20 must-see horror movies for 2024
From sequels for the Smile and Saw franchises to new titles from Robert Eggers and M. Night Shyamalan, these are the scary films we just can't wait to watch
Film Features M. Night Shyamalan
Top to bottom: Kerry Condon in Night Swim (courtesy Universal Pictures), Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse in Lisa Frankenstein (courtesy Focus Features), Imaginary (courtesy Lionsgate) Graphic: The A.V. Club
After wrapping up a great year of horror cinema in 2023, the genre shows no signs of resting on its laurels in 2024. A promising new crop of scary movies is preparing to unleash fresh visions of terror this year, ranging from high-concept slashers to classic titles with new twists to, of course, sequels for some of the most beloved franchises in the game.
There will be new entries in the Smile, Saw, and A Quiet Place franchises, original projects from the likes of Robert Eggers and M. Night Shyamalan, and buzzy titles from several up-and-coming filmmakers. While 2024 will see plenty of horror titles, to get the year started we’ve focused on the 20 most anticipated movies, and listed them here by release date.
25 Comments
I miss the era when Dan Stevens was a late-stage member of the Beatles.
The absence of MaXXXine from this list is a credibility killer.
Easily my most anticipated of 2024, but I’ll cut them a break because MaXXXine doesn’t have a release date yet and it seems they are only mentioning films that do.
Fair point, but my eyerolling response to yet another Saw movie coming out, let alone being recommended, got the better of me.
Alien: Romulus…
“we do know is enticing. A new thriller written and directed by the genre master, Trap will take place at a musical festival.”
But, that sure *IS* enticing!!!
I watched SPEAK NO EVIL recently and I have absolutely no desire to ever watch it again; it was magnificent but ooooofff it gets uncomfortable/nasty. As is the case with many such things, what is the point of a remake? Especially when the original film is almost entirely in English anyway!
Is SALEM’S LOT not finally coming out this year? Feels like it’s been on the shelf forever.
Seems like I remember reading that it’s going to streaming.
Can Hollywood stop giving raging douche, Wyatt Russell, roles please?I do not understand that dingus whatsoever.
Ha, just kidding. There’s no such thing as a must-see horror movie anymore. Watch the trailers. They’re all the same. Blumhouse ruined the genre.
Nah
So we had Thanksgiving where the killer dresses up for the holiday in a pilgrim’s outfit, and now there’s Founder’s Day where the killer dresses like a founding father. Next up is Arbor Day where the killer is a giant shrub, followed by Grandparent’s Day where a pair of octogenarians dispatch victims with Werther’s candies and tennis balls from their walkers.
My kingdom for a genuinely original idea from Hollywood.
What if, now hear me out, because this is a stretch, we make a Christmas-themed horror movie where Santa kills the people on the Naughty List?
“My kingdom for a genuinely original idea from Hollywood.”
It’s a slasher movie, asshole. That’s like asking for a Hershey bar to have more salami in it.
There was a Universal Halloween Horror Nights maze in Orlando that made all these jokes. The one in Hollywood last year was patterned after it and a lot less clever.
“In 2020, Leigh Whannell revitalized one of Universal Pictures’ longest-serving movie monsters with The Invisible Man,”The fuck he did.
Wow, your standards for what constitutes must-see horror are incredibly low
Hey, if Untitled Universal Horror Film doesn’t excite you, you must be dead inside. After all, “there’s not much information to be had yet about the upcoming film.” How does that not make your heart pound?
Other than Alien: Romulus and Nosferatu, I’ll be passing on the rest. Thanks but no thanks.
Anything Blumhouse is trash and Night Swim looks absolutely horrible.
The release of Founders Day is a good two weeks away and far be it from me to spoil a critic’s experience of seeing it fresh, but you can’t help but pity the filmmakers and distribution company, releasing their Great Value-ass Thanksgiving when the real thing is still readily available.
I am plugging though the slides… Nope. Nope. Nope.Then I get to Trap: “The cast, led by Josh Hartnett and Hayley Mills…”Hayley Mills????? Now I’m interested.
It’s been almost 20 years since The Omen franchise graced the big screen Or, you know, a bit over 50.
Don’t we all hope that Trap, the Shyamalan movie, is a sequel to The Parent Trap? The twist? The parents are dead. Or in a fake town. Or something.