Six To See Halloween special 2024

With Halloween that happened this week, here are six of the best horror films that were released this year that you should see:

1. The Substance: one of the best horror films that was released this year is also one of the best films in general. The Substance is a satirical body horror film written, directed, co-edited, and co-produced by Coralie Fargeat. It follows a fading celebrity (Demi Moore) who uses a black market drug that creates a much younger version of herself (Margaret Qualley) with unexpected side effects. The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where Fargeat won Best Screenplay. It was released in theatres in the United Kingdom and the United States on September 20, and is releasing in other countries including France next week on November 6. The film received acclaim from critics, and already grossed over $42 million on a $17.5 million budget.

2. Smile 2: after the success of Smile in 2022, we got a sequel this year with Smile 2. This psychological supernatural horror film is written and directed by Parker Finn, just like the first one. The film stars Naomi Scott in the lead role as Skye Riley, a pop star who begins to experience a series of increasingly disturbing events as she is about to go on tour. It also features Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Ray Nicholson, Dylan Gelula, and Raúl Castillo, as well as Kyle Gallner reprising his role from the first film. Smile 2 was released in theatres on October 18. Like its predecessor, the film received positive reviews from critics and grossed over $90 million worldwide.

3. Longlegs: If you want to see Nicolas Cage as a serial killer, then you have to watch this film. Longlegs is a horror-thriller film written and directed by Osgood Perkins and starring Maika Monroe, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, and Cage who also serves as a producer. Set in the 1990s, it follows an FBI agent tasked with tracking down an occultist serial killer responsible for murdering multiple families throughout the state of Oregon. Longlegs was released in theatres on July 12 and received critical acclaim and grossed $109 million worldwide, becoming Neon’s highest-grossing film to date domestically, as well as the highest-grossing independent film of the year.

4. A Quiet Place: Day One: in this spin-off and prequel of A Quiet Place we get to know how everything started. This apocalyptic horror film written and directed by Michael Sarnoski is based on a story he conceived with John Krasinski. The film stars Lupita Nyong’o as a terminally ill woman during the early stages of an invasion in New York City by blind, extraterrestrial creatures with an acute sense of hearing. The supporting cast includes Joseph Quinn, and Djimon Hounsou, who reprises his role from A Quiet Place Part II. A Quiet Place: Day One premiered at the Tribeca Festival this summer and was released in theatres on June 28. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed $261 million worldwide.

5. I Saw the TV Glow: This psychological horror drama film is written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun. It stars Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine in the lead roles as two troubled high school students whose connection to their favorite television show drives them to question their reality and identities. The supporting cast includes Helena Howard, Lindsey Jordan, Conner O’Malley, Emma Portner, Ian Foreman, Fred Durst, and Danielle Deadwyler. Actress Emma Stone and her husband, comedian Dave McCary, are among the film’s producers. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18 and was given a limited theatrical release in the United States on May 3, with its theatrical release expanding to Canada and nationwide in the US on May 17. It was released in other countries this summer and now you can watch the film in the US on HBO Max.

6. MaXXXine: After we got X and Pearl in 2022, this year we got the third installment in Ti West’s X film series. This horror film is written, directed, produced, and edited by West and is serving as a direct sequel to X. Mia Goth reprises her role as Maxine Minx, starring alongside Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon. In the film, Maxine sets out for fame and success in 1980s Hollywood while being targeted by a mysterious killer. MaXXXine was released in theatres on July 5 and grossed $22 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of the series.

Special mentions:

There are lot of great new horror films that were released this year, so here are ten more of them that are worth mentioning: Terrifier 3, Speak No Evil, Abigail, Alien: Romulus, It’s What’s Inside, The Watchers, Cuckoo, Trap, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Lisa Frankenstein.

The year is not over yet and maybe the best horror film of the year still has to come: Nosferatu. This gothic horror film, written and directed by Robert Eggers, is a remake of the 1922 German film, which was in turn based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. The film stars Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, and Willem Dafoe. Nosferatu is scheduled for theatrical release on December 25.