Many of today's most innovative, heart-racing stories are being told in the horror genre, and 2024 continued that trend. While scary movie fans went into the year excited for highly anticipated sequels, many indie darlings emerged from festivals as ones-to-watch and became phenomenons in their own right.
Whether you prefer movies rich in jump scares or flicks even scaredy cats can handle, horror movies offered something for everyone this year, from serial killer films, slasher flicks, psychological thrillers, and creature features—many of which had feminist angles. To give you further nightmare fuel, below are the best horror movies of 2024 and how to watch them. (If you're looking for more scares, check out the best horror movies of 2023 to watch now on streaming.)
'Abigail'
Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, who directed 2019's horror-comedy Ready or Not, returned this year with a new terrifyingly funny tale. Abigal follows a group of kidnappers who take the 12-year-old daughter (Alisha Weir) of a crime boss. "In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl," per the film's description.
'Alien: Romulus'
Fede Álvarez's installment in the Alien franchise is a standalone story set in the timeframe between the franchise's first and second films. It centers on “a group of young people on a distant world, who find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe," per Variety, and you can expect it to bring on the gore.
'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'
This long-awaited revival brings back the titular ghoul (Michael Keaton) and the Deetzes for another twisted comedy-horror adventure. In 2024, the now-adult Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) reunites with her stepmother Delia (Catherine O'Hara) and her estranged teen daughter Astrid (new addition Jenna Ortega) in the wake of a tragedy. We'll leave spoilers to a minimum, but things get spooky.
'Cuckoo'
This indie flick follows Gretchen (Hunter Schafer), a 17-year-old who moves to the German Alps with her father and her new stepfamily. "Something doesn't seem right in this tranquil vacation paradise, [as] Gretchen is plagued by strange noises and bloody visions until she discovers a shocking secret that also concerns her own family," per the film's description.
'Exhuma'
This Korean horror movie (and one of the best Korean films of the year) is a supernatural thrill ride based on the practices of Korean shamanism. When the newborn child of a wealthy family contracts a mysterious illness, they hire a renowned shaman (Kim Go-eun), who traces the source to an ancestor's long-hidden grave. She brings on a geomancer (Choi Min-shik) and a mortician (Yoo Hae-jin) to exhume and relocate the remains, not knowing that the grave holds a centuries-old evil.
'The First Omen'
The latest film in the supernatural horror franchise The Omen is its first prequel story. "When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate," per the film's description.
'Handling the Undead'
This Norwegian zombie horror starring The Worst Person in the World breakout star Renate Reinsve hit theaters nationwide this year after earning rave reviews at Sundance. "On a hot summer day in Oslo, the newly dead awaken. Three families faced with loss try to figure out what this resurrection means and if their loved ones really are back," per the film's description.
'Heretic'
Heretic has everything: Hugh Grant waxing poetic about Monopoly and Lana Del Rey, Radiohead’s “Creep” on repeat, a long bit involving a blueberry candle, and Mormon missionaries navigating an atheist’s mind games. Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher play the missionaries, who find themselves held hostage by the sadistic Mr. Reed (Grant), who’s committed his life to finding the “one true religion.” The A24 film takes many turns and balances an eerie yet humorous tone; have faith that the labyrinthian religious horror movie is worth descending into.
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'Humane'
Caitlin Cronenberg's (daughter of David Cronenberg) feature-length debut takes place soon after "a global ecological collapse has forced world leaders to take extreme measures to reduce the earth’s population," per the film's description. "In a wealthy enclave, a recently retired newsman has invited his grown children to dinner to announce his intentions to enlist in the nation’s new euthanasia program. But when the father’s plan goes horribly awry, tensions flare and chaos erupts among his children."
'I Saw the TV Glow'
Jane Schoenbrun's acclaimed LGBTQ+ film follows teenagers Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) as they bond over their love of a television series. After the show is mysteriously canceled, their reality begins to blur—amounting to a beguiling, heartbreaking look at accepting the transformations we shouldn't shy from and the impact media can have on our own coming-of-age stories. Plus, this film has one of the greatest soundtracks of the year (with several of the artists featured on it making cameos in the film).
'Immaculate'
This chilling Catholic horror film follows a devout American nun (Syndey Sweeney) who joins a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Per the film's description, "Cecilia's warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors."
'In a Violent Nature'
This brutal, stomach-turning slasher follows an undead serial killer (Ry Barrett) through his point of view. Per the official description, "When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year-old crime, his body is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it. The undead golem hones in on the group of vacationing teens responsible for the theft and proceeds to methodically slaughter them one by one in his mission to get it back—along with anyone in his way."
'It's What’s Inside'
It’s What’s Inside is a body-swapping movie for Gen Z. When a group of friends gather before one of their besties’ wedding, a former classmate they haven’t seen since college shows up and shakes up the party by bringing a device that allows them to switch bodies. They turn it into a game in which they have to guess who is inside who, and soon enough, drama and sci-fi-horror disaster arise.
