Killer Horror Critic's 10 Favorite Horror Films of 2024!

Anger. That's the word that I would say best defines the horror genre in 2024. This was a year where we saw women rage against institutions attempting to take away their bodily autonomy across multiple films, including two that released back to back, Immaculate and The First Omen. A year where features such as Longlegs and Heretic crucified the way some use religion to manipulate their way into the homes and minds of others. Where we screamed at the way governments all around the world treat their citizens like expendable insects, as in Infested, while Monolith demonstrated the disastrous consequences of the type of misinformation that now spreads so easily through society. Every day this year has felt like the world was facing "unprecedented times". Both Smile 2 and The Substance expressed the utter horror of being told to just smile through it all. 

On a positive note, 2024 was also a year that saw great steps forward for the genre and film as a whole. At a time when AI is spitting out soulless copies of hard-earned creations and tech bros are calling it "art", we saw filmmakers delivering unique takes on sub-genres in films like In a Violent Nature or Handling the Undead, reminding any who needed it that art is nothing without creative humans behind it. Trans filmmakers took the spotlight and made their voices heard with I Saw the TV Glow and others. Terrifier 3 became the little indie horror that could, blowing up the box office with numbers that I'm sure surprised even Art the Clown. And audiences were treated to all sorts of incredible performances that we'll be frustrated over the academy ignoring (special shoutout to Lupita Nyong'o, who delivered a soulful portrayal in A Quiet Place: Day One that proved once again she's an immense talent who we're lucky to have starring in horror...a feat no AI created "actress" could ever accomplish, mind you).   

Also, count me as someone who adores the fact that not one but two made-up pop stars became icons in Lady Raven (Trap) and Skye Riley (Smile 2). 

I could go on and on, so let's leave it at this; horror is now and has always been the rebellious child of cinema. 2024 was an expression of just how true that is, and I would expect we'll see a whole lot more of that rebellion seeping into the genre as we move forward into what looks like dark times ahead. Which is just another way of saying I'm eternally grateful for this genre and the cathartic light it carries ahead for us to follow through the shadows. 

With that, here are my ten favorite horror films of the year, in no particular order. 

STOPMOTION

​Directed by: Robert Morgan

The first of a few feature debuts on this list, Robert Morgan's Stopmotion is a film that has tap tap tapped at the door of my mind like that damn raven for months now. A haunting tale that twists the idea of pouring your blood, sweat and tears into your art into a shocking reality, Morgan hits at the pain that often goes hand in hand with creation. Time and again, we're forced to watch a woman who desperately wants to be considered an artist rip herself to pieces in order to achieve that elusive title. That struggle to create--or the realization that one simply cannot--means facing the horrors in the darkest recesses of the subconscious, and oh, is Stopmotion riddled with truly nightmarish horrors. From meat-faced puppets to ghoulish monstrosities, Morgan makes a strong case for a return of stop motion to the genre, delivering one disturbing image after another. Here's hoping this psychological meat grinder of a film inspires more filmmakers to incorporate an art that has built some of cinema's greatest monsters. 

ODDITY

​Directed by: Damian Mc Carthy

Back in 2021, writer/director Damian Mc Carthy delivered one of the scariest films of the year in his debut feature, Caveat. This year, he did it again with Oddity. Playing out like a much less gory Tales from the Crypt episode with its themes of deceit and vengeful ghosts, it isn’t difficult to predict where the film is taking you. But Oddity isn’t about the surprises…it’s about the satisfaction in getting to the destination we’ve been waiting for the whole time. With his sophomore effort, Mc Carthy proves himself as a master craftsman of scares, whether it be timing the appearance of certain ghosts just right or making us squirm in our seats as one potential victim foolishly places her hand somewhere she shouldn’t. I squealed. I gasped. I yelled “oh, hell no”. All reactions I’ve come to expect with a Mc Carthy film. The list of creepy mannequin guys is short (Pin, The Fear), but in terms of fear factor, Oddity easily surpasses them all.

