Modern horror films. For genre fans, it has been a tough road over the past decade. There are always gems from the Indie world, but it is the rare Hollywood-produced horror picture that really works.
2024 stands as one of the most surprising years for horror in some time. Genre aficionados were treated to some great horror movies, a few backed by a big studios.
This was the year of inventive creepers such as an 80s throwback slasher film disguised as an artful mood piece (or vice/versa), a sequel that was light years ahead of its predecessor, a devil-conjuring film played out as a real-time tv show, a satanic serial killer film starring American cinema’s most adventurous actor, and not one but TWO “nuns in Italy trying not to become the conduit for the birth of the devil” movies.
As a lifelong disciple of all things horror (and for the millions of genre fans), 2024 was one “Hell” of a year.
The following are my choices for the 10 best horror films 2024 had to offer. To read my reviews of the selected films, click on the highlighted titles.
- NOSFERATU– directed by Robert Eggers
An inescapable waking nightmare of pure horror, Eggers film takes charge of F.W. Murnau’s vampire classic, molding it into a darkly sexual tragedy of the macabre that takes its place as one of the great horror films of the past few decades.
With its supreme design, impeccable cast, and disarming intimacy to the terrors held within, horror cinema has found itself with a new modern classic.
Eggers crafted an immersive cinematic experience and a ravenous bacchanal masterpiece of absolute terror.
2. LONGLEGS- directed by Osgood Perkins
The horror genre got a jolt of originality with this creepy and well-constructed devil cult tale. Perkins defies expectations and masterfully manipulates his audience.
Maika Monroe did the best work of her young career while Nicolas Cage created one of the most terrifying horror villains in decades.
Constantly surprising, chilling, and absolutely riveting.
3. THE SUBSTANCE- directed by Coralie Fargeat
The real-world horrors of self hatred, the sexualization of women’s bodies, and how a misogynistic culture forces women to question their physical worth, take center stage in Fargeat’s darkly comedic and ultimately brilliant commentary/body horror experience.
Demi Moore gives the performance of her career as she accepts the director’s extreme physical and emotional challenges from scene to scene. Powering headfirst into the deepest character she has ever played, the actress is extraordinary.
A masterful horror work painted with a Kubrickian brush splattered with Cronenberg carnage. A unique, daring, and original cinematic experience.
4. SMILE 2- directed by Parker Finn
Such a superior film in every way to the first film and a picture so well-executed that the first entry seems like a fading memory.
Finn understands the recipe for a good horror film. This film is disturbing without going over the top and frightening while being grounded in character. As the remarkable finale of doom reaches the heights of a filmmaker like John Carpenter, the director turns his original idea into something deeper and quite effective.
A vivid nightmare brought to cinematic life.
5. LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL- directed by Cameron and Colin Cairnes
If one is going to make a retro-styled motion picture about the devil manifesting itself on a late-night talk show, the filmmakers had better lean into it and make good on such a premise.
Grounded by the fabulous work from David Dastmalchian and the Cairnes brothers’ dedication to surprising their audience with inventive ideas and plenty of well-designed thrills. One need not be steeped in 70s and 80s horror knowledge to enjoy what this film has to offer. This is an impressive and entertaining work.
6. I SAW THE TV GLOW- directed by Jane Schoenbrun
A mesmerizing and eerie exploration of identity told through an inventive genre lens.
Subtext and visual representation find the creepiest of symmetries in a film that finds the best use of its horror roots while stimulating the mind and senses of the audience.
7. IMMACULATE- directed by Michael Mohan
Sydney Sweeney gives a tremendous performance, perhaps the best of her short career.
A brazen and brutal horror film that takes on the horrors of the Catholic Church.
Religious based horror done with style and superior craft.
8. THE FIRST OMEN- directed by Arkasha Stevenson
One of the more effective and creepy horror films in years.
The film has many and succeeds where 99 percent of modern horror films fail. Cinematographer Aaron Morton and his director craft an unrelenting horror atmosphere that haunts the audience like a demon, holding its aural grip until the final frame.
Through unnervingly sinister imagery and some genuinely terrifying moments, this film was a spookily welcome surprise.
9. TERRIFIER 3- directed by Damian Leone
One of the most gleefully sadistic and boundary-pushing horror pictures in decades. The unrestrained mayhem Leone unleashes is the work of a filmmaker who refuses to kowtow to contemporary norms.
A superior sequel and will go down as one of the great Christmas horror films of them all.
While the story may not make a lot of sense, it doesn’t really matter. This is a series that seems to get better with each film.
10. CUCKOO- directed by Tilman Singer
A battered and bloodied representation of emotional pain in a film that takes her character through a twisted mystery of terror.
At its core, a savvy homage to the “mad doctor” genre of horror and the film is at its best when putting the audience inside the main character’s head; letting us participate in her mental unraveling.
Anchored by a fantastic performance from Hunter Schafer, this is a wild and bloody ride of pure horror.