The 25 best new horror movies of 2024 (so far)
Neon; Paramount Pictures; Kelly Gardener; Universal Pictures; Colm Hogan/IFC & Shudder; Natalie Ammari/BI
- There were tons of new horror films released in 2024, some of which were great.
- The year's best scary movies include franchise entries like "Alien: Romulus" and "The First Omen."
- One remake even made the list: the American version of "Speak No Evil."
2024 has been an excellent year for horror.
The genre has steadily risen in critical perception (and box-office performance) for years. It's no surprise that studios — both indie and mainstream — want to cash in when the highest performers in the genre can bring in well over $100 million.
While some major studio releases flopped, there were several impressive sequels, prequels, and even remakes that top the list of the best horror movies this year.
There were also plenty of original stories that blew audiences away with their technical innovation, visual appeal, or, frankly, batshit crazy plots.
Check out Business Insider's list of the best new horror movies of 2024, listed in chronological order of release.
Note: Streaming availability is accurate as of the publication date and may change.
Michele K. Short/2024 Focus Features LLC
Audiences didn't turn out to see "Lisa Frankenstein" in theaters when it was released earlier this year, making it a commercial flop. But it's found new life since debuting on streaming — which is a good thing because this horror-comedy is worthy of its rising cult classic status.
Kathryn Newton stars as Lisa Swallows, an eccentric teen grieving the axe murder of her mother, who inadvertently resurrects a Victorian-era dead guy (Cole Sprouse).
With a sharp script by Diablo Cody ("Jennifer's Body"), this impressive directorial debut from Zelda Williams (yes, Robin's daughter) is a delightful and fun throwback laden with homages to classic '80s flicks.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Samuel Dole/IFC Films & Shudder
ShowBox
Neon
Sydney Sweeney, who also serves as a producer on the film, resurrected "Immaculate" years after she first read Andrew Lobel's script because she couldn't get it out of her head. You'll probably experience something similar after watching it.
The eerie, atmospheric movie follows a young nun named Sister Cecilia (Sweeney) who joins a convent in Italy but quickly learns that it harbors sinister secrets.
Come for the well-placed jump scares, stay for the wild, ambiguous ending.
Where to watch: Hulu
Kelly Gardener
It's rare to encounter a horror movie with a fresh premise, but "Late Night with the Devil" delivers.
The IFC/Shudder film centers on a grieving talk show host (David Dastmalchian) so desperate to boost his show's ratings that he has a (purportedly) demonically possessed girl on the show as a guest for his Halloween night broadcast in 1977.
Things go sideways, as expected.
20th Century Studios
Director Arkasha Stevenson (best known for directing season three of "Channel Zero" and the first episode of Netflix's wildly underrated 2022 series "Brand New Cherry Flavor") manages to breathe new life into a decades-old horror franchise with "The First Omen."
Anchored by a terrific lead performance from Nell Tiger Free (best known for the M. Night Shyamalan Apple TV+ series "Servant"), the prequel to the 1976 film "The Omen" centers on an American nun who stumbles upon a conspiracy to birth the Antichrist at a Roman orphanage.
Where to watch: Hulu
Universal Pictures
This gory and hilarious horror-comedy comes from the same team that delivered the equally scary-fun "Ready or Not" back in 2019.
"Abigail" centers on a group of criminals (including horror-comedy stalwart Kathryn Newton, "Scream" alum Melissa Barrera, and Dan Stevens playing a crooked ex-cop with a killer Queens accent) who inadvertently kidnap a vampire ballerina child.
Even though I wish the trailer hadn't spoiled the twist, it's still a wild ride with some epic action sequences and bloody deaths.
Where to watch: Peacock
A24
Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun (who broke through with their 2021 Sundance hit "We're All Going to the World's Fair"), "I Saw the TV Glow" follows two troubled teens named Owen and Maddy who bond over their favorite TV show.
Unnerving and Lynchian, "I Saw the TV Glow" is also incredibly moving, thanks to Justice Smith's powerful performance as Owen.
Where to watch: Max
NEON
This Norwegian film, starring "The Worst Person in the World" breakout Renate Reinsve, is an atypical entry to the zombie genre.