INFESTED

Directed by: Sébastien Vaniček

French filmmaker Sébastien Vaniček was hired to direct one of two upcoming Evil Dead films after his debut feature, Infested, made waves during its festival run, and it’s easy to see why. This is as creepy and crawly as the spider horror genre gets, right up there with the eight-legged granddaddy of them all, Arachnophobia. Vaniček leaves no arachnophobic stone unturned, lifting the cover on our collective fears and letting them all skitter out from the shadows. Using a combination of both real and otherwise spiders (a combo that adds believability to the terror), spiders dart up broomsticks; they pour out of shower drains; they even writhe beneath the flesh of their victims, making for some particularly nasty moments that will stay seared in your mind forever. But it isn’t just the filmmaker’s masterful crafting of intense terror that makes Infested an impressive first feature. Within the nightmarish display of arachnid horror is a heart-wrenching story of less fortunate characters who are looked down on by society, treated like insects and left to be devoured by a government that doesn’t care about them. Few films from this year had me wrapped in its web quite like Infested. No one can say for sure what Vaniček will deliver with his Evil Dead film, but based on this debut, you can count on it being scary as hell.

SMILE 2

​Directed by: Parker Finn

I was skeptical of writer/director Parker Finn’s sequel to his breakout hit, Smile. Despite finding that first film terrifying, I had personal issues with its approach to mental health. So, I’m as surprised as you might be to see Smile 2 make this list. No film this year has made me feel as unsafe, nor frightened, nor utterly devastated as Finn’s sophomore feature. The filmmaker makes an impressive leap from his first outing, bringing everything from his direction to the sound scape to the production to the next level…as any worthy sequel should. This film traps the audience in such a way that few horror films do. It tears at you. Bites. Claws. Kicks. The terror Finn delivers here is relentless, never letting up from the thrilling opening to a gut punch of a conclusion. Of course, to feel such a degree of fear, an audience must relate to the protagonist, and Naomi Scott deserves loads of credit for a gripping performance as pop star icon, Skye Riley. Her portrayal reaches such raw levels of emotional distress that I can only imagine how difficult this role must have been, yet she somehow makes it look effortless. Thanks to Finn, I’ll never think of smiling the same way again.

LONGLEGS

Directed by: Osgood Perkins

Osgood Perkins, son of Anthony Perkins and the filmmaker behind The Blackcoat’s Daughter, joined the 2024 genre pack with a scathing commentary on the way societal wolves dress in sheep’s clothing to gain access to the most innocent of minds. While descriptions of the film as pure evil and other takes that would lead you to believe Satan himself was ripping out spinal cords and playing them like xylophones at screenings may have been a bit overblown, Perkins nevertheless delivered an insidious tale that reminded us darkness lurks around every corner, sometimes beneath the flesh of those we hold dearest. A throwback to nineties era procedural horror such as The Silence of the Lambs or Se7en and lifted by magnetic performances from Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage (Cage has never been this scary), Longlegs is a dark puzzle of a film that becomes more frightening the more its pieces come into place.

EXHUMA

Directed by: Jang Jae-hyun

Rich with folklore and crawling with chilling scares, South Korean filmmaker Jang Jae-hyun’s Exhuma was a wonderful surprise this year. A film that at first feels a touch like a James Wan ghost story before transforming into something much deeper and insidious, I found myself enthralled by the world Exhuma builds. From Geomancers to Shamans to ancient burial sites, snakes with human faces and more, Jae-hyun crafts an atmospheric haunting that sucks you deep down into the ground where evil things lie. Both a spiritual tribute of respect towards death and a digging up of cultural wounds not yet healed, I’d feel comfortable in saying Exhuma has one of the best genre scripts of the year, the sort of film you could easily imagine as a page-turning novel. The lore is abundant. The characters, magnetic. And all of it immaculately conceived by Jae-hyun. At over two hours, there isn’t a dull moment to be had in this conceptual feast of a tale that more than deserves a spot amongst this year’s best.   

