Best 2024 Horror Movies

Summary

• Horror films in 2024 featured diverse themes like religious horror and psychological horror, with notable entries such as Smile 2 and Immaculate.
• The First Omen surprised with its successful prequel to The Omen, exploring the birth of the Antichrist, Damien, in an eerie and effective manner.
• Terrifier 3 stood out as the horror movie of the year, showcasing impressive practical effects, shocking moments, and a compelling final girl character.

2024 was another great year for horror video games and likewise for horror cinema. Across streaming and theatrical releases, there was so much new and original horror filmography vying for the top spot of being the best horror movie of the year, along with many highly-anticipated sequels and even prequels.

One of the big themes this year was religious horror and Satan worship, including demonic possession, but you also have psychological horror, body horror, sci-fi horror, and a certain slasher coming home for Christmas. Below are the best horror films 2024 has to offer.

11

The First Omen

Discover The Backstory Of How Damien Was Born

Probably one of the most surprising horror films to garner such high acclaim is The First Omen, the prequel to the beloved 1976 classic. Many would think a prequel to The Omen might be an odd choice that could only set itself up to fail, but it delivered quite the horror treat visually and features an unbelievable performance by Nell Tiger Free as Sister Margaret.

It expertly builds an eerie and unsettling atmosphere throughout and conveys how twisted religion can become; but be warned, it’s also slow-paced. But when you do learn the truth about what’s going on and the circumstances under which the Antichrist, Damien, comes into the world, you will be shocked, so it’s a pretty impressive directorial effort, given it’s the first feature film for director Arkasha Stevenson.

10

Immaculate

A Better-Paced Nun Horror Starring Sydney Sweeney

In a coincidental turn of events, two horror movies about nuns being impregnated with the devil’s spawn released back-to-back, but Immaculate did some things better than The First Omen. Firstly, this is by far Sydney Sweeney’s best performance yet and could be comparable to Florence Pugh in Midsommar, and the story was a little stronger and more convincing, if slightly predictable.

Here, Sweeney plays Sister Cecilia, who attends a convent where younger nuns care for dying ones. The sinister horror begins to creep in when Cecilia learns she’s pregnant, despite being a virgin. The mystery and religious horror are well-plotted and paced, keeping you engaged throughout. The antagonist, Father Tedeschi (played by Money Heist’s Álvaro Morte) proves a formidable villain, and the finale is a harrowing yet victorious moment.

9

Sting

An Underrated Spider Creature Feature With A Sci-Fi Twist

Sting can be described as Evil Dead Rise meets Lovecraftian spider horror and Alien. Instead of the plot aiming for a mutated giant spider, this one (named Sting by its owner) comes from space and crashes down like a meteorite inside a dollhouse in a New York apartment room during a snowstorm. Soon, a young girl named Charlotte sneaks into what you learn is her grandmother’s room and decides to keep the spider as her pet.

The alien spider can mimic sounds, like those of animals, and uses them against its victims, which are Charlotte’s family and everyone else in the building, and it grows bigger and bigger with each feeding. There’s some excellent gore and a few disturbing scenes, including one where the spider crawls into a person’s mouth, but also lots of comedy and family drama as well. Jermaine Fowler’s Frank is hilarious and Charlotte channels Ellen Ripley with a water gun in the final act.

8

Oddity

A Twisty And Creepy Revenge Horror

Oddity is a refreshing spin on the paranormal and revenge horror subgenre and a brilliant feature film debut for writer/director Damian Mc Carthy. A blind medium seeks answers to her twin sister’s death, suspecting that her brother-in-law and his new girlfriend might be behind it. She toys with them psychologically but also uses her powers to bring to life a creepy wooden mannequin, the signature part of the film.

Aside from a major reveal that you can see coming a mile away, there is plenty of excellent atmosphere and a super effective jumpscare moment. The mannequin is such a unique monster to utilize, especially how it’s controlled by the medium. The final shot of the movie is also a super satisfying way to conclude the story.

7

Heretic

Prepare To Find Out Mr. Reed’s One True Religion

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the horror duo behind A Quiet Place, teamed up with A24 to give their own take on religious horror centering on Mormonism. The film is a suspenseful ride, featuring lectures on religion and psychological mind games orchestrated by none other than Hugh Grant’s Mr. Reed inside his creepy mazelike home where two Mormon missionaries, Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, are trapped.

Hugh Grant’s character is unlike any he’s ever played, a murderous theologian obsessed with proving that religion is a method of control and has nothing to do with God, with plenty of disturbing revelations and plot twists throughout. While Heretic has nothing new to say about the criticism of religion and some may find all the discussion tedious and dragging (though with fun Monopoly and Taco Bell analogies), you can’t deny the amount of care and detail that went into the script.

