The year is coming to a close, and we’re here to let you know which upcoming horror movies should be on your (watch)list of New Year's resolutions.
Over the next few months and throughout 2024, there are all manner of scary films on the horizon set to turn our cinema trips into terrifying thrill rides.
The new year brings us the latest offering from Blumhouse in the shape of Night Swim, a new suburban supernatural horror from producers Jason Blum and James Wan. Into February, we’re getting horror comedy starring Freaky’s brilliant Kathryn Newton as a lovelorn teen dealing with her reanimated crush in Lisa Frankenstein, and in March, Imaginary will arrive with its teddy bear tormentor – again from Blumhouse – to show us that not all childhood friends are… friendly. Then April will deliver a new prequel to the classic occult franchise The Omen. In other words, the first third of the year is set to scare our socks off.
Into the spring and summer, we’re due the first installment in the new trilogy of The Strangers films, with Chapter 1 hitting cinemas in May, and August will bring the American reimagining of Danish horror Speak No Evil.
Then around Halloween, we’ll be seeing more of Art the Clown with Terrifier 3, plus exciting releases such as Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu and – fingers crossed – the reboot of The Toxic Avenger.
With all this and more, the upcoming horror movies of 2024 are set to serve up another year of delicious terror for horror fans. More below…
Read more: Best Horror movies | Best Netflix horror movies | Movie release dates | Upcoming movies | New TV shows
Night Swim
Release date: January 5, 2024
From producers Jason Blum (the Halloween films, The Black Phone, and The Invisible Man) and James Wan (Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring franchises), comes this new supernatural thriller starring Wyatt Russell (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as a former major league baseball player forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness, who moves into a new home with his family. Hoping to return to pro ball, Ray persuades his wife (played by Oscar nominee Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin) that their beautiful backyard 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 into the depths of inescapable terror. The trailer promises dark underwater spooks and haunted games of Marco Polo. From such strong horror pedigree, the film should be a wet and wild ride.
Lisa Frankenstein
Release date: February 9, 2024
A fresh telling of the gothic classic, Lisa Frankenstein is a 1980s-set horror comedy from the mind of Diablo Cody, the acclaimed writer of Jennifer’s Body (2009), and directed by Zelda Williams in her feature debut. The film is set to be a fun, romantic, and grisly story of young love, about a teenager and her crush, who happens to be a corpse. After a set of horrific circumstances bring him back to life, the two embark on a journey to find happiness – and a few missing body parts. Starring Kathryn Newton (Freaky), Carla Gugino (Gerald’s Game), and Cole Sprouse (Riverdale), this is one to keep an eye on for fans of smartly written teen horror with laughs and heart.
Imaginary
Release date: March 8, 2024
Blumhouse continue to roll out original horror narratives and with Imaginary, set to hit theaters in March, they’re taking on the supposed innocence of children’s imaginary friends. Now, as anyone who’s seen 1991’s chaotic comedy Drop Dead Fred knows, these playful entities can be anything but innocent, but Blumhouse’s new offering will go one step further and plunge playtime screaming into real darkness. The story will revolve around a woman who moves back to her childhood home with her family, where her stepdaughter finds a cuddly bear named Chauncey that encourages her to play sinister games. As her behaviour becomes more and more concerning, the family realises Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy they believed him to be. Jeff Wadlow is back in the director’s chair for Blumhouse after 2020’s Fantasy Island, and DeWanda Wise (Someone Great, Jurassic World Dominion), Tom Payne (The Walking Dead), and Betty Buckley (Carrie, Split) all star. The trailer suggests more of the now-classic Blumhouse-style spooky sequences we’ve come to expect, and with what looks to be an impressive performance from young actress Pyper Braun, this should be a good time in the company of a creepy little bear.
The First Omen
Release date: April 5, 2024
We’re getting a new entry to the canon of The Omen, 1976’s Richard Donner classic that starred Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, and David Warner, and gave the horror world the quintessential creepy kid, Damien the Antichrist. The franchise already includes two sequels (1978’s Damien: Omen II and 1981’s The Final Conflict) and a 2006 remake, but this new film is set to take us back to the beginning in the form of a prequel. 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 to bring about the birth of evil incarnate. Produced by David S. Goyer (2022’s Hellraiser) and Keith Levine (The Night House), and directed by Arkasha Stevenson in her feature debut, this will hopefully be a welcome return to the occult world of the genre-defining original. Bill Nighy (Underworld, The Limehouse Golem), Ralph Ineson (The Witch,) and Nell Tiger Free (M. Night Shyamalan’s Servant) star.
The Strangers trilogy
Release date: May 17, 2024
Bryan Bertino’s original film, starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, was released in 2008 and has become one of the most notorious and beloved home invasion films to come out of the sub-genre. Ten years later we got a sequel, The Strangers: Prey At Night, which follows the further violent exploits of the psychopathic masked killers Dollface, Pin-Up Girl, and the Man in the Mask as they terrorise a whole new family - including Christina Hendricks - in a trailer park. Now the franchise continues, with three fresh films - The Strangers: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3 - all helmed by director Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Deep Blue Sea). In a continuation of the first two installments, The Strangers: Chapter 1 will have a similar premise to the original, following a couple on a road-trip who spend a night in an isolated Airbnb and unfortunately encounter our three terrifying strangers - the action will carry on from there throughout the new trilogy.
