The Afterlife Experience Could Be a Hot Ticket

It’s sobering to think that 2024 is already half over and Abigail is probably the most notable mainstream horror movie to be released thus far; it’s the Indies dominating positive critical response. The good news is that the second half of the year has plenty to offer and there are some big ones still on the way.

This weekend, and next, will pare down watchlists even further with the release of A Quiet Place Day One and MaXXXine. We referred to the editors at IMDb and their list of upcoming horror films that remain on the docket for 2024.

Let us know in the comments section which movie(s) you’re still looking forward to.

Longlegs (July 12)

“Neon has become one of the top purveyors of “prestige” horror (whether you like that term or not), and 2024 is shaping up to be a great year for the studio, with ‘Immaculate,’ ‘Cuckoo,’ and Osgood Perkins’ ‘Longlegs’ on the roster. The teaser and trailer are absolutely terrifying while giving away nothing. Maika Monroe (who’s made some terrific horror films, including ‘It Follows’ and the underseen ‘Watcher’) stars as an FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer played by Nicolas Cage. Longlegs may be a breakout for director Perkins, who’s flown just a little under the radar with films like ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’ and ‘I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House.’ Fun fact: Perkins is the eldest son of Anthony Perkins, and he played the young Norman Bates in ‘Psycho II.’”

Trap (August 7)

“We may be in for a Shyamalan summer in 2024. Just two months after his daughter Ishana Shyamalan makes her feature film debut with ‘The Watchers,’ M. Night is expected to return to the big screen with his next thriller, ‘Trap.’ The film, which Shyamalan has cryptically stated “takes place at a concert,” stars Josh Hartnett and Hayley Mills, best known for her roles in mid-century classics like ‘The Parent Trap’ and ‘Pollyanna.’ This release marks the start of the auteur’s new agreement with Warner Bros, and we can’t wait to see what twisty turny terrors the partnership develops.”

Cuckoo (August 9)

“Hunter Schafer gets into Final Girl mode somewhere in the Alps at a resort run by a creeper played by Dan Stevens, who is underutilized in horror movies. Reviews say the plot gets bonks fast, and director Tilman Singer deepens his commitment to genre fans with extreme tastes after ‘Luz‘ found a cult audience. Distributor NEON, who has backed ‘Infinity Pool,’ ‘Titane,’ and other nightmares, will release the movie in the US on [sic] May 3.

The Crow (August 23)

“After 30 years and three sequels, cult-classic The Crow is getting a reboot, returning to its 1989 comic book roots to retell the tragic story of doomed lovers Eric Draven and fiancé Shelly Webster (FKA twigs) whose murders spark Draven’s return from the dead to avenge their deaths. Bill Skarsgård (who you can also see the upcoming Boy Kills World and Nosferatu) steps into the role of Eric Draven made famous by Brandon Lee who tragically died during the making of the 1994 film.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (September 6)

“The ghost with the most is coming to haunt cinemas everywhere 35 years after the original film introduced audiences to Adam, Barbara, Lydia, and a gregarious ghoul with an unpronounceable name. Details about the sequel are just starting to make their way to the land of the living, including a surprising Beetlejuice backstory and a return of the song ‘Day-O.’ We can’t hide our excitement to see Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Michael Keaton reprise their roles, and we’re equally thrilled to see Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, and Monica Bellucci join the fun.”

Speak No Evil (September 13)

If you’re thinking, didn’t ‘Speak No Evil’ premiere in 2022 at Sundance and leave us with nightmares and a fear of making new friends? Well, yes, it did, but this is the Blumhouse remake with James McAvoy as the head of the unhinged household. (We’ve seen McAvoy in ‘Split,’ we know he can be terrifying!) We don’t know if this version will make any deviations from the disturbing Danish original, but we’re pretty sure we’ll be yelling at Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNaiy to stop ‘being polite and leave already.’”

Starve Acre (October 4)

 “A family uncovers an ancient ancestral evil in writer-director Daniel Kokotajlo’s ‘Starve Acre.’ Adapted from the novel by Andrew Michael Hurley, the folk horror chiller follows a couple as they cope with a personal tragedy through increasingly occult means. Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark lend their considerable talents to the lead roles of Richard and Juliette, the unhappy duo doomed to navigate the drab 1970s Yorkshire countryside imbued with an archaic magic that is simultaneously alluring and threatening.”

Smile 2 (October 18)

“We smiled when we learned writer-director Parker Finn was on board to make a follow-up to his creeptastic 2022 feature film debut. Then we grinned after it was announced Kyle Gallner, Lukas Gage, and Rosemarie Dewitt had signed on for the sequel. But we really started beaming from ear to ear when Finn confirmed ‘Smile 2’ would be “something very unexpected and surprising for an audience with a lot of tricks of its sleeves.” We have no idea what that means, and we can’t wait.”