Its horrors are largely the emotional kind, as three families must grapple with the unexplained resurrections of their dead loved ones. Reinsve plays Anna, a grieving mother whose young son returns from the grave.
The movie is based on the book of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist, who also wrote the modern vampire classic "Let the Right One In."
Where to watch: Hulu
IFC Films
The experimental style of "In a Violent Nature" might not work for everyone. Writer-director Chris Nash takes his cues from films by Gus Van Sant and Terrence Malick for something best described as arthouse horror.
There's no musical score, so it's unnervingly silent. Virtually all of the shots are slow, and often extremely long, takes — Johnny, the resurrected hooded killer at the heart of the film, isn't jump-scaring anyone. You see him coming from a mile away, yet you can't look away.
It's also noteworthy for having one of the most inventive kills I've ever seen in a horror movie.
Oscilloscope
This little French horror film follows an 18th-century nobleman who has a nightmarish encounter when he seeks shelter in a strange family's eerie manner. Once there, he quickly finds the returning patriarch, Gorcha, is not quite human.
Gorcha is a vourdalak — a kind of vampire in Slavic mythology that returns from the dead to prey upon the blood of its loved ones.
Most notably, Gorcha is a marionette, which works surprisingly well here and helps give the movie a throwback classic vibe. This one's a must-watch, particularly for lovers of practical effects.
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Prime Video or Apple TV
Paramount Pictures.
Isn't it crazy that multiple horror prequels this year were actually good?
"A Quiet Place," directed by and starring John Krasinski, made a splash when it hit theaters in 2018 and became one of the highest-grossing movies of that year. It spawned an equally successful sequel in 2021.
The latest entry, "A Quiet Place: Day One," is a spinoff prequel set in the early days of the blind alien invasion and stars Lupita Nyong'o and Joseph Quinn.
A24
"MaXXXine" is not as good as "Pearl" or "X," but it's still eons above most other slasher-thrillers out today.
Ti West's trilogy wraps up with a largely satisfying conclusion and another impressive performance from Mia Goth.
Kevin Bacon is another standout in the stacked ensemble, playing sleazy investigator John Labat as a great secondary antagonist.
Where to watch: Max
NEON
NEON proved to be a worthy rival to fellow indie powerhouse A24 with its masterful handling of the marketing for Oz Perkins' "Longlegs."
The monthslong campaign held back virtually every detail about the plot of the movie — including the small fact that Nicolas Cage plays the titular devil-worshipping antagonist.
The movie is visually stunning and a masterclass in dread. Modern scream queen Maika Monroe ("It Follows") gives another incredible performance as a withdrawn FBI agent facing off against Cage's Longlegs.
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Prime Video or Apple TV
Colm Hogan/IFC & Shudder
"Oddity" has an extremely simple plot that plays out so effectively.
It follows a blind, clairvoyant woman named Darcy (Carolyn Bracken) who uses the tools at her disposal in the Cabinet of Curiosities shop she owns to exact revenge on behalf of her murdered twin sister.
The creature design of that wooden man is easily the most haunting and memorable image from any horror movie this year.
Shudder
This send-up of the classic creature-feature takes cues from movies like "The Thing."
A fracking crew led by a pair of Americans inadvertently unleashes a parasitic monster that wreaks bloody havoc on the facility. It's from the Adams family, the filmmakers behind the also stellar "Hellbender," a low-budget folk horror movie released in 2021.
"Hell Hole" starts a bit slow, but really ramps up in the second half, culminating in a propulsive ending.
Neon
Hunter Schaefer and Dan Stevens face off in this mind-bending horror movie about a teenager named Gretchen (Schaefer) who's forced to move with her father, stepmother, and half-sister to a resort town in the Alps after her mother's death.
Once there, she realizes something strange is plaguing the town, and that it's all apparently connected to the flute-playing weirdo resort owner Herr König (Dan Stevens again, this time with an extremely fun German accent).
Schaefer goes all in for her horror debut, and it's quite a surreal ride.
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Prime Video or Apple TV
20th Century Studios
Yes, that's right. There's a third prequel on this list. Well, kind of — "Romulus" is both a prequel and a sequel, whose plot is sandwiched between the events of 1979's "Alien" and its 1986 follow-up "Aliens."
