27 Best Horror Movies of 2024 for a Scary Watch

The horror genre has always been exciting for movie lovers, and 2024 looks like a great year for horror fans. There will be scary supernatural stories and intense psychological thrillers, offering a mix of terrifying experiences that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. This year’s horror movies feature a wide range of styles and viewpoints, with both famous and new filmmakers pushing the limits of the genre. Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to horror films, there’s something for everyone in 2024’s horror lineup.

In this article, we’ll look at some of the best horror movies of 2024. Whether you’re a die-hard horror fan or just in the mood for a good scare, our list of the best horror movies of 2024 will guide you to the most frightful and unforgettable cinematic experiences. Get ready to be scared!

The Substance

Director: Coralie Fargeat
Starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid
Where to Watch: MUBI

Elisabeth Sparkle is no longer the flawless beauty she was in her youth. Relying on her image for work, the celebrity turns to an untested black-market drug. The result is a temporary return to her physical youth. But as she loses control of herself, her younger self, and the life around her, Elisabeth begins to wonder what the real purpose of the substance is.

Nosferatu

Director: Robert Eggers
Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, and Willem Dafoe
Where to Watch: Theatre

It is a remake of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu, which was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula.
A woman in 19th-century Germany is being haunted by an ancient force that she does not understand. Enamored with her beauty, the Transylvanian vampire, Count Orlok, otherwise known as Nosferatu, is obsessed and tracks her every move. As his pursuit grows more intense, it becomes clear that her fate is no longer only in her own hands.

Longlegs

Director: Osgood Perkins
Starring: Maika Monroe, Alicia Witt, Blair Underwood, and Nicolas Cage
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, Apple TV

The unsolved case of a serial killer lands on the desk of new FBI agent, Lee Harker. Turning over old evidence and discovering new clues, Harker unravels the occult nature of the crimes and slowly begins to realize just how personal the murders are.

A Quiet Place: Day One

Director: Michael Sarnoski
Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Where to Watch: fuboTV, Paramount+, Amazon Video, Apple TV

The film is based on a story he conceived with John Krasinski. It is the third installment in the A Quiet Place film series, serving as a spin-off and prequel.
A woman must find her way through the madness of New York City in the midst of an alien invasion. Set in the world of A Quiet Place, this movie explores the origin of how society collapsed during the invasion and then tried to survive after it.

Red Rooms

Director: Pascal Plante
Starring: Juliette Gariépy, Laurie Babin, Elisabeth Locas, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Natalie Tannous, Pierre Chagnon and Guy Thauvette
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, Apple TV

The high-profile case of serial killer Ludovic Chevalier has just gone to trial, and Kelly-Anne is obsessed. When reality blurs with her morbid fantasies, she goes down a dark path to seek the final piece of the case’s puzzle.

Exhuma

Director: Jang Jae-hyun
Starring: Choi Min-sik, Kim Go-eun, Yoo Hae-jin and Lee Do-hyun
Where to Watch: AMC+, Shudder, Amazon Video, Apple TV

After tracing the origin of a disturbing supernatural affliction to a wealthy family’s ancestral gravesite, a team of paranormal experts relocates the remains—and soon discovers what happens to those who dare to mess with the wrong grave.

Smile 2

Director: Parker Finn
Starring: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Ray Nicholson, Dylan Gelula, and Raúl Castillo, with Kyle Gallner
Where to Watch: fuboTV, Paramount+

Smile 2 is a psychological supernatural horror film, sequel to Smile (2022).
About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.

Oddity

Director: Damian McCarthy
Starring: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Jonathan French, Steve Wall
Where to Watch: AMC+, Shudder, Amazon, Apple TV

It follows a blind medium and curio shopkeeper who is still grieving the death of her twin sister a year prior when a wooden mannequin from her collection becomes crucial to her quest to uncover the truth about her sister’s murder.

I Saw the TV Glow

Director: Jane Schoenbrun
Starring: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Helena Howard, Lindsey Jordan, Conner O’Malley, Emma Portner
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.

