Horror movies are now big business year-round, and just about every month of 2024 sees at least one big horror movie hitting theaters. Established horror franchises are getting plenty of spinoffs, prequels, and sequels. Both M. Night Shyamalan and his daughter have movies out this year. And two classic horror movie monsters are getting modern remakes. There’s a lot to be excited for in 2024 if you’re a horror fan, with more movies to be added.
Here are the biggest horror movies hitting theaters in 2024.
Night Swim – Release Date: January 5
Official synopsis: Based on the acclaimed 2014 short film by Rod Blackhurst and Bryce McGuire, the film stars Wyatt Russell (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as Ray Waller, a former major league baseball player forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness, who moves into a new home with his concerned wife Eve (Oscar nominee Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin), teenage daughter Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle, this fall’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) and young son Elliot (Gavin Warren, Fear the Walking Dead). Secretly hoping, against the odds, to return to pro ball, Ray persuades Eve that the new home’s shimmering backyard swimming pool will be fun for the kids and provide physical therapy for him. But a dark secret in the home’s past will unleash a malevolent force that will drag the family under, into the depths of inescapable terror.
Lisa Frankenstein – Release Date: February 9
Official synopsis: A coming of RAGE love story from acclaimed writer Diablo Cody (Jennifer’s Body) about a misunderstood teenager and her high school crush, who happens to be a handsome corpse. After a set of playfully horrific circumstances bring him back to life, the two embark on a murderous journey to find love, happiness… and a few missing body parts along the way.
Out of Darkness – Release Date: February 9
Official synopsis: 45,000 years ago, a small boat reaches the shore of an inhospitable landscape. Six people have struggled across the narrow sea in hopes of finding a new home. When night falls, hope turns to terror as they realize they are not alone. As relationships in the group begin to fracture, a determined young woman confronts the terrible actions needed to survive this horrifying and mysterious new enemy.
Stopmotion – Release Date: February 23
Official synopsis: About a stop-motion animator struggling to control her demons after the loss of her overbearing mother.
Unfortunately, not much is known about this film that stars Aisling Franciosi and is directed by Robert Morgan, but it has a really cool premise and unique visuals.
Imaginary – Release Date: March 8
Official synopsis: A woman returns to her childhood home to discover that the imaginary friend she left behind is very real and unhappy that she abandoned him.
Late Night with the Devil – Release Date: March 22
Official synopsis: A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.
Another horror movie that doesn’t have much info about it out there, but it’s been doing the rounds on the genre festival circuit and getting fantastic reviews. Plus, you can always expect a fantastic and quirky performance from David Dastmalchian.
The First Omen – Release Date: April 5
Official synopsis: When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
Horrorscope – Release Date: May 10
Official synopsis: After getting their horoscopes read, a group of college friends begin dying in ways connected to their fortunes. Are their fates fatal or can they change what’s written in the stars?
The Strangers: Chapter 1 – Release Date: May 17
Official synopsis: A young couple drive cross-country toward a new beginning; unfortunately they have no choice but to stop in a secluded Airbnb in Oregon–and endure a night of terror against three masked strangers.
The Watchers – Release Date: June 7
Official synopsis: The Watchers follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist, as she gets stranded in an extensive, immaculate forest in western Ireland. After finding shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers, stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
A Quiet Place: Day One – Release Date: June 28
This is one of the more interesting horror movies on the list considering the fact it’s not just a prequel movie, but a spinoff prequel. We don’t know much about it other than that it’s set on the day the aliens invade earth, but what we do know is that it has a hell of a cast that includes Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, and Djimon Hounsou.
Trap – Release Date: August 2
As with so many others on this list – and M. Night Shyamalan movies in general – we’re probably not going to know much about this mystery movie until the trailer drops. All we know right now is that it is a psychological thriller at a concert and that it stars Josh Hartnett. It’s M. Night Shyamalan, so you know it will be wild.
Speak No Evil – Release Date: August 9
Official synopsis: A remake of the Danish Speak No Evil (2022). A family invited to spend a weekend in an idyllic country house, go from a dream vacation to a psychological nightmare. James McAvoy stars.
Alien: Romulus – Release Date: August 16
Official synopsis: Young people from a distant world must face the most terrifying life form in the universe.
Like a few others on the list, this movie is a prequel in a larger franchise. What we know about Fede Alvarez’s movie is that it’s set between the events of Alien and Aliens and will be a standalone movie unconnected to the events of the others.
Saw XI – Release Date: September 27
We don’t know anything yet about this movie, but we can be certain Jigsaw will appear and people will be tortured in increasingly complicated ways. It’s Saw after all.
Smile 2 – Release Date: October 18
Like most horror movies releasing later in the year, there’s little known about the plot of the movie, or whether it will follow the events of the first movie or follow any of the characters from the first movie. We do know that Aladdin star Naomi Scott has been cast, so we can expect she’ll be the main character. The story could go anywhere, but we can guess that it will involve another demonic entity.
Terrifier 3 – Release Date: October 25
What we know about this Christmas slasher is that unlike other movies on the list, it’s not a spinoff, or standalone, or prequel, but a direct sequel to the events of the first two Terrifier movies. The third movie will see Samantha Scaffidi return as Victoria Heyes, the former heroine who became the villain in the first Terrifier movie, and also the return of David Howard Thornton as Art the Clown.
The Wolf Man – Release Date: October 25
Our last two big horror movies of the year are remakes of classic movie monsters. The first is Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man. It will star Christopher Abbott (replacing Ryan Gosling) in the role of a man whose family is being stalked and terrorized by a vicious predator. If it’s anything like Whannell’s reimagining of The Invisible Man, it’ll be one of the best horror movies of the year.
Nosferatu – Release Date: December 25
Official synopsis: A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman in 19th century Germany and the ancient Transylvanian vampire who stalks her, bringing untold horror with him.
