Upcoming Horror Movies to Watch in 2024

There are a lot of exciting horror movies on the way for genre fans in 2024. Whether you’re aching for original screamers, franchise thrillers, or even a reboot or two, chills are definitely incoming, and we have all the release dates to look out for right here!

The year has already given horror fans some great entries, including surprising hits like Late Night With the Devil, Immaculate, and Abigail. And there’s much more interesting stuff to come, with Terrifier 3 providing the gore and Alien: Romulus promising new Xenomorph action. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice delivers a long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s ’80s classic, and The Witch director Robert Eggers returns with Nosferatu, a fresh take on the titular vampire starring Bill Skarsgård as the iconic bloodsucker.

Remember to check back after you’ve watched your latest horror obsession for all our coverage of the best horror movies of 2024!

The Strangers: Chapter 1 (May 17)

2008’s The Strangers didn’t need a sequel. As a standalone home invasion film, the random and solitary nature heightened the tension. But 10 years later, director Johannes Roberts turned in the solid but strange The Strangers: Prey at Night, which means we can’t completely dismiss the third entry, The Strangers: Chapter 1. This installment features Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez as the next victims of a masked trio of slashers. But the most compelling part might be behind the camera, as veteran Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Cliffhanger) directs.

The Watchers (June 14)

Not that long ago, the name Shyamalan meant box office poison in Hollywood. However, M. Night has turned it around over the past few years, which is good news for his daughter Ishana Night Shyamalan, who makes her directorial debut this year with The Watchers. This one stars Dakota Fanning as a woman trapped on an island with three strangers, including Barbarian standout Georgina Campbell. We don’t know much more outside of that, but here’s hoping that Ishana inherited her father’s gift for tense world building.

A Quiet Place: Day 1 (June 28)

The first installment of the Quiet Place franchise put emotional stakes over exposition, relying on newspaper clippings and a marker board to explain how aliens with sensitive ears decimated the planet. A Quiet Place: Day 1 promises to fill in those gaps, with director Michael Sarnoski coming off his wonderful debut Pig to take over for John Krasinski. Along with Sarnoski comes a fantastic cast, including Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, and Alex Wolff.

MaXXXine (July 5)

“You’re a fucking movie star,” Maxine Minx told herself at the start of X (2022), the first Mia Goth and director Ti West’s trilogy about sex and cinema. Goth played the younger version of the X antagonist in 2022’s Pearl, but returns to Maxine again for part three. MaXXXine takes Minx to 1985, where her attempt to crossover into mainstream movies occurs alongside a string of killings. West gets a flashier cast for MaXXXine, including Elizabeth Debicki, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon, and pop star Halsey.

Longlegs (July 12)

Longlegs comes from horror royalty in the form of director Oz Perkins, son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins. Osgood helmed the excellent horror pictures The Blackcoat’s Daughter, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, and Gretel & Hansel. Longlegs appears to continue that tone, with a story about serial killings and occult practices. It Follows and The Guest alum Maika Monroe plays the FBI rookie assigned to the case and the great Nicolas Cage plays the serial killer, threatening to blow apart the low-key vibes that made Perkins’s previous movies so great.

Trap (August 9)

While certainly a proud papa, M. Night Shyamalan isn’t about to let Ishana have all the fun. Dad’s back with Trap, which takes place at a pop concert, where a loving father/serial killer (Josh Hartnett) tries to evade the police while giving his daughter the night of her life. And who plays that pop star? Saleka Shyamalan, who actually has an album and several tours to her name.

Alien: Romulus (August 16)

Fede Álvarez has made some fun horror movies, such as the remake of Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe. But he doesn’t have quite the same resume as the guys who directed the other mainline Alien movies. So as great as the trailer looks, Alien: Romulus is still a big question mark, especially since it’s the first Alien film released since Disney bought 20th Century Fox. Taking a sharp turn from Ridley Scott’s heady Prometheus and Alien: Covenant prequels, Alien: Romulus returns to a more familiar point in the timeline between Alien and Aliens.

