Whenever a horror movie is a success with audiences or critics, countless industry “pundits” craft pieces about the power of horror and how the genre manages to bring excitement back to the movies. What horror fans know, however, is that horror has been a dominating force at cinemas for over a century and, while there can be lulls, tales of terror have always and will always give audiences reasons to head to the theater. As we near the end of 2024, the power of hindsight reveals that genre fans have gotten to enjoy some of the best horror offerings in recent years, as fans have been treated to an embarrassment of riches across various platforms. Additionally, not only have fans been given relatively successful entries in familiar franchises, but the most impressive outings have been entirely original and independent titles, proving just how bright the future is for the genre on screens both big and small.
Like many other years, 2024 got off to a rough start with horror, as Night Swim fell flat with audiences and critics alike, and while Lisa Frankenstein served as an unconventional love story in honor of Valentine’s Day, the project didn’t entirely resonate with a larger viewership. Luckily, as fans headed into spring, genre titles gained a bit more momentum.
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In March, fans were given the religious-themed Immaculate starring Sydney Sweeney. Its subject matter combined with Sweeney’s growing star power resulted in box-office highs for studio Neon, with promising reviews also earning it plenty of positive buzz. That month also saw the release of the David Dastmalchian-starring Late Night with the Devil, which remains one of the best-reviewed horror movies of the year, sitting at 97% positive reviews on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
Despite fans having doubts about The First Omen and how it was reviving the iconic The Omen franchise, the prequel managed to take audiences by surprise and find fresh entry points into the decades-old mythology, thanks in large part to the performance of Nell Tiger Free and direction of Arkasha Stevenson. While it was understandably inspired by Universal Monsters, Ready or Not and Scream filmmakers Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin unleashed Abigail, delivering audiences their signature blend of humor and horror. Even if it didn’t blow up at the box office, getting any unconventional take on vampire lore felt like a refreshing release from a major studio.
May might have been relatively light when it came to mainstream genre releases, as I Saw the TV Glow was a remarkable outing from A24 and filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun yet might not have been the conventional “horror movie” some audiences were anticipating, though June, July, and August offered up some standout titles. A Quiet Place: Day One proved that the series could be expanded outside the limitations of the Abbott family from the first two movies, while filmmaker Ti West and star Mia Goth concluded their trilogy of horror films with MaXXXine, which became the top earner of the series.
July also saw the release of arguably the year’s most talked-about horror movie, Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs, whose serial-killer vibes, cryptic marketing, and frightening performance from Nicolas Cage helped the experience permeate all of pop culture. Merely weeks later, Neon had another impressive outing on their hands with Cuckoo, and while it also might not have been a box-office dynamo, it earned promising reviews and showcased the talents of filmmaker Tilman Singer, previously lauded for his work on festival favorites. August also offered up Alien: Romulus, and while it marked a relatively divisive experience among fans who either appreciated the embrace of elements of the franchise or decried the adventure for feeling too familiar, it performed well at the box office and helped give the iconic sci-fi franchise the jolt of interest it so desperately needed.
September ran the gamut of the genre, as it kicked off with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which surprised audiences and critics with its devotion to the silly and spooky spirit of the source material as opposed to merely being a cash-grab on the iconic title. The James McAvoy-led Speak No Evil shocked fans of the original 2022 Danish-Dutch film of the same name with how it managed to channel the pertinent elements of its predecessor while putting an American spin on the concept. The month closed out with The Substance, the 2.5-hour epic body-horror satire about beauty standards in Hollywood, which delivered audiences one of the most unforgettable cinematic experiences of the year, regardless of the genre.
In years past, October has been the go-to release month for a variety of horror franchises, as both Saw and Paranormal Activity movies would also open close enough to Halloween to bring out audiences in droves. This year, up-and-coming franchises earned new releases in the form of Terrifier 3 and Smile 2, and while neither series has quite the same cultural footprint as their predecessors, the early results are proving the franchises are building massive fan bases.
Hits for the horror genre aren’t limited to mainstream theatrical releases, as movies like In a Violent Nature, Strange Darling, Oddity, Azrael, V/H/S/Beyond, and It’s What’s Inside have all earned promising critical reactions and audience buzz that prove indie and streaming releases are just as thrilling, if not more so, than releases from larger studios. Even if their cultural footprints might not be as large as some theatrical releases, In a Violent Nature and V/H/S already have announced sequels on the way, which will only expand their followings.
Sadly, this doesn’t mean that 2024 wasn’t without its misses for horror. Mainstream releases like Trap, The Watchers, Imaginary, and Tarot failed to make any substantial mark on viewers, as did streaming reboots and revivals like Salem’s Lot and Apartment 7A. Attempts to revive dormant properties The Strangers: Chapter 1 and The Crow showcased that audiences might not entirely be interested in returning to well-worn properties, though time will tell if they accomplished their goals of generating buzz or if they merely kicked off the latest ticking clock of fresh spins on these series.
Even without a box-office juggernaut dominating the horror conversation in 2024, we’ve seen a wide variety of filmmakers all telling unique and compelling stories in that realm, keeping the overall discussion alive all year long. From masked killers to supernatural spirits to otherwordly monsters, 2024 has delivered one success after the next for a substantial portion of the year, reminding audiences, critics, and pundits at large that no matter how many setbacks the genre might suffer, it’s only a matter of time before it comes back from the dead.
What was your favorite horror movie of the year? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
