Spaceman (2024)
Astronaut Befriends an Alien
Adam Sandler plays a lone astronaut who befriends an alien. This falls somewhere between E.T. and Interstellar
Films of 2024
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
Survivors Unable to Make a Sound in the Midst of an Invasion
The third in the trilogy of A Quiet Place films, this is a prequel that takes us back to the start of the invasion
I Saw the TV Glow (2024)
TV Fandom and Surrealism
An almost unclassifiably strange film about fandom for a weird 1990s tv show, this seems to be heading for David Lynch territory and becomes an allegory for trans identity
The Exorcism (2024)
Possession Film on the Set of a Remake of The Exorcist
Joshua John Miller, the son of The Exorcist’s star Jason Miller, makes a film where an actor cast as the priest in a remake of The Exorcist becomes possessed. A witty and clever blend of meta reference and autobiography
Salem’s Lot (2024)
Town of Vampires
The Stephen King novel about a small town that is invaded by a vampire and is population taken gets its third screen adaptation in this film treatment. The 1979 mini-series is still the best version
Planetquake (2024)
Disaster Movie
A B-budget disaster movie from The Asylum that concerns scientists trying to halt a vast ring of earthquakes that have been triggered around the world
Nosferatu (2024)
Nosferatu Remake
Robert Eggers of The Witch fame conducts a remake of the classic silent Nosferatu. This comes drenched in mood and period detail but Eggers also substantially changes the original
Sew Torn (2024)
Alternate Life Pathways
A unique film about a seamstress who is wound up in a drug deal gone wrong and improvises solutions with her needle and thread. Like Run Lola Run, this rewinds to offer very different versions of events
Oddity (2024)
Clairvoyant Mystery
An Irish film that develops an incredibly uncanny atmosphere as a blind clairvoyant turns up at the home where her sister was murder and deduces the truth about what happened
Omni Loop (2024)
Timeloop Film
A timeloop film with a difference where Mary-Louise Parker takes pills that help her go back and relive the previous five days as she seeks to find ways to travel back even further
Paddington in Peru (2024)
Talking Bear
Third of the Paddington series, this has more of an adventure film feel as it takes Paddington and the Browns to Peru in search of a lost city
Parallel (2024)
Multiverse Film
A variation on the multiverse film where Danielle Deadwyler enters a forest portal and returns to realities where the details of her life vary in minute but increasingly alarming ways
Pedro Paramo (2024)
Magical Realism/Haunted Town
A standout adaptation of a classic work of Mexican literature in the Magical Realist tradition. This creates an incredibly haunted mood as it follows a man’s quest for his past to a town that seems to exist inside a twilight zone
The Platform 2 (2024)
Allegorical Prison of Multiple Levels
The Platform offered a striking allegory with a prison where a banquet table of food moved down 300 levels each day. This is a sequel
The Rule of Jenny Pen (2024)
Psycho in a Retirement Home
Rather good New Zealand made horror film set in a geriatric home with Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow engaged in a series of psychological games as a stroke-impaired Rush tries to stop a murderous Lithgow
Please Don’t Feed the Children (2024)
Imprisonment Thriller/Zombie Film
Steven Spielberg’s daughter Destry makes her directorial debut with a confused mix of an imprisonment thriller and a zombie film, albeit a zombie film that only produces a single zombie
Nightbitch (2024)
Mother Becomes Were-Dog
This comes with the irresistible appeal of a premise where frustrated mother Amy Adams finds herself turning into a dog. A very interesting take on the problems of motherhood
Presence (2024)
Ghost Story
Steven Soderbergh is one of the foremost independent directors in the US. He has dipped into numerous different genres and here takes on the ghost story in a film shot from the ghost’s point-of-view
Sasquatch Sunset (2024)
The Life of a Bigfoot Family
A sublimely eccentric concept for a film that follows a family of Bigfeet in the wild over the course of a year. There are no humans in the film, not even any dialogue. One of my Top 10 of the year
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)
Space Opera
Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon was intended as a two-part space opera saga. This first half emerged watchably and this is Part Two
Red One (2024)
Christmas Action Film
Essentially Christmas the Action Film featuring Dwayne Johnson as Santa’s bodyguard going into action accompanied by Chris Evans as a nerdy hacker when Santa is abducted
Rich Flu (2024)
Plague That Kills Rich People
This comes with a wonderfully satiric idea of a plague that kills the world’s wealthiest people
Abigail (2024)
Vampire Kidnap Thriller
From the duo behind the Scream reboot films, a thriller about the kidnap of a young girl in the vein of From Dusk Till Dawn that abruptly pivots to become a vampire film
Never Let Go (2024)
Evil Force in the Woods
Alexandre Aja film with Halle Berry and sons at a cabin in the woods facing an evil force outside. A work that screws with what we think is going on
Night Swim (2024)
Sinister Swimming Pool
A Blumhouse and James Wan co-production about a malevolent swimming pool
Mads (2024)
Deadly Outbreak