6

Longlegs

Another Enjoyable Nicolas Cage Performance, Even If Not Terrifying

Longlegs was perhaps the best-marketed and most hyped-up horror movie of 2024, with everyone eagerly anticipating Nicolas Cage’s face reveal as Satanic dollmaker and killer Dale Cobble; aka Longlegs. At the same time, casting Nic Cage in such a creepy and chilling role ended up being the film’s downfall from a ‘horror’ title to more satire, as nearly every moment Cage was on-screen would make you erupt in laughter, especially the hardware store, car, and the ending smooch scenes.

The first act is incredibly well done and sets a suspenseful thriller tone for the film that gets fumbled in the entire last act. There are also some predictable twists, but the overall premise of Satan using dolls as a vessel is very dark and original, and there is ultimately a supernatural element behind everything that won’t disappoint if you’re a fan of demonic possession; just don’t expect it to be to the caliber of The Silence of the Lambs.

5

Alien: Romulus

The Best Sequel Since Aliens

While Alien: Romulus is a monumental step forward over other Alien universe films that came after James Cameron’s Aliens, you still might be left mixed with the result. That’s because director Fede Álvarez turns to cringe-worthy fan service and non-stop homages to moments from past films, which made it seem sadly unoriginal and bland. The Xenomorphs were also underutilized and left much to be desired.

What saved the film was David Jonsson’s android character Andy, the zero gravity Xeno shootout, the sound design, and the new human hybrid Xenomorph variant at the end, The Offspring, which is the most horrifying creature you can imagine. The direct connection that the space station has to Prometheus, the original Xenomorph, and the Nostromo was also wonderfully laid out, but little was explored in the actual film; you have to read a comic to get the complete backstory.

4

Late Night With The Devil

Late Night with the Devil is one of the most unique and original demonic possession movies in quite some time, and it’s something that the genre needs right now. The entire movie is shown through the found footage style of a taping of a ’70s late-night show called Night Owls and the behind-the-scenes footage, with parts of the story even being narrated creatively through magazine covers.

It follows the tragic figure of Jack Delroy, the host of Night Owls who lost his wife to cancer and who strives to have one of the best shows on nighttime television. Therefore, he invites a young girl named Lilly, who was rescued from a Satanic cult and claims to be possessed by a demonic entity, to try to communicate with it live on air, while a skeptic tries to disprove everything. David Dastmalchian as Jack Delroy delivers one of the best horror movie performances of 2024, and the ending will leave you speechless and still thinking about everything as the credits are rolling.

3

A Quiet Place: Day One

An Even Better Follow-Up To The Original

Even though the Abbott family isn’t a part of A Quiet Place: Day One, you really don’t miss them and instead become so invested in the new characters Samira, Eric, and Sam’s cat, Frodo. In fact, A Quiet Place: Day One can easily beat out the original and the 2022 sequel as being the series’ best for its emotional story elements and powerful performances by Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn, a terminally ill woman in hospice care and her caring law student companion.

It’s just as suspenseful as all the other entries, perhaps even more so with a cat who constantly runs away (spoilers: Frodo survives!). Since it’s the start of the invasion, the Death Angel monsters have an even bigger presence, and their lore gets expanded upon, which is very exciting to see. You’re both on the edge of your seat and in your feels with Day One, and it has one of the most perfect movie endings ever.

2

The Substance

Cronenberg And Kubrick’s Style Perfected By Coralie Fargeat

The Substance isn’t just a movie for horror fans but cinephiles in general. Director Coralie Fargeat is like a reincarnation of Stanley Kubrick with her visual style, camera work, and narrative direction. The message of youth, beauty, imperfection, and jealousy, as well as satirizing how Hollywood preys on young women and is quick to discard those much older, is told through an original sci-fi horror narrative.

The story beats, cinematography, set design, colors, and every frame and close-up have influences from Kubrick, Lynch, and Aronofsky. The performances by the main trio of actors are Oscar-worthy, with Dennis Quaid’s portrayal of an arrogant and sleazy Hollywood executive being a highlight. The body horror is as grotesque and disturbing as anything by Cronenberg.

1

Terrifier 3

Horror Movie Of The Year

If you’re not a fan of the Terrifier series, you will be after the third installment. Damien Leone totally outdid the first two, and it’s amazing to see the record-breaking box office success that this film has received on such a low budget. The shocking opening will be hard to top in the next one and Leone shows you he’s a student of the horror genre, paying homage to The Shining, The Exorcist, and one-upping Psycho’s shower scene with a long and brutal chainsaw kill that has the most astonishing practical effects.

What’s most excellent about Terrifier 3 (other than Art’s playful and gory carnage) is Lauren LaVera’s performance as the final girl, Sienna, who’s dealing with PTSD in a way that feels authentic, and that it finally gets the pacing right, with every scene feeling critical to developing the story and supernatural lore of the entity that is Art. There are even more shocking moments than any you’ve seen thus far from Terrifier, with an ending that only makes you crave more.