With 2023 fading fast in our rearview mirror, we’ve got our eyeballs fixed straight ahead on 2024. There are plenty of real-world horrors awaiting us this year (the election, mostly), which should make the cathartic experience of watching fictional horror especially attractive. Luckily for us, there are plenty of new horror movies coming in 2024.
We’ve been robbed of two new movies from Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, including one directed by Peele himself, but we’re getting two new Shyamalan movies: one written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, and the other a Gothic horror tale directed by his daughter, Ishana Shyamalan. Plus a few intriguing horror sequels, some ghosts and ghouls, and the latest from Robert Eggers.
Here are all the new horror movies we can’t wait to see in 2024.
T.I.M. (January 12)
Move over M3GAN, there’s a new creepy AI robot in town, and his name is T.I.M. Georgina Campbell (Barbarian) headlines the British sci-fi horror thriller as a prosthetics engineer who gets a new job with a robotics company, which immediately puts her to work on a prototype for its latest product: T.I.M., which stands for Technologically Integrated Manservant (played by The Witcher‘s Eamon Farren). T.I.M. hit Netflix in the UK last year, but it’s finally making its way to the U.S. this month.
Out of Darkness (February 9)
After playing the festival circuit, Out of Darkness (previously titled The Origin) arrives in theaters this February. Andrew Cumming’s feature directorial debut is a survival thriller set 45,000 years ago, and follows a group of stone-age folks as they contend with a sinister entity.
Imaginary (March 8)
If T.I.M. doesn’t fill the M3GAN-shaped void in our lives, maybe Imaginary will. DeWanda Wise (Captain Marvel) stars in the new Blumhouse flick as a woman who moves back to her family home and learns that not only is her childhood imaginary friend real, but he’s pissed off at her for leaving him behind. So he possesses her stepdaughter’s stuffed bear. Seems reasonable!
Late Night With the Devil (March 22)
David Dastmalchian often pops in supporting roles and has worked with the likes of Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners), Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), and James Gunn (The Suicide Squad). In Late Night With the Devil, Dastmalchian takes the lead at last. The found footage film from Australian directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes is presented as a recovered lost episode of a 1970s late night talk show, in which host Jack Delroy (Dastmalchian) interviews a parapsychologist and the young survivor of a Satanic cult.
The First Omen (April 5)
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me two times, well, you’re not gonna fool me again. The Exorcist: Believer may have sucked a bag of eggs, but maybe this new addition to a historic horror franchise will be good, actually? The First Omen definitely has a lot more going for it from the outset, including an interesting director (Arkasha Stevenson, whose credits include Legion and Channel Zero), a good cast (Servant‘s Nell Tiger Free and Bill Nighy among them), and an intriguing plot involving a Satanic cult and nuns.
Abigail (April 19)
Radio Silence, the collective behind Ready or Not and the fifth and sixth Scream movies, returns this year with a new horror film for Universal Pictures. Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, and Kathryn Newton star in the project, which is now officially titled Abigail. The film follows a crew of aspiring criminals who kidnap a mobster’s 12-year-old daughter and hold her for ransom in a dusty old mansion. As the night wears on and members of the group begin disappearing, the crooks realize their hostage is more than she seems.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 (May 17)
Renny Harlin, director of ‘90s classics The Long Kiss Goodnight and Deep Blue Sea, is wild for this one: Not only did he decide to remake The Strangers, but Harlin also turned the remake into a trilogy of films that he shot back to back. The first installment—The Strangers: Chapter 1—arrives in May, and stars Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale) and Froy Gutierrez as a couple tormented by menacing strangers while staying overnight in an Airbnb.
In a Violent Nature (May 31)
The feature directorial debut of Chris Nash, In a Violent Nature premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it became one of the most talked about titles at the fest. Nash’s film takes the classic slasher formula and subverts it, presenting the story from the POV of a masked killer awoken from his cursed slumber by an unwitting group of teens.