A French horror film shot all in a single unbroken take as a deadly infection spreads all around town and we follow various people as they try to survive in the midst
Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
Modernised Frankenstein Comedy
A modernised comedy take on the Frankenstein film that comes with a script from Diablo Cody where Kathryn Newton turns a resurrected man into the ideal boyfriend
The Lonely Man with the Ghost Machine (2024)
Last Man on Earth
Graham Skipper directs/writes/stars in a film about the last man on Earth trying to bring his wife’s ghost back from the dead while beset by an entity that has devoured the rest of humanity and just wants to be his friend
Long Distance (2024)
Planetary Survival
SF film with Anthony Ramos as survivor of a crashed ship who must make a journey across a hostile planet to find another survivor while low on oxygen
Longlegs (2024)
Serial Killer Thriller
Osgood Perkins has been a director on the rise in recent years. This was his fourth film where he makes a serial killer thriller featuring a verrrry weird Nicolas Cage in the title role
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)
Epic Fantasy/Anime
A spinoff prequel to the Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films that takes the option that several other film/videogame franchises have of Going Anime
Lowlifes (2024)
Backwoods Brutality/Cannibal Film
This starts out seeming like it is going to be a regular Backwoods Brutality film about a regular family threatened by hicks before expectations are abruptly turned on their head
Madame Web (2024)
Marvel Comics Superhero
Another of the films spun off from Sony’s hold on the Spider-Man copyright, this has been called the worst Marvel Comics superhero film ever. This also bears next-to-no resemblance to its comic-book counterpart
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (2024)
Genre Directors Documentary
Martin Scorsese produces and narrates a documentary about the directing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger who made some of the most exquisite colour films of the Wartime era
MaXXXine (2024)
1980s Hollywood Psycho Film
Ti West and Mia Goth round out their trilogy of films begun with X with a psycho film set in 1980s Hollywood
My Old Ass (2024)
Teenager Meets Her Future Self
At first glance, this film about a teenager meeting her future self seems too cute and lightweight, but emerges as something extraordinary
Megalopolis (2024)
Building a Utopia
Francis Ford Coppola’s extraordinarily ambitious SF film about an architect’s vision of building a utopia. Hated by most audiences, this still contains some great if flawed film-making.
Memoir of a Snail (2024)
Claymation/Eccentric Characters
The second Claymation film from Adam Elliot, who made the sublime Mary and Max, concerning the banally hilarious lives of weird, eccentric characters
Mr Crocket (2024)
Children’s Host from Hell
A wonderfully grotesque and sinister film about a failed children’s show host who returns from Hell as a boogeyman come to snatch children away from bad parents. Think Death to Smoochy meets A Nightmare on Elm Street
Moana 2 (2024)
Disney Animation/Pacific Island Mythology
Disney make a sequel to Moana, their venture into Pacific Island mythology
Monster Mash (2024)
Classic Monster Bash
The Asylum conduct a monster bash – a crossover between the Famous Monsters – and actually do a modest and quite enjoyable job that pays affectionate homage to the characters
The Mouse Trap (2024)
Mickey Mouse Horror Film
Another of the Mickey Mouse horror films that emerged when the character entered public domain. This features a Mickey Mouse masked killer pursuing teens through an amusement arcade
Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)
Disney Live-Action Prequel/Talking Animals
The Lion King was one of the worst of the live-action Disney remakes. Now comes this prequel
Mummy Shark (2024)
Mummy Shark Resurrected
In a seeming competition for the most ridiculous killer shark of all time, Z budget director Mark Polonia gives us a film about a mummy shark revived from an Egyptian pyramid
Shark Girl (2024)
Shark-Human Hybrid
A Gonzo Killer Shark film about a social media influencer bitten by a radioactive shark who becomes a shark-human hybrid
Shelby Oaks (2024)
Missing Girl Investigation
YouTube film reviewer Chris Stuckmann makes a directorial debut with this film about the investigation into a mysterious disappearance where he makes a work that is well above the often familiar material it deals with
The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee (2024)
Christopher Lee Documentary
A documentary about horror legend Christopher Lee covering his life and principal films. Supposedly narrated by Lee who is represented by a voice imitator and animation
Watchmen: Chapter II (2024)
Animation/Comic-Book Superheroes
The second part of DC Universe Animated Original Movies’ adaptation of Alan Moore’s classic graphic novel, the most faithful screen adaptation yet
Trap (2024)
Serial Killer Trapped at a Rock Concert
M. Night Shyamalan film with Josh Hartnett as a serial killer caught up in a police sting being held at a rock concert
Twisters (2024)
Tornado Chasers
Sequel to Twister, the Michael Crichton written film about tornado chasers, this updates the story to the 21st Century and aims for much more in the way of mass destruction spectacle
Under Paris (2024)
Killer Shark in the Seine
