At this point, it feels a bit trite doing retrospectives on the year at the beginning of my articles. What can I say? 2024 was a long year packed with chaos and horror. I am glad 2025 is going to be…well, it’s not going to be 2024; at least we can say that!
Having time to mull over my thoughts on the films I saw last year, I had difficulty paring down my best from the multitude of films I saw. I originally thought this list was going to have Terrifier 3 on it because of the sheer hype and the theatergoing experience of it all; I was proven wrong just through the process of reflection. I thought I would mention quite a few more films that I saw at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, but I only really found myself captivated by one, which turned out to be an all-time great. And the one film I put off watching turned out to be my favorite film of the year by far.
All in all, it’s been a year of surprises, and every single film on this list reflects that in one way or another for me. So, whether you’ve seen them or not, here are the ones that I think deserve some accolades.
The Top 5 Best Horror Films of 2024
HONORABLE MENTION: ALIEN: ROMULUS
Close enough to being one of my favorites of the year that it should get some mention. I did describe Alien: Romulus as an almost perfect sequel after all, and barring some of the fanfare and a few cheap-feeling moments, Fede Alvarez engineers a machine of a film about as effective as the xenomorph. As a sequel, I have to quote our android friend Ash from the original film: I admire its purity.
Romulus illuminates the harrowing scope of Weyland-Yutani’s cold and unfeeling corporate evil in a new and effective way. There’s a humanity and terror here that’s been rare to the series at large, and I’m glad to see it nails that darker and more horror-oriented tone I would hope from the lauded Evil Dead director. It’s a crowd-pleaser first, certainly, but a really great film overall.
5. GRAFTED
What’s it about? A girl’s attempts to revive her father’s dangerous skin grafting experiments intersect with her desire to assimilate into the New Zealand community she immigrates to– with disastrous effects.
Why is it so good? When I reviewed Grafted in October, I said it was one of the best coming-of-age horror films of all time, and I stand by that. Joyena Sun and Jess Hong give performances you’d expect to only really see from seasoned vets. Playing opposite of each other, the disharmony between their characters drives many of the movie’s themes like the difficulties of cultural assimilation and the awkward nature of navigating young adulthood.
Where it leads them is downright captivating, as it demonstrates their emotional acting skills amidst the skin-crawling body horror that ties them together, and an even more skin crawling villain. This elevates an already clever script, that lands somewhere between Re-Animator and Jennifer’s Body in the most fun ways. Despite sharing quite a few similarities to another entry on this list, Grafted has its own distinct flavor of both black comedy and tragedy made light. Its ending hits like a train even when you’re aware it can’t go anywhere but to hell in a handbasket, and for that final shot, it will stick with you for a long while. Here’s to its release on Shudder soon!
4. ABIGAIL
What’s it about? A gang of criminals attempt to hold a millionaire’s daughter hostage, only to find themselves on the receiving end of a vampire ballerina beatdown. Pools of dead bodies and geysers of blood ensue.
Why is it so good? I am paraphrasing Brendan Fraser here, but Radio Silence are not underdogs; they’re champions who are overlooked. They rarely disappoint because they know how to make an incredibly fun, incredibly well-rounded movie whether they’re directing or producing; even their light work in more flawed films like Scream is made highly rewatchable because of the personal touch they have on the cinematography. In particular, I think their strong suit is how good they are at directing actors and getting just the right performance out of them.
Abigail does just that, and it is in my humble opinion, the best of their offerings thus far because of it. It takes an inventive approach to reimagining the 1936 film Dracula’s Daughter, boldly, I would add given we’re in an era where a lot of directors have had hit-or-miss attempts to revitalize the Universal monster’s source material. Abigail does an impressive job executing this with an ensemble cast of great actors whose chemistry never falters.
Everybody here, but especially horror royalty Melissa Barrera and Kathryn Newton have their charisma overclocked. And they’re using it to deliver witty dialogue that never overstays its welcome thanks to what I consider perfect pacing. The special effects on offer aren’t anything to scoff at either, and all in all, you can’t miss this one if you’re looking for a fun mix between crime film, comedy, and action horror.
