2024 is sort of over! It went tremendous quick, had numerous ups and downs, and at occasions, threatened to drive a few of us to the brink of madness. I’m certain 2025 guarantees many of the similar, but when there may be one factor we are able to have fun, it’s the glut of wonderful films, books, and common nerdy stuff that retains us entertained and loving the horror style.
The Substance
The Substance is likely to be the very best factor I noticed this yr. I all the time have a tough time selecting my absolute favourite, however this is likely to be it. Coralie Fargeat’s takedown of magnificence tradition was among the finest occasions I had within the theater this yr. The joy of getting no concept the place the story was going, mixed with the more and more loud reactions and squirming from the viewers, created a singular expertise. I used to be positively giddy when this movie ended and I can’t wait to revisit it. It’s a unique and new tackle physique horror that earns each single “WTF” uttered throughout its runtime.
Vampires Slayed 2024!
Abigail: Look, I really like vampires, Radio Silence, Melissa Barrera, and above all, Dan Stevens. So I used to be past excited when this one premiered, and it has remained considered one of my favorites. It’s nicely written, nicely acted, and takes so many enjoyable turns that it’s inconceivable to not have enjoyable with it. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett reliably make movies which are thrilling, humorous, and above all, entertaining. And Abigail delivers on all fronts.
The Vourdalak: This movie got here out of nowhere and instantly received my coronary heart. It’s a wonderful interval piece with creepy imagery and the weirdest, coolest puppet I’ve ever seen. An old-world vampire story with some basic horror aptitude.
Interview with the Vampire: Season 2 aired this yr and AMC’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s work is completely killing it. It concurrently delivers a brand new model of the fabric, whereas additionally providing a little bit of an evaluation of the unique work and prior movie diversifications. The solid is nice, the writing is stellar, and it’s an extremely lovely, queer story.
Furiosa
George Miller’s 2015 Mad Max: Fury Highway is considered one of my very favourite movies. I really like each second of the story, the attractive filmmaking, and the months of labor that went into it. And although I place confidence in Miller, the bar was set excessive along with his new prequel. Fortunately, it delivered on all ranges. It completely enhances the story instructed in Fury Highway whereas 100% being its personal movie. Miller tells this superb story in a method that by no means seeks to prime its predecessor, however as a substitute reveals up as the right companion piece. Anya Taylor-Pleasure and Chris Hemsworth ship unimaginable performances and every thing is top-notch.
The Creep Tapes
The Creep movies (from Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice) are among the most unusual entries into the discovered footage subgenre. After two wonderful movies, they discovered the right option to enable the idea and character to maneuver ahead. The Creep Tapes premiered on Shudder final month and the 30-minute episodic format couldn’t be extra good. It’s an excellent house for Duplass and Brice to play and discover this idea additional, with out retreading the identical floor. It’s loopy enjoyable and I’m actually hoping we get one other season.
Longlegs
I’m a HUGE fan of Osgood Perkins. His movies are like no others. The way in which he creates these areas that intrigue, entrance, and finally horrify is 100% my jam and Longlegs is not any totally different. Not solely was it thrilling that we obtained a brand new Perkins movie in 2024, however the truth that it pitted Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage towards one another in such an unsettling method was the cherry on prime.
Arthouse Nunsploitation
Nuns have been unexpectedly large in 2024. Horror has a historical past of nun-centered exploitation flicks that almost all not too long ago morphed into the The Nun movies based mostly in The Conjuring universe. However this yr introduced us two new entries into the subgenre. The First Omen and Immaculate have been each surprising, extremely efficient movies. Although not linked, storywise, they do occupy comparable areas when it comes to theming and environment. Each method their tales thoughtfully and with intention, and harbor among the most unsettling moments I noticed onscreen all yr. Go nuns!
Books!
The Soul of Wes Craven: The Soul of Wes Craven (Joseph Maddrey) is a wonderful biography of considered one of horror’s biggest storytellers. Pulled collectively from interviews spanning a long time, this presents a window into the lifetime of Wes Craven in a method that makes his movie even richer. We study a few of his formative experiences and the way in which he seen the world at totally different factors all through his life, and we are able to see how these facets are mirrored within the artwork that he created. It’s respectful and it paints a portrait of a three-dimensional one that is considerate, generally annoyed, and always craving to create. It’s a very fascinating and delightful portrait of the filmmaker and his work.
A Lower Beneath: Sure, Scott Drebit is a buddy, however I nonetheless actually loved his ebook, and I’m going to have fun it as a part of the record of stuff that made my yr nice. There’s nothing higher than studying a movie ebook that looks like the author is sitting in your sofa, geeking out about films with you. The ebook is enjoyable, well-written, and better of all, joyous. It celebrates the movies you like, it provides you thrilling new films to take a look at, and it leaves you feeling energized and flicks. It actually doesn’t get higher than that.
Cuckoo
Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo supplied up a horror expertise that was considerate, horrifying, and saved me guessing till the tip. He has a wonderful and deliberate storytelling fashion that by no means provides away an excessive amount of and retains the viewers hooked till the final moments. Bonus Dan Stevens!
Late Night time with the Satan
This one was numerous enjoyable. Within the vein of Ghost Watch, I beloved the work that went into bringing the vibe of Nineteen Seventies tv to life. Notably, the efficiency from David Dastmalchian as Jack Delroy. He actually put numerous particulars into that character to convey him to life and match him completely into the setting. This movie was numerous enjoyable, and I actually beloved the separation between what was taking place on air and what was taking place behind the scenes.
Glad New Yr, Everybody! There’s a ton of nice stuff on slate for 2025, and I don’t find out about you, however personally, I’ve a ton of flicks from 2024 that I nonetheless must get caught up on. So I’m going to go work on that, and I hope you all have a beautiful vacation season!
