era: nuclear proliferation and radiation in the 1950’s & 1960’s, climate change and corporate conspiracies in the 1970’s & 1990’s, genetic engineering in the 1980’s & 2000’s, and a combination of climate change, genetic engineering and dystopian futures in the 2010’s to the most recent subgenre films. Popular Eco-Horror Films over the decades include Them! (1954), Matango (1963), Soylent Green (1973), Jaws (1975), The Stuff (1985), Mimic (1997), The Host (2006), Annihilation (2018) and The Animal Kingdom (2023).
This fifth article will cover the Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen from the 2010’s and you can check out additional articles by decade below. We are also going to include a Best Of subgenre article as a grand finale. There are so many great Eco-Horror Films over the last 60 years that we felt it best to break down some of the subgenre’s forgotten and lesser-known gems by decade before we give you the Best Of list which will likely feature many films you’ve already heard of or have seen.
- Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1970’s
- Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1980’s
- Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1990’s
- Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 2000’s
- Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 2010’s
- Best Recent Eco-Horror Films
- Best Eco-Horror Films of All Time
The 2010’s were a banner decade for eco-horror rivaling the quantity and quality of films from the 1970’s. Climate change was the prominent theme of the subgenre with a variety of both horror and sci-films focused on the effects of climate and global warming. Kaiju films also continued to appear within the subgenre along with themes of bio-contamination through ecological disasters and genetically engineered mutations.
Note: We have included sci-fi films with little to no horror elements in this article as we also include them in our Eco-Horror Film collection. There is enough crossover between these films focused on climate change and other ecological disasters that we believe fans of both sci-fi and horror genres will enjoy.
Mirroring the growing concern of climate change in the 2010’s, Eco-Horror Films focused on global warming and its role in apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic disasters. Films such as Take Shelter (2011), Sharknado (2013), Into the Storm (2014), Danny’s Doomsday (2014), Geostorm (2017) and Annihilation (2018) all showed the effects of climate change leading to an apocalyptic event. Climate change effects after the apocalypse were also shown in films such as Hell (2011), The Colony (2013) and Snowpiercer (2013) that showed the breakdown and survival of society in a post-apocalyptic world.
Ecological disasters also continued as a popular theme of the subgenre (and society at the time) with films focused on various sub-themes. Chemical leaks and bio-engineered viruses were the themes of The Crazies (2010) and Chemical Peel (2014). Toxins released into a town’s water supply (and causing subsequent mutations) were the subject of Prey (2011), The Bay (2012) and Zombeavers (2014). And sci-focused films with themes of Alien Invasions affecting the environment were featured in two standout films of the subgenre in Annihilation (2018) and Color Out of Space (2019).
And finally, as with other decades, Kaiju films continued to prove popular with three separate relaunches of the king of eco-horror – Godzilla. Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) were Hollywood-produced blockbusters of the infamous Kaiju. Shin Godzilla (2016) was a reimagining of the Godzilla legend with an additional focus on political satire and the effects of the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 in Japan. And a trilogy of Godzilla films was released in animated form with heavy Sci-Fi Military themes in Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017), Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018) and Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018).
Our complete list of Eco-Horror Films features over 211+ films from 1953 – 2024. This collection features almost every horror or sci-fi film involving a biohazard, ecological disaster or man-made disaster such as climate change affecting the environment. As we’re always updating our collections and will be releasing additional articles of great Eco-Horror Films, subscribe to our newsletter for our latest updates as we post them.
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Classic Eco-Horror Films of the 2010’s: The Crazies (2010), The Bay (2012), The Colony (2013), Snowpiercer (2013), Godzilla (2014), Into the Storm (2014), Annihilation (2018), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Crawl (2019) and Color Out of Space (2019).
Eco-Horror Films of the 2010’s that didn’t make our list: Piranha 3D (2010), Slime City Massacre (2010), Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo (2012), Sharknado (2013), Danny’s Doomsday (2014), Stung (2015), Harbinger Down (2015), Spoor (2017), Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017), Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018), Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018), Strange Nature (2018), Bacurau (2019) and Snow Monster (2019).
Here is our list of the Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 2010’s:
#10
Raccoon Valley
Plot: A plane bearing biohazardous material crashes into a town, and a deaf woman has to navigate her way through the aftermath.
Eco-Horror Element: Biohazard
KBZ’s Take: If you’re a regular reader of our articles, you will likely know that we always like to feature at least one obscure or unheralded subgenre film on our lists. Raccoon Valley is one of those films that had a total budget of $175 USD. That’s not a misprint and for under $200, the film is an amazing accomplishment.
With that said, you shouldn’t go into this film expecting a blockbuster even a b-level film experience which is typical within this subgenre. However, it is a film that shows how creativity and natural skill as a filmmaker can produce a compelling experience despite any semblance of a budget.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#9
Zombeavers
Plot: College friends find their weekend of sex and debauchery ruined when deadly zombie beavers swarm their riverside cabin.
Eco-Horror Element: Biohazard / Mutations
KBZ’s Take: Given this film features mutated beavers that turn into zombies and attack a cabin full of teens, you can likely guess that this is a horror comedy with much more comedy than horror. And despite the often low-brow humor, it does feature some gore sequences that are both frightening and hilarious at the same time.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#8
Prey
Plot: A family reunion turns into a nightmare when deadly mutant creatures launch an attack.
Eco-Horror Element: Biohazard / Mutations
KBZ’s Take: The French film Proie (Prey) or La Traque should not be confused with a similarly named French crime film called La Proie (2011) or the Dutch horror comedy Prooi (2016). This French film fits squarely in the eco-horror space and features a divided family discovering an ecological disaster and affected mutated wildlife on their hunting grounds.
