The top 6 supernatural horror films of 2024 (and the 7 worst)

2024 has been a wild year for horror, delivering a mix of hauntingly good supernatural horror flicks and some major letdowns that are best left in the dark. In this article, we'll explore the six supernatural horror films of this year that truly deliver the fright factor, alongside the seven films that fell flat.

Whether you're seeking spine-tingling suspense or just want to avoid the duds, this list will help you navigate the best and the worst of this year's supernatural horrors.

Best supernatural horror movies of 2024

Smile 2

Serving as a sequel to Smile, one of 2022's best horror movies, Smile 2 follows pop star Skye Riley, who begins to encounter a series of terrifying and unexplainable events while preparing for her comeback tour. As her mental state continues to deteriorate and she begins to spiral out of control, she eventually discovers that she's the new victim of the Smile entity.

In an attempt to rid herself of the curse and regain control over her life, she confronts her troubled past. But is that enough to escape this vicious cycle of terror?

Oddity

Blind psychic medium and curio shopkeeper Darcy Odello still isn't over her twin sister's mysterious death a year ago. She's eager for revenge and is determined to take down those responsible for her sister's murder with the help of a haunted wooden mannequin from her collection.

Exhuma

This South Korean horror-thriller revolves around a wealthy Korean American family who enlists the help of two shamans to save the newborn of the family from a mysterious illness. The two shamans discover that the family is suffering from a dark ancestral curse, which is causing the baby to be sick. So, they attempt to free them from the curse by exhuming the grave of the patriarch's late grandfather.

They believe that if they appease the ancestor, he'll leave them alone. But they don't know the consequences of doing so. After the exhumation is carried out, a sinister force is released, and the family's lives are put in grave danger.

Longlegs

FBI agent Lee Harker is assigned to investigate a series of chilling murder-suicides in Oregon that are connected to an occultist serial killer named Longlegs. But as she works to track him down, she finds herself facing unimaginable dangers.

Tarot

Say what you want about Tarot, but this is an entertaining supernatural horror flick in my book. It follows a group of friends who unknowingly release an ancient evil bound within a cursed tarot card deck. Soon after playing with the cards, the friend group is picked off one by one in ways that mirror the ominous predictions made during their card readings.

Now, the remaining survivors must urgently unravel the mystery behind the deadly tarot readings before they too become victims of the same fate.

The First Omen

The First Omen is the sixth movie in The Omen franchise. Margaret, a young American nun, is sent to Rome to serve the Catholic church. But what she ends up discovering while there is that there's a sinister conspiracy to bring about the Antichrist.

Worst supernatural horror films of 2024

Salem's Lot

Why it's a bad movie: Pacing issues, underdeveloped story, underwhelming ending

When writer Ben Mears returns to his hometown of Jerusalem's Lot to write his next book, he finds himself in a fight for survival when a powerful vampire known as Kurt Barlow begins to slowly take over the town by turning its residents into bloodthirsty vamps.

Imaginary

Why it's a bad movie: Inconsistent tone, lack of real scares, rushed pacing, clunky dialogue, muddled story

Shortly after moving into her childhood home with her new family, children's book author Jessica finds herself and her family fighting for their lives when her old imaginary friend in the form of a teddy bear begins terrorizing them.

Night Swim

Why it's a bad movie: Struggles to maintain tension and suspense, cheap jump scares, weak plot

Night Swim centers on a family that moves into a new home and discovers that their backyard swimming pool harbors a dark secret from the past. It's haunted by an evil entity that's hellbent on taking them under.

The Crow

Why it's a bad movie: Subpar performances, weak plot, pacing issues, struggles to live up to the legacy of the 1994 original

After Eric and his fiancée Shelly are brutally murdered, Eric is resurrected by a mysterious supernatural force and embarks on a revenge mission to take down those responsible for his and Shelly's deaths.

Here are three more bad supernatural horror movies that came out this year:

• The Deliverance - Overused horror tropes, inconsistent tone, weak special effects, a thrown-together ending, too slow pacing
• The Watchers - Unnatural dialogue, poor pacing, failure to deliver consistent scares, unsatisfying final act
• The Exorcism - Poorly written script, falls short in delivering strong scares, uneven performances, underwhelming special effects