Xavier Gens makes an undeniably entertaining big-budget film about killer shark amok in the Seine
V/H/S/Beyond (2024)
Anthology of Found Footage Horror Tales
Seventh of the V/H/S Found Footage horror anthologies, this is one of the best with a number of the episodes venturing into SF and others that feature some genuinely outlandish moments
Venom: The Last Dance (2024)
Marvel Comics Superhero
The third of the Venom films, which has become one of the worst of the modern Marvel spinoffs. By this point any pretence that the films are taking themselves seriously has been long forgotten
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)
Aardman Animation
Aardman Animation give Wallace and Gromit their second film outing
The Watchers (2024)
Mysterious Creatures in the Woods
M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter Ishana directs a film of her own. Say what you will about nepotism, it is a really good film
Watchmen: Chapter I (2024)
Animation/Comic-Book Superheroes
An animated adaptation of Alan Moore’s classic, genre defining comic-book, this is the most faithful treatment to date
We Bury the Dead (2024)
Zombie Film
The zombie film underwent a major revival in the 2000s but by the mid-2020s a horde of low-budget copycats has exhausted most creative possibilities. This shows there is still some originality to be found
Timestalker (2024)
Comedy/Romance Reincarnated Through History
Actress Alice Lowe directs/stars in a comedy about a woman who pursues the man she is infatuated with as both reincarnate through history
We’re All Gonna Die (2024)
Giant Alien Tentacle/Oddball Road Movie
A giant alien tentacle has appeared in the sky and randomly teleports to different locations. This concerns two oddball characters caught in one of these shifts and the quirky road journey they embark upon
Werewolves (2024)
Werewolf Film
A werewolf film with an original idea and a furious action movie sensibility
Wicked: Part 1 (2024)
Musical/The Wizard of Oz Prequel
The first half of a two-part adaptation of the hit Broadway musical that is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, showing The Wicked Witch’s origin story
The Wild Robot (2024)
Animation/Robot’s Adventure
A winning animated film about a robot trying to find its way among the animals on an island. Tender and heart-warming, the sort of film that Pixar used to do so well
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey II (2024)
Horror Version of Children’s Character
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey offered a horror version of the much loved children’s character. This is more of the same with a bigger budget
Witchboard (2024)
Occult Witchboard
A remake of the 1980s horror Witchboard. The original was just a VHS release and here is given a better budgeted workover, but disappears among a host of ouija-titled films of recent years
Y2K (2024)
The Y2K Bug/Machines Amok
Film that imagines what might have happened if the Y2K Bug had occurred and resulted in a machine revolution
Year 10 (2024)
Post-Apocalyptic Survival
Film set in the aftermath of civilisation where people have lost the capacity for speech
Transformers One (2024)
Transformers Origin Story/Animation
Since Michael Bay retired from the series, The Transformers films have been looking for new directions. This ventures into animation to tell a Transformers origin story
Timecut (2024)
Time Travel/Slasher
A time travel film produced by Christopher Landon that has a number of similarities to Totally Killer in which a girl travels back in time to 2003 to prevent her sister being murdered by a serial killer
The Shrouds (2024)
Grave Camera Technology
At age 81, David Cronenberg is still on great form with this perversely fascinating work about the development of a technology that places cameras inside graves to observe corpses as they decay
Speak No Evil (2024)
Sinister Hosts
The Danish original was a darkly brilliant film about guests in a home of people who step over boundaries. This is the English-language remake from Blumhouse that lacks the same dark bite
The Sleeping Woman (2024)
Sinister Comatose Patient
A Spanish film that comes with overtones of I Walked with a Zombie and Patrick where a comatose wife starts to take control of the mind of the nurse who is tending her
Slingshot (2024)
Space Expedition/Onboard Paranoia
Quite a good film about a space expedition where the crew members on a mission to Saturn fall into an increasing paranoia and inability to tell what is real due to the drugs used in the hypersleep process
Smile 2 (2024)
Viral Curse
Smile was a sleeper hit about a viral curse and created a reasonable spooky atmosphere. The surprise is that this sequel manages to still deliver the goods too
Solvent (2024)
Uncovering Nazi Evil
An Austrian film shot entirely using a GoPro camera where a team investigating an abandoned farm uncover Nazi artifacts and an evil that seems to possess the lead character
Something in the Water (2024)
Survival in Shark-Infested Waters
The survival in shark infested waters film has emerged as its own genre niche in the last few years. This is an all-girl variant with a bridal party stranded and trying to make it to shore
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)
Videogame Adaptation/Supersonic Alien Hedgehog
Third of the Sonic the Hedgehog films and surprisingly far more entertaining than you expect from such a lightweight formulaic film
The Soul Eater (2024)
Police Procedural/Folk Boogeyman Killings