Speak No Evil
Release date: August 9, 2024
This American remake of the acclaimed 2022 Danish shocker is coming to cinemas in August from Universal and Blumhouse, and has recently received a rating of ‘R’ from the Motion Picture Association (MPA), hopefully promising the Stateside version will not be pulling any punches, just like the original most certainly did not. The film will be a retelling of the terrifying story of a family invited to spend a weekend in an idyllic country house, going from a dream vacation to a psychological nightmare. James Watkins (Eden Lake, The Woman in Black) is in the director’s chair, and James McAvoy (Split) and Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, The Turning) will star. Hollywood remakes of recent smash hit horrors can be touch and go, but with Christian and Mads Tafdrup – the director and writer of the original, respectively – on writing duties alongside Watkins, this could prove to be a worthwhile stab at bringing the tale of socially-awkward scares to a wider audience.
Terrifier 3
Release date: October 25, 2024
If you’re a horror fan, you might have had long lost friends get in touch at one point last year just to ask you if you had managed to catch a certain murderous clown movie. Art the Clown, the sadistic villain of Terrifier 2, apparently had cinemagoers requiring (helpfully branded) sick bags. The hype, not to put too fine a point on it, was real. And it’s impossible to argue with the figures. Terrifier 2 - a fun, gory, if overly long throwback slasher movie - cost only $250,0000 to make but grim reaped a cool $15 million at the global box office. Hence Terrifier 3, which will debut exclusively on US horror streaming service Screambox.
As reported by Bloody Disgusting, director Damien Leone is excited to bring even more extremity to the series for this threequel. “Aside from a yearning for new and exciting horror villains like Art the Clown, a large part of Terrifier 2’s success was based on its unprecedented theatrical release and its uncompromising nature. It’s pretty clear that we’re now entering a slasher genre renaissance; perhaps the biggest one since the '90s. Filmmakers like myself are gonna have to keep pushing the envelope so it’s encouraging when a company respects a director’s vision and understands what makes a certain type of film successful.”
Nosferatu
Release date: December 25, 2024
We’ve been teased with Robert Eggers’ adaptation of Nosferatu for a while now. First it was happening, then it wasn’t, then it was, and now we’ve finally gotten a first look! Following the 1922 classic directed by F.W. Murnau and the 1979 remake from Werner Herzog, Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman) is officially bringing his version of one of the most genuinely chilling vampire tales to the big screen - and it’s gearing up to continue the tradition of Count Orlok being a truly terrifying monster. The chameleonic Bill Skarsgard (IT, Barbarian) will embody Orlok this time around, alongside another impressive Eggers' ensemble including Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, Nicholas Hoult, Ralph Ineson, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. We can’t wait to sink our teeth into this one!
The Toxic Avenger
Release date: TBC
The reboot of the 1984 Troma Entertainment comedy-horror cult classic got its world premier at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas in September 2023 and although we don’t yet have a confirmed release date, this should be one on the radar for anyone with a penchant for schlocky gore, quirky comedy, and practical effects. Macon Blair, best known as the director of 2017’s indie favourite I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore and his acting turns in a whole host of genre fair including Blue Ruin, Green Room, and The Hunt, feels like a safe pair of hands for this retelling of the tale of The Toxic Avenger - a mutated anti-hero who wields a deadly mop. Peter Dinklage is in the title role, starring alongside Kevin Bacon, Jacob Tremblay, and Elijah Wood, with the teaser trailer seemingly promising that this new version will lose none of the humor and chaos of the original. Here’s hoping we get to revel in all its frenetic, jaw-ripping action sooner rather than later.
Salem’s Lot
Release date: TBC
Just when you didn’t think there could be any more Stephen King adaptations, another tome is added to the ‘time for a remake’ shelf. And this time, it’s a heavy hitter. For those of a certain age, one of the most terrifying horror moments lurks in Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot TV series from 1979 as a vampire child arrives at a window asking to be let in…. This means no pressure for Conjuring Universe staple Gary Dauberman on both directing and screenplay duties. The good news is that given that he is also responsible for the screenplay of both parts of IT, Dauberman already has keen King conversion chops. The similar ‘terror in a small town’ theme of Salem’s Lot as a vampire holes up in the old house on the hill could mean very good things. There's been no official reveal of a poster or trailer but the art above was revealed after a tie-in edition of the book was spotted online. The movie was initially meant to release in 2022 but New Line has since added a new 2023 release date and cruelly taken it away again. As it stands, you’ve got a little longer to prep your garlic.
The LaLaurie Mansion Series
Release date: TBC
Whether it’s a good thing or not, we now live in a world where entire franchises are announced before even the first movie has been released. The writers of the first two The Conjuring movies, Chad and Carey Hayes, have teamed up again and revealed an entire series of horror movies revolving around the infamous LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans. Once home to none other than Nic Cage, who allegedly only lasted one night of horrific screams and bumps in the night, this grim abode is said to be one of the most haunted locations in the world. The good news is that if you’ve done your horror homework and watched American Horror Story Coven, you’ll already know its most villainous resident.
Played by Kathy Bates in AHS, Madame LaLaurie was both a New Orleans socialite and horrific 19th century serial killer, responsible for the horrific torture, mutilation and murder of a number of Black slaves. Her secret was only revealed when a fire broke out at her mansion and firefighters discovered some of her barely alive victims in diabolical states.
Not content with just one movie, the Hayes brothers are going to tell multiple stories of the mansion throughout history, from its horrific beginnings, all the way to modern day. Plus, they’re considering writing some of it from inside the house. “We love writing films in which we get to tell true stories – incorporating moments that people can look up and discover did in fact happen,” they announced in a press release. “With the LaLaurie House we get to do exactly that… there is a wealth of documentation of a very dark and frightening past of true events. Not to mention that after spending some time there, what we personally experienced was truly unnerving. We haven’t been this excited about a project since The Conjuring!”
