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Image by Federico Napoli
2024 was a good year to be a horror fan. The genre produced a string of gems across a host of subgenres, meaning there was something for every taste. Several filmmakers pushed the envelope, whether resurrecting iconic monsters like Nosferatu or crafting unnervingly original narratives like Oddity. Others delved deep into human darkness or reached new heights (depths?) of body horror.
With this in mind, this list looks at some of the very best horror movies that the year had to offer. From high-concept psychological horrors to spine-tingling supernatural tales, 2024's lineup easily ranks among the strongest in recent years. The following movies vary in tone and content, but they all represent delectably dark stories to sink one's teeth into and prove that 2024 was a true step forward for the horror genre, both in terms of commercial success and critical acclaim.
10 'Abigail' (2024)
Directed by Sofia Alaoui
Image via Universal Pictures
"I didn't want to believe, but I had to see the truth for myself." This vampiric take on Home Alone focuses on a group of criminals hired to kidnap a young girl named Abigail (Alisha Weir), the daughter of a powerful crime lord. It's meant to be a simple, easy ransom operation, but the baddies get far more than they bargained for when Abigail's sinister, monstrous powers are revealed. The thugs are soon fighting for their lives, and there's a sweet satisfaction in watching them being picked off.
The finished product is a bold, memorable, focused affair, boasting a streamlined vision and impressively confident execution. It fuses balletic action with unexpected humor and revenge-o-matic thrills. The vampire genre has been heavily saturated for a long time, so it's hard for a movie to carve out a niche within it, but Abigail succeeds. It's bloody, brutal, and a ton of fun.
Abigail
Release Date April 19, 2024
Runtime 109 Minutes
9 'Terrifier 3' (2024)
Directed by Damien Leone
Image via Cinedigm
"You can’t kill what you don’t understand." No horror offered more over-the-top, goofy entertainment than the third chapter in Damien Leone's cult-favorite slasher series featuring Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton), a sadistic, supernatural killer. Picking up after the events of the previous film, the story follows Sienna (Lauren LaVera) as she grapples with the aftermath of her encounter with Art. The killer's reign of terror escalates, targeting a new group of victims in increasingly grotesque and creative ways.
As with the previous installments, a lot rides on Thornton's twisted, charismatic performance. He plays the part with glee, successfully putting a delightfully unhinged spin on the overdone "evil clown" archetype and making Art a worthy heir to Pennywise. Acting aside, Terrifier 3 delivers the expected exaggerated kill scenes and gruesome practical effects, plus a surprising amount of emotion. It's certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but there's a reason this franchise has attracted such a devoted fanbase.
Terrifier 3
Release Date October 11, 2024
Runtime 125 Minutes
8 'Heretic' (2024)
Directed by Scott Derrickson
Image via A24
"They said it was gone, but evil doesn’t vanish. It waits." Hugh Grant turns one of his best performances ever in this horror about faith and fanaticism. He plays Mr. Reed, a deranged (but undeniably dapper) loner who lures two Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) into his home, where he subjects them to psychological torment and his ceaseless ravings about religion. The unease ratchets up all the while, and the audience fully feels the characters' fear, sense of entrapment, and desperate longing for escape.
Heretic loses its way a little in the third act (a common issue with horrors) and gets perhaps a little too wild for its own good, but the strong performances and shadowy, claustrophobic cinematography go a long way toward compensating. The production design does an ace job with Reed's house, making it one of the creepiest buildings in recent horror. Finally, the movie's philosophical musings are also surprisingly smart, elevating Heretic above other similar, more middling movies.
Heretic
Release Date November 8, 2024
Runtime 110 Minutes
7 'Smile 2' (2024)
Directed by Parker Finn
Image via Paramount Pictures
"Smiles hide the most dangerous truths." Smile 2 is one of the few horror sequels that improves on the original. Story-wise, it explores the aftermath of the smile curse that drove victims to madness and death. Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) is no longer the protagonist, but her story casts a shadow over the new characters as they unravel the mystery behind the phenomenon's origins.
Careful pacing and eerie visuals make this sequel just as unsettling as its predecessor, with the bonus of expanded lore that deepens the mythology of the curse. There's palpable tension, jump scares aplenty, and the plot maintains a brisk pace throughout (mostly). Then there's also the terrific lead performance by Naomi Scott, which is undoubtedly the film's secret weapon. She's both entertaining and believable. "It’s just a very interesting look at how trauma manifests, along with the fear of not being believed or misunderstood," the actress has said about the project.
Smile 2
Release Date October 18, 2024
Runtime 132 minutes
6 'Longlegs' (2024)
Directed by Oz Perkins
Image via Neon
"You can’t run from something that knows where you’ve been." Osgood Perkins bounced back to form with Longlegs, a lean, mean, creative horror about witchcraft, Satanism, and buried memories. Maika Monroe leads the cast as Lee Harker, an FBI agent investigating a bizarre series of murder-suicides. She's joined by a stellar Nicolas Cage as the madcap, rock-inspired, magician-killer Longlegs, who unleashes his hamminess to the max in the best way. The actor can be very hit-or-miss with these performances, but here, he absolutely nails it.
