Do you like scary movies? If you answered yes, then 2024 may have been a frustrating, highly unreliable time at the movies. Thankfully, we were able to say goodbye to the tried and tested franchise reboots/reinterpretations for a hot minute, but that didn’t stop us from watching some weak sequels (“Alien: Romulus”), prequels (“The Strangers: Chapter 1”) and more watching a few films that benefited from variations on the words “omen” and “exorcist.” Genre writer Ti West concluded the trilogy he started with Mia Goth with a sprawling ’80s slasher homage, and we pray they tackle another trilogy over a period of time as soon as possible – Suggested possible time frames include the 1990s wave of meta-horror, the A24 boom of “elevated horror” in the 2010s, and a future one Utopia without such bad American remakes like “Speak No Evil”. It was a good year if your name was Shyamalan, and an even better year if your name was Shudder. If the success story of 2024 that everyone is now trying to copy is “Terrifier 3,” well… that’s something to really be afraid of.
There were a lot of low points, that’s for sure. But there were high points, too, and the 10 films we pick below represent a curious cross-section of genre peers, from a stylistic reimagining of a German Expressionist classic to a socially conscious South Korean ghost story to a feminist body horror satire . They have one thing in common: they send shivers down our spines, tickle our gag reflexes and make us look over our shoulders.
10 “Rita”
After running away from home, 13-year-old Rita (Giuliana Santa Cruz) is caught and taken to a reformatory run by demonic guards and a warden who looks very much like a witch. Most inmates belong to gangs that take on animal characteristics, from muzzled dogs to rabbits; she joins the “angels,” who wear giant feathered wings and plan an escape. Rita has also attracted the attention of the “Stars,” the facility’s mysterious clique who wear full-length black veils, look like human constellations and may be ghosts. Guatemalan director Jayro Bustamante (La Llorona) incorporates a variety of fairy tale elements into his horror-fantasy fable about women’s empowerment and uses his heaven-and-hell imagery extremely skillfully, while everything builds to a violent, moves towards a disturbing climax.
9 “Longlegs”
Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter) delivered a one-stop serial killer thriller that draws on practically all of the previous highlights of the horror subcategory and then – why not? – adds a satanic cult element. Thanks to a truly professional marketing campaign, this story about a profiler (Maika Monroe from “It Follows”) hunting down the person responsible for a series of unsolved murders was a big win for Neon, which may now try to outdo A24 in its scary game. It’s more of a mood than anything else, but it still scared the crap out of us, and you can never underestimate the power of Nicolas Cage in smeared pancake makeup.
8 “Blink Twice”
Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut was unfairly given the high-hat treatment when it hit theaters in the dog days of summer, which was a shame – her social thriller about a formerly disgraced, now reformed billionaire (Channing Tatum), a gig in love economy worker (Naomi Ackie) and an ongoing island vacation that seems suspiciously endless is much better than the lackluster reception suggests lets. Kravitz’s ability to keep the tension and the central mystery going for as long as she does, and a perfectly cast Ackie and her co-stars – including Alia Shawkat, Christian Slater, Adria Arjona from “Hit Man”, Haley Joel Osment, Simon Rex and Geena Davis – for making you see the cracks in the facade of non-stop hedonism before the dam finally bursts. The final act is driven by pure anger, and while some have criticized the social commentary as a bit clumsy, we counter that sometimes a blunt instrument works better than a scalpel when trying to destroy institutional toxicity in its micro and macro forms.
7 “Abigail”
The former Radio Silence villains who brought us the reboot (sorry, “requel”) of Scream and the rich man fable Ready or Not – Matt Bettinelli-Open and Tyler Gillette – return with a killer version of The Ransom of Red Chief, complete with fangs and flying bloodsuckers, returns. A gang of criminals kidnaps the title character (Alisha Weir), the daughter of a feared gangster. At first, only her direct contact (Melissa Barrera) suspects that something is wrong with the little girl in the tutu. Soon the entire group – including Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand, Will Catlett and the late Angus Cloud – realize that they are actually in trouble… and probably going to lose their heads in a very literal way. It’s an undeniably entertaining genre mash-up and proof that this duo can deliver jugular-popping carnage.
6 “Late Night With the Devil”
The synopsis couldn’t sound more trite: Here’s the long-lost footage of an old 1970s talk show in which a troubled host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) tries to summon the devil to his studio to boost ratings. The end result, however, is both a loving homage to the wave of B-movies about demonic possession in the Carter era and the late-night showbiz shenanigans of the Carson era, underpinned by a truly insane performance from a prolific character actor, the we all too often take for granted. Dastmalchian is the main reason this horror film from writers and directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes feels believable enough from the start to sell its high-concept premise, and bold enough to cheerfully join in the madness once things get going in the final 20 minutes taking a truly surreal and psychotronic turn. Kudos to Ingrid Torelli for her commitment to giving the young guest with satanic summoning powers a spooky atmosphere – her unnerving look into the camera is a great addition to Dastmalchian’s ever-unraveling acting.