'Late Night with the Devil'
Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) hosts Night Owls, a syndicated '70s late-night show struggling to get its ratings up. To entice crowds, he stages a Halloween episode featuring a girl (Ingrid Torelli) who claims to be possessed by Satan. The terrifying evening is documented in this unpredictable film, which uses documentary-style elements to follow what's happening both in front of and behind the Night Owls cameras.
'Lisa Frankenstein'
Written by Diablo Cody, Lisa Frankenstein veers much more toward comedy (it’s one of this year’s best!) than it does horror, but it’s goth as hell (complimentary!) and there are a couple of scares that will leave you hollering. Inspired by the classic Mary Shelley tale and ‘80s horror B-movies, Kathryn Newton stars as Lisa, a new wave-loving, goth girl outcast at her ‘80s high school who brings back a boy (Cole Sprouse) from the dead at the local cemetery she frequents. If you fashion yourself a cinephile who wishes movies were camp again, well, most so-called campy movies pale in comparison to Lisa Frankenstein’s campiness.
'Longlegs'
A young FBI agent (Maika Monroe) investigates a serial killer (Nicholas Cage) who's roamed the Pacific Northwest for decades, murdering families with a daughter whose birthday falls on the 14th. As she follows the killer's trail of chilling, Satanic ciphers, the case approaches a truly terrifying ending.
'MaXXXine'
2024 saw the release of the third and final film in Ti West and Mia Goth’s collaborative X trilogy. After focusing on the villain’s origin from the first movie in the 2022 sequel Pearl, they turned to what came of X’s final girl Maxine after she made it off the farm alive. Set in the ‘80s, the wonderfully sleazy, giallo-inspired movie sees the titular character as she transitions from the adult film industry to her first leading role in a B-horror movie—all the while with a serial killer on her trail. Though it’s messier and feels less earned than the first two X movies, we’ll take any on-screen female rage depictions from Goth that we can get.
'Never Let Go'
This survivalist thriller is set in a world in ruins after a mysterious, unspeakable evil has taken over. A mother (Halle Berry) and her two sons (Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins) have survived by staying connected (literally, by ropes) to each other and their house at all times. However, when one of the boys begins to doubt that the evil force exists, the bond that's kept them alive is severed.
'Nosferatu'
The Witch and The Lighthouse director Robert Eggers helms this rendition of the classic vampire tale. It's everything you could want from an Eggers film—from copious rats to eerie shadows to detailed, period-accurate costume and production design—and it all paints a haunting erotic-horror portrait. As the object of bloodsucker Count Orlock's (Bill Skarsgård) affection, Lily-Rose Depp is a revelation as a woman equally in fear and entranced by what comes to her in the nighttime.
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'Out of Darkness'
This acclaimed horror indie, set 45,000 years ago, follows a community of prehistoric humans searching for a new home in an inhospitable tundra. When night falls, the group is stalked by a terrifying enemy.
'A Quiet Place: Day One'
This prequel spin-off to the hit horror-thriller franchise brings the initial chaos of the society-ending alien invasion to the big screen. It follows a group of strangers (with Lupita Nyong'o and Joseph Quinn among them) as they band together as the sound-sensitive monsters touch down in N.Y.C.
'Smile 2'
Smile was one of the biggest box-office horror hits of 2022, and a sequel was quickly greenlit. This installment stars Naomi Scott as Riley, a global pop star set to embark on a huge world tour. While on the road, her life unravels as she faces her dark past due to "increasingly terrifying and unexplainable events," per the film's description.
'Speak No Evil'
As most film fans who've stepped into a theater over the last few months are aware, this remake of the acclaimed Danish horror film Gæsterne, per Deadline, follows "a family invited for a weekend at an idyllic country house—a dream holiday that warps into a snarled psychological nightmare."
'The Substance'
Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), a former fitness star facing the end of her career, gets a second chance at stardom when she learns about a mysterious drug that splits her into two forms: her current body and a gorgeous 20-something double called Sue (Margaret Qualley). Inevitably, monstrous disaster ensues. With wild prosthetics set against a flashy alternate version of L.A., filmmaker Coralie Fargaet's film is brash, bold, and wickedly funny as it uses body horror to take down unachievable beauty standards.
'Strange Darling'
You should go into Strange Darling knowing absolutely nothing...besides the fact that this little-marketed horror flick—which takes inspiration from '70s and '80s serial killer B-movies—became an immediate word-of-mouth sensation upon its release. For anyone who needs more of a hint, know that the film is told out of order and centers a one-night stand turned into a hunt to the death.
'Trap'
In M. Night Shyamalan's psychological thriller, mild-mannered dad Cooper (Josh Hartnett) takes his teen daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert thrown by her favorite artist (played by Saleka Shyamalan, the director's daughter). However, in this Shyamalan flick, the twists come at the start: The concert is a trap for the FBI to catch a serial killer, and the killer is Cooper.
