Best Horror Movies of 2024 Ranked – New Scary Movies to Watch
Welcome to the best horror movies of 2024, ranking every dark and dreary delight coming out this year by Tomatometer! We start the list with Certified Fresh films (these movies have maintained a high Tomatometer score after enough critics reviews), followed by the pulp-pounding Fresh movies (these are rated at least 60%), and then concluding with the morbidly Rotten.
May additions: Tarot.
In April, spiders got spun out with Infested and Sting. Nic Cage, never too far away from the genre, returned with action-hybrid Arcadian. Universal took another bite out of the vampire genre (following last year’s Last Voyage of the Demeter) with Abigail, while another long-in-the-tooth franchise got an update with The First Omen.
March additions: Larry Fessenden’s back with his werewolf-take Blackout. Night Shift. Imaginary (see Blumhouse horror productions ranked). Indian Hindi-language Shaitaan. Late Night with the Devil. Sydney Sweeney’s Immaculate. You’ll Never Find Me. Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2.
In February, terror reared its head in the stop-motion animation medium (don’t forget about Phil Tippett’s Mad God in 2021) with the literal titled Stopmotion.
In 2023, horror kicked off in a big way with M3GAN. There wasn’t a breakout hit in January 2024, with the major genre releases being the COVID-shot Paleolithic thriller Out of Darkness, and the Diablo Cody-penned Lisa Frankenstein, set in the same world as her cult comedy Jennifer’s Body.
New horror movies for 2024 on the horizon include They Follow (sequel to It Follows, with Maika Monroe and writer/director David Robert Mitchell returning), MaXXXine (Ti West’s closing his trilogy after X and Pearl), Terrifier 3 (Art the Clown expands his spree into Christmas), Nosferatu (from director Robert Eggers), Alien: Romulus (due in August), A Quiet Place: Day One (June), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (September), Return to Silent Hill (original director Christophe Gans returns as well), The Conjuring: Last Rites (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their Warren roles).
#1
Adjusted Score: 107619%
Critics Consensus: Delightfully dark, Late Night with the Devil proves possession horror isn't played out -- and serves as an outstanding showcase for David Dastmalchian.
Synopsis: Johnny Carson rival Jack Delroy hosts a syndicated talk show 'Night Owls' that has long been a trusted companion to...
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#2
Adjusted Score: 99336%
Critics Consensus: A chillingly effective creature feature with more on its mind than simple creepy-crawlies, Infested draws viewers into its web with stylish efficiency.
Synopsis: Kaleb is about to turn 30 and has never been lonelier. He's fighting with his sister over an inheritance and...
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#3
Adjusted Score: 92510%
Critics Consensus: Stopmotion takes the conflict between art and artist to chilling, visually thrilling extremes, distinguished by director Robert Morgan's excellent effects work.
Synopsis: A talented stop-motion animator becomes consumed by the grotesque world of her horrifying creations -- with deadly results....
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#4
Adjusted Score: 92298%
Critics Consensus: With a distinctive visual aesthetic that enhances its emotionally resonant narrative, I Saw the TV Glow further establishes writer-director Jane Schoenbrun as a rising talent.
Synopsis: Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a...
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#5
Adjusted Score: 91144%
Critics Consensus: A survival thriller reduced to the bare essentials, Out of Darkness offers a chilling reminder that the horror of looming death might be humanity's most universal experience.
Synopsis: A small boat reaches the shores of a raw and desolate landscape. A group of six have struggled across the...
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#6
Adjusted Score: 89379%
Critics Consensus: Led by a trio of strong performances, Arcadian blends family drama and post-apocalyptic horror to visceral, emotionally stirring effect.
Synopsis: In a near future, life on Earth has been decimated. Paul (Nicolas Cage) and his twin teenage sons, Thomas (Jaeden...
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#7
Adjusted Score: 96727%
Critics Consensus: Carrying off well-worn vampire tropes with a balletic flourish, Abigail dances around the familiarity of its premise with a game cast and slick style.
Synopsis: After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to...
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#8
Adjusted Score: 91906%
Critics Consensus: Frequently frightening even as it plays within the confines of a nearly 50-year-old film series, this prequel is The First Omen of a bright future for the franchise in quite some time.
Synopsis: When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters...
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#9
Adjusted Score: 80761%
Critics Consensus: Visually and sonically distinctive, You'll Never Find Me heightens its spooky atmosphere and claustrophobic setting with a story that'll keep viewers guessing.
Synopsis: An isolated man living at the back of a desolate caravan park is visited by a desperate young woman seeking...
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#10
Adjusted Score: 77803%
Critics Consensus: Werewolf horror with some extra socially conscious bite, Blackout reaffirms Larry Fessenden as a smart genre filmmaker who prioritizes character-building over kills.
Synopsis: A fine arts painter is convinced that he is a werewolf wreaking havoc on a small American town under the...
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#11
Adjusted Score: 63298%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In small-town Australia, a nightmare is brewing. Sophie is a young filmmaker obsessed with finding a thought-to-be long-lost film. Meanwhile,...
