Mystery: 104

The American romantic fantasy film, The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), was directed by Chris Weitz and written by Melissa Rosenberg. Based on Stephenie Meyer’s 2006 novel of the same name, it follows the story of Bella Swan in Forks, Washington. On her eighteenth birthday, Bella wakes up from a dream where she is elderly and her immortal vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen, remains young. Despite her reservations, Edward’s family throws her a birthday party at their home. Unfortunately, when Bella receives a paper ...

Based on the character originally created by Robert E. Howard in 1928, the action-adventure film Solomon Kane (2009) follows the story of English privateer Solomon Kane. In 1600, Kane leads his crew into battle against Ottoman defenders in North Africa, eventually raiding a fortress where they encounter demons. Despite defeating the demons and reaching the throne room, Kane is stopped by a demon known as the ‘Devil’s Reaper’ who reveals that his soul belongs to Satan due to past sins. Refusing to accept this fate, Kane escapes by jumping out of a window. A year later, he seeks redemption by renouncing ...

The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017) is a supernatural teen drama TV series adapted from L. J. Smith’s book series of the same name by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. Set in Mystic Falls, Virginia, the show premiered on The CW in 2009 and ended in 2017 after eight seasons and 171 episodes. It centers on Elena Gilbert, a teenage girl who loses her parents in a car accident and falls for Stefan Salvatore, a 161-year-old vampire who she believes to be human. Things get complicated when Damon Salvatore, Stefan’s ...

Catherine Hardwicke directed the American romantic fantasy film Twilight (2008), which was based on Stephenie Meyer’s 2005 novel and written by Melissa Rosenberg. Seventeen-year-old Bella Swan moves from Phoenix, Arizona to live with her father, Charlie, who is the police chief in Forks, Washington. Her mother Renée is remarried to a minor league baseball player named Phil. In Forks, Bella reunites with her childhood friend Jacob Black, who lives on the nearby Quileute Indian Reservation with his father Billy. At ...

Let the Right One In (2008) is a Swedish romantic horror film directed by Tomas Alfredson, adapted from John Ajvide Lindqvist’s 2004 novel of the same name. Set in 1982, the story follows 12-year-old Oskar and his mother Yvonne, who live in the western Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg. Oskar is constantly tormented by his peers and takes solace in collecting news articles about murders while daydreaming about revenge. One night, he meets a pale girl named Eli who has recently moved in next door with her caretaker Håkan. At first, Eli rejects Oskar’s friendship ...

Mother of Tears (2007) is a supernatural horror film written and directed by Dario Argento. The Catholic Church uncovers the remains of a 19th-century official, whose casket is bound to a box-shaped urn. Within the urn lie artifacts belonging to Mater Lachrymarum, the last remaining member of an ancient and powerful trio of witches. One item in particular stands out – a magical tunic that greatly enhances Mater Lachrymarum’s abilities. The urn is transported to the Museum of Ancient Art in Rome, where Sarah Mandy, a young American studying art restoration, happens to work. Sarah is romantically involved with Michael Pierce, the museum’s curator and ...

The Omen (2006) is an American supernatural horror film helmed by director John Moore and penned by David Seltzer. It tells the tale of Robert Thorn, an American diplomat stationed in Italy. Upon learning that his son was stillborn, Robert secretly adopts an orphaned infant on the advice of a Catholic priest, Father Spiletto. The child, named Damien, is raised by Robert and his wife Katherine. Over the next five years, Robert’s career flourishes as he is appointed Deputy Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s in the United Kingdom. He moves into a large estate ...

James Wan directed and Leigh Whannell wrote an American supernatural horror film titled Dead Silence (2007). Jamie Ashen and his wife Lisa receive an unmarked present containing a ventriloquist doll named ‘Billy’. When Jamie leaves the house, Lisa is tragically killed by an unknown assailant. Following the incident, Jamie is cleared of suspicion by detective Jim Lipton due to insufficient evidence. However, during this time Jamie discovers a peculiar note inside Billy’s box mentioning ‘Mary Shaw’, a deceased ventriloquist from their hometown ...

Underworld: Evolution (2006), an American action horror film, is directed by Len Wiseman and written by Danny McBride, based on a story developed by both of them. In the year 1202, an army led by three vampire elders (Markus, Viktor, and Amelia) attacks a village occupied by werewolves. During the assault, Markus’s twin brother William Corvinus, the first and most powerful werewolf, is captured by Viktor and Amelia. Despite Markus’s objections, Viktor orders William to be imprisoned in a hidden location for eternity. In present day, vampire Selene brings ...

Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) is an American supernatural horror film directed by Paul Schrader and written by William Wisher Jr. and Caleb Carr. Serving as an alternative prequel to The Exorcist (1973), it is the fifth installment in The Exorcist series. In 1944, a Nazi SS lieutenant named Kessel forces Father Lankester Merrin to participate in arbitrary executions as retaliation for the murder of a German trooper. This deal will spare the small village in occupied Holland where Merrin serves ...

