Janel’s Top Horror Films of 2024.
What a year. Where do I even begin? We saw a variety of Horror films. Different sub-genres, and a few remakes or reimagines as some are called. This is just my opinion, and thoughts about what I was able to watch this year. May your nightmares inspire you, and keep it spooky. Let’s take a look at films, shows, books, and more.
NIGHTBITCH
An artist who pauses her career to be a stay-at-home mum seeks a new chapter in her life and encounters just that, when her nightly routine takes a surreal turn and her maternal instincts begin to manifest in canine form.
Strange Darling
Azrael
Years after the apocalypse, a devout cult of mute zealots hunts down Azrael, a young woman who escaped her own imprisonment.
i just fell in love with this film.
Stream
A family’s simple weekend getaway truly turns into a vacation to die for, as four deranged killers playing a sadistic game lock down their hotel and compete for the most creative murders of all the guests.
The cast, cinematography, the writing. STREAM was excellent.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life gets turned upside down when her daughter discovers a portal to the afterlife. When someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times, the mischievous demon soon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.
I went back and forth on whether this should be on the list or not. Truthfully, I didn’t LOVE it. I appreciated it. It was nice to see Michael Keaton back, and feel a bit of unwanted nostalgia.
Sting
Charlotte is a rebellious 12-year-old girl who finds a tiny spider in her rundown apartment building. She keeps it in a jar, but it soon starts to grow at a monstrous rate and develop an insatiable appetite for blood. As her neighbors begin to disappear, Charlotte and her family find themselves in a desperate fight for their lives against a ravenous arachnid with a taste for human flesh.
Spiders are an end all for some people. The creepiness of knowing and not knowing. It’s a mind fuck and a half.
THE RADLEYS
The Radleys are a seemingly average family with a juicy secret: they’re vampires. However, they can only abstain from their natural cravings for so long until the bloody truth bubbles to the surface and turns their quiet country life upside down.
Who doesnt love a great vampire family story. Come onnnn.
The Beast Within
Ten-year-old Willow follows her parents on one of their secret late-night treks to the heart of an ancient forest. After witnessing her father undergo a terrible transformation, she too becomes ensnared by the dark ancestral secret that they’ve so desperately tried to conceal.
MADS
Synopsis: Eighteen year old Romain has just graduated and makes a stop at his dealer’s place to try a new pill. As he heads off to a party, he sees an injured woman on the side of the road and decides to help her, but when she gets in his car, she suddenly smashes her own head against the dashboard, bleeding out until she dies. Is this a bad trip? Or is it something else? One thing is for sure, it’s only the beginning of the night.
SynopsisV/H/S/BEYOND, the seventh installment of the V/H/S franchise will feature six new bloodcurdling tapes, placing horror at the forefront of a sci-fi-inspired hellscape.
Terrifier 3
After surviving Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre, Sienna and her brother are struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. But just when they think they’re safe, Art the Clown returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare. The festive season quickly unravels as Art unleashes his twisted brand of terror, proving that no holiday is safe.
Who doesn’t love Art the Clown.
BEFORE
“Before” stars Crystal as Eli, a child psychiatrist who, after recently losing his wife, Lynn (Light), encounters a troubled young boy, Noah (Jupe), who seems to have a haunting connection to Eli’s past. As Eli attempts to help Noah, their mysterious bond deepens.
DON’T TURN OUT THE LIGHTS
Synopsis: Reuniting for an unforgettable weekend, a group of high school friends takes a break from their separate lives at college to travel by RV to a musical festival. Their exciting weekend plans quickly unravel as they find themselves fighting to survive each other and the unknown.
CHATEAU
Synopsis: While on a French vacation funded by odd jobs, an aspiring influencer named James is hired to clean a reportedly haunted chateau. With unrestricted access to a property that is normally closed to the public, she sees an opportunity to covertly film a vlog that could result in an influx of followers. While investigating a series of disappearances linked to the residence, James uncovers a chilling truth: those who perish there remain trapped. And they want their story told…
BLEEDING
BLEEDING is written, directed, and produced by Andrew Bell. Produced by Nicholas Payne Santos, Bofan Zhang, and Kenneth Green. Cinematography by Daniel Cho. Edited by Bell. Composed by Alex Symcox. A 88/90 production.
MONOLITH
SYNOPSIS: While trying to salvage her career, a disgraced journalist begins investigating a strange conspiracy theory. But as the trail leads uncomfortably close to home, she is left to grapple with the lies at the heart of her own story.
