All the Best Horror Movies Coming Out in 2024

Weird and wonderful, Jane Schoenbrun’s indie takes an entirely different approach to its scare tactics, offering viewers more intrigue and experience than jump scares and wrought tension. The story revolves around two unlikely friends who bond over their love for a retro kids’ show loosely akin to Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark? Beneath its surface, though, Glow is a singular trans allegory from a rising voice, which every genre buff should see for themselves.

Now streaming on Prime Video.

Hugh Grant trades the orange tone distinctive to Roald Dahl’s Oompa Loompas for several shades of weird in yet another promising offering from A24. He stars as an unhinged recluse who gets a knock on the door from a couple of faith spreaders, invites them in for blueberry pie—and then tests their faith in a series of challenges. Costarring Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets, MaXXXine) and Chloe East (The Fabelmans, Generation) as the trapped missionaries, this one sounds divine.

In theaters November 15.

It’s been more than 20 years since we saw Halle Berry in a horror flick. This fall, she reenters the genre with a supernatural fright helmed by Alexandre Aja, the French director behind brutal genre staples like the remake of The Hills Have Eyes, High Tension, and Crawl. Set in the wilderness sometime after the end of the world, the film centers on a single mother and her two boys—a family haunted by evil and unseen forces lurking beyond their remote home.

In theaters September 27.

The gifts are plenty in this horror-comedy based on Rachel Yoder’s 2021 magical-realism novel of the same name. Not only do we have Amy Adams in the leading role, but Marielle Heller, whose entire body of work—from The Diary of a Teenage Girl, to Can You Ever Forgive Me? to What the Constitution Means to Me—is a film buff’s dream, cowrote and directed the film. In case you’re not familiar with the novel, here’s the gist: Enraged by her new normal, a stay-at-mom turns feral.

In theaters December 6.

They say real beauty is on the inside, but when a man with a facial deformity turns to the scalpel for a new look, things get ugly. Sebastian Stan stars in this comedy-thriller hybrid as said guy who undergoes reconstruction surgery, only to become obsessed with an actor who looks just like he did before the operation. Let’s just say, if Fresh—Mimi Cave’s dark comedy from 2022 was a mindfuck—you’re in for one glorious head-scratcher with this one.

In theaters September 20.

Horror runs in the Eggers family’s blood, apparently, as Sam and Max Eggers, the twin half brothers of modern genre maestro Robert Eggers, director of The Witch and The Lighthouse, are officially entering the conversation with their feature debut, The Front Room. Maternal mayhem breaks out between an overzealous mother-in-law and the expecting lady of the house in the latest from the slick A24 studio house, which stars none other than ’90s R&B icon Brandy in the lead.

In theaters September 6.

Based on the proxy-suicide phenomenon that plagued Europe in the 18th century, this piece of unsettling folk terror from Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala follows an Austrian peasant named Agnes. A member of an overly superstitious community, she prays a lot, wants a baby, and sleeps with a severed finger under her mattress. But The Devil’s Bath treads into territories way darker than just morbid ritual. Piercing and primal, this is prestige horror from the Goodnight Mommy duo.

Now streaming on Shudder.

Jordan Peele, Hana Mae Lee, and James Marsters lend their voices to the puppets starring in this animated genre-blender. Buffy alum Marsters takes the lead as Les, a hapless lad who wakes up to find a bomb implanted in his neck. Tasked with a hyperviolent to-do list, Les goes about committing heinous crimes so as to not explode. With mind-bending effects and performers made of rubber and eyelashes, this wild ride treads deep into the dark side of humanity.

In theaters September 27.

Based on Brandon Espy’s short film of the same name featured in Hulu’s Bite Size Halloween series, Mr. Crocket sees a woman (Jerrika Hinton) journey to retrieve her son from a sinister kiddie-show host (Elvis Nolasco) who snatches his fans. Side note: There’s another fun feature with origins in Hulu’s shorts getting the feature treatment. Carved, starring Prom Pact’s Peyton Elizabeth Lee, offers a humorous twist on the killer pumpkin. So keep your eyes peeled for both films.

Streaming on Hulu in October.

In this modern take on beauty-and-the-beast tales, Melissa Barrera of In the Heights, Scream, and Abigail fame plays an actor who catches feelings for a snarky monster that lives in her closet—and is played by Casual’s Tommy Dewey in a shaggy wig and brutish prosthetics. Mixing elements of horror, romance, and comedy, writer and director Caroline Lindy offers moviegoers a fun, easy watch that scored high marks at Sundance.