3. ODDITY
What’s it about? A blind psychic who sells supernatural oddities visits the house where her twin sister was murdered in an attempt to catch her killer. Her assistant in the process? An odd and off-putting wooden man.
Why is it so good? 2024’s most inventive offering is an intimate and stylish piece of occult horror and murder mystery, offered up to us on a silver platter by Horror Press’s favorite streaming platform to cover, Shudder. This Irish feature has ripped through more film festivals than I can count, and it’s with good reason. It’s a deeply atmospheric movie that denies you gratuity and camp for a serious horror-thriller told in the style of a ghost story. Our guide through the cold, haunted household is actress Carolyn Bracken, who plays the medium Darcy; she has an air of untold supernatural knowledge about her that made me, and plenty of others, fall in love with the character and the mystery immediately.
Oddity also brings a new horror history icon into frame with The Wooden Man (if you haven’t seen him, don’t Google him, just press play and wait for him to show up). Director Damian McCarthy mentioned that the idea and the eventual image of the titular oddity were the foundation on which the rest of the film was built. And a strong image it is, as this nightmare-inducing sculpt has an uncomfortable amount of life coursing through it when it isn’t even moving because of its expert build. It’s just one of the many pieces that come together to make a truly tense and extremely enjoyable supernatural horror film.
2. SMILE 2
What’s it about? A pop star struggling to recover from a car accident ends up being the next victim of a demonic entity that stalks and tortures her, warping her perception of reality as it smiles all the way.
Why is it so good? The more I think about Parker Finn’s second installment in the Smile franchise (what I hope will sooner than later be a trilogy), the more I’ve started to believe that it might just have my favorite opening sequence in all of horror. Smile 2 took its predecessor, one of the films that underwhelmed me the most the year it came out, and made me a genuine lover of the series over the course of a couple of hours. It gave me a deeper appreciation of how the concept of The Entity can be taken in new and bold directions even when it hits the same beats in how it terrorizes people.
The film wheels and deals in both raw human sorrow and some of the most skillful dark comedy I’ve seen in a horror film ever. I can’t remember a single weak performance from anyone in the cast, least of all the now-legendary Naomi Scott, who makes for a downright unforgettable scream queen. And wherever the Smile movies go from here, whether it’s seeing the Entity’s effects on a massive scale or another intimate character study of a tortured person, it is an automatic yes from me.
1. THE SUBSTANCE
What’s it about? As an older actress finds herself forgotten by Hollywood and scorned by movie and television execs for aging, she turns to weird science to get a younger version of herself back. What results is her splitting into two separate people sharing one muddied consciousness, with both soon fighting for dominance.
Why is it so good? There’s one succinct phrase that scorched into my brain during my reflection on how great this movie is: The Substance is heartbreaking, and it will make you have a blast as it shatters your heart in front of you. It is weaved in moments that feel like a sensory nightmare that you just can’t look away from. It’s penned in subtle dialogue and subtler acting choices that make the main characters feel real in an unreal setting. The closest thing that has scratched my brain in this manner is Under the Skin, which is one of my top ten science fiction films of all time. And likewise, The Substance has become a solid, top 10 spot holder in my favorite horror films of all time.
Its vibrant, borderline art pop color palette is a fun departure from the much more grave and much more burnt aesthetic of director Coralie Fargeat‘s first film, Revenge. It has the camp of a Hennenlotter movie, the body horror and existential dread of a Cronenberg film, and the high-impact editing and sound design that would give Gaspar Noe a run for his money. And while I would compare the effects to another SFX maven’s work, Pierre Olivier Persin’s designs here carry the kind of magnum opus quality that earns you a name as an industry legend, so it feels silly to do so. They’re that good.
With a gonzo ending, surreal visuals, and an enchanting social horror story of a woman torn in two by the industry that mindlessly gnashes her in its teeth, The Substance really does have everything—and it really does have to be seen to be believed.