Joey Magidson
The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! This time around, we’re taking a look at the very best horror efforts that have graced screens (or streaming services) so far during the year that is 2024…
So far, 2024 has been a real banner year for horror. Whatever your flavor of fright flick, 2024 has delivered. There’s independent gems like In a Violent Nature and Late Night with the Devil. There’s studio horror and franchise work like The First Omen and A Quiet Place: Day One. There’s horror comedies like Lisa Frankenstein. This doesn’t even take into account Longlegs, which comes out next week, and MaXXXine, which came out this past weekend, after the end of June deadline for this piece. Plus, the year still has plenty of promise in the second half, with titles like Alien: Romulus and Nosferatu hoping to join the ranks. It all made this a very easy and very fun assignment, coming up with the best horror films of the first half of the year.
As a bonus, before we get to my actual list, fellow gorehound Myles Hughes has contributed his picks, which are as follows:
5. Abigail
Honorable Mention: Lisa Frankenstein, Sting, and Infested
Here now are my picks for the five best horror films so far in 2024, accompanied by a piece from my review:
*Special Citation: Longlegs and MaXXXine, which again are second half releases, but would both crack this list with ease.*
Despite enjoying both prior films in the franchise quite a bit, I actually went into A Quiet Place: Day One with some level of apprehension. A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II had managed to find smaller, more character based stories within a monster movie premise. Would this prequel, trafficking in more blockbuster territory, have any hope of capturing that same feeling? Well, to my surprise, the answer is a resounding yes.
A Quiet Place: Day One is the rare prequel that doesn’t exist purely as a money grab. Having an interesting filmmaker like Michael Sarnoski at the helm certainly helps, but resisting the urge to fully make this a dumb blockbuster really makes all the difference. There are science fiction and horror tropes at play, but we’re always meant to be invested in our survivors. It’s a different flavor than the last two flicks in some ways, but in others, it’s clearly part of a whole.
It would be fair to go into The First Omen with a bit of skepticism. After all, while The Omen franchise is well known, it’s mostly known for pop culture taking on the name Damien for all manner of demonic child. The first movie is considered a classic, but the sequels are more or less forgotten. Decades have passed, while the series basically lay dormant. Now, this prequel hits, with prequels in general not inspiring much confidence. So, it’s not just surprising, but also quite pleasing, to state that this flick absolutely slaps.
The First Omen exceeds expectations by never succumbing to what most prequels get lazy about. I’d second those calling it the Rogue One of Omen movies, since it does its own thing, while dovetailing into exactly where the franchise begins. By following the beat of its own drummer, the film spends time with ideas, as well as scares. It’s far more of a full cinematic meal than you might be expecting.
There has never been a film like In a Violent Nature. Sure, there are films that attempt something similar, in that it’s a horror movie told from the slasher’s perspective, but not in this way. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, for example, was a mockumentary and took a black comedy route. Here, we have a fright flick that’s an honest to goodness slasher, just from the killer’s point of view. It sounds simple, and it is, but it really makes a difference. Not only is this one of the best horror outings in years, it’s one of my favorite works of the year so far.
In a Violent Nature manages to do all of the things a work within this genre would do, but in following only the killer, it all comes off so much differently. There’s a level of dread you experience in following our murderous protagonist, knowing the victim in the distance is doomed, but not being able to do anything about it. Some folks might find this to be a deeply unsettling experience, but anyone who appreciates horror will love this big swing being taken.
By and large, found footage horror has seen its moment pass. Aside from some of the recent V/H/S installments that have been a bit on the clever side, we mostly haven’t seen anything new in a while. So, when along comes something like Late Night with the Devil, it’s truly exciting. Not only does it tinker with the format to have it serve its own devilish purposes, there’s also a riveting performance at its core to go along with creative filmmaking. The result is one of the bigger genre surprises of the year.
Late Night with the Devil managed to surprise the hell out of me. I went in curious enough, since even though found footage rarely blows me away anymore, I still tend to like it more often than not. So, to see that it’s a more playful and darker take on that, combined with a demonic story that actually invests you in what’s happening, actually leaves you shaken. Considering how much the filmmakers do with modest means, it’s a truly impressive work.
You all know that I love when a movie sneaks up on me. The talent involved in Lisa Frankenstein had me very intrigued. After all, I love Diablo Cody‘s writing, Kathryn Newton has impressed me on more than one occasion, and I was eager to see Zelda Williams up to bat. Even so, I was expecting to probably be amused by this flick, at worst. So, consider me almost shocked at how much I out and out loved this film. Lisa Frankenstein is one of my favorite films of the year so far, which I did not have on my dance card. Regardless, this is a wild gem.
Lisa Frankenstein is Heathers by way of, you know, Frankenstein. It’s almost as if the best elements of Tim Burton have been filtered away from his worst impulses, put into a blender with the Mary Shelley classic, and sprinkled with Cody’s specific sort of dialogue. It may sound like a weird mix, but trust me that it works in a massive way. I had an amazing time with this film.
Honorable Mention: Abigail, Immaculate, and Stopmotion
Stay tuned for another Sunday Scaries installment next week!
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