Terrifier 3 (October 25)

“As ‘Terrifier 2’ proved, there’s no such thing as too much in the minds of Art the Clown fans. That sequel clocked in at two hours and 18 minutes and grossed over $15 million at the box office on a budget of $250,000, so a sequel was inevitable. The latest sequel picks up after the gruesome rebirth of Art in ‘Terrifier 2’’s mid-credits sequence, and features Victoria in a more prominent role, as director felt she was underutilized in the previous films. No, we’re not sure how she’s going to manage without”

Nosferatu (December 25)

“It seems like Dracula and vampires are taken over the release calendar that used to be dominated by superhero movies. ‘Abigail’ is coming in April. There’s a ‘Salem’s Lot’ remake coming to streaming in 2025. Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan are making a top secret thing. Luc Besson has a more sympathetic take on Dracula in production. But if there’s any reason to remake ‘Nosferatu,’ we’re happy the project was at least trusted to Robert Eggers, the most obsessively detailed director since David Fincher. Eggers reteams with Willem Dafoe, who broke a section of the internet when we learned he was returning to the tale he immortalized in ‘Shadow of the Vampire.’ We’ll forever wonder what the version of the movie with Anna Taylor-Joy would have been like – she dropped out of the production to make ‘Furiosa,’ with Lily-Rose Depp taking the role as she quickly puts “The Idol” behind her. Dafoe has said the reels he’s watched are visually like nothing he’s seen before – real fires, real rats, and more. To be honest: this is the only movie we really want for Christmas this year.”

Salem’s Lot (Streaming on Max 2024)

“We’ll forgive you if you don’t hold your breath over the latest ‘Salem’s Lot’ release news. The remake from writer-director has been trapped in a spin cycle of shifting premiere dates that reaches back to 2021 when the film first went into production. Even the master of horror himself, took to social media back in November 2023 to lament what he called a “shelved” film. And yet, it looks like this new take on the vampire tale will finally break free of its vault sometime in 2024 when it makes a streaming-only premiere on Max.”

Azreal (Expected 2024)

“It’s been ten years since E.L. Katz changed our brain chemistry forever with his feature debut ‘Cheap Thrills,’ and this year the director is returning to the screen with a film that seems even more psychologically damaging (complimentary). Scream queen Samara Weaving (‘Ready or Not’) stars in ‘Azrael,’ which appears to be set in a future decades (centuries?) after a biblical rapture where hungry demons roam the earth alongside blood-crazed spiritual psychos. Writer Simon Barrett (‘You’re Next,’ ‘The Guest’) is responsible for scripting this abomination that plays out without a single line of dialogue thanks to an off-screen religious epiphany that moved the murderous society to renounce ‘the sin of speech.’”

Oddity (Expected 2024)

“Is ‘Oddity’ the ‘Talk to Me’ of 2024? This Irish horror features a creepy wooden mannequin and is drawing comparisons to the Philippou brothers’ breakout hit from last year. But aside from being a relic-based horror film, the similarities pretty much end there. Director Damian Mc Carthy (‘Caveat’) has crafted a fun and spooky supernatural thriller about a blind medium who uses the wooden man to solve the mystery of her twin sister’s death. At the world premiere at SXSW, ‘Oddity’ had the audience jumping, screaming, and sometimes laughing as McCarthy’s assured direction kept everyone on their toes. Definitely a theater-worthy experience.”

Blade

“Marvel vet Mahershala Ali ascends to his first title character role in the MCU, and the franchise’s second R-rated movie after ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’ It is, of course, hard to watch even one of our most talented actors take over as the daywalker – the casting coup of the century for the aging franchise with diminishing box-office returns would have been to find a way for Wesley Snipes to return. But we know Ali will kill it and everything, so instead we’re trying to figure out, just like everyone else, who Mia Goth will play in the movie. The new face of horror just might play Lillith Drake, Dracula’s daughter who is more powerful than most vamps.”

Scream VII

“In our hearts, the only thing left for ‘Scream’ to pull off is a way to bring Casey Becker back to life. If you aren’t aware of all the behind-the-scenes drama that’s gone down between ‘Scream 6’ and the development of its sequel, from strike-related delays to losing both of the franchise’s newly minted franchise stars — Melissa Barrera for her outspoken political views, and Jenna Ortega over a salary dispute — the decision-makers shelled out for Neve Campbell’s beloved Sydney Prescott to come out of hiding after her salary-related fracas caused us to miss out on her ‘Scream 6’ return. It’s unclear at this time if the script will bleed out of the events of the last movie, but the current storyline lends itself to a direct sequel. Kevin Williamson, the creator and writer who somehow never directed one of the movies until now, takes over for the Radio Silence duo who successfully revived the franchise. We’re expecting a 2026 release date to coincide with 30 Years of Ghostface.”