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The Ten Best Horror Films of 2024

by Terry Morgan Jan 01, 2025

The Ten Best Horror Films of 2024

2024 has been many things, pro and con, but one of those things was a strong year for horror cinema. There were so many good options that my top ten list may not even include any of the other films on some other critic’s list of favorites. In one year we had Nicolas Cage and High Grant as memorably creepy horror villains, a vampire played successfully by a puppet, a film about the many considerations concerning Korean funeral rites, a scary-looking wooden behemoth statue, blasphemous virgin births and terrible vanishing curses. I saw all of these films theatrically except for the three that were only available for digital streaming. These films are presented in no special order qualitatively – they are all special.

LONGLEGS – Osgood Perkins’ masterful, unique thriller was the movie I probably wrote the most about this year, here and on another site. It was a surprise hit, due partly to a compelling PR campaign, so lots of people saw it who might not otherwise have. It’s fantastic that Perkins’ original cinematic voice finally got the audience it deserved this year, and his upcoming Stephen King adaptation of The Monkey looks like a great horror-comedy for early 2025. Here’s a link to my previous article on Longlegs: https://trailersfromhell.com/the-man-downstairs/

EXHUMA – South Korean writer/director Jang Jae-hyun’s supernatural mystery/thriller is a superb film on every level. Lee Mo-gae’s cinematography is beautiful (even when it’s showing alarming things) and the cast (led by Oldboy protagonist, Choi Min-sik) is impressive across the board. Jae-hyun’s direction is expert, and the script and the story it tells are fascinating. In (not very) short, it involves a family curse that stretches across the world, Korean funerary customs, a shaman and a sort of Korean feng shui master for burial plots, demonic possessions, a history of the Japanese occupation of Korea, and a very angry oni. The tale is full of plot twists and the characters are vividly presented. I personally found the information on Korean views of the supernatural to be quite compelling. In terms of its dense plot and distinctive way of revealing it, I found Exhuma to be a similar experience to watching films such as The Wailing or Noroi: The Curse. Essentially a must-see.

IMMACULATE – Director Michael Mohan and writer Andrew Lobel’s religious thriller is gleefully blasphemous with an ending that has to be seen to be believed (they play Ave Maria over the credits, and they opened it Easter weekend). Sydney Sweeney plays an innocent young nun who is brought over to a nunnery in the Italian countryside for reasons she doesn’t yet comprehend. Suffice to say that the film’s title is a clue for what to expect. What one might not expect is the intensity of the movie and how thoroughly Sweeney commits to her role. If you’re going to see one Catholic horror film this year, this is the one.

STRANGE DARLING – JT Mollner’s psychological thriller is an expertly crafted film, bolstered by two terrific lead performances and a cleverly structured script. As a director, Mollner gets terrific performances from his cast and succeeds at giving his film a particular arthouse indie look, abetted by Giovanni Ribisi’s expert cinematography. It’s Mollner’s script that really stands out, however, especially its vital use of structure. The script deliberately teases the audience with bits of information, dishing out red herrings and leading them down blind alleys as they try to piece together the story. The conceit works very well in this instance. I enjoyed this movie very much and would recommend it, but I will say that veteran horror fans may not find the plot reveals of the story quite as shocking as they’re presumably meant to be.

BLINK TWICE – Zöe Kravitz knocks it out of the park in her directorial debut with this assured black comedy/thriller about a fantasy island trip that isn’t what it seems to be. Kravitz’s direction is so confident that one would never know that Blink Twice is the first movie she’s helmed. The first half of the film seems like a standard Hollywood romantic comedy/drama, which then segues into a disturbing thriller without missing a beat. The large ensemble cast (featuring such pros as Geena Davis, Kyle MacLachlan and Christian Slater) is utilized well to bolster the story and not just to add more celebs to the project. Kravitz adds clever stylish touches throughout, such as the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it title, which shows up for a couple of seconds. Blink Twice is an impressive achievement from Kravitz, a comedy/thriller that’s not afraid to tackle difficult subject matter. I look forward to her next film.

ODDITY – Writer/director Damian McCarthy’s film is a more straightforward entertainment than his previous movie, Caveat, but they both share his own distinctive, off-kilter style. Its tale of murder, a creepy house, a monstrous wooden statue and many hidden motives keeps the tension high. Oddity displays a director in full command of his gifts. Its look is elegantly spooky (credit Colm Hogan’s crisp cinematography), and the cast is uniformly terrific (with an especially impressive turn by Carolyn Bracken as twin sisters). McCarthy’s skill at generating suspense is demonstrated throughout, particularly in a scene in which one character may be walking into a trap. The film also features the most effective jump scare I’ve seen all year. The opening set piece is excellent (almost a short film by itself) and brilliantly sets the mood and sense of menace for the rest of the story. McCarthy’s script is smart and hearkens back to an older era of horror, evoking M. R. James with the “oddities” in the lead character’s antique shop and the wooden statue with the frightening face. This movie is a great example of how to do a presumably low-budget story right, using a small cast and a couple of locations to create a perfectly claustrophobic little world. Oddity is very much worth seeing and announces a new talent in the horror world that is very welcome. 

DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY – Santiago (Harold Torres) is the kind of tabloid photographer who takes a picture of a corpse at an active crime scene and then tells a cop to cover the body up so nobody will get the shot but himself. He gets his comeuppance when he breaks into a mansion and finds a ritually mutilated almost dead guy and thereafter finds that he’s cursed, losing each of his five senses. Director and cowriter Luis Javier Henaine does an amazing job of slowly turning up the heat on the initially callous Santiago until he realizes the water he’s in is boiling. The sense of dread really kicks in during the final thirty minutes, in which Henaine blurs the camera vision and gradually eliminates the sound, getting down to just breathing and heartbeat and then not even that. There is a tiny spark of redemption in there, but the final cut to black and the perfect use of Radiohead’s “How to Disappear Completely” with its dissociated, mournful vocal over the credits is powerfully haunting.

HERETIC – This film is a smart and stylish delight, with one of the best uses ever for Hugh Grant. A nice surprise. Here’s the link to my review: https://trailersfromhell.com/heretic/ 

THE VOURDALAK – A terrific indie that likely flew under the radar of most horror fans. It’s a period piece that features a vampire very effectively portrayed by a puppet. It’s not going to be to everyone’s taste, but trust me, it’s very much worth your time. Here’s my review: https://trailersfromhell.com/the-vourdalak/

MILK AND SERIAL – Here’s something different – a one-hour film premiered on You Tube for free that is one of the best horror features of the year. It’s the creation of writer/director/star Curry Barker, and it’s perhaps the best resume for work as a Hollywood director I’ve seen in ages. Milk and Seven produce a social media prank show in which they each try to one-up the other with ever more elaborate and disturbing “pranks.” When people start dying, they start suspecting each other. This is a well-acted (Barker is especially memorable), disturbing and compact little thriller, with the killer’s repeated catchphrase, “What do you mean, you don’t like it,” especially chilling.

HONORABLE MENTIONS – Loop Track, Humane, Mind Body Spirit

About Terry Morgan

Terry Morgan has been writing professionally since 1990 for publications such as L.A Weekly, Backstage West and Variety, among others. His love of horror cinema knows no bounds, though some have suggested that a few bounds might not be a bad thing.

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david smith

The Substance, easily best film, any genre

Mike

Heretic, wonderfully done…fun, suspenseful, thought provoking w/a dash of rarity & daring.

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