While it's admittedly impossible for any horror lead to match the badassery of Sigourney Weaver's Ripley from the original films, Cailee Spaeny ("Priscilla," "Civil War") gives us an instantly memorable heroine in Rain Carradine.
Throw in for good measure a gory birth scene (basically a requirement for this franchise) and a brand-new creature that's arguably scarier than the Xenomorph, and you'll see why "Romulus" was one of the top-grossing movies of the year.
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Prime Video or Apple TV
Magenta Light Studios
JT Mollner's "Strange Darling" initially presents as a standard cat-and-mouse thriller: a woman fleeing a man, who's doggedly pursuing her with a gun. But Mollner employs a non-linear narrative to turn the expected story completely on its head.
The writing, directing, and performances are all stellar, but the visuals are particularly noteworthy (crafted by actor Giovanni Ribisi in his debut as a cinematographer).
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Prime Video or Apple TV
Universal Pictures and Blumhouse
As unlikely as it is to get a solid franchise sequel or prequel, it's harder to get a worthy horror remake.
"Speak No Evil" manages that by taking the basic elements of the Danish hit and pulling the rug out from under us. Don't expect a beat-for-beat remake of the original movie that made a splash when it premiered at Sundance in 2022; this is a different beast altogether.
James McAvoy already proved his sinister chops in movies like "Split," so it was a given that he'd be a menacing villain here. But he manages to exceed expectations, giving audiences a truly unhinged psychopath.
Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis also portray a far more sympathetic couple than the one in the original movie, which helps raise the emotional stakes.
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Prime Video or Apple TV
Christine Tamalet/MUBI
There's a reason everyone can't stop talking about "The Substance."
The film, from French director Coralie Fargeat, stars Demi Moore as an aging fitness star named Elisabeth Sparkle who finds herself ousted from her show after turning 50.
Desperate to hang onto the only thing that gives her any sense of worth, she uses a mysterious Substance that promises to produce a younger, more beautiful, more perfect version of herself.
Unfortunately, Elisabeth and her new counterpart, Sue (Margaret Qualley), don't exactly see eye-to-eye on how their shared life will go. It's a giddy body-horror ride of epic proportions, culminating in one of the most memorable endings ever.
Where to watch: In theaters now; streaming on Mubi on October 31; preorder on Prime Video
Cineverse
If you're a horror fan who likes lots of gore, practical effects, and a memorable villain, you already know the "Terrifier" series is for you.
Art the Clown is back and once again facing off with Lauren LaVera's heroine, Sienna Shaw, this time with a possessed Victoria Heyes (the sole survivor of the first movie) by his side.
David Howard Thornton's Art was already up there with classic unkillable ghouls like Michael Myers and Freddie Krueger after the first two movies. But the third installment, helmed once again by writer-director Damien Leone, just cements that status.
Where to watch: In theaters now
Paramount Pictures
Parker Finn's 2022 directorial debut "Smile" exploded at the box office. Finn returns as writer-director for the sequel and manages to outdo the original in almost every way.
The jump scares are jumpier. The gore is next-level. Naomi Scott gives an instantly classic horror heroine performance as Skye Riley, a troubled pop star attempting to prepare for a comeback tour while being besieged by the ominous Smile Entity.
The ending is one for the ages and manages to blow open the franchise's potential future.
Where to watch: In theaters now
Shudder
Another inventive zombie movie, "MADS," is noteworthy in its experimental technique — specifically, that it's all shot in one take.
It follows a teenager who takes a new pill at his dealer's house and is plunged into a series of events that quickly turn nightmarish.
"MADS" is extremely clever, with a fantastic opening sequence.
Kimberley French/A24
This one is a doozy.
"Heretic" gives Hugh Grant, best known earlier in his career for his rom-com charms, his most shocking role yet. He plays Mr. Reed, a verbose, seemingly friendly older man who invites two young Mormon missionaries into his home. It quickly devolves into a psychological game of cat-and-mouse centered on religious belief.
Incredibly, much of the film is propelled by tense conversation, but it works here thanks to the tight script and trio of strong lead performances.
Where to watch: In theaters on November 8