THE 10 BEST HORROR FILMS OF 2024
Wow. What an astonishing year 2024 was for horror fans. Packed with quality and innovation, putting this top ten together was tough.
2024 was a remarkable year for standout performances by women in central roles, with six of my top ten selections highlighting this trend. The characters ranged from a terrified young girl with a sinister agenda to a woman crippled by the challenges of ageing. There was also a deranged yet charming, sexy serial killer, a wife overwhelmed by depression, a vengeful death machine with a heart of granite, and a pop star spiralling into mental turmoil. This year will be ed for women who reshaped the horror landscape with exceptional acting.
I encourage you to explore these selections in the coming months, and I hope you enjoy them or become scarred and scared by them just as much as I did.
10.
IN A VIOLENT NATURE
The traditional perspective of slasher cinema transitions from teen victims to the undead monster that stalks them in this ferocious slice of ambient horror.
Equal parts hypnotic and stomach-turning, In a Violent Nature marks a watershed moment in the progression arc of the modern slasher flick. Its arthouse overtures may prove polarising, but its gruesome murder set pieces are primed to be universally iconic.
9.
CHARLOTTE
Horror doesn’t come darker than this—the astonishing central performance and a stunning final third will deep fry your mind.
Abandoned by her drunken dad and selfish mother, young Charlotte is forced to seek refuge with vile polaroid pervert Roy. Unaware of his predatory nature, Charlotte becomes a commodity on the stock market of human misery.
Easily one of the most controversial movies of the year, Charlotte is the epitome of zero fucks given indie filmmaking where the intended story is king, and any sensibilities are punched in the testicles.
THE SUBSTANCE
8.
Coralie Fargeat‘s insane body horror utilizes weaponized feminism to infiltrate modern pop culture. Outstanding performances and a well-documented, outrageous final act granted this audacious film instant cult status.
7.
ALL YOU NEED IS DEATH
A pair of lovers are contracted to uncover the weirdest and oldest folk songs no one has ever heard. However, their mysterious paymaster is not the only one interested in such oddities, and they cross paths with the hard-nosed folk academic Agnes.
The trio converges in the home of a wardrobe-dwelling drunkard who treats Anna and Agnes to a guttural rendition of a ballad older than the Irish language. One of the women breaks a solemn promise not to record the sinister lament and releases a dark entity. As they translate the song lyrics and fall under its sinister spell, it becomes painfully apparent that the song is both a warning and a containment system for cosmic evil.
A spectral folk horror from Ireland that refines nightmare fuel from an ancient presence and pours it over the eternal flame of desire. It is a unique and nightmarish horror gem that subverts and perverts the foundations of erotic ion and human affection.
6.
SMILE 2
This gruelling sequel was bolder and brighter than its predecessor. Packed with stunning set pieces and satisfying pay-offs, it also proved a surprisingly deep analysis of mental health struggles.
Naomi Scott is classy in the lead role of a purist horror flick that sets the stage for a welcome third entry.
5.
PROTEIN
Calculated cannibal crime picture precision-crafted with heart, humour, and humanism.
Traumatised by war, the enigmatic Sion arrives in South Wales and is offered a job in the local gym by the kindly Katrina. When she is abused by the ring leader of some low-rent drug dealers, Sion reacts by chopping one of the crew up and fucking eating him.
Hitting the sweet spot between artistic endeavour and genre derangement isn’t easy. This highly entertaining film does it with style and savagery to spare.
By the time Protein reaches its clever conclusion, you will feel invested in its characters, surprised by unexpected developments, perturbed by its gruesome premise, and sad that it’s over.
4.
TRAUMATIKA
Taboo-shredding possession film that weaponises deep psychological trauma to the point of fetishism.
Mikey’s ‘Mommy’ is on the turn. Her facial sores, maniacal mannerisms, and random floor pissing point to demonic influences. As intertwined traumas converge, a dark tapestry of vile generational debasement is dragged into the public domain.
A punishing pepper spray of a film that offers little respite as it stings the senses. It punishes with twisted visuals and an eardrum-mashing soundscape to explore unthinkable trauma by inflicting it upon us. The director undoubtedly has cathartic intentions in showcasing this shocking emotional damage, but he is also determined to squeeze all available triggers to maximise bullet spread.
It makes for a barn-burning horror experience, tigerish and cruel, that more than lives up to its evocative title.
3.
STRANGE DARLING
A reimagining of the “final girl” trope that manipulates and mauls through an aggressive symphony of 35mm hyper-realism. A ruthless gunman pursues a resilient woman, showing maximum prejudice and minimum mercy. That is all you should know before letting this ravishing headfuck off the leash.
It’s insanely addictive and hideously entertaining.
2.
THE DEVIL’S BATH
A child-free woman experiences the horror of religious persecution in 1750’s Austria. Badgered and abused by others and herself, she seeks the only way out of her tortured existence, and it is genuinely chilling.
Disturbing deconstruction of misogyny and abject depression that features the finest central performance of the year.
Nuanced genre filmmaking at its very finest.
1.
SAYARA
This astronomically violent jujutsu movie is a dark elixir of pure revenge that obliterates the boundaries of family loyalty.
Unassuming gym janitor Sayara harbours an inheritance of bleak indoctrination and martial arts mastery. When a gang of politically entitled scum rape and beat her promiscuous sister to death, she fulfils a paternal pledge of utterly merciless retribution and goes thoroughly fucking mental.
Uncompromising filmmaker Can Evrenol(Baskin) returns with a brutal genre offering that refuses to play by the rules. With Sayara, he has reconfigured fight movie mechanics to his unfussy ends, resulting in a visceral overload of raw carnage and flagrant nihilism.
Sayara is a scorched-earth action flick with degenerate horror credentials that swaggers into movie violence infamy with savage style.
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