A lot of horror movies released this year, and most of the time, multiple films came out every month. Through all of those horror movies, only a handful of them stand out.
“A Quiet Place: Day One” is the first spin off to the “Quiet Place” franchise and was released June 28, 2024. The movie doesn’t follow any of the characters from the previous two movies and instead shows what it was like on the first day of the alien invasion in New York City.
“The first two were really good but this one takes place somewhere else with different characters. I thought that was really good,” said senior Kylie Atiles.
The movie has positive reviews from both critics and the general audience because of the emotional depth the film had compared to its predecessors.
“MaXXXine” is the final installment in the “X” trilogy and was released on July 5, 2024. The film follows movie star Maxine Minx getting her big break right around when a killer starts to appear in 1980s Hollywood. The previous two installments in the franchise are both critically acclaimed and were considered modern classics, but “MaXXXine” gained mixed reviews due to the underwhelming ending to the trilogy.
“Longlegs” was released on July 12, 2024, and was one of the most popular horror movies of the year. The film follows an FBI agent trying to unravel a serial killer case. The movie was being heavily advertised as the scariest movie of the decade by a variety of different journalism outlets.
Senior Jacob Hefler agrees that it was one of the scariest movies ever made.
“I was really scared,” Hefler said.
The film was also highly praised by critics for Nicolas Cage’s and Maika Monroe’s performances.
“I thought Nicolas Cage did a good job playing a psychotic man,” said Hefler.
However, when the film was released, it was met with mixed reactions from audience members due to the convoluted plot.
“Trap” is the latest film by acclaimed director M. Night Shyamalan and was released on Aug. 2, 2024. The film follows a man and his daughter going to a concert only to realize that the concert is a trap to catch a serial killer. Shyamalan’s movies are known to have a crazy twist at the end, like “The Sixth Sense.” However, the twist for “Trap” was revealed in the trailer and was a main plot point in the movie. In the trailer it’s revealed that the father is the serial killer and the movie is about him trying to escape the concert.
“It was a pretty good movie. Everyone knew once the trailer was out that the main character was the serial killer, but as the movie progressed, it showed how smart he was,” said Hefler.
“Alien: Romulus” is the latest installment in the “Alien” franchise and was released on Aug. 16, 2024. “Alien: Romulus” doesn’t follow any of the characters from previous films and instead introduces new characters that are original to this film. It follows space colonizers trying to escape their planet by boarding an abandoned spacecraft, only to find the most terrifying life-form in space.
“The way the aliens look is very detailed, and it looks very scary,” said Atiles.
The movie mostly gained positive reviews but received some backlash due to the film’s use of AI. The movie uses AI and other visual effects to bring back a dead actor from the original “Alien” movie. Many viewed this as immoral and wrong.
“Smile 2” releases Oct. 18, 2024, and is a sequel to the 2022 film “Smile.” The film follows pop star Skye Riley on tour, but when she receives a curse, she is faced with unimaginable horrors. The first “Smile” movie was a huge success when it was released, grossing $217 million worldwide on a $17 million budget.
“I watched the first ‘Smile’ movie a couple of months ago. When I found out a new one was coming out, I knew I had to see what happened next,” said Atiles.
“Nosferatu” releases Dec. 25, 2024, and is a remake of the 1922 film of the same name. The original “Nosferatu” movie is a staple in cinema history due to it being one of the first ever horror movies and its unique gothic style. The remake has some big shoes to fill but is likely to succeed because of all of the talent attached to the project. The director of the film, Robert Eggers, has only ever directed positively received movies and the cast includes big names such as Bill Skarsgård, Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, and Nicholas Holt.
There were many other horror films released in 2024, some with good reviews, but a lot of them with bad reviews. With all of the variety there is with horror films this year, there is sure to be a horror movie for anyone.