A French police procedural where detectives are plunged into a series of bizarre murders involving a child sacrifice cult and a folk boogeyman. From the directorial duo who started the whole French Extremism movement with Inside
Space Sharks (2024)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
Another in the gonzo killer shark film fad viz Sharknado, a bottom of the barrel effort that concerns lab sharks returned from a space mission mutated
Spiders on a Plane (2024)
Spiders Amok on a Plane
From prolific producer Scott Chambers, a film that describes itself perfectly in the title. This follows the formula established by Snakes on a Plane and has regular and giant spiders amok on board a plane flight
Things Will Be Different (2024)
Mysterious House of Time
A fascinatingly enigmatic time paradox film about a brother and sister on the run who takes refuge at a house that exists out of time
The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)
Home Invasion and Brutality
The Strangers was one the sleeper hits of the 2000s. This is the first chapter in a three film reboot. On the minus side, it has been handed over to Renny Harlin, who should be on any worst directors list
Stream (2024)
Livestreamed Murders
Horror film with a substantial cast of genre veterans where Jeffrey Combs imprisons guests in a hotel and livestreams as a group of killers compete to rack up the most creative kill
Subservience (2024)
Robot Nanny Amok
Another android gone amok film with former sex symbol Megan Fox cast as an android nanny who starts defying her programming
The Substance (2024)
Rejuvenation Serum/Alternate Youthful Self
An absurdly over-the-top film where aging Demi Moore takes a serum that turns her into a youthful Margaret Qualley. A ridiculous film that for some reason did well at awards season
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)
Christopher Reeve Documentary
A documentary about the career of Superman star Christopher Reeve and his dealing with life following the accident that left him a quadriplegic
Survive (2024)
Catastrophic Reversal of the Earth’s Poles
A French catastrophe film where the Earth’s poles abruptly reverse, transforming what was ocean into a desert. A survival film that is based on a premise that is fundamentally scientifically absurd
Tarot (2024)
Cursed Tarot Cards
A horror film based around the phenomenon of tarot cards, a surprise that nobody has done so before
Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya (2024)
Bollywood Android Romance
A Bollywood take on the android/A.I. themes, where a roboticist falls for an android girl and tries to have her accepted by his family
The Life of Chuck (2024)
Stephen King Adaptation
A Mike Flanagan adaptation of a Stephen King story, this received a great deal of acclaim, but comes with a very peculiar story structure that opens out into a series of unfolding revelations
The Last Breath (2024)
Survival in Shark Infested Waters
A film about survival in shark-infested waters where a party diving on a wreck become trapped inside by sharks. Featuring the last performance of Julian Sands
Lazareth (2024)
Post-Pandemic Future
A film set in a post-pandemic future, this features Ashley Judd and daughters living in isolation on their own who are suddenly forced to welcome a stranger into their house
The Crow (2024)
Resurrected Avenger
The original The Crow is a cult classic. This long-planned remake from the perpetually terrible Rupert Sanders was an ill-advised move from every angle that gets just about everything from the mood to the conception of its character wrong
Cinderella’s Curse (2024)
Horror Version of Cinderella
From the people behind the Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey films, a horror version of Cinderella. And yes, the glass slipper is used to stab people
Cinderella’s Revenge (2024)
Horror Version of Cinderella
A horror version of Cinderella where she gets to stab people with the glass slipper. This also features several modernisms where instead of a pumpkin coach, the fairy godmother conjures up Elon Musk to drive Cinderella to the ball in a Tesla
Civil War (2024)
US Social Collapse
Alex Garland is one of the most interesting creative names out there in the genre at the moment. Here he offers a frightening depiction of a near future USA collapsed into civil war
ClearMind (2024)
Virtual Reality Therapy
This starts out as a seeming improv piece about several couples gathered for a weekend where the bickering becomes increasingly darker, all before it reaches an SF twist
Cocaine Werewolf (2024)
Werewolf Film
Cocaine Bear seems to have given birth to a mini-genre of films about drug-addicted animals amok. Here regular Z-budget Mark Polonia gives us a cocaine-snorting werewolf
Code 8: Part II (2024)
Superpowers Film
The Canadian-made Code 8 was one of the few non-comic book adapted superhero films of recent years. This is a sequel where a bigger budget has been afforded to the superheroics
Compulsion (2024)
Erotic Thriller
Director Neil Marshall once had great promise but his recent work has become fairly tatty. Here he and lead actress, the controversy-laden Charlotte Kirk, have fun making a throwback to the 1990s erotic thriller
Crackcoon (2024)
Drug-Addicted Racoon Amok
This is another of the low-budget films that take their inspiration from Cocaine Bear with a drug-addicted raccoon amok. This sits right between bad movie stakes and passable amusement