Though the film doesn’t delve much into eco-horror messaging about care for the environment, it does feature a nasty, mutated boar that hunts each member of the party down – one by one.
Where to Stream / Buy: Google Play
Plot: With most of the world blinded and the dangerous carnivorous Triffids set loose, it falls upon a band of scattered survivors to fight this plant invasion and the madness following.
Eco-Horror Element: Nuclear Radiation / Mutations
KBZ’s Take: People either love or hate Found Footage Horror and that is also the case with Chernobyl Diaries. Though the film starts out with a promising (and eerie) first act that may convert even the strongest found footage detractors, the rest of the film can’t live up to its compelling opening.
With all that said, we do still think the film is worthy enough to check out by fans of eco-horror and those interested in the Chernobyl Disaster. However, though this film does give some backstory to the unfortunate disaster, there are much better films detailing the events of Chernobyl including documentaries and the recent 2019 HBO series.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: When a massive, gilled monster emerges from the deep and tears through the city, the government scrambles to save its citizens. A rag-tag team of volunteers cuts through a web of red tape to uncover the monster’s weakness and its mysterious ties to a foreign superpower. But time is not on their side – the greatest catastrophe to ever befall the world is about to evolve right before their very eyes.
Eco-Horror Element: Nuclear Radiation
KBZ’s Take: We typically include at least one Godzilla film on each decade’s eco-horror list and Shin Godzilla is our pick for the 2010’s. This is a reimagining of the Godzilla legend by Toho which also created reimagined efforts of Ultraman in Shin Ultraman (2022) and Kamen Rider in Shin Kamen Rider (2023).
While we enjoyed the updated design of Godzilla, the special effects and slight satire on politics and the militarized response to the radioactive creature, it still feels like the film is missing just enough to be a great entry into the long list of Godzilla films. However, we would still recommend the film to fans of eco-horror as the film does go more in-depth on ecological and societal effects of radiation from the mutated beast.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: An evil is unleashed in a small town when a logging company sets up shop in the neighboring woods. Isolated and threatened, a mysterious force hidden within the trees outside the small town of Maiden Woods, strikes fear in the townspeople as Sheriff Paul Shields attempts to overcome the demons of his past while protecting those that he loves.
Eco-Horror Element: Environmental
KBZ’s Take: We were quite shocked when we saw this film had a middling average of around 5.6/10 on iMDB. It’s a much better film than its current rating with some of the best mystery and suspense elements from 2010’s horror.
Though the film deals with Folk Horror much more than eco-horror, it does have a theme of a creature pushed out of its environment by encroaching humans. And while the creature is never entirely defined in the film, it seems to be based on Indian folklore and our guess is that it’s a Wendigo. The creature is revealed in the third act and leads to one of the best final confrontations and endings in both subgenres.
Additional Lists: Top Folk Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 2010’s #5
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#4
Hell
Plot: In a world where the sun has turned the entire world into a scorched wasteland, a few survivors are lured into an ambush.
Eco-Horror Element: Climate Change / Global Warming
KBZ’s Take: This isn’t a film that breaks new ground in the Post-Apocalypse film subgenre, but it’s one of the better lower budget films of the subgenre. Like other films of its type, this film focuses on a few survivors and how they must navigate this new world where water and food are scarcities (due to global warming and climate change).
Where the film excels is in its direction and cinematography. Even though you’ll likely figure out where the story is headed, you’re still engaged enough to continue watching. That’s the hallmark of a film that punches above its weight and why we recommend this film for fans of the subgenre.
Additional Lists: Top Post- Apocalypse Films You Haven’t Seen (Part 2) #8
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#3
The Crazies
Plot: Four friends find themselves trapped in their small hometown after they discover their friends and neighbors going quickly and horrifically insane.
Eco-Horror Element: Biological Virus / Government Conspiracy
KBZ’s Take: We had the original The Crazies (1973) as the #1 film on our list of the Top Eco-Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1970’s. And while the remake isn’t quite on the level of its predecessor, it does have a more modern take on a town quarantined after a biological viral outbreak and is one of the better remakes in the horror genre.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#2
The Bay
Plot: Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs.
Eco-Horror Element: Ecological Disaster
KBZ’s Take: The Bay is so realistic that you can often fool people into thinking they are watching an actual documentary about an ecological disaster. It’s also one of the few eco-horror films where the found footage format enhances the chaos of society after a viral outbreak.
Though there are some scares (and gore) in the film, it’s much more of an atmospheric thriller – and a good one at that. Highly recommended for fans of the subgenre (even if you detest the found footage format).
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#1
The Colony
Plot: Underground survivors venture out into the world after discovering a distress signal from another outpost.
Eco-Horror Element: Climate Change
KBZ’s Take: The Colony is one of the hidden gems of sci-fi horror from the 2010’s. It’s one of the few films focused on a frozen world after climate change and the societal order created by survivors.
This film does a great job of worldbuilding with the suspense of our survivors venturing from their underground bunkers into the new post-apocalyptic world above. Unfortunately, once they reach the other outpost, the film suffers as it drops the suspense in lieu of action chase scenes. Still, this is an overall great eco-horror film, especially with Bill Pullman and Laurence Fishburne as the leaders of the survivors.
Additional Lists: Top Post- Apocalypse Films You Haven’t Seen (Part 2) #5, Top Survival Horror Films You Haven’t Seen #8
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
