1. Night Swim – January 5

2. Jack in the Box Rises – January 11

3. Destroy All Neighbors – January 12

4. Sunrise – January 19

5. There is a Monster – January 30

6. Lisa Frankenstein – February 7

7. Skeletons in the Closet – February 9

8. History of Evil – February 23

9. Camp Pleasant Lake – February 27

10. Imaginary – March 8

11. Dead Mail – March 9

12. Immaculate – March 22

13. Slay – March 22

14. Blood and Honey 2 – March 26

15. The First Omen – April 3

16. Festivals of the Living Dead – April 5

17. Lowlifes – April 11

18. Sting – April 12

19. Arcadian – April 12

20. Abigail – April 19

21. Bloodline Killer – April 26

22. Humane – April 26

23. Tarot – May 3

24. Silence of the Prey – May 14

25. I Saw the TV Glow – May 17

26. The Strangers: Chapter 1 – May 17

27. In a Violent Nature – May 31

28. The Watchers – June 7

29. All My Friends Are Dead – June 8

30. Latency – June 14

31. The Exorcism – June 21

32. Blackwater Lane – June 21

33. A Quiet Place: Day 1 – June 28

34. MaXXXine – July 5

35. Longlegs – July 12

36. The Inheritance – July 12

37. The Beast Within – July 26

38. Trap – August 2

39. The Mouse Trap – August 6

40. Cuckoo – August 9

41. Milk and Serial – August 9

42. Alien: Romulus – August 16

43. Stream – August 21

44. Afraid – August 30

45. The Deliverance – August 30

46. The Front Room – September 6

47. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – September 6

48. Speak No Evil – September 13

49. The Substance – September 20

50. Bagman – September 20

51. Never Let Go – September 27

52. Azrael – September 27

53. Apartment 7A – September 27

54. Oddity – September 27

55. House of Spoils – October 3

56. Salem’s Lot — October 3

57. V/H/S/Beyond – October 4

58. Things Will Be Different – October 4

59. Terrifier 3 – October 11

60. Smile 2 – October 18

61. The Radleys – October 18

62. Your Monster – October 25

63. Don’t Move – October 25

64. Time Cut – October 30 

65. Heretic – November 15

66. Nightbitch – December 6

67. Get Away – December 6

68. Nosferatu – December 25

That is all 70 of the ones I’ll be going into detail about. So, what do I think so far of the movies that I’ve seen in 2024 and what I know about the upcoming ones? One word I’d use to describe this year of horror is “refreshing” especially in regard to the creative chances that are being taken across the board. Alongside risks are tried and true reboots and remakes of famous franchises or titles that draw large audiences to the theater, “butts in seats,” as they say.

More than 140 horror films will probably come out this year barring major changes in the release lineup. The average caliber is way higher than I would’ve guessed for that many movies of the same genre coupled with some studios and producers taking on multiple horror projects of varying size. Despite not being able to cover every movie I am excited about the plethora of options both domestic and internationally for the genre. I have the desire to watch as many of this year’s movies as possible as a personal goal which I might post about on Instagram.

Examples of Genre & Audience Trends

As mentioned earlier in the video some of this decade’s film trends are: an increase in non-linear plots, film marketing on social media, audience desire for more diverse storytelling, the use of AI and VR, release strategies with streaming as a forethought rather than an afterthought, more money being spent on original content by streaming juggernauts, and the favorite subgenre amongst young adults in the USA being psychological horror.

Examples of non-linear story telling from 2024 are All My Friends Are Dead, The Watchers, and Milk and Serial. All 3 incorporate timelines that assist in story telling by obscuring details about the plot while also revealing everything due to the order in which the action is viewed and what information the viewer has as that action occurs. I think this is effective because the lack of context can heighten the fear around innocuous things and cause fears to subside about things that you shouldn’t let your guard down.

Social media marketing...

...has become so normalized it’s easy to forget that not too long ago. During my own marketing education even knowing how to effectively use each platform was a highly coveted skill as opposed to something that populates a search query with pages upon pages of AI articles explaining the industry from top to bottom and back again. Most theatrical releases are coupled with some degree of social media marketing now. Great examples are Trap, Longlegs, Smile 2, Never Let Go, and MaXXXine, that all preceded their releases with large ad campaigns and press tours.

A growing desire for diverse storytelling has also provided guidance to the industry. Examples of diverse storytelling in 2024 horror alone are Your Monster about a cancer patient, Oddity about a blind psychic medium using a mannequin to solve her sister's murder, The Substance about a Hollywood queen struggling with aging and suffer grotesque things to turn back the clock, The Deliverance a mixed family religious film, and I Saw the TV Glow a stunning and relatable portrayal of the inner struggle to be oneself despite society’s urging for you not to.

In no surprise to anyone the incorporation of virtual reality and artificial intelligence is on the rise in the film industry. As we make advancements in the real world it’s no wonder that that has bled into the media and that the fears surrounding those advancements have inspired horror concepts. Movies like Latency, Stream Afraid, and It’s What’s Inside (which isn’t covered in detail but is seriously so enjoyable to watch and sort of horror adjacent).

Another trend, release strategies...

...can be identified when looking at how studios have approached releases based on past successes and failures. I’m particularly highlighting films that are released in theaters but with the intention of a quick turnaround to releasing on VOD or streaming platforms. Movies from 2024 of Horror lists that fit that criteria are Sunrise, I Saw the TV Glow, Humane, Oddity, Blackwater Lane, and Things Will Be Different. In the case of Sunrise, Blackwater Lane, and Things Will Be Different didn’t seem to benefit from this release strategy. On the other hand I think the strategy lent to the virality and potential for virality that the movies I Saw the Tv Glow, Humane, and Oddity have using the same strategy.

The streaming platforms have poured more money into creating original content for a variety of reasons including the ownership of the copyright and the added loyalty it can provide to users paying subscriptions in order to maintain access to that media. Some streaming originals from 2024 are Festival of the Living Dead and Slay, both Tubi originals, History of Evil and V/H/S/Beyond that are Shudder releases, Apartment 7A is a Paramount+ original and House of Spoils is an Amazon original movie.

With psychological horror being the most liked and least likely to be disliked by surveyed movie watchers it makes sense that there will continue to be a high number of psychological horror films. The high interest in horrors of the mind matches the trends we’re seeing of increased mental illness and lack of resources for mental illness treatment in the US. I like the current trends and want to see more of what I’m seeing but I’m sure there’s many fans that can’t wait for the pendulum to swing back to slow-mo running scenes, silent art films, or PG-13 cash grabs.