Last year was a truly remarkable one for the horror genre, resulting in several films receiving Oscar nominations, a tragic rarity. There were a lot of fantastic titles released in theaters, including The Substance, The First Omen, Smile 2, Longlegs, and more, and it would be easy to have missed out on one or more.
The Horror Oscars: Recognizing the best from last year
The good thing about living in this era of streaming is that we don't often have to wait very long for theatrical releases to make their way to our living rooms. All of 2024's best horror movies are now streaming on apps like Hulu, Shudder, and Max, you just need to know where to look!
The Substance
- Streaming: Mubi
It's rare that a horror movie receives attention from the Academy Awards and worth watching for that alone, but it helps that The Substance is also genuinely one of the best films of 2024. A grotesque feast for the eyes, Coralie Fargeat's magnum opus pits Demi Moore against Margaret Qualley in a spectacle of bloodshed and biting satire. Moore's character is an aging film star, newly fired from her job and desperate to reclaim her youth, leading her to try an experimental medical procedure.
Coralie Fargeat is already planning her next movie
Longlegs
- Streaming: Hulu
Osgood Perkins has become one of the most talked-about horror filmmakers as of late thanks to Longlegs and his most recent film The Monkey. After months of waiting, Longlegs has finally begun streaming on Hulu, so anyone who missed out on this divisive film will want to catch up. A serial killer thriller in the vein of The Silence of the Lambs, Longlegs features incredible performances from lead actors Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe.
Heretic
- Streaming: Max
Having just watched the most recent Bridget Jones movie, it becomes even more apparent just how dastardly Hugh Grant is in his villainous Heretic role as the foreboding Mr. Reed. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East are Mormon missionaries attempting to convert him to their religion when they find themselves trapped inside his puzzle-box house full of traps, all the while forced to enter debates with the enigmatic man about philosophy and religion.
Smile 2
- Streaming: Paramount+ and Prime Video
A sequel that surpasses the original in every single way, Smile 2 is a gore-filled blast featuring a stellar performance from actress Naomi Scott in the lead role as pop singer Skye Riley. This time, the creepy smile entity attaches itself to her after she witnesses a friend brutally kill himself in front of her.
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Alien: Romulus
- Streaming: Hulu
The Alien franchise continues to go strong with its latest entry from Evil Dead and Don't Breathe director Fede Álvarez. Introducing lovable new characters in the form of Cailee Spaeny's Rain and her synth brother Andy (David Jonsson). Álvarez imbues the film with new energy along with plenty of easter eggs and callbacks to previous films in the series, along with using practical effects to bring the Xenomorphs to life as more terrifying than ever.
The latest Alien: Earth teaser
The First Omen
- Streaming: Hulu
For a prequel to The Omen, no one anticipated The First Omen becoming one of 2024's best horror movies, but it managed to pleasantly surprise me. Nell Tiger Free is what really helped catapult this film into brilliance as the actress plays a young initiate in Rome who unravels a terrifying conspiracy at the church.
Strange Darling
- Streaming: Paramount+
Kyle Gallner and Willa Fitzgerald star in this psychological thriller shot on 35 mm about a one night stand that spirals into a night of madness. Told in a nonlinear style, Strange Darling oozes style and makes an excellent showcase for the talents of all involved.
I Saw the TV Glow
- Streaming: Max
The latest movie from Jane Schoenbrun, and the second in their "Screen Trilogy," I Saw the TV Glow quickly cemented itself as one of my top five horror movies of last year. Brimming with existential dread and a pervasive feeling of melancholy, I think anyone who has grown up and matured within fandom spaces will find this film to be deeply moving. It follows two teenagers and their obsession with a television show called The Pink Opaque. But when one of them vanishes and returns, claiming the TV to be real, the reality they know starts to crack.
Oddity
- Streaming: Shudder
When a woman is brutally murdered in her home and the blame pointed at a nearby mental hospital where her husband works, her twin sister Darcy (Carolyn Bracken in both roles) returns to the crime scene to investigate and learn the truth about what happened. Sinister and full of dread, Oddity is one of last year's most underrated movies.
Nosferatu
- Streaming: Peacock
Another Oscar-nominated horror movie from 2024, Nosferatu is the latest from The Witch director Robert Eggers. A remake of the 1922 classic, Eggers' version is all about yearning and sensuality as we follow Ellen Hutter (Lily Rose-Depp) and her husband Thomas (Nicholas). Thomas unknowingly enters the domain of the formidable Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) and brings him into their lives.