2024 wasn't great wasn't great for me. Starting off of Jan 1st with severe Covid/RSV that lasted over 3 months and forever wrecked my lungs. Then came the shitty mental health aftermath. Turns out struggling to breathe can cause certain anxieties and OCDs that are pretty hard to overcome. But alas, just in time for the absolute mindfuck that 2025 could possibly be I have compiled a list of horror films for you. You like lists. I know you do. Okay, so I watched a ton of rad horror films this year. It was an amazing year for film in general. So here is MY top 24 horror films of 2024.
24. Frogman (Dir: Anthony Cousins) I'm so glad this lil freakshow of a film made the list. It totally came out of nowhere and I wouldn't even have seen it if Terror Vision hadn't released it on blu-ray. Found footage, frog monsters, frog cults, crazy body horror. It's such a good time.
23. Woman of the Hour (Dir: Anna Kendrick) Based of the true story of serial killer & rapist Rodney Alcala and his 1978 appearance on the already creepy game show The Dating Game and the unfortunate show contestant Sheryl Bradshaw who won a date with him. It's got a wonderfully unnerving 1970s California vibe and paints a upsettingly perfect picture of the misogynist realities that women face everyday.
22. Smile 2 (Dir: Parker Finn) The sequel to original 2022 horror hit Smile, this time we follow a pop star who is "infected" by the smile demon/virus. I enjoyed that they went in a completely different direction in part 2 focusing on the gaslighting and back stabbing that comes with fame and that when it comes down to it, people love to watch other people fall to the bottom.
21. Terrifier 3 (Dir: Damien Leone) Okay so look, the Terrifier movies are not everyone's cup of tea, I get that. Murder porn with little to no actual story. But you cant deny that Art the Clown is actually pretty scary. And the gore scenes are super creative and balls to the walls gory. Don't try so hard and just enjoy it for what it is. A hilarious Christmas bloodfest.
20. Alien Romulus (Dir: Fede Álvarez) I really wanted to love Romulus. I really did. I love the Alien franchise. Alien and Aliens are two of my all time favorite films. Hell, I even defend part 3. But come on studios, can you please quit with all the stupid fan service and young adult characters that look like they'd rather be playing Minecraft on their tablet. I mean the stars of this film look like they belong on a CW show called Ragtag Space Teens. That aside, it was pretty to look at. And the xenomorphs are just fucking cool no matter what movie they're in.
19. Heretic (Dir: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods) This movie brought me back to what it felt like being trapped in Sunday school when I'd rather be home watching Sunday morning kaiju films. Mormon girls get invited into a weird house by a weirdo Hugh Grant and are taught about the dangers of blind faith. Good stuff.
18. Abigail (Dir: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett) I love when I go into a film expecting totally cheesy cheese and actually have a good time. It's too bad Universal gave away the twist in the trailers and promo material. That would've been a great payoff. Yes, the girl is a vampire. And yes, the shitbirds who kidnapped her are going to pay dearly.
17. Oddity (Dir: Damian Mc Carthy) If my blind sister-in-law brought over a scary wooden man to my house after my wife was murdered I'd tell her to get the fuck out and take that creepy shit with her. Also if I lived near a spooky insane asylum I would also move the hell away from there especially when escaped patients came knocking on my door with their one weird eyeball.
16. Stopmotion (Dir: Robert Morgan) Shudder released a few bangers this year. Stop-motion filmmaking is so cool and this film turns it on it's creepy mushy-shaped head. I love the "am I going insane or is this messed up shit really happening" genre of horror. Also, stay the fuck away from spooky kids that don't seem to live anywhere or have any family and constantly roam your apartment building hallways.
15. The Devil's Bath (Dir: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz) There's something about ole-timey folk horror that when done well it really gets under my skin. This film transports you to a bleak time with bleak religious practices and desperate behavior. Absolutely stunning to look at and depressing but in a good way if that even makes any sense.
14. Late Night with the Devil (Dir: Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes) Another Shudder released banger. A lot of people I know have this as one of their top horror of the year and although I really liked it I can't help but compare it to Chris LaMartina's WNUF Halloween Special or even BBC's Ghostwatch so it doesn't feel as fresh of an idea to me. That said I think they did an awesome job with the 1970s vibe and it has some super fun spooky scenes in it.
13. Immaculate (Dir: Michael Mohan) It was an awesome year for religious horror and devil babies and spooky nuns. Immaculate is so gorgeous to look at and the performances were all amazing. And holy fuck that ending is brutal.