Alien: Romulus

Director: Fede Álvarez
Starring: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu
Where to Watch: Hulu, Apple TV

It is part of the Alien franchise, set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986)
Young interstellar travellers find themselves stranded on an alien planet across the galaxy. Forsaken in an unfamiliar landscape they are met by the most terrifying predator in the universe. The troupe must work together to survive against the odds.

The First Omen

Director: Arkasha Stevenson
Starring: Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, Bill Nighy
Where to Watch: Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video (Buy, Rent), Apple TV (Buy, Rent)

It is a prequel to The Omen (1976), and the sixth film in The Omen franchise. The plot follows an American novitiate (Free) sent to work at a Catholic orphanage in Rome who uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist.

In a Violent Nature

Director: Chris Nash
Starring: Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love, Reece Presley, Liam Leone, Charlotte Creaghan, Lea Rose Sebastianis
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video

When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year old crime, his body is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it.

Late Night With the Devil

Directors: Colin Cairnes & Cameron Cairnes
Starring: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys AuteriDavid Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys Auteri
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Shudder, AMC+

October 31, 1977. Johnny Carson rival Jack Delroy hosts a syndicated talk show ‘Night Owls’ that has long been a trusted companion to insomniacs around the country. A year after the tragic death of Jack’s wife, ratings have plummeted. Desperate to turn his fortunes around, Jack plans a Halloween special like no other, unaware he is about to unleash evil into the living rooms of America.

Stopmotion

Director: Robert Morgan
Starring: Aisling Franciosi, Stella Gonet, Tom York
Where to Watch: AMC+, Shudder,, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV(Buy, Rent)

Ella Blake, a stop-motion animator struggling to control her demons after the loss of her overbearing mother, embarks upon the creation of a film that becomes the battleground for her sanity. As Ella’s mind starts to fracture, the characters in her project take on a life of their own.

Strange Darling

Director: JT Mollner
Starring: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey, and Ed Begley Jr.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, Apple TV

Set in rural Oregon, the film focuses on a man and woman who have a one-night stand that devolves into a cat-and-mouse game of murder. It is divided into six chapters in nonlinear order, and presented as a dramatization of the pinnacle of a serial killer’s years-long murder spree in the Western United States.

Immaculate

Director: Michael Mohan
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Álvaro Morte, Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, Giorgio Colangeli, Simona Tabasco
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video (Buy, Rent)

The plot focuses on a young novice, who is invited to reside at a picturesque Italian convent, but slowly realizes the terrifying secrets it harbors.

Abigail

Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin
Starring: Alisha Weir, Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, and Giancarlo Esposito
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video

A group of kidnappers are tasked with finding and guarding a young ballerina named Abigail. The daughter of an incredibly wealthy but mysterious figure, Abigail is brought to the safe house where the gang awaits the $50 million ransom. What they don’t realize is that Abigail is a powerful young vampire intent on breaking free and wreaking havoc on her captors.

Terrifier 3

Director: Damien Leone
Starring: David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Elliott Fullam, Samantha Scaffidi
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, Apple TV

It is the sequel to Terrifier 2 (2022) and the third installment in the Terrifier film series.
The residents of Miles County are under threat from the diabolical, unstoppable, and now resurrected, Art the Clown. Masquerading as Santa Claus, the murderous axe-wielding villain is back on the loose and ready to deliver the bloodiest and most horrifying Christmas ever.

Cuckoo

Director: Tilman Singer
Starring: Hunter Schafer, Jan Bluthardt, Marton Csokas, Jessica Henwick, and Dan Stevens
Where to Watch: Hulu

It is one of the best horror thriller movies of 2024, Gretchen is forced to move away from America to live with her father in the German Alps. When she arrives in the small town she meets her father’s new including her mute half-sister and her father’s boss Mr. Konig. Gretchen grows suspicious of the town and its inhabitants when she begins to hear terrifying sounds and witness surreal horrors. Beneath the peaceful paradise is a dark secret about her own family that puts her own life at risk.