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#12
Adjusted Score: 46027%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When an experimental drug trial goes horribly wrong, seven young test subjects, after being kept awake for days, must face...
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#13
Adjusted Score: 40078%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Jessica Whitman isn't a witch. Not anymore, at least. She left it behind when she left her hometown almost ten...
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#14
Adjusted Score: 40191%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In MIDNIGHT PEEPSHOW we are introduced to an unnamed Madame who owns and operates a peepshow offering patrons a tailor-made...
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#15
Adjusted Score: 63247%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Months after escaping a brutal kidnapping, Meg travels with her husband, Scott, to his family's isolated compound in Cape Cod,...
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#16
Adjusted Score: 90173%
Critics Consensus: Effectively playing on fundamental fears, Lovely, Dark, and Deep is a creepy calling card for debuting director Georgina Campbell that's further distinguished by Georgina Campbell's haunting performance.
Synopsis: Lennon, a new back-country ranger, travels alone through the dangerous wilderness, hoping to uncover the origins of a tragedy that...
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#17
Adjusted Score: 40397%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In this throwback to 90s horror, a rowdy pro-wrestler, struggling to make ends meet, agrees to fill in as a...
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#18
Adjusted Score: 89868%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When a renowned shaman (KIM Go-Eun) and her protégé (Lee Do-hyun) are hired by a wealthy, enigmatic family, they begin...
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#19
Adjusted Score: 82241%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Reluctantly, 17-year-old Gretchen leaves her American home to live with her father, who has just moved into a resort in...
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#20
Adjusted Score: 84256%
Critics Consensus: Immaculate in conception if not always in execution, this religiously themed horror outing is saved by a divine performance from Sydney Sweeney.
Synopsis: Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You, Euphoria, The White Lotus) stars as Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on...
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#21
Adjusted Score: 72533%
Critics Consensus: Sting should satisfy horror fans in the mood for a creature feature, even if the end results likely won't linger in the memory.
Synopsis: STING spins a web of thrilling terror when 12-year-old Charlotte's pet spider rapidly transforms into a giant flesh-eating monster, forcing...
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#22
Adjusted Score: 61035%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Mexican-American and queer, high school student Javier doesn't exactly fit in with the popular kids. But he might be the...
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#23
Adjusted Score: 57066%
Critics Consensus: Rich atmosphere and a handful of genuinely disturbing moments are only sporadically enough to outweigh The Seeding's monotonous pace and lack of narrative depth.
Synopsis: In THE SEEDING, a hiker lost in the desert takes refuge with a woman living alone, and soon discovers that...
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#24
Adjusted Score: 54233%
Critics Consensus: Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 represents an improvement over the original in most respects, although the Poohniverse remains a place made for hardcore slasher fans.
Synopsis: Deep within the 100-Acre-Wood, a destructive rage grows as Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Owl, and Tigger find their home and their lives...
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#25
Adjusted Score: 58004%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: While working her first night shift at a remote motel, a young woman, Gwen Taylor (Phoebe Tonkin), begins to suspect...
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#26
Adjusted Score: 63517%
Critics Consensus: An affectionate callback to classic horror comedies of the '80s, Lisa Frankenstein can be fun in its own right despite not quite measuring up to the movies it imitates.
Synopsis: A coming of RAGE love story from acclaimed writer Diablo Cody (Jennifer's Body) about a misunderstood teenager and her high...
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#27
Adjusted Score: 47236%
Critics Consensus: Founders Day brings a few clever bits to bear on its '80s-inspired slasher story, but its scattershot tone and an overreliance on horror clichés prevent it from leaving much of an impression.
Synopsis: In this satirical political slasher from the Bloomquist Brothers, a small town is shaken by a series of ominous killings...
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#28
Adjusted Score: 34427%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When Edward's search for his biological family leads him and his girlfriend Ryley to a magnificent villa high in the...
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#29
Adjusted Score: 42027%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#30
Adjusted Score: 38488%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In their seemingly ordinary senior year at West Greenview High, the unexpected unfolds when overachiever Ben and his carefree bestie...
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#31
Adjusted Score: 30074%
Critics Consensus: Imaginary's core concept is solid enough to produce a handful of scares, but too much of its potential is lost in a clichéd story that gets bogged down in world-building.
Synopsis: From Blumhouse, the genre-defining masterminds behind FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S and M3GAN, comes an original horror that taps into the...
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#32
Adjusted Score: 22942%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When a group of friends recklessly violates the sacred rule of Tarot readings -- never use someone else's deck --...
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#33
Adjusted Score: 31671%
Critics Consensus: Despite a promising start and a handful of solid scares, Night Swim is undone by a premise that just isn't strong enough to support a feature-length film.
Synopsis: Based on the acclaimed 2014 short film by Rod Blackhurst and Bryce McGuire, the film stars Wyatt Russell (The Falcon...
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#34
Adjusted Score: 6934%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Strange events plague a couple when they open a camp on a haunted site that connects them to a 20-year-old...
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