The Crow (August 24)

Gen Xers hate everything. But they really hate it when millennials steal their culture. But even kids these days have reason to doubt The Crow 2024, the latest adaptation of the indie comic book series by James O’Barr. Bill Skarsgård makes for a compelling lead as Eric Draven, the musician who gets resurrected by a mystical force to seek revenge against the thugs who killed him and his fiancée (FKA Twigs). Despite the primal power of that story, this version comes from director Rupert Sanders, who made Snow White and the Huntsman and Ghost in the Shell (2017), two utterly forgettable films. Maybe Gen X is right to be cynical about this one.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (September 6)

Director Tim Burton is finally making the long-rumored sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, nearly thirty years after the original’s release. It’s impossible not to be a bit suspicious about this nostalgia play, especially following a couple of not-so-memorable outings from Burton. But at least he’s bringing back favorites from the first cast, including Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder, and teaming them with Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe. And even at 72, it’s clear that Michael Keaton’s the same live wire he’s always been.

Speak No Evil (September 13)

Most of the time, English remakes of recent foreign-language films are an empty exercise in dumbing things down for lazy Americans. But the 2022 Danish film Speak No Evil, directed by Christian Tafdrup, was so indebted to European and Scandinavian customs that the horror didn’t always translate for American viewers. Journeyman filmmaker James Watkins gathers a solid cast of James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, and Scoot McNairy to play two families who get enmeshed in one another’s lives after meeting on vacation, leading to a horrifying revelation.

Never Let Go (September 27)

The French filmmaker Alexandre Aja has been a reliable presence in horror cinema since his disturbing 2003 breakout Haute Tension. Aja hopes to bounce back from the disappointing Oxygen (2021) with Never Let Go, with Halle Berry in the lead. Written by Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby, Never Let Go follows the family of a child who may or may not be possessed. Aja works best when making grimy films such as the remake of The Hills Have Eyes or 2019’s Crawl, but a psychological thriller may reveal some heretofore hidden strengths.

Smile 2 (October 18)

As much as people online gripe about “elevated horror,” Smile became a surprise hit in 2022, thanks to its combination of trauma themes and shocking scares. Writer and director Parker Finn returns for the sequel, which may or may not come to theaters under the title Smile 2. The film picks up after the events of the first movie, in which (SPOILER) therapist Rose (Sosie Bacon) immolates herself after smiling at her cop boyfriend Joel (Kyle Gallner). Gallner takes the lead for Smile 2, which will find him trying to shake the grinning curse he’s inherited. And probably fail.

Terrifier 3 (October 25)

Terrifier 2 also became a surprise horror hit in 2022, but it could not be more different from Smile. Where Smile wanted to say something about mental health, Terrifier just wants to gross you out. A truly independent production, Terrifier 3 comes from director/writer/editor/producer Damien Leone, who continues to chronicle the sadistic adventures of unstoppable slasher Art the Clown. The extreme gore and implicit misogyny of the Terrifier movies aren’t for everyone, but even the squeamish can appreciate David Howard Thornton’s brilliant silent performance as Art.

Venom: The Last Dance (October 25)

Yes, Venom: The Last Dance is a superhero movie, the next in Sony’s desperate attempts to squeeze the most possible money from a contract to produce Spider-Man movies, without actually featuring Spider-Man. Where Morbius and Madame Web failed, Venom connected with viewers, thanks to Tom Hardy’s outrageous performance as reporter Eddie Brock and brain-eating symbiote Venom. Kelly Marcel, who wrote the previous entries, takes the director’s chair for The Last Dance, which will see Eddie encounter new characters played by Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Nosferatu (December 25)

Director Robert Eggers isn’t the first person to remake Nosferatu: Symphony of Horror, the influential 1922 silent film. But after unique movies such as The Witch and The Northman, Eggers has earned our attention. Bill Skarsgård plays the vampire Count Orlock, whom Eggers has hyped up as completely “transformed.” He’ll be joined by Nicholas Hoult as Jonathan Harker stand-in Thomas Hutter and Willem Dafoe as the vampire hunter Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz.

Adrift (TBA)

Here’s what we know about Adrift: it’s made by Darren Aronofsky. And, that’s about it. Okay, we know that it takes place on a boat and that Jared Leto’s in it. Aronofsky doesn’t always hit for everyone, but his films are usually worth watching. Right now, it’s scheduled for a 2024.

