12 horror movies to get excited about in 2024

Get ready for a year of scares, as we reveal the horror movies we’re looking forward to in 2024, including a new Toxic Avenger movie, A Quiet Place prequel, and sequels to Alien, Smile, and Terrifier.

2023 was a solid year for horror movies. Skinamarink was the surprise hit of January, while another shock came in the shape of the huge numbers posted by Terrifier 2 later in the year.

Aussie scarer Talk to Me received some of the best reviews of the year, MEGAN was a camp blast of fun, and Thanksgiving reinvigorated the slasher genre.

Five Nights at Freddy’s was the biggest hit of the year, though. Meanwhile, sequels to Scream and Evil Dead were both well-received, proving there’s life yet in two of the franchise greats.

The best horror movies in 2024

So what’s on the roster for horror movies in 2024? Well, here’s a dozen of the best new movies coming up, ranging from a political drama to a sci-fi sequel to the return of a particular clown.

So without further delay, these are our picks for the hottest horror tickets this year.

Alien: Romulus

Release Date: August 16, 2024.

Directed by Fede Alvarez—from a script he co-wrote with longtime collaborator Rodo Sayaguez—Alien: Romulus was originally planned as a Hulu exclusive, but will now receive a theatrical release in August.

Little is known about the sequel at present, aside from the fact that the film is headlined by Priscilla star Caillee Spainy, and takes place between the events of Alien and Aliens.

Civil War

Release Date: April 26, 2024.

 “A race to the White House in a near-future America balanced on the razor’s edge” is the set-up for Alex Garland’s new movie, a politically charged thriller that looks like it’s going to some very dark places.

Real-life couple Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons star, alongside Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Nick Offerman.

Imaginary

Release Date: March 8, 2024.

John Krasinski has an imaginary friend movie aimed at families coming out this year, called IF. But before then, Blumhouse is releasing a horror take on similar material. And this one isn’t for kids. Directed by Jeff Wadlow – who previously collaborated with the studio on Truth or Dare and Fantasy Island—the official synopsis is as follows:

“Jessica moves back into her childhood home with her family. Her youngest stepdaughter Alice develops an eerie attachment to a stuffed bear named Chauncey she finds in the basement.  Alice starts playing games with Chauncey that begin playful and become increasingly sinister. As Alice’s behavior becomes more and more concerning, Jessica intervenes only to realize Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believed him to be.”

Nosferatu

Release Date: December 25, 2024.

Written and directed by Robert Eggers—of The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman fame—Nosferatu is our most eagerly anticipated movie on this list.

A remake of F. W. Murnau’s 1922 vampire classic, this new iteration stars Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlook, with support coming from Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp, and Nicholas Hoult.

As for the remake’s story, Focus Features describes Nosferaturu as “a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.”

A Quiet Place: Day One

Release Date: June 28, 2024.

The Quiet Place franchise continues to grow, with sequel Part 2 proving to be a monster hit in 2020, and this prequel now documenting the day the aliens invade and that early aftermath.

Michael Sarnoski (Pig) takes over from John Krasinski behind-the-scenes, while in front of the camera, the film stars Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, and Djimon Honsou, the latter reprising the role he played in Part II.

I Saw the TV Glow

Release Date: May 3, 2024.

There’s some pretty random talent involved in this A24 feature, with Emma Stone producing, Justice Smith starring, and Fred Durst and Phoebe Bridgers both appearing.

Writer-director Jane Schoenbrun’s weird and wonderful We’re All Going to the World’s Fair debuted at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, and this new effort premieres at Sundance 2024, where it’s described as follows:

“Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.”

Horrorscope

Release Date: May 10, 2024.

Based on a 1992 novel by Nicholas Adams, the story of Horrorscope “follows a group of college friends who after getting their horoscopes read, begin dying in ways connected to their fortunes. Are their fates fatal or can they change what’s written in the stars?”

Anna Halberg and Spenser Cohen write and direct, while Jacob Batalon—who plays Ned Leeds in the Spider-Man movies—stars.

Presence

Release Date: TBA.

“A family discover they are not alone when they move into a new house” is the logline for a new horror movie that Steven Soderbergh has made in secret. The film was announced this month and will play at Sundance next month.

David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, Stir of Echoes) writes, while Lucy Liu, Julia Fox, and Chris Sullivan star.

Speak No Evil

Release Date: August 9, 2024.

The original Speak No Evil is a Danish film that was released in 2022, and quickly developed a reputation for being one of the most disturbing movies ever made. A psychological thriller, the story revolves around a couple from Denmark visiting another Dutch couple that they met on holiday. And the less you know about how their trip plays out, the better.

Blumhouse is overseeing this American remake, with James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davies, and Scoot McNairy starring. But we warned: this one isn’t for the faint-hearted or easily offended.

Smile 2

Release Date: October 18, 2024.

Smile debuted at Fantastic Fest in 2022 to much acclaim, and went on to gross more than $200 million worldwide. A sequel was quickly green-lit, with Aladdin actress Naomi Scott starring.

The new movie will again be written and directed by Parker Finn, who previously said the following (via THR) of a potential sequel: “There is still a lot of interesting stuff to explore in the world of Smile. There certainly are stones that I left unturned by design. And then there are other things that I, at one point or another, wanted to put in the movie, but they didn’t end up in the movie for whatever reason.

“Those things are still exciting to me, but if there’s more to be done with Smile, I would never want to just repeat myself or retread the same ground. I’d want to make sure that there’s a new, exciting, fresh way into it that the audience isn’t anticipating. I also want to find some new ways to scare them and unnerve them. But as far as how it may connect to the first one, if we were to do it, I’d want that to be surprising as well.”

Terrifier 3

Release Date: October 25, 2024.

From a budget of just $250,000, Terrifier 2 grossed a massive $15 million at the global box office, meaning Art the Clown is returning sooner rather than later for Terrifier 3, and as scared as we may be, this is definitely one of the most anticipated horror movies in 2024.

Thanks to an extensive interview with Deadline, we know that the sequel shoots in February, the budget is close to $2 million, and proceedings kick off where its predecessor concluded—in an asylum—with much of the action playing out on Christmas Eve.

As for violence, writer-director Damien Leone says: “My goal is always to push the envelope as far as I can but maintaining some level of sort of mass accessibility. I don’t want to turn off the audience too much with the gore, but I feel like I could open the door a little wider and show them things that they don’t typically see in your average horror movie, or even your average slasher film. So, there are scenes in this one that push it further.”

The Toxic Avenger

Release Date: TBA.

The Toxic Avengers is writer-director Macon Blair’s big-budget, star-studded, re-imagining of the Troma classic about a weakling janitor who receives superpowers from toxic waste.

The movie debuted at Fantastic Fest in September, and we wrote in our Dexerto review: “The Toxic Avenger gives the superhero genre a much-needed kick up the ass. The film toys with the conventions of comic book movies, both pulling them apart, and sending them up. But it’s all done with care and love, by people who are obviously fans of the form. The central storyline is engaging. The eco-message is important. The battle between good and evil is gripping. And Toxie’s plight is weirdly affecting.”

So, there you have it, those are the best horror movies in 2024 that we are stoked about. If you want more spooky stuff, check out our guides to Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, The Last of Us Season 2, or explore the world of documentaries and true crime.