Night Swim

Director: Bryce McGuire
Starring: Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon
Where to Watch: Apple TV, Microsoft Store, Amazon Video (buy/rent)

It is based on the 2014 short film of the same name by McGuire and Rod Blackhurst.
Forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness, former major league baseball player Ray Waller moves into a new home with his wife and their two children. The new home comes complete with a backyard swimming pool, but a deep secret surfaces and unleashes a malevolent force that will drag the family into the inescapable depths of terror.

Sleep

Director: Jason Yu
Starring: Jung Yu-mi and Lee Sun-kyun
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, Apple TV

Hyeon-soo and Soo-jin are newlyweds. One night, she discovers Hyeon-soo sleepwalking, with a strange behavior that is not like him. Every time night falls, she becomes restless, for fear that her husband will harm their newborn.

V/H/S/Beyond

Director: Jay Cheel, Jordan Downey, Virat Pal, Justin Martinez, Christian and Justin Long, and Kate Siegel
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Álvaro Morte, Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, Giorgio Colangeli, Simona Tabasco
Where to Watch: AMC+, Shudder, Amazon Video, Apple TV

The sequel to V/H/S/85 (2023), it is the seventh installment in the V/H/S franchise and features five found footage segments linked together by a sixth frame narrative.
This anthology mockumentary brings together sci-fi and horror in a daunting display of six horrifying stories. The police go in search of missing babies and are shocked by what they find; paparazzi photographers are stunned when they find Bollywood superstar Tara in her trailer; skydivers intercept a UFO; taxidermists and animal rights activists clash; and alluring lights above the Mojave desert are the inspiration for investigation.

MadS

Director: David Moreau
Starring: Lucille Guillaume, Laurie Pavy, Milton Riche
Where to Watch: AMC+, Shudder, Amazon Video, Apple TV

On a quiet August evening, moneyed teenager Romain stops by his dealer’s house before heading out for a night of hard partying. Instead, he runs into a mysterious woman trying to make a getaway. And just like that, things went sideways. As the powerful substance in his system kicks in, Romain struggles to process what is happening, only to descend deeper into a chaotic haze. But what was in that pill? Is Romain having a bad trip, or are his vivid hallucinations signalling something more ominous? Either way, one thing is clear: this horrifying experience is just the beginning of a long, brutal night filled with blood and terror.

Heretic

Director: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods
Starring: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East
Where to Watch: Amazon Video, Apple TV

Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes are two young, well-meaning Mormon missionaries. The pair go door-to-door in their attempts to spread their faith and knowledge about Mormon beliefs. But when they are invited inside by a curious Mr. Reed everything changes for the faithful duo. Suddenly embroiled in the unpredictable mind games of their sadistic host Sister Paxton and Barnes are trapped with nowhere to go.

Lisa Frankenstein

Director: Zelda Williams
Starring: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video

After suffering an unspeakable tragedy, Lisa finds herself at a new school her senior year in 1989, struggling to fit in, despite her “sister” Taffy trying to get her to conform to her more typical cheerleader vibe. When a freak accident reanimates a corpse from the abandoned cemetery where she was spending time, she must keep his arrival a secret from her family and classmates, all while deciding how much she wants to help him, and at what cost.

The Strangers: Chapter 1

Director: Renny Harlin
Starring: Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath, Ella Bruccoleri
Available on: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

It is the third film in The Strangers film series and the first installment of an intended relaunch in the form of a standalone trilogy. The film follows a couple who come into contact with three psychopathic masked strangers while on a road trip.

MaXXXine

Director: Ti West
Starring: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon
Where to Watch: Max

It is the third installment in West’s X film series following X and Pearl (both 2022), serving as a direct sequel to the former.
The VHS boom changed the movie industry forever. In 1980s Los Angeles, the industry is about to be shaken up by something else though. Maxine is on a relentless quest for fame. After a porn shoot led to a shootout and Maxine walked away as the sole survivor, her journey to stardom sends her straight to the heart of movie land. Between the big-budget studios, small set-pieces, asinine agents, and the Academy Awards, Hollywood is the only place for an aspiring actor. But Maxine isn’t just any hopeful headliner; she wants to be a star and anything that gets in her way will face her wrath.

List of Best Horror Movies of 2024 So Far (Ranked)

Here are the best horror films of the year, and find out where to watch them.

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