Again, Longlegs stumbles a little in its conclusion, but it's still jam-packed with strong elements, from the opening jump scare where Longlegs lurches into the frame to the shadows of the devil scattered throughout the film. The atmosphere is immersive the whole way through, and the creepiness is shot through with a unique undercurrent of nihilistic humor. In the end, Longlegs may be flawed, but it was still one of the most straightforwardly entertaining horrors of the year.
Longlegs
Release Date July 12, 2024
Runtime 101 Minutes
5 'Oddity' (2024)
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Image via IFC Films
"There’s comfort in the familiar, even if it’s monstrous." Oddity is one of the most impressive low-budget horrors in years, doing so much with its small cast and limited locations. It's about a blind psychic named Darcy (Carolyn Bracken) who sets out to avenge the murder of her sister, Dani (also played by Bracken). She marshals her powers of witchcraft against an all too human evil, leading to a tense battle of wits.
Oddity is a minimalist but endlessly creative affair. The movie serves up one finely crafted scene after another, from the unsettling opening where a crazed-looking man warns Dani that someone has snuck into her house to the phenomenal closing shot, which callbacks back to an earlier scene with style. It's one of the best movie endings of 2024. Well-timed shocks and delectably creepy visuals keep the audience hooked, and the story reveals new depths as it rolls along. Overall, it marks director Damian McCarthy as one to watch.
Oddity
Release Date July 19, 2024
Runtime 98 Minutes
4 'Alien: Romulus' (2024)
Directed by Fede Álvarez
Image via 20th Century Studios
"In space, survival is the only rule." The first two Alien movies were masterpieces, but the sequels could never quite recapture that magic. The film that has come the closest is Fede Álvarez's Alien: Romulus, a visceral addition to the franchise that harks back to the lean, mean opening chapter. It follows a ragtag crew who break into a research vessel only to find it overrun with xenomorphs.
The plot isn't anything new, but the execution is stellar, fusing claustrophobic horror with pulse-pounding action sequences (even if some elements, like the CGI inclusion of Ian Holm, didn't land). A memorable moment involves xenomorphs being shot while floating in zero gravity. Romulus only gets stronger as it chugs along, culminating in a monstrous finale involving a human-alien hybrid that ranks among the scariest movie monsters of the last half-decade. This movie is simply bursting with confidence and style, an enjoyable return to form for the series.
3 'Late Night with the Devil' (2024)
Directed by Cameron and Colin Cairnes
Image via IFC
"Sometimes, the devil doesn’t need an invitation." Late Night with the Devil is a great fusion of horror, drama, mystery, and character study, centering on fading '70s talk show host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian). In a desperate bid to reverse flagging ratings, Jack invites an allegedly possessed girl onto the show. As strange occurrences begin to plague the studio, it becomes clear that something otherworldly has been unleashed.
While not all that scary, Late Night with the Devil is impressively creative. It lovingly recreates the look and feel of a talk show from that era, with much of the action unfolding in real-time. The retro setting and aesthetic infuse the whole thing with a playful, tongue-in-cheek sensibility. This approach doesn't mean the movie isn't dark, however. By the wild third act, it morphs into a searing portrait of the quest for fame and the price of selling one's soul, with Dastmalchian's performance carrying it all.
2 'The Substance' (2024)
Directed by Coralie Fargeat
Image via Mubi
"You can’t unsee what you discover about yourself." Perhaps 2024's wildest movie, The Substance features a phenomenal Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle, a fifty-year-old celebrity who resorts to an experimental, black-market treatment that produces a young, sexy new body (Margaret Qualley). From here, the movie takes many bizarro twists and turns, blending Cronenberg-esque body horror with surreal humor and whip-smart social commentary. It takes its themes seriously, too, never resorting to empty sloganeering.
The narrative structure is also inventive, somehow always finding something more outrageous to serve up. The daring ideas are matched by technically assured filmmaking, including vibrant and energetic cinematography and fantastically disgusting makeup effects. Finally, it's impressive just how many inspirations director Coralie Fargeat mashes together here: everything from Kubrick and grindhouse to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Andrzej Żuławski's Possession, all filtered through her unique perspective.
The Substance
Release Date September 20, 2024
Runtime 140 Minutes
1 'Nosferatu' (2024)
Directed by Robert Eggers
"Some shadows never fade." Claiming the top spot on this list is, unsurprisingly, Robert Eggers's rich reimagining of F.W. Murnau's unauthorized vampire classic. A transformative Bill Skarsgård turns in yet another wonderful villain performance as Count Orlok, while Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp are equally great as the humans caught in his dark orbit. The finished product is the year's most accomplished piece of horror, matching intelligent writing with sumptuous production design and gorgeously macabre cinematography.
What's also impressive here is the film's emotional depth. Characters are fleshed out, and their inner struggles are well-realized. Many horror movies reduce their protagonists to plot devices, but Nosferatu approaches its ensemble with the care and complexity of a prestige drama. Eggers pulled off a similar trick with his phenomenal debut, The Witch, though this work exceeds that one in terms of ambition and scope. Not for nothing, Nosferatu was embraced by everyone from David Lowery to David Fincher and Sean Baker.
English (US) ·