The BEST Horror Movies of 2024: Eric’s List

With the New Year on us, it is time to rate the best horror movies of 2024. What initially appeared to be a tough year for the genre turned itself around late. This year won’t be as impactful as last year, but it had some terrific films at the front of the pack that fans will remember and cherish.

2024 saved some of its best efforts for last. That’s not surprising given the writing and acting strikes significantly impacted the releases this past year. The festival circuit had a rough go of things this year. There weren’t many quality horror films (any films, really) available up to the summer.

Some films, like The First Omen and Alien Romulus, had been in production well before the strikes, so they got out the door somewhat unscathed. Remember that horror films are usually done relatively quickly and go out to market correspondingly soon. There was a heavy dependence on foreign films unaffected by the strikes, and that is represented in my list.

Later in the year, we got some remarkable films. Nosferatu was so late that I didn’t get to include it in our audio recording because it hadn’t been released yet! However, it is a 2024 film, and I suspect it will get some Oscar nominations this year. So, I am bumping some of my films down but am maintaining a spot for my former #10 film by creating a 10th-place tie.

I have seen 83 horror films made in 2024 this year, and I am including my full list, including my worst films in this list.

1. Oddity — Written/Directed by Damian Mc Carthy

This movie was one of the most original concepts of the year, and it was exceptionally well executed. Everything from the acting to the sets, to the sound design, and including the editing was hitting on all cylinders. It was the most jump scare-worthy film of the year, and it did so without cheap gimmicks. These were situational jump scares.

Carolyn Bracken was so good as the blind Darcy that I didn’t realize she was playing her twin sister, Dani, who looked quite different. Johnny French was deliciously awful as the scheming husband, Declan. Caroline Menton towed the right line between being someone you root against and a semi-innocent bystander to the horrors appearing when the Wooden Man gets revenge. There is even more to be gained in a second watch. All the subtle details are there to discover. Beautiful. Oringal. Scary. Oddity won the best in festival at the Overlook Film Festival this year. Top marks for 2024!

My interview with Damian McCarthy can be found right here! He was such a gentleman, and doing that interview was a joy.

Oddity is available to rent or stream from most platforms including Shudder.

2. Strange Darling — Written/Directed by JT Mollner

Wildly entertaining, with a nasty, wicked streak unmatched in 2024, Strange Darling is a masterclass in thriller editing. What do you think you know about the plot after the first half-hour changes? Then, it changes again and again! JT Mollner’s use of non-linear storytelling is a Jenga tower puzzle that manages to stay connected to the last piece. This was the best-in-festival film at Popcorn Frights.

Both leads, Willa Fitzgerald (The Lady) and Kyle Gallner (The Demon) manage to capture your attention and sell you on the moment. The beauty is that the story hangs together if you stitch together the film in a conventional front-to-back narrative. I dare not spoil any twists, as much of the enjoyment of this movie is in the surprises. Go into it blind!

Strange Darling is available for rent streaming on Amazon Prime.

3. Nosferatu — Directed by Robert Eggers
Written by Robert Eggers, Henrik Galeen, and Bram Stoker. (Yeah, that guy)

Robert Egger’s adaptation of the 1924 FW Murnau classic is a titanic artistic achievement. It had been a life-spanning desire of his to make this movie, and boy, did he bring everything he had to the table. The story is familiar, but the presentation is at the next level. The actors’ pacing and charismatic pull draw you deeply into this story. Unlike the Dracula films, our female lead, Ellen, is the central figure. (Not Thomas). Lily-Rose Depp achieved a performance I was unaware she was capable o

Willem Dafoe is wonderfully eccentric, Nicholas Hoult exudes the terror of an overmatched man, and Bill Skarsgard is monstrously unrecognizable as Count Orlok. Expect Oscar nominations for Linda Muir (Costumes), Jarin Blaschke (Cinematography), Craig Lathrop (Production Design), David White (Makeup), Damian Volpe (Sound Mixing), and hopefully… Robert Eggers and some of the cast.

Nosferatu is currently on wide release in cinemas across the United States. See it in 35 mm if you can!

4. Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Written/Directed by Ariane Louis-Seize

Horror Rom-Coms are challenging to execute well. Case in point: Lisa Frankenstein… not good. Along comes this French-Canadian Import with the exhaustive title, which arrived at the Overlook Film Festival with a bit of buzz but not much hype. I came away enthralled.

