Thanks to streaming services, especially Shudder, international horror films have become more and more accessible to genre hounds and Western audiences. This year, in particular, was a strong one for horror. Maybe this shouldn't be a surprise since horror has always been rooted in our deepest fears and anxieties, and well, the world is a mess.
Still, horror provides comfort, and foreign films allow us to see a new perspective. Here are some of our favorites from 2024.
Tiger Stripes
Tiger Stripes is an oddly beautiful body horror film from Malaysia that also blends comedy and drama. Writer-director Amanda Nell Eu's feature follows 11-year-old Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal), who is bullied at school and shunned by her family after her body undergoes physical changes. She becomes more and more tiger-like as the film progresses.
To be clear, Tiger Stripes has its share of scares and some gross-out body horror. However, the most unsettling sequences happen when Zaffan is tormented by her peers at school. The film also warrants attention because its director fought against censorship in her home country to release it as she intended. This is a coming-of-age feature with a feminist bite.
Tiger Stripes is currently available on VOD.
The Coffee Table
Few films this year sparked as much discussion and shock as The Coffee Table. If you know, you know. In short, the first act has one of the most disturbing and startling scenes out of any film this year. Hailing from Spain, the feature focuses on a young married couple, Jesús (David Pareja) and María (Estefanía de los Santos), who recently became parents. They decide to buy a new coffee table, and well, things go downhill pretty quickly from there.
If you haven't seen The Coffee Table yet, go into it blind. Don't read any spoilers. It's rare that a film manages to disturb viewers as much as this one. That alone earned it a spot on this list.
The Coffee Table is streaming on Tubi.
Oddity
Irish director Damian McCarthy's follow-up to his feature debut Caveat is just as atmospheric and moody with serious gothic overtones. Oddity features a wooden mannequin that's creepy as can be. Meanwhile, Carolyn Bracken turns in a heck of a dual performance as Dani and her blind sister Darcy, who runs an oddity shop with a cool nod to the eerie bunny from McCarthy's first film.
Oddity is one-part murder mystery that takes place in a spooky house with creaky floorboards, shadowy hallways, and that wooden mannequin that seems to move from frame to frame. This film is an absolute must-see and proves McCarthy's staying power.
Oddity is currently streaming on Shudder.
Red Rooms
Red Rooms is a slow-burn, French-Canadian thriller that comments on the true crime genre and the culture's fascination with it. The film stars Juliette Gariépy as Kelly-Anne, who's obsessed with a serial killer named Ludovic Chevalier (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos) to the point she attends his high-profile trials.
Kelly-Anne's morbid obsession causes her to go down a dark web rabbit hole to locate the video of a murdered young girl who has an uncanny resemblance to her. Red Rooms is one of those films that creeps under your skin and worms into your brain long after the credits roll. It's an eerie commentary on voyeurism and true crime.
Currently, Red Rooms is available on VOD.
Infested
If you detest and fear spiders, then Infested absolutely isn't the movie for you. That said, this French film is a gnarly creature feature that's truly one of the year's standouts. It follows residents in an apartment complex that's suddenly overrun with vicious spiders that somehow quickly reproduce. This film is loaded with high-octane, suspenseful sequences.
While Infested is a creature feature, it's also a not-so-subtle commentary on immigration, one of the most potent global issues of this past year. Meanwhile, director Sébastien Vaniček's star continues to rise. He's been tapped to direct the next Evil Dead movie, currently titled Evil Dead Burn and slated for release in 2026.
Infested is available on Shudder.
Exhuma
Exhuma definitely has the longest runtime of any film on the list, but don't be deterred by that. The South Korean film is visually striking and haunting. It also utilizes South Korean folklore to spin quite a narrative about buried secrets after a wealthy family employs a shaman and her protege to investigate a mysterious illness plaguing their baby.
It's tough to compare Exhuma to many other films because of its folklore and major narrative turns. The Wailing probably comes closest in terms of tone and visuals, but really, Exhuma is its own unique feature and one of the year's best.
Exhuma is available on Shudder.
Handling the Undead
Handling the Undead is a Norwegian zombie movie unlike any other one in the subgenre. Based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, author of Let the Right One In, the film isn't all that gory. This isn't 28 Days Later, nor is it a George A. Romero-like social commentary.
Instead, Handling the Undead is a chilling meditation on mortality. Yes, the film has zombies, but they're used to push deeper truths about life, death, and even grief. Director Thea Hvistendahl's feature may be a slow-burn that shambles along, but there's more than one sequence here that's both jolting and poetic. This film requires patience, but it's worth a watch.
Handling the Undead is available on Hulu.
Rita
After his 2019 film La Llorona, Jayro Bustamante proved that he's one of the most interesting auteurs in the game today. His latest, Rita, is a dark fantasy film loosely inspired by true events. It focuses on young women trapped in a prison, deep in the Guatemalan jungles. They're depicted as fairies and princesses, but they forge their own acts of rebellion, including a major protest during International Women's Day.
Rita is a visually stunning, yet equally chilling film about real-life injustice. It's all told through the eyes of its young protagonist, Rita (Giuliana Santa Cruz). She reluctantly leads the women in their dissent, but not without major consequences.
Rita is currently streaming on Shudder.