The 10 best horror movies of 2024 so far

This year has been fantastic for horror so far, and there are many more highly anticipated titles on the way, such as Cuckoo, Longlegs, Alien: Romulus, MaXXXine, and Terrifier 3.

While we wait for more horror movies to release in theaters and on demand, it's time to look back at the first six months of 2024 and highlight the best of the year (so far).

The First Omen

This terrifying and disturbing film from director Arkasha Stevenson is a prequel to the 1976 movie The Omen. Nell Tiger Free stars as an American woman who moves to Rome to start her life in service to the church.

Soon after arriving, Margeret discovers the church harbors a dark secret. Several of its highest-ranking members are conspiring to bring about the birth of the antichrist, and Margeret finds herself at the center of their plans.

Abigail

A heist goes terribly wrong when a group of criminals unknowingly kidnap a menacing centuries-old vampire.

Assigned to kidnap the 12-year-old daughter of a powerful crime boss, the group soon finds themselves trapped in an isolated manor with a menacing ballerina vampire. Abigail is another bonkers total crowd-pleaser from the team behind Ready or Not.

Immaculate

Immaculate is like the perfect sister film to The First Omen. Both movies center on American women traveling to Rome to become nuns, only to become unwitting pawns in dark schemes to birth the antichrist.

Immaculate stars Sydney Sweeney in one of her career-best performances, and, like The First Omen, it features at least one particularly memorable (and brutal) scene that makes it an unforgettable watch.

Lisa Frankenstein

Don't let the poor reviews sway you from giving Lisa Frankenstein a chance. This movie has "cult hit" written all over it, similar to writer Diablo Cody's other notable horror-comedy film, Jennifer's Body.

It's a shame more people didn't give Lisa Frankenstein a chance because it (and Abigail) proves that this is Kathryn Newton's world and that we're all just living it. Here, she plays an outcast teen who accidentally reanimates a Victorian man and spends the movie trying to piece his corpse back together.

Stopmotion

This trippy psychological horror movie stands out thanks to its uniqueness, folding stop-motion storytelling into its plot as the main draw to its twisted tale. Dealing with the death of her overbearing and abusive mother, Ella (Aisling Franciosi) struggles to finish the stop-motion film she'd been working on until she meets a mysterious young girl who guides Ella down a more sinister path. Now on Shudder.

Late Night with the Devil

This supernatural horror film about a 1977 late-night television broadcast gone wrong was one of the earliest horror movies to receive acclaim this year.

Shot like a found-footage film (and maybe it could be argued that it fits in the analog horror genre), Late Night with the Devil gives viewers a darkly entrancing behind-the-scenes look at a young teen possessed and what happens when she lets her demonic entity take over on live television. Now streaming on Shudder.

Arcadian

Arcadian might not have the strongest script, but its creature design makes this one stand out. In an era when many horror movie monsters are starting to look the same, Arcadian intentionally makes crazy monsters (inspired by Goofy, of all things) that make the movie memorable. Couple the chilling creature design with some genuinely spine-chilling scenes, and you've got a hit (plus Nicolas Cage!).

I Saw the TV Glow

Director Jane Schoenbrun returns with this touching and emotionally resonant film, which functions almost like a thematic sequel to her previous film, We're All Going to the World's Fair. The film is about a teen who discovers a late-night TV show that opens a gateway to a supernatural world beneath their own.

In a Violent Nature

Another found-footage film that aims to take a unique angle, In a Violent Nature is an unrelenting and brutal movie shot from the killer's perspective. It features one of the sickest on-screen kills in recent memory, which already has everyone talking. In a Violent Nature received a limited theatrical release but will be on Shudder this year.

Infested

If you're looking for a creature feature that will leave your skin crawling long after the credits roll, look no further than this French movie that also happens to be on Shudder!

An avid insect and arachnid collector brings home a new venomous pet spider, unaware that the monstrosity rapidly reproduces. It doesn't take long for the spider to escape and take over the entire apartment complex with its horde of offspring, leaving the residents to fight for survival or become spider prey.

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