This is a coming-of-age story about a young (68 yrs) vampire reluctant to kill humans for food. As such, her fangs aren’t dropping, and her family is distressed that their family legacy is at risk. In a family compromise, Sasha (Sara Montpetit) determines that if she finds a willing, suicidal person, she won’t be a monster. Sasha could live with that arrangement. The difficulty comes when she falls in love with her “victim” Paul (Felix-Antoine Benard). This was sweet and funny, and it had so much heart. The horror is light, but the rom-com is on point. Ariane Louis-Seize pulled off the inside straight, and we received one of the best horror rom-com films in quite some time.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Human is available on Amazon and Apple TV.

5. Strange Harvest: Occult Murders in the Inland Empire
Written/Directed by Stuart Ortiz

Strange Harvest uses the template of a police procedural “documentary.” This mockumentary presents a series of grisly murders in the San Bernadino/Riverside suburbs of Los Angeles: The Inland Empire. Interviews with the detectives on the case recall the struggle to follow up on vanishing leads while being taunted by a maniac who seems to be one step ahead of the cops at all times. The detectives eventually determine a cosmic/astrological connection to the murderous pattern and how they witnessed the unimaginable events that followed.

The film effectively uses TV local news footage, security camera recordings, evidence still photography, and staged “interviews” in a format you’ve seen plenty of times, but not like this. The story ropes you in, making you forget that what you have been watching isn’t real. That is until the cosmic horror arrives. Stuart Ortiz delivered a fresh version of a found-footage horror film full of shock and surprise, minus the headache of shaky cam fatigue.

Strange Harvest: Occult Murders in the Inland Empire is still on the festival circuit and does not yet have a distribution partner, so look for it sometime in 2025.

6. The First Omen — Directed by Arkasha Stevenson

This movie had me at the trailer. In a year full of nunsploitation films, this was the most sophisticated and compelling take on the trope. Nearly identical in plot to Immaculate (which is also pretty good), The First Omen takes a more subtle approach to the birthing of the Anti-Christ. Great performances all around, they are bolstered by glorious sets and a powerful orchestral score worthy of the Omen Oscar-winning legacy

It also neatly ties into the 1976 classic, with nods and Easter eggs for those who know and love the original. It does the franchise proud.

The First Omen is currently streaming on Hulu and can be rented/purchased in all the usual places.

7. A Quiet Place Day One— Directed by Michael Sarnoski, Written by Michael Sarnoski, Jon Krasinski, and Bryan Woods

The Quiet Place franchise hasn’t let us down yet. With Day One, they take the premise to New York City, a place almost impossible to keep quiet. The irony is not lost. And the stakes are reset. Sure, keeping quiet in a rural farmhouse has potential… but who’s kidding who?

Once again, powerhouse performances are delivered. My number one rule has always been, “Do I care about the protagonists?” You couldn’t possibly get two more sympathetic characters to root for than Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) and Eric (Joseph Quinn). Two survivors with different goals, but they join together, and you root for them with all your fiber. Plus, this film uses a cat better than any other horror movie. All hail Schnitzel! (Sorry, Jonsey)

Currently, A Quiet Place Day One is available on most streaming platforms.

8. The Substance — Written/Directed by Coralie Fargeat

As a sophomore effort, Fargeat has refined her horror feminism and channeled it into a film that will most likely receive a slate of Oscar Nominations. Hollywood loves it when a famous actor humbles themselves on film, and Demi Moore does just that and then some. Horror fans will revel in the over-the-top goriness of it all. Much of it disturbing, some of it hilarious, and all of it is in-your-face.

Margaret Qualley, like her character Sue in the movie, is an ascendant star. Perhaps not ironically, she has the type of body and acting chops that Hollywood dreams of. By slamming the aging and beauty standards of Tinsel Town, Fargeat has created a new sex symbol. Let’s hope Qualley hasn’t been taking the Activator.

The Substance can be purchased or rented from Amazon or Apple TV. You can also currently stream it on Mubi.

9. Stopmotion— Directed by Robert Morgan,
Written by Robin King and Robert Morgan.

Stopmotion freaked me out. I am an architect when I am not a movie critic, and a struggle between creative aspiration and technical knowledge defines my life. I am known for my technical expertise but struggle with raw design creativity. It is the central struggle facing Ella (Aisling Franciosi), and saying she doesn’t handle it well is an understatement. Her struggles and descent into madness hit a personal chord with me, and I swear that this movie gave me job nightmares.

The “meat-mation” in this film was flawlessly executed and nauseating. A queasy vibe ran through the whole film, making it the most unsettling movie of the year for me. Honestly, I’m here for that. I can appreciate it when a movie makes me admire it despite my difficulties processing the themes.

Stopmotion is available streaming on Shudder and AMC, as well as most other major streaming content providers.

10. Invisible Raptor — Directed by Mikey Hermosa, Written by Mike Capes and Johnny Wickham

I was caught by surprise by this film. At first glance, it looked like an Asylum film, a West Common Denominator mockbuster. But once the film started rolling and Sean Astin appeared on the screen, the comedy took over, and the audience was in stitches. This was no Sharknado. This was a very clever film in concept and execution.