TITLE: HOLD YOUR BREATH
AVAILABLE ON HULU: October 3, 2024
DIRECTORS: Karrie Crouse, Will Joines
WRITER: Karrie Crouse
CAST: Sarah Paulson, Amiah Miller, Annaleigh Ashford, Alona Jane Robbins and Ebon Moss-Bachrach
SYNOPSIS: In 1930s Oklahoma amid the region’s horrific dust storms, a woman (Sarah Paulson) is convinced that a sinister presence is threatening her family.
WEREWOLVES
In WEREWOLVES, a supermoon event has triggered a latent gene in every human on the planet, turning anyone who entered the moonlight into a werewolf for that one night. Chaos ensued and close to a billion people died. Now, a year later, the Supermoon is back….
Starring: LeJon Woods, Bob Gallagher, Victoria Fratz, Caroline Quigley, Nicolas Robin
Synopsis: Over six tumultuous decades, three unwitting guests of a cursed New England home stumble upon a sinister secret dwelling beneath its floors – an eternal witch with an insatiable thirst for the souls of the living.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
In the film, a Long Island punk band meets a mysterious director through social media who generously offers to shoot their first music video for free. Desperate for fame, they drive deep into the Pennsylvania woods in hopes of making a killer music video. But after a long night of drinking with the gregarious director, the band wakes up to find a very different version of him on set.
After hearing disturbing noises from the next motel room, a fugitive on the run and his girlfriend become prey to the notoriously brutal ‘Pale Face’ killer, whose legend has haunted the local community for decades.
Synopsis: The crew of USS Titan find themselves on the brink of World War 3 with Russia when a stowaway appears in one of their torpedo tubes. Captain Banks fears she may be Russian, but she’s something far more dangerous.
THE BOY WHO STEALS FLOWERS: A HAUNTING INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE
The story begins with an orphan who tragically lost his life during a game of hide and seek. In his final moments, he clung to flowers meant for the other children, a poignant symbol of the family he never had. Now, his spirit wanders, leaving mysterious bouquets of chrysanthemums on doorsteps each fall, a twisted attempt at finding a “forever home.”
THE WELL
Clown In a Corn Field
RLJE FILMS AND SHUDDER SNAG U.S. RIGHTS TO
ELI CRAIG’S SLASHER THRILLER
‘CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD’
DEVON
Directed & Written By: Jenni “JWoww” Farley
Starring: Tara Rule, Hank Santos, Rotisha Geter, Lauren Carlin, Steven Etienne
Synopsis:
Devon’s parents never stopped searching for answers after her disappearance from a notorious asylum. Years after the incident, a mysterious website draws five adventurers to the abandoned asylum where she was last seen. Armed with cameras, they plunge into the darkness, unaware they’re filming their own descent into horror—never meant to return.
Street Trash
SYNOPSIS: In the not-too-distant dystopian future of South Africa, the homeless crisis has reached such a critical level that the government has decided to liquidate the problem (literally). It’s up to a ragtag group of homeless individuals to fight back before the entire population of homeless people is rounded up and liquefied.
Television:
FROM
BOOKS
SEANCE BY: Christopher Michael Blake
Jeff Belanger is one of the most visible and prolific researchers of legends and lore today. A natural storyteller, he’s the award-winning, Emmy-nominated host, writer, and producer of the New England Legends series on PBS and Amazon Prime, and is the author of over a dozen books (published in six languages). He also hosts the award-winning New England Legends weekly podcast, which has garnered over 4 million downloads since its launch, and ranks in the top 1/2 percent of all podcasts for popularity according to Listen Notes.
His books include the best sellers: The World’s Most Haunted Places, Weird Massachusetts, Our Haunted Lives, The Call of Kilimanjaro, and Who’s Haunting the White House?. He founded Ghostvillage.com in 1999—one of the Web’s most popular paranormal destinations—and he’s a noted speaker and media personality.
He was featured in the 100th episode of Stories from the Stage on PBS, he’s given a TEDx talk in New York City, and he spoke at MENSA’s national conference. Belanger has written for newspapers like The Boston Globe and USA Today, and has served as the writer and researcher on numerous television series including every single episode of Ghost Adventures (25 seasons and counting), Paranormal Challenge, and Aftershocks on the Travel Channel, and Amish Haunting on Destination America.