THE FIRST OMEN

Directed by: Arkasha Stevenson

On paper, The First Omen is a good script (minus the moments when it remembers to be a prequel). But it’s director Arkasha Stevenson, in her feature debut, no less, who turns water to wine with this unholy nightmare. One of the most frightening films of the year, much of that is owed to Stevenson’s grasp of atmospheric execution, which is leagues above where you would expect at this point in her career. It could have been just another horror prequel, but the filmmaker instead turned in a bold, shocking, relentlessly terrifying film filled with imagery that still haunts me months later (that birthing scene, my god). And of course I must mention Nell Tiger Free, who turns in one of the most memorable performances of the year, at times channeling Possession’s Isabelle Adjani. No doubt, The First Omen is masterful on every level, yet what cements its place as one of the year’s best is the rebellious spirit at its core. While the Omen franchise has often looked to the church as a source of good, here, that same church is displayed as the corrupt entity it is. At a time when the bodily autonomy of women is being attacked, The First Omen is an enraged scream against the Church and all who would deem women as mere vessels for the next generation.

RED ROOMS

Directed by: Pascal Plante

Some of you may see Red Rooms listed and think, “that’s not horror”, to which I would say, fair. This is one of those that walks that ruby red line and can go either way depending on your interpretation of what horror is. For me, this film belongs here because its intent is to disturb you and disturb it does. Writer/director Pascal Plante’s look at true crime obsession is a chilling descent into the world of the dark web and the minds of those who surf its bloody waves. Despite never showing any on-screen violence, Plante manages to manifest a sickening feeling within the audience, like worms wriggling in the belly as we follow one of the most fucked up characters you’ll see this year, model/true crime obsessive, Kelly-Anne (with a brilliant and cold performance from Juliette Gariépy). Our society has become enamored with killers, often lifting them to legendary status while putting their faces on our t-shirts. Red Rooms is a scathing commentary on that obsession, one that asks how thin the gap really is between murderer and admirer.

I SAW THE TV GLOW 

Directed by: Jane Schoenbrun

Like Red Rooms, some of you are going to say this isn’t horror, and just as before, I see where you’re coming from. But for me, what makes Jane Schoenbrun’s incredible tale of our relationship with our own bodies and the media we consume is in how it captures that intense feeling of body dysmorphia; of not knowing or being afraid to discover who you truly are; of denying yourself that knowledge and remaining trapped in the Midnight Realm, so to speak. An entire book could be written on why I Saw the TV Glow isn’t just one of the best horror films of the year, but one of the best films of the year period, yet I’ll narrow it down to this…I can’t think of a single film that has created more discussion around the trans experience. There is certainly a debate to be had around Schoenbrun’s portrayal, nor is it intended to be a universal interpretation that says this is what every trans person goes through, but this haunting masterpiece had all of us talking about that, and that’s what makes it so very special. This is a film that gave audiences a taste of what it can be like to feel as if you don’t fit your own body, while opening others up to understanding more about themselves. It’s uncomfortable. It’s hypnotic. It’s breathtaking. And Schoenbrun deserves to become a household name because of it.

THE SUBSTANCE

Directed by: Coralie Fargeat

With Revenge (2018), writer/director Coralie Fargeat came screaming onto the scene by mixing rage and striking visuals in her blood-soaked feature debut. It took six years for the attention-grabbing filmmaker to return to the big screen, but her wildly entertaining sophomore effort, The Substance, proved well-worth the wait. A mad-scientist concoction blending the likes of Cronenberg, Henenlotter, and Yuzna, Fargeat’s latest sent my jaw crashing through the floor. Gross. Slimy. Tragic. Audacious. Utterly insane. Two of the best (and boldest) performances of the year in Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. The Substance isn’t just an affecting tale of self-hatred and unachievable beauty standards. It’s a battle cry for cinema that dares to push boundaries while spitting on the very system that would dare try to restrain it, and it comes at a time when we need that more than ever.
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HONORABLE MENTIONS: IN A VIOLENT NATURE...MONOLITH

By Matt Konopka