This felt like the Zucker Brothers (Airplane!) were doing a Jurassic Park spoof. If one joke doesn’t work, the next one will! The beautiful irony is that they didn’t include CG animated raptors because they didn’t want cheap CGI to mar their film. Instead, they used an array of fantastic invisible man gags that worked wonderfully. Mike Capes and David Shackleford make a terrific comic pairing. A bit of Dumb and Dumber action. Bonus points for lots of gory invisible raptor action.

I had the good fortune to interview Mike Capes and Writer JohnnyWickam, and you can catch that interview HERE.

10. Infested — Directed by Sebastian Vanicek, Written By Sebastien Vanicek and Florent Bernard

Infested is the scariest spider movie ever made.

It is also more than just a giant spider movie. It has some biting class struggle political commentary built into it. There’s an immigration tale built into this story of survival in a quarantined Parisian slum. Most of these kids have multiple, sometimes unsavory, jobs just to survive. And yet, they all care for each other. You get plenty of time to understand the struggles of these young tenement dwellers, and as the size of the spiders and the infestation grows, so does your anxiety. This independent French film is punching way above its weight class relative to the terrific spider effects. The timing of the actors has to be spot-on when dealing with these quick buggers too. It is a heartfelt and intense horror action piece.

Infested (Vermienes, au Francais) is free with an Amazon Prime or Shudder account.

The Best Horror Movies of 2024 in ranked order:

1. Oddity ★★★★★
2. Strange Darling ★★★★★
3. Nosferatu ★★★★★
4. Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person ★★★★★
5. Strange Harvest: Occult Murders in the Inland Empire ★★★★.5
6. The First Omen ★★★★.5
7. A Quiet Place Day One ★★★★.5
8. The Substance ★★★★.5
9. Stopmotion ★★★★.5
10. The Invisible Raptor ★★★★
11. Infested ★★★★
12. Alien Romulus ★★★★
13. Under Paris ★★★★
14. Maxxxine ★★★★
15. Cuckoo ★★★★
16. Smile 2 ★★★★
17. Longlegs ★★★★
18. Mads ★★★★
19. Here for Blood ★★★★
20. Out of Darkness ★★★★
21. Dead Mail ★★★★
22. Your Monster ★★★★
23. The Complex Forms ★★★★
24. Don’t Move ★★★★
25. Heretic ★★★★
26. Arcadian ★★★★
27. Did I? ★★★★
28. Baghead ★★★★
29. In the Name of God ★★★★
30. New Life ★★★★
31. Dream Eater ★★★★
32. True Detective Season 4: Night Country ★★★★
33. The Daemon ★★★★
34. I Saw the TV Glow ★★★.5
35. Handling The Dead ★★★.5
36. Immaculate ★★★.5
37. Humane ★★★.5
38. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ★★★.5
39. Things Will Be Different ★★★.5
40. Birthrite ★★★.5
41. House of Spoils ★★★.5
42. V/H/S Beyond ★★★.5
43. Abigail ★★★.5
44. Scared to Death ★★★.5
45. Red Rooms ★★★.5
46. The Letter ★★★.5
47. Mind, Body, Spirit ★★★
48. Hold Your Breath ★★★
49. The Watchers ★★★
50. Ghost Game ★★★
51. Godzilla X Kong ★★★
52. Sting ★★★
53. Hunting Daze ★★★
54. Kill Your Lover ★★★
55. The Bunker ★★★
56. In a Violent Nature ★★★
57. Last Straw ★★★
58. Road to the Mouth of Hell ★★★
59. Never Let Go ★★.5
60. No Way Up ★★.5
61. Lovely, Dark, and Deep ★★.5
62. Mysterious Ways ★★.5
63. How to Kill Monsters ★★.5
64. Last Night at Terrace Lanes ★★.5
65. It’s What’s Inside ★★.5
66. Exhuma ★★.5
67. The Front Room ★★.5
68. Get Away ★★.5
69. Blackout ★★.5
70. Tarot ★★.5
71. The Ceremony is About to Begin ★★
72. Booger ★★
73. The Strangers: Chapter 1 ★★
74. Night Swim ★★
75. What Lurks Beneath ★★
76. Carved ★★
77. Easter Bloody Easter ★★
78. Bad Fish ★★
79. The Exorcism ★★
80. The Inheritance ★★
81. Lisa Frankenstein ★★
82. Carnage for Christmas ★.5
83. The Lonely Man with The Ghost Machine ★.5
84. Cellar Door ★.5
85. Rumours ★.5
86. The Great Old Ones ★

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