12. Lisa Frankenstein (Dir: Zelda Williams) OMFG this movie is cute. It's like Heathers meets Edward Scissorhands meets May. Sometimes you just need body parts to make your boyfriend whole and it's not like anyone is going to offer an arm or tongue or ummm dick so like whatever, I'll just cut off yours. Cool?
11. Love Lives Bleeding (Dir: Rose Glass) A great love story about addiction and need and family and wow, I wonder how many times Katy O'Brien could bench press me. Wow!
10. Godzilla Minus One (Dir: Takashi Yamazaki) Top ten baby!! I've loved Godzilla movies ever since I was a kid and TBS would play dubbed kaiju movies on Sunday mornings. A few years ago Shin Godzilla was an amazing renewal for the "thunder lizard" and Minus One takes another huge leap forward separating it from the goofy (but loved) Godzilla films of the past. It's my favorite Godzilla movie since the OG. I love that the human characters are the focus and doing their best to not only survive in post war Japan but fight off the unhappy, lighting spewing, building evaporating Gojira.
9. The Substance (Dir: Coralie Fargeat) It's wonderful to get some mind blowing horror directed by women this year which we need more of. Sucks that I even need to point that out. I haven't seen body horror done this well since Cronenberg's The Brood or the shunting in Brian Yuzna's Society. Some seriously gross stuff. Also, aging fucking sucks and it's awful the way we treat people as they get old.
8. The First Omen (Dir: Arkasha Stevenson) Had you told me that an Omen prequel would be in my top ten horror films of the year I would've laughed at you. Once in a while, a prequel, requel, re-do kills it, it's seriously rare but it happens (right Suspiria?). How did Damien come to be? More religious spookiness, creepy nuns, demon babies, and an amazing score by Mark Korven. It has some European sensibilities and almost feels like a Giallo. Absolutely loved it.
7.
A Quiet Place: Day One (Dir: Michael Sarnoski) The Quiet Pace is the franchise that keeps on giving. I loved Lupita Nyong'o in this film as a dying women with cancer and not much will to live but when the alien shit hits the fan she has to take care of a helpless business dude and her adorable cat. As always, rad creature designs and premise. That ending. Ugh, I cried like a baby.
6.
Exhuma (Dir: Jang Jae-hyun) Yo Shudder, WTF killing' it! Exhuma has become my favorite Korean horror film. The Wailing took that spot a couple years ago and here we are. A wealthy family hires some paranormal experts to help deal with their "cursed" ancestral burial grounds. Unfortunately they fuck with the wrong grave!
5. Strange Darling (Dir: JT Mollner) I love when a film sets me up with a basic premise and then it smacks me in the face with "you thought you knew what was going on, wrong!!!" Strange Darlings locks you in the trunk and takes you for a ride. That's all I really want to say about it. Go watch it so you know.
4. MadS (Dir: David Moreau) THIS MOVIE IS ONE CONTINUOUS SHOT! And it totally rules. The acting rules, the filmmaking rules, the story rules. It's frantic, upsetting, and makes me twitch. MadS came out of nowhere and blew me the hell away. Vive le cinéma français!!!
3. Nosferatu (Dir: Robert Eggers) The endless dread, the gorgeous costumes, the beautifully eerie cinematography, the haunting score, the luscious performances. Holy hell the movie is so good. Eggers may be one of my favorite directors. "We are here encountering the undead plague carrier... the vampyr... Nosferatu" Fuck I need to watch it again.
2.
Longlegs (Dir: Osgood Perkins) My favorite genre of film is serial killer vs FBI with an occult twist and that's exactly what this film gave me times ten. The acting was superb. I related soooo much to Maika Monroe's character. Longlegs is weird and creepy and the devil is in the details (and the shadows). I'm still wondering about the orbs and dolls and wtf they mean and I like that I don't understand. Spooky.
1. I Saw The TV Glow (Dir: Jane Schoenbrun) Have you ever watched a film that spoke to you so profoundly that you can't even describe to people what it meant to you because it's like showing off a piece of your soul? That's what this beautiful, depressing, eerie experience was like for me. The crushing slow death of not being able to be your true self and the safe skewed haven that nostalgia gives you to step around your present self. Love people for who they are, not what you need them to be.
Thank you all for getting this far and here's to another rad year of horror. Let me know what your favorites were. Buy physical media & go to the cinemas. As for the incoming doom of 2025, who knows but let's keep it spooky.