Dark Water (2005) is an American supernatural horror film directed by Walter Salles and written by Rafael Yglesias. A remake of the 2002 Japanese film, it tells the story of Dahlia, who finds herself in a custody battle with her ex-husband Kyle over their daughter Cecilia. While Kyle wants Cecilia to live near his apartment in Jersey City, Dahlia has found a more affordable option on Roosevelt Island, where she has also discovered a good school for her five-year-old. Eventually, they settle on an apartment just blocks away from Cecilia’s new school, but as they ...

Supernatural (2005–2020), an American TV show developed by Eric Kripke, premiered on The WB on September 13, 2005. Later on, it joined The CW’s programming schedule. Lead roles include Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester. The storyline centers around the duo’s quest to eliminate demons, ghosts, monsters, and other unearthly creatures. Warner Bros. Television collaborated with Wonderland Sound and Vision in producing the series. The series was filmed in Vancouver, British ...

The American superhero horror film, Constantine (2005), marked Francis Lawrence’s directorial debut. In Mexico, a scavenger discovers the tip of the spear that pierced Jesus Christ in a ruined church, but becomes possessed after taking it to Los Angeles. John Constantine, a cynical occult expert, helps exorcise a demon from a young girl and learns about a treaty between Heaven and Hell that should prevent this type of possession. With terminal lung cancer, Constantine seeks an extension to his life by working with the half-breed angel, Gabriel, to deport Hell’s forces. However, Gabriel reminds him that ...

Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) is an American supernatural horror film directed by Renny Harlin from a screenplay by Alexi Hawley. It serves as the fourth installment in The Exorcist film series and a prequel to The Exorcist (1973). Set during the Crusades, an injured priest stumbles upon a dying soldier clutching a Pazuzu head pendant on a desolate battlefield. As he looks around, he witnesses hundreds of crucified Crusaders scattered across the desert. Flash forward to Cairo, Egypt in 1949 where young Father Lankester Merrin grapples with his shattered ...

In the action horror film Van Helsing (2004), written and directed by Stephen Sommers, we are taken to 1887 Transylvania. There, Doctor Victor Frankenstein works with his assistant Igor and Count Dracula in creating a monster. However, when Frankenstein refuses to follow Dracula’s plans for the creature, he is killed by the vampire. Meanwhile, Igor stands by and watches without emotion. As a mob approaches the castle, the monster escapes to a windmill with Frankenstein’s body. The windmill is set on fire by the angry mob, seemingly killing the monster. One year later, Gabriel Van Helsing, a renowned monster ...

TNT aired the two-part television miniseries Salem’s Lot (2004) on June 20 and June 21 2004. On Thanksgiving in Detroit, Ben Mears attacks priest Donald Callahan at a homeless shelter. As they confront each other in Callahan’s office, Mears is shot and the ensuing struggle sends them both out a window onto a police car below. They are then hospitalized, where an orderly questions Mears about his motives for attacking a priest as a fellow Christian. Mears responds with ‘Jerusalem’s Lot’ before recounting his past to the orderly. Two years prior, he had returned to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot (also known as ‘Salem’s ...

The Village (2004), an American period thriller film written, produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is set in 19th-century Pennsylvania. The small, isolated village is plagued by mysterious humanoid-creatures that inhabit the nearby woods. To protect themselves, watchtowers and tall poles with oil lamps are positioned around the perimeter of the village. Additionally, the elders have forbidden the color red as it seems to attract the creatures. When a young villager dies, Lucius Hunt asks for permission to venture through the woods to retrieve medicine from ‘the towns’, but his request is denied. His ...

Underworld (2003) is an action horror film that marks Len Wiseman’s debut as a feature film director. The screenplay was written by Danny McBride, based on a story co-authored by Kevin Grevioux, Wiseman himself, and McBride. For centuries, vampires and Lycans – an ancient race of werewolves – have been locked in a hidden battle. After the apparent death of Lycan leader Lucian at the hands of vampire Kraven, ...

The American horror film Gothika (2003), directed by Mathieu Kassovitz and written by Sebastian Gutierrez, was co-produced by Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis. Dr. Miranda Grey, a psychiatrist at Woodward Penitentiary in rural western Connecticut, crashes her car one night to avoid hitting a young woman on a country road. After waking up, she discovers that she is now an inmate at the women’s ward where she works. Her colleague, Dr. Pete Graham, is treating her for the ...

Dragonfly (2002), a supernatural thriller film directed by Tom Shadyac based on a story by Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson, follows the story of doctors Joe and Emily Darrow. While seven months pregnant, Emily travels to Venezuela to assist natives in the Amazon area but tragically dies in a bus accident. Despite her body never being found, Joe returns to work without taking time to grieve. One night, he is startled by his wife’s dragonfly paperweight rolling across the room – a reminder of her love for ...