In theaters October 25.

Blumhouse expands its vast library with a supernatural horror film that turns the classic swimming-pool game Marco Polo into a death wish. The narrative belongs to the Waller family, a brood of four settling into their new home, when they begin to sense that their shimmering backyard pool harbors some sort of sinister force. Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Wyatt Russell (Lodge 49) star, while Bryce McGuire (writer on 2023’s Baghead) directs.

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Prog rock, a genre of music that embraces the esoteric, is admittedly not for everyone. But Josh Forbes’s homage to the genre’s glory days is for every horror buff. A mash-up of chuckles, chills, and, gore, Destroy All Neighbors sees a creatively stagnant musician named Will go on a killing spree. And aside from the bonkers tunes, there’s much to cheer for: old-school special effects, tons of splatter, and even a fun cameo from Kumail Nanjiani.

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A Boston woman named Meg is kidnapped from a parking garage in Beacon Hill, but Olivia West Lloyd’s Somewhere Quiet isn’t interested in the salacious details of the six months Meg spent in captivity. Rather, this slow-burner is keen on the aftermath: the terrifying ways trauma manifests in Meg’s mind; the gaslighting she experiences from those around her, including her husband; and the primal fear that becomes a forever dark passenger for survivors of harrowing events.

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Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton star in this ’80s-set horror comedy written by Diablo Cody and directed by music-video alum Zelda Williams. Newton plays a high schooler with a crush on a dead guy (Sprouse) who comes back to life after a fit of mad science. Together, they unleash pandemonium. Think of it like Heathers meets Valley Girl with a Mary Shelley twist. Also featuring a rad soundtrack and saturated neons that bring to mind Lisa Frank Incorporated, the film is a gift for Valentine’s Day.

In theaters February 9.

It’s 43,000 BCE—read: nothin’ but animal hide as clothing—and a group of early nomads are on the move. Confronted with dangers, both natural and mystical, they find themselves hunted by a demon and forced to do whatever it takes to stay alive. So you can imagine things get savage in this Stone Age survival tale. But where Andrew Cumming’s debut really shines is in its atmospheric mood and the bone-chilling attention to detail in every crunch, kill, and scream. Surround sound, for sure!

In theaters February 9.

Quite possibly the freakiest thing you will lay eyes on this year, Stopmotion is nothing like the idiosyncratic wonder-worlds that spring from the mind of Wes Anderson. Rather, this psychological assault comes from puppet master Robert Morgan, telling the story of an animator terrorized by her creations. A gloriously grotesque watch, with some of the most disturbing frame-by-frame animation you’ll ever see, this one will likely sear its imagery onto the wrinkles of your brain.

In theaters February 23.

After M3GAN, Chucky, and Annabelle, you’d think folks would have learned their lesson with cozying up to creepy toys. But apparently not yet, as the little girl in this Blumhouse offering finds herself an attic teddy named Chauncey. Little does she know this stuffie is really just a host for the imaginary friend the home’s previous tenant left behind. And now he’s full of rage.

In theaters March 8.

On the heels of her rom-com hit Anyone but You, Sydney Sweeney returns to the big screen as star and producer. This time, however, she’s promoting a psychological horror story set in an Italian convent. Immaculate unfolds through its protagonist, Cecilia, a devout nun who learns she is pregnant with a “miracle” child. Whether the seed is that of God, man, or something way worse is for us to find out come spring.

In theaters March 22.

Set in 1977, this refreshingly innovative take on found footage features a late-night talk show kicking off its sixth season on Halloween night and inviting one of its guests—13-year-old Lilly, the sole survivor of a Satanic mass suicide—to conjure the devil on live television. A SXSW 2023 favorite from Aussie brothers Colin and Cameron Cairnes, the occult film is a nerve-frazzling nightmare that would send the ghost of Johnny Carson running.

In theaters March 22; streaming April 19.

Starring Jordan Cowan and Brendan Rock, this two-handed chamber piece premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last June, where it was acquired by Shudder; and come late March, it will finally be available to stream. The story, a well-crafted tension-builder, hits its stride when a paranoid man invites a sopping-wet young woman into his RV to wait out a raging thunderstorm. The interactions and conversations that follow leave a trail of clues, lies, and hair-raising reveals.

Streaming March 22.