The Watchers (June 7)
Ishana Shyamalan’s feature directorial debut arrives just two months before her father’s new movie hits theaters. Based on the Gothic horror novel of the same name by A.M. Shine, The Watchers stars Dakota Fanning as Mina, an artist who finds herself stranded in the forest of West Ireland and takes refuge in a cabin with three strangers who are “stalked by mysterious creatures each night.”
A Quiet Place: Day One (June 28)
I wasn’t wowed by A Quiet Place Part II, but I’m still optimistic for this upcoming prequel/spinoff from Michael Sarnoski, the writer and director of the excellent Nicolas Cage drama Pig. Lupita Nyong’o headlines A Quiet Place: Day One, which is set in New York City when the alien invasion first began. The prequel co-stars Djimon Hounsou, Joseph Quinn, and Alex Wolff.
Trap (August 2)
M. Night Shyamalan’s follow-up to last year’s Knock at the Cabin is still shrouded in mystery. What we do know is that it stars Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, and Hayley Mills of OG Parent Trap fame. I tend to enjoy Shyamalan’s movies—especially his recent run—more than most, and I can’t wait to see the cuckoo-bananas horrors he has in store for us with Trap.
Cuckoo (August 9)
Directed by Tilman Singer (Luz), Cuckoo stars Hunter Schafer as Gretchen, a teen who goes to live with her dad and his new family in Germany at an idyllic resort in the Alps. Things get a little kooky when Gretchen begins noticing the strange preoccupations of her father’s boss. Cuckoo has been making the rounds on the festival circuit, and we can’t wait to see what the fuss is about later this summer.
Alien: Romulus (August 16)
I will forever mourn what could’ve been had Ridley Scott completed his Alien prequel trilogy, but Alien: Romulus—a sidequel set between Alien and Aliens—seems to have Scott’s blessing, according to director Fede Álvarez. The new chapter in the franchise stars Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, and Industry‘s David Jonsson, and reportedly concerns a group of young people contending with xenomorphs on a distant planet.
Speak No Evil (September 13)
Danish horror film Speak No Evil was among the best of 2022, which might have some balking at an English-language remake, especially so soon after the original was released. The new version is directed by James Watkins (The Woman in Black) and features one hell of a trio of stars: Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy (Halt and Catch Fire fans, where you at), and James McAvoy. As with the original, Speak No Evil centers on a family whose idyllic vacation in the countryside quickly devolves into bleak horror.
I’m torn on whether or not to recommend watching the Danish version first. On one hand, it’s a great, harrowing film that will stick with you long after the credits roll. On the other hand, knowing absolutely nothing about the plot is crucial, so if you’d rather wait for the remake, I say go for it.
Saw XI (September 27)
The Saw franchise finally righted itself with last fall’s Saw X, which featured all the things we love about these things: complicated traps, an expansion of Jigsaw’s convoluted lore, and the return of ol’ J. Saw (Tobin Bell) and his sidekick Amanda (Shawnee Smith). It also had one of the most ridiculous and amazing final shots, teasing a potential addition to the Jigsaw family? Maybe? Probably not, but I’m still eager to see how the story continues in Saw XI.
The Wolf Man (October 25)
Blumhouse’s Wolf Man remake is allegedly on track for an October 25 release, but that could very well change. In the meantime, here’s what we know: After exiting the project, Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man) returned to the director’s chair, with Christopher Abbott (Poor Things) signed on to star. As with previous iterations, this one concerns a man who returns to his estranged family’s estate, where he has to deal with a werewolf.
Nosferatu (December 25)
Rounding out the year is Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. The director of The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman has finally shot his long-developing remake of F.W. Murnau’s silent horror classic from 1922. Lily-Rose Depp stars as a young woman stalked by the eponymous vampire, played by professional hot monster man Bill Skarsgard. Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin, and Nicholas Hoult co-star.
This article has been updated.
(featured image: Focus Features / Lionsgate / 20th Century Studios / Bleecker Street / Illustration by The Mary Sue)