Dust Bunny (TBA)

Bryan Fuller has worked in television for decades, making some of the most beloved series of all time (Pushing Daisies, Hannibal) and others that didn’t hit as well (Star Trek: Discovery, American Gods). With Dusty Bunny, Fuller makes the jump to the big screen. Dust Bunny continues this year’s apparent trend of killer imaginary friends, with a young girl who asks neighbors to kill the monster who escaped from under her bed to eat her family. That might sound corny, but Fuller always surprises and he’s got Mads Mikkelsen, Sigourney Weaver, and David Dastmalchian on board.

Faces of Death (TBA)

Anyone old enough to have an opinion about the aforementioned Crow remake probably recalls Faces of Death, a series of direct-to-video movies that became the stuff of playground legend for its disturbing (and often staged) content. Rotten.com and, you know, the rest of the internet rendered Faces of Death unnecessary, but director Daniel Goldhaber has never been one to back down from a challenge. Goldhaber turned the non-fiction book How to Blow Up a Pipeline into one of last year’s best movies, and he’s got a hip young cast for Faces of Death, including Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, and Charli XCX.

Return to Silent Hill (TBA)

Between The Last of Us and Fallout, video game adaptations have earned mainstream success. But back when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was fighting space demons in Doom, 2006’s Silent Hill stood out as the quality exception. Silent Hill director Christophe Gans has mostly struggled since then, spending a lot of time on projects that never came to be. But now he’s back with Return to Silent Hill, but he’s not bringing back Roger Avery to write this version, nor anyone from the first cast. Instead, Gans co-writes Return to Silent Hill with Sandra Vo-Anh and Will Schneider, and the movie stars Jeremy Irvine as a man who comes home to the titular town in search of a lost love.

Salem’s Lot (TBA)

Based on the 1975 Stephen King novel about a writer who returns to his hometown, which is being stalked by vampires, Salem’s Lot was already adapted into a well-liked TV movie from director Tobe Hooper. The new version comes from Conjuring mainstay Gary Dauberman and counts Lewis Pullman, Alfre Woodard, and William Sadler in its cast. However, despite being finished in 2022, Salem’s Lot has sat on the Warner Bros. shelves for years, driving King himself to call for the film’s release. That must have worked, because WB now plans to show the movie to the public, albeit via streaming service Max.

The Toxic Avenger (TBA)

1984’s The Toxic Avenger not only launched Troma Entertainment to the top of the direct-to-video market, but it also perfectly encapsulated the studio’s aesthetic. Low budget, tasteless, and happy to offend, The Toxic Avenger made a hero of a mean mutant monster. The Hollywood remake from Legendary Pictures stars Peter Dinklage as the Avenger, alongside Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, and Kevin Bacon. Written and directed by actor Macon Blair, whose 2017 debut I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore has a strong following, The Toxic Avenger premiered to solid, if not exactly rave, reviews at Fantastic Fest 2023. But as of this writing, there are no updates on an official wide release.

Thread: An Insidious Tale (TBA)

Somehow, the likable but inconsequential 2010s horror franchise Insidious returned with the solid 2023 entry Insidious: The Red Door. Thread: An Insidious Tale hopes to continue that trend with a side story written and directed by television mainstay Jeremy Slater. Kumail Nanjiani and Mandy Moore have been cast in undisclosed roles and we still don’t know anything about the plot, but we’ll probably hear “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” at least once.

Weapons (TBA)

Normally, we wouldn’t let a filmmaker forget a movie as obnoxious as Miss March, which Zach Cregger co-directed with the late Trevor Moore, both of whom were part of the sketch troupe The Whitest Kids U Know. But Cregger’s solo debut Barbarian was such a pleasant surprise that we’ll let him reset, especially if his next movie Weapons is any good. Thus far, we only know that Josh Brolin will star in Weapons but that’s a pretty great start. And, honestly, if Weapons has as many surprises as Barbarian, we really don’t want to know anything more.

Witchboard (TBA)

If you’re the type of person to get excited about a Witchboard remake, then you’re also probably the type of person to get excited about Chuck Russell directing. Russell made favorites such as Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors, The Blob (1988), and The Mask. Jamie Campbell Bower of Stranger Things fame and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle‘s Madison Iseman play young people who open themselves to the dark side after finding the titular board.

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