Ranking the 2024 Horror Movies: A Spine-Chilling Review

With today being Halloween, I wanted to share some sort of Halloween-related post. I've already most of the major horror franchises with rankings of Scream, Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street as well as shared my favorite horror films and the Halloween movies Sarah and I watch every year. This year, I thought it would be fun to share my ranking of the new horror movies I saw this year. This year, I tried to dive more into the horror genre as that is a genre I am weaker on. This year I managed to see ten horror movies. Most of these movies, I have included in prior rankings but this list does include a few that I missed when they first came out. I used a very loose definition of horror movies for this ranking. Some are more comedic or thriller than horror, but they still fit the definition. Basically, any movie that would at least somewhat frighten the casual moviegoer made the list. Blink Twice and Trap almost made the list but they were more pure thrillers and didn't have any frightening aspects to them. With all that being said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the ten horror movies that I saw.

11. Founders Day

Founders Day was definitely not as bad as I thought it was going to be but it was not good either. Founders Day is essentially your typical slasher whodunit film but themed to Election Day. It takes all the basic ideas from Scream and just does it again. The kills are all entertaining enough and there were a few decent reveals it but there is nothing really to write home about. Most of the characters are unbearably obnoxious or just forgettable. The characters are all essentially "borrowed" characters from the scream franchise. The movie also borrows all of the plot aspects from the original Scream film such as having a teen party when a killer is on the loose, having an multiple killers and trying to frame the Dad character. The movie was also extremely predictable. I knew who the mastermind was maybe 15 minutes into the movie and which makes the big reveals fall flat. Finally, I thought the ending and the way the main character chooses to handle the big reveal was incredibly stupid and unsatisfying. Overall, while it isn't an unwatchable mess, it still isn't a good movie. It is essentially just a half baked Scream with an Election Day skin on it.

Score: 5/10 Grade: C

10. The Watchers

The Watchers is the directorial debut of Ishana Shyamalan, the daughter of the famous director M. N Shyamalan. I find this movie to be a bit disappointing. For some positives, I thought the first 45 minutes of the movie worked rather well. It does a great job of setting up this premise, establishes the rules of the area, and provides a sense of mystery as to what is holding these people here. The movie does a great job of building tension and mystery with several effective moments causing you to stress about whether they will make it back safely. The second half is where this movie really loses steam for me. I didn't find any of the reveals all that satisfying nor did they really make a ton of sense. I also felt that the final 15-20 minutes felt a bit tacked on. The initial conflict of the movie is resolved but then it just keeps going long after its natural ending. I think it could have ended in a more natural place and been a brisk 90-minute thriller and been a lot better. Finally, I found all of the characters to be very poorly written. None of them are given any real defining character traits and just come across as very bland. Overall, while I did find the premise and setup to be very intriguing, the payoff and execution left much to be desired.

Score: 5/10 Grade: C

9. The Strangers: Chapter 1

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is the newest horror movie that I have seen. In general, I didn't think this movie was very good. The only positive of it was that if effectively portrayed the fear of having people sneak around your home. I felt that it was a bit scary for the first 30 minutes of the film but beyond that the movie was not very good. The characters are both very bland with no decerning characteristics. The killers are not all that memorable. Freddy Kruger, Jason and Michael Myers all have their thing but these killers don't have anything to stand out. I found the main characters to be incredibly stupid. I don't know about anyone else, but if some stranger knocked on my door and asked for someone then that didn't live there then continued to stand in the driveway, I would peace out real quick not stay in the house. The premise itself gets incredibly stupid in the later half of the film with the killers wasting so much time when they could have killed this people 10 minutes into the movie. In the end, the movie does portray some scares well but is overall just too dumb and dull to be good.

Score: 5/10 Grade: C

8. Lisa Frankenstein

Lisa Frankenstein was probably one of the weirdest movie I've seen this year. Lisa Frankenstein is a bit of an offbeat love story but does it reasonably well. It had a lot more funny moments in it than I was expecting but also got surprisingly dark at times. I thought Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse were both great in this movie. Kathryn Newton gets really into her role as Lisa as she becomes progressively more dark and Cole Sprouse does a great job of portraying emotion and humor while not actually having any lines as The Creature. I also enjoyed the 1970s setting of the film and thought the movie did a great job portraying this with the costumes and music. There are a few plot holes and Lisa's character change is a bit abrupt but overall it was a solid enough movie that was a lot better than I was expecting it to be.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

7. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

This movie is a bit of a mixed bag for me but I think it has more good than bad which is why it gets a positive rating. I thought this was a fun Ghostbusters adventure that expanded the lore and built out more of the world. Since the Ghostbusters are already formed, the movie doesn't need to spend any time getting the band back together and just dives right into the adventure. It was also a lot of fun to see the story set back in NYC and include the original cast. I like how both Ray and Winston are given something to do and have supporting roles in the story. Paul Rudd and McKenna Grace and easily the standouts of this movie. Paul Rudd has just so much charm and is just so fun in every scene he is in. McKenna Grace is just great in the lead and is a great emotional center to the story. The main issue with this movie is that there are too many characters and subplots. The movie just has too much going on. It gives every character something to do and the result is an overstuff story. Because of this, I felt the movie took a bit too long to really get going. In the end, while it does feel overstuff, the charm and fun of seeing ghostbusting in NYC is there which makes for, while not a great film, a fun spooky adventure.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

6. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the newest film from Tim Burton and is kind right the middle quality wise. This movie does a great job of recapturing the magic of the original film while also bringing something new. Of course, it is great to see Michael Keaton again as Beetlejuice. He brings the same energy that he did 40 years ago. I thought that Jenna Ortega fit very well in to this world as is a great fit for Tim Burton. I also liked that the movie decided to go into a direction whether they bring living characters into the afterlife. It also us to see more aspects of this world. The movie also tackles some themes about family, moving on and grief that give it a bit more maturity than the original. Even with that, it is still just as wacky and crazy as the original. The big issue with this movie is that there are just way too many plots going on. The whole Monica Belushi was implied to be the major plot of the film and just kind of goes no where as it essentially bookends the film. I think pulling that subplot out and focusing more on the adventure in the afterlife would have knocked this movie up a ton on this list. Overall, while this movie was a lot of fun, it tries to do a bit too much which really brings it down on the list.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

5. Abigail

Abigail is one of the movies that I missed this year. Abigail follows a group of criminals who are hired to kidnap a little girl when they soon learn that they are trapped in a house with a vampire. This movie was surprisingly fun. This is a very self-contained monster film that manages to have all the gore and scares you want from a monster movie. The characters are all likable enough. They each have their own defining character trait that adds to the story. All of the fight scenes are some much fun. There is just a novelty to seeing a ballerina vampire attacking a bunch of criminals. The story itself is extremely simple as it just revolves around our characters trying to survive the night. There are also a few vampire vs vampire fight scenes at the end of the movie that are just so much fun to watch. Obviously, this is not a top-tier movie or anything. It is goofy with limited character growth and plot depth. However, nobody is watching this for a complex horror story. They just want to see a ballerina vampire kill some people. In the end, this was a very fun horror film that isn't trying to swing for the fences and just wants to make for a good time.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

4. Speak No Evil

Speak No Evil was a surprise film . This movie was not on my radar at all until I started hearing a lot of positive things about it. Speak No Evil follows a family that is invited to stay in an isolated house with some friends they met on vacation. However, as the weekend progresses, the family soon learns that things may not be as they seem. James McAvoy is great at playing these creepy yet likable characters. His family does something off-putting or abnormal that makes the main character want to leave yet somehow he manages to win them back over again. The movie does a great job of balancing the tensity with humorous moments. The situation our characters start off in is just so interesting as they have to deal with people who continue to ignore social norms leaving the main characters having to debate whether it is rude to say something. This movie reminded me quite a bit of The Shinning with its slow-burn style and tension building. You can tell something is not right from the beginning and things just become more and more tense as time goes on. Overall, this is a very exciting and tense movie that keeps you on edge from beginning to end.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

3. A Quiet Place: Day One

This movie does a great of taking what worked with the other A Quiet Place films and bringing it to a new setting. We get to see all of these people in NYC experience this alien invasion and must figure out how to survive. While the movie is about this alien invasion, at its core it is about this hospice cancer patient learning to survive and enjoying the last moments of her life. The Lupita Nyong character goes through a pretty solid arc and by the end of the movie learns to accept her fate and just enjoy the last moments that she has. I also liked how the movie was set in a large city. This brings in so many different elements that the original films couldn't do being out in the country. The movie also does a great job of building out the world. We get to see a bit more of how the aliens interact with each other as well as the government's initial plan to stop the invasion. The main thing about keeping this from being higher is that it just didn't have the emotional weight of the other two films. I also thought that the Eric character didn't add much to the story. He was there more to help Sam on her journey and not really on a character arc on his own. In the end, this is another great addition to the franchise and proves that the series is still going strong.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

2. Alien: Romulus

This film is a solid back-to-basics Alien movie. This movie does a great job of recapturing the horror vibes and charm of the original film. The characters are all solid parts of the story and we get this sweet relationship between Rain and her "brother" at the core of the movie. The relationship gives the movie some heart and makes for some emotional moments. I also like how the movie wisely goes back to hiding the Aliens in darkness. I think they are much more sinister when you can't see them. The movie also decides to add the face huggers as more prominent threats which I thought was a welcome change. The movie also does a great job of making connections to the original film. Several moments reference the original film and supply some decent fan service. This movie is just a perfect example of delivering what Alien fans want. The only thing keeping this score down was that the movie was a bit derivative of the original film. It is derivative in the way The Force Awakens was to A New Hope so it still made for a solid film and works for the fans. Overall, this is a great addition to the Alien franchise and I hope more films continue on this path.

Grade: B+ Score: 8/10

1. Strange Darling

Strange Darling was a movie that was not on my radar and is probably one of the biggest surprises of the year. This was a movie that did the thriller genre right. The movie is one one-part thriller and one-part chase film and manages to keep you on the end of your seat from beginning to end. You can feel the inspiration from many classic thrillers with the movie using these inspirations in such an effective way. The way the story is told causes you to never be truly aware of what is going to happen. With a lot of thrillers, I can kind of see where the movie is going but with this film, I had no idea. Both of the main characters play their respective roles very well and really add to the suspense of the film. The story itself is very simple and straight forward but the structure really lends itself to make for a very suspenseful time with lots of questions. This is the type of movie that you really need to go in not knowing anything as the excitement of learning information as the movie goes on is what makes it so great. In the end, this film was a huge surprise for me and is a must-see film.

Grade: A- Score: 8.5/10