Today’s episode of Sounds of Cinema looked back at some of the horror films released in 2024.
Vampire Films
We got a couple of vampire movies in 2024. Abigail mixed humor and scares in a fun vampire movie. It may play better now that viewers can discover it without the spoilers of the trailer. This year also saw a new adaptation of Salem’s Lot, based on the novel by Stephen King. This was the third version of Salem’s Lot and it didn’t really justify its existence.
Families in Peril
One of the consistent themes in the horror movies of 2024 were stories of families in peril.
In Never Let Go a mother (Halle Berry) and her two sons (Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins) live in an isolated cabin in the woods. They can can only leave the house tethered by a rope for fear that evil spirits will overtake their body. This is an exceptional film with great performances.
Blumhouse continues to be one of the most prolific horror studios and in 2024 they released several films about families in peril. The remake of Speak No Evil isn’t a shocker the way the 2022 Danish film was but the new version is an exciting and entertaining movie. Night Swim is about a family that moves into a new home with a cursed swimming pool, Afraid is about a family whose life is turned upside down by an artificially intelligent home device, and Imaginary is about a family plagued by a spirit that assumes the identity of the child’s imaginary friend. Neither Night Swim nor Afraid nor Imaginary were very good.
Possession and Exorcism Films
The Deliverance is a possession film directed by Lee Daniels. A mother (Andra Day) must confront the demonic forces and the domestic strains plaguing her family. This picture tended to be silly and its attempts to inspire spirituality fall flat.
Late Night with the Devil recreates the 1970s aesthetic very well and for most of its running time it is a compelling and frightening movie.
The Exorcism riffed on some of the behind the scenes urban legends about the making of 1973’s The Exorcist.
The First Omen and Immaculate told remarkably similar stories and each film has its virtues although The First Omen is the better of the two.
Horror Sequels
In addition to The First Omen, several horror sequels were released this year. Many of them were not great.
The Rosemary’s Baby prequel Apartment 7A is a redundant retread of the 1968 film.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a passable but disjointed and formulaic follow up to Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
The Strangers: Chapter1 is a remake of the original Strangers movie and is intended to set up a news series of films but it’s terrible.
Maxxxine is the third film in a trilogy following X and Pearl. It ranks third in the series but Maxxxine brought the themes to an interesting conclusion.
A Quiet Place: Day One is a prequel to the 2018 alien invasion film. It didn’t do much new with the franchise but it did the premise well.
Set in between the first two pictures, Alien: Romulus is well made, scary, and gives viewers what they look for from this franchise although it is also constrained by fan service.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a messy but fun sequel that generally recaptured what was appealing about its predecessor.
Terrifier 3 offers up more of the same.
Smile 2 outdoes its predecessor in filmmaking craft and it is just as frightening if not more so.
Art House Horror
The horror sequels of 2024 have been so-so but the original pictures have offered some outrageous and stylized films that we might call art house horror.
The Substance is an extraordinary film about an aging actress who uses black market drugs to reclaim her youth. It’s a technical showcase but The Substance is also extremely intelligent and mordantly funny. Demi Moore is terrific in the lead role.
Strange Darling is best approached with as little foreknowledge as possible but it is an exceptionally well made film that riffs on the exploitation movies of the 1970s.
Cuckoo doesn’t entirely come together but it succeeds at creating an atmosphere of dread.
In a Violent Nature is an art house version of Friday the 13th. It is cinematically and technically interesting but this may have been better as a short than as a feature film.
MadS is a French film in which a teenager picks up a distressed woman on the side of the road. Matters quickly go sideways, as the woman transmits a disease that the driver spreads to others. It’s made with technical virtuosity and style and has a freewheeling and chaotic vibe that is engaging and scary.
Other Films
Longlegs was one of the most popular horror films of 2024. It’s an interesting exercise in style and atmosphere but not so interesting in terms of character and story.
Tarot is shoddy and thoughtless filmmaking. It’s not scary but it is frequently frustrating and stupid.
Oddity is about a psychic (Carolyn Bracken) who visits the husband of her deceased twin sister. The psychic suspects foul play and brings along a wooden mannequin which has supernatural qualities. It’s spooky in the style of a classic ghost story.
Not Quite Horror
There were also a number of 2024 titles that don’t fit neatly into the horror genre but are worth discussing.
Blink Twice is one of the underappreciated films of 2024. This is a suspenseful and provocative picture and an exceptional directorial debut by Zoë Kravitz.
Trap is M. Night Shymalan’s latest movie and one of his most fun. It’s too long and loses its way in the ending but it’s very entertaining.
Watchers was directed by M. Night Shymalan’s daughter Ishana Shyamalan and although she is a promising filmmaker this was a middling effort.
Under Paris is a silly killer shark movie.
Lisa Frankenstein is a messy and not so successful riff on Mary Shelley’s classic story.
Out of Darkness is an ambitious story of early homo sapiens set the Paleolithic period.
Coming Soon
Venom: The Last Dance (October 25) – The third film in the Spider-Man spinoff series starring Tom Hardy.
Kraven the Hunter (December 13) – Another adaptation of a Marvel comics villain. Hopefully it’s more like Venom and less like Morbius.
Your Monster (Oct. 25) – This riff on Beauty and the Beast is described as an anti-romantic comedy. Melissa Barrera plays a woman who discovers a charming monster living in her closet.
Heretic (November 8) – Another religion themed horror picture. Heretic is about two young missionaries who become trapped in the house of sinister man played by Hugh Grant. It’s written by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who wrote A Quiet Place.
Two werewolf movies are being released on December 6. Werewolves looks to be an action oriented survive-the-night story starring Frank Grillo and Night Bitch stars Amy Adams as a woman whose struggles as a mother lead her to turn into a wolf.
Get Away (December 6) is a vacation horror movie. A family discovers that their island vacation spot in inhabited by a serial killer. The movie stars Nick Frost and Lena Headey.
Nosferatu (December 25) – Robert Eggers’ remake of the classic 1922 silent film adaptation of Dracula stars Bill Skarsgård, Willem Dafoe, and Lily-Rose Depp.