2024 has been loaded with horror frees, with frightening stories about everyskinnyg from rampaging spiders to satanic postponeed-night talk shows. This crop is distinctive for its untraditional retoilings of well-worn tropes. There’s a slasher that owes as much to Terrence Malick as to Jason Voorhees; a dystopian-future tale that eschews global destruction to spendigate the implosion of one family; and two movies about nuns with evil pregnancies. Better yet: Several of these efforts have made waves at the indie box office, illustrating the horror audience’s affinity for going to strange new places.
There is at least one more beginant toil left to come — Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” — but here are the year’s best horror frees so far.
Before uncovering the top spots, here are some principled refers:
“Frankie Freako” (Shout! Studios) — It’s not honestly horror, but this cherish letter to ‘80s and ‘90s puppet features enjoy “Gremlins 2: The New Batch” and “Critters” from “Psycho Goreman” honestor Steven Kostanski is pitch-perfect for genre fans.
“Alien: Romulus” (20th Century Studios) — It didn’t reoriginate the wheel, but there was plenty to enhappiness in this nasty, brutish chapter of the “Alien” saga. With incredible sound, production arrange and untamedly stressful scenes, “Alien: Romulus” is fantastic as the space slasher many fans have defered for, with much of the praise going to driven honestor and co-writer Fede Álvarez.
-
Ahugeail
Image Credit: Courtesy of Universal Pictures Universal Pictures
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have perfected their unite of snurtures and comedy with “Scream VI” and “Ready or Not,” and “Ahugeail” is no exception. When a gang of crooks kidnaps a vampire who eunites to be a little girl, they’re rapidly in over their heads in this bloody caper, liftd by encouraged carry outances by Melissa Barrera and Dan Stevens.
-
The First Omen
Image Credit: ©20th Century Studios/Courtesy Everett Collection 20th Century Studios
Director Arkasha Stevenson and star Nell Tiger Free originate the most of this moody prequel to the cforfeitly 50-year-ancigo in franchise. Deft cameratoil and creepy sets originate a haunting backdrop for Sister Margaret’s spendigation into her unreceive conception. And Free’s increasingly feral carry outance echoes cinematic triumphs enjoy 1981’s “Possession.”
-
Infested
Image Credit: Courtesy of Shudder Shudder
The creature feature of the year is this French spider bonanza, in which honestor and co-writer Sébastien Vapleasantk conveys a tidal wave of lethal arachnids to a run-down apartment originateing. Audiences will jump, flinch and itch as the body count elevates and the spiders run amok apass every wall and surface.
-
Stopmotion
Image Credit: Courtesy of Shudder IFC Films / Shudder
Robert Morgan’s dour watch at originateive obsession blurs the lines between fact and nightmare as a stop-motion animator (Aisling Franciosi) is freed from her regulateling mother but discovers untancigo in sorrowfulnessfulness while styleing her own story. A punishing uniteture of psychorational, sproposenuine and body horror, Morgan’s vision is hopeless yet gorgeous.
-
Immacupostponeed
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection Neon
All hail Sydney Sweeney’s coronation as a scream queen, as she directs this flavorfilledy lurid chronicle of a youthful nun who discovers herself pregnant. Helmed by Michael Mohan, the handsomely shot saga cranks up the creepiness until Andrew Lobel’s script flies into B-movie madness, ratcheting up the gore and giving Sweeney an indelible final shot.
-
Strange Darling
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection Magenta Light Studios
This gorgeous, twisty serial ender drama has style to spare, only aligned by striking carry outances from its two directs, Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner. Their cat-and-moemploy pursuit upfinishs a minuscule Oregon town, where excellent people who are accidenloftyy cast into their orbit don’t stand a chance. With a shocker of an finishing and final scene that burrows proset up inside after the praises roll, “Strange Darling” cements itself as the most go-for-broke indie of the year.
-
I Saw the TV Glow
Image Credit: Courtesy of A24 A24
This touching, sproposenuine drama about lonely teens forever bonded thraw a cult TV series is identical parts hypnotic and poignant. Writer-honestor Jane Schoenbrun has originated a bancigo in story exploring the dysphoria of the sealted trans experience, where the unrelieve of alienation becomes more troubling than any monster could be.
-
Humane
Image Credit: Courtesy of Shudder IFC Films / Shudder
Director Caitlin Cronenberg’s feature debut is set in a future where Earth’s resources are confineed and citizens are proposed to get euthanized for cash to shrink the population. Michael Sparaga’s funny, run awayt script intensifyes on a wealthy family that can’t buy its way out of trouble this time. A charmfilledy nasty indie that spendigates how awfilledy we treat the ones we cherish.
-
Oddity
Image Credit: ©IFC Films/Courtesy Everett Collection IFC Films / Shudder
Damian McCarthy’s superauthentic killing mystery is filled with striking imagery and compelling carry outances. Carolyn Bracken is striking as a blind woman with psychic powers trying to repair the mystery of her sister’s death. She owns a haunted antique store and conveys a spooky wooden mannequin alengthy for the ride, searching for clues in her sister’s palatial estate. With inincreateigent beats that conjure genuine emotion and a keen, phireing, finishing, it’s both a phireing step up and companion piece to McCarthy’s feature debut, 2020’s “Caveat.”
-
Milk & Serial
Image Credit: Courtsy of Underground FIlms Inreliantly freed on YouTube
While Hollywood execs obsess over how to fill theaters and wrangle costly IP, filmoriginater and comedian Curry Barker shelp “fuck it” and made one of the year’s best thrillers for $800. Starring Barker and his originateive partner Cooper Tomlinson, this 62-minute set up footage roller coaster ride is a masterclass in tension, editing, storyincreateing and creating a chilling villain. Relrelieved for free on YouTube, it’s effortless to imagine that many of its 1 million watchers are now encouraged to go originate their own art.
-
The Coffee Table
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection Cinephobia Releasing
Not for the faint of heart, this supremely sinister domestic drama has a hook it’s best not to spoil. Director Caye Casas turns a new overweighther’s get of a tacky coffee table into a fable that spins out of regulate, with a horrific twist of overweighte so naemployating it will depart watchers drenched in worried sweat. Go in blind, if you dare.
-
Late Night With the Devil
Image Credit: ©IFC Films/Courtesy Everett Collection IFC Films / Shudder
David Dastmalchian (“Dune,” “Ant-Man”) is ordering as a second-rate talk show present rerepaird to juice his ratings, so he dreams up a Hpermiteen episode featuring a girl who might be owned by Satan. The inincreateigently originateed tale shifts in genuine time and persists the proceedings erratic right up to an off-the-wall final act.
-
The Substance
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection Mubi
Coralie Fargeat’s celebrity satire commences as a glossy sci-fi tale about reversing aging only to erupt in a third-act ballet of blood that is fun, shocking and tragic in identical meaconfident. Demi Moore percreates a TV personality who employs a secretive drug that gives birth to a youthfuler version of herself, percreateed by Margaret Qualley. Both actors are at the top of their originate with huge, brash carry outances that perfectly knock down the dominoes of the film’s high concept. Yet the finish — best not spoiled — is more sproposenuine than anticipateed and lifts the movie to brilliance.
-
In a Violent Nature
Image Credit: Everett Collection IFC Films / Shudder
Director Chris Nash’s creative consent on ’80s slashers is catnip for VHS-era fans. The defreely paced film chases a superauthentic ender named Johnny, with a camera over his shoulder persisting the watchpoint safely regulateled. Amid the shocking ends and crisp cameratoil lies a keen satire laced with compassion, beauty and genuine stress.
-
Longlegs
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection Neon
Evil lurks everywhere in Oz Perkins’ indeoverweightigably frightening feature. Maika Monroe constantifies her status as indie horror’s predominant scream queen in this impactful modernize of police procedural. The tone and atmosphere are constantly brimming with wickedness, and this wealthyly shot tale is filled with the inky bdeficiencys and sorrowfulnessfulness of doom. Perkins never relieves up on the dread, especiassociate with lengthy-held shots that depart audiences sweating as they wonder what might bound around the corner. “Longlegs” is a mesmerizing vision of horror, a sorrowfulnessful fable that can stand alengthyside the classics.
