That doesn’t even touch on the huge studio earners like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, or Alien: Romulus. Yet the surprises extend well beyond how well horror performed at the box office; 2024 horror is defined by the way it refused to stay within its tidy genre bounds.

This is reflected in the way that 2024 horror found new angles to push franchises forward through prequels and sequels, with films like The First Omen finding new ways to expand a franchise through stunning artistry and delicate yet dark subject matter. It’s reflected in new shifts in true crime-inspired thrillers like Red Rooms, a cold, clinical depiction of true crime obsession. Slashers like In a Violent Nature got experimental with a familiar formula to an exciting albeit divisive degree, while Exhuma shook up the tired exorcism horror subgenre.

It’s also a year where horror got deeply personal, featuring no shortage of films framed from a singular perspective, including I Saw the TV Glow or Stopmotion. In short, 2024 pushed the genre forward in exciting ways, introducing new voices while finding fresh fertile ground in even some of the more well-trodden corners of the genre.

Without further ado, here are the top fifteen best horror movies of 2024.

15. Oddity

Writer/Director Damian Mc Carthy‘s sophomore effort feels like a narrative and thematic extension of Caveat.  Aside from the brief return of at least one familiar face and a nightmare bunny, Oddity continues the filmmaker’s exploration of supernatural karma and retribution with offbeat characters and a unique vision for scares. Playing like a whimsical Irish folk tale with expertly crafted scares that send icy shivers down your spine, Oddity relies on pared-back storytelling that lets its horror elements and dual performances from Carolyn Bracken shine. While simple in setup, there’s a more assured tone and polished plotting to Oddity that makes it easy to hope Mc Carthy continues his exploration of this strange, frequently haunting cinematic universe.

14. The Coffee Table

A jaw-dropping inciting event transforms the film into a relentless pressure cooker that never gives its audience a moment to breathe in Caye Casas’s grim dark horror comedy- emphasis on dark. The gallows humor here might warrant a trigger warning for its boundary-pushing horror that serves as the catalyst. The filmmaker mines horror from a freak tragedy to a degree that often leaves those on board with the insanity torn between laughter and edge-of-the-seat suspense. A mundane task turns into an unspeakable nightmare that somehow only escalates the insanity until a doozy of a finale. It’s audacious in plot but even more impressive for the way it shreds your nerves with glee.

13. Woman of the Hour

Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut shakes up the true crime format with this stranger-than-fiction tale of serial killer and rapist Rodney Alcala and his bizarre appearance as a bachelor on the TV game show “The Dating Game.” Screenwriter Ian MacAllister McDonald and Kendrick tell this harrowing story nonlinearly, methodically painting a stark picture of Alcala’s tactics as he targets vulnerable women across the country throughout the ’70s. It’s not horror in the traditional sense, but Kendrick wrings abject terror through nail-biting, suspenseful sequences and one bone-chilling performance by Daniel Zovatto as real-life killer Rodney Alcala. An unsettling killer and centerpiece suspense sequences ensure Kendrick’s debut rattles. But it’s the unwavering empathy for Alcala’s victims and a powerful final gasp that earns this stunner a spot on our list.

12. Stopmotion

Horror is filled with stories exploring the lengths an artist will go to for the sake of their art, but BAFTA-nominated filmmaker/animator Robert Morgan fuses Stopmotion with tactile, squelchy stop-motion animation that sets it apart. The film’s deft blending of live-action and stop-motion animation is utterly captivating, grounded by Aisling Franciosi’s portrayal of a woman coming undone by her ambition. It’s not just the animation that stuns while simultaneously inducing revulsion but the unnerving sound design. Open wounds and puppets alike often come with discomforting, squelching sounds and wet noises that ensure an immersive experience.

11. The Devil’s Bath

The latest from Austrian filmmakers Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala happens to be their most despairing yet, making a powerful show that history is horror sometimes. A grueling depiction of a harsh life in 18th-century Austria, the film follows a dreamer too fragile for this unforgiving world. The Devil’s Bath saturates itself so thoroughly in her misery and psychological distress that it’s difficult not to be affected by Agnes’ plight. It’s a gorgeously made film, shot on 35mm, with an impressive lead performance from Anja Plaschg. The Devil’s Bath isn’t horror in the conventional sense, but Agnes’ journey becomes so despairing that it careens straight into violent, grim horror territory with ease. It’s such an emotional gauntlet that it’s one that you won’t want