How are we supposed to know who from this decade has the most influence? We haven't left the decade yet, how can we tell who had an impact when we haven't seen the work of the following generation?

[QUOTE=Ferox13;698255]You look at the horroe boards are people talking about Bava/Argento/Tourneur..nope

[QUOTE]

Come on, we're pretty good at instilling a broad scope of knowledge and appreciation of the classics at this site.

But I think Guillermo Del Toro may be seen as the most influential figure in contemporary horror.
CRONOS was cool,
MIMIC was odd, but interesting and creepy,
BLADE 2 proved that a sequel could be better than the original (which is huge)
THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE was atmospheric as hell and truly scary as well as truly touching
PAN'S LABYRINTH may not be technically horror, but because of that he has reached an amazingly wide audience who have been tricked into appreciating his specific (and horrific) obsession with monsters.
HELL BOY & HELL BOY II are both monster-filled action flicks that are bathed in the history of horror (specifially HP Lovecraft)

He spreads horror even in his non-horror works.He IS the horror master of his age.

Not just Saw, but Hostel and Rob Zombie that really brought meaning to torture porn. In fact, it's interesting how "exploitation" (of the 70s horror films, for example), has become "torture porn." You could talk about how Texas Chainsaw Massacre has evolved (or "de-volved," whichever side you want to take) into films such as the aforementioned, Wolf Creek, and Touristas.

It's been mentioned before, but The Ring brought the JA horror explosion to America, which seems to be so hot right now (with The Grudge, Dark Waters, One Missed Call, Shutter, The Eye, et al) and you can argue whether or not it's a good thing.

Even though it came out in 1999, you might want to site Blair Witch as being on the cusp of 2000 and becoming one of the most influential films in modern horror film history. You now see the hand-held first-person cam being utilized more often (Cloverfield, Diary of the Dead, [rec]) as a medium for seeing into the characters' psyche.

The movie 28 Days Later made us reimagine the concept of "zombies" by creating a movie with an infectious theme, but creating a human monster that was more of a frenetic, horrifying, immediate threat. Instead of lumbering beasts, you have rage-filled running terrors. Definitely a new face of infection that you'll see also in the Dawn of the Dead remake, Mulberry Street, and 28 Weeks Later. A new kind of human monster.

I think that Del Toro is an amazing horror director, but I wouldn't necessarily call him "influential." While Eli Roth definitely was a catalyst for the new genre of torture flicks and The Ring brought Japanese Ghosts across the world, I don't see Del Toro necessarily starting any kind of fads. Not that he's a bad director; far from it. He's brilliant, but I think that for the time being he's a genius on his own (with his own constructs and archetypes that he constantly revisits). He's definitely a visionary, but I don't think that he's necessarily changed the face of horror... yet.

He is already producing other people's horror films (like THE PRHANAGE) that feel just like his films. I believe that the one who is inspiring the most young film fans and creating his own brand is Del Toro - his influence will impact a generation and soon we'll be holding him amongst the ranks of Argento, Carpenter, Raimi and Jackson.

Oh, I know. But as I mentioned, he's just not there... yet. If the topic was "ambitious up-and-coming horror moviemakers," then he would be top of the list. But under the topic of "Most Influential horror of the 2000's," I wouldn't consider him "influential..." yet.

However, I'm excited for Hellboy 2 (I enjoyed the first one and this one looks even better) and definitely looking forward to his future ventures.

Not only THAT but it made lots of money which led to many a PG-13 "horror" film being released.

Actually it wasn't really this one in particular I was thinking about :-)

ZOMBIE and DEL TORO.
 

ZOMBIE has given us a gonzo TOBE HOOPER inspired white trash horror sub genre. Three money making films that all got decent reviews. He created a sub genre. DEL TORO is a bloody genius. He is quoted as saying-on an NPR interview - that GODZILLA was his JESUS! My kind of guy! The Japanese inspired films are also a huge influence. The SAW movies are very popular. I just don't think they are important. Torture porn doen't seem like horror to me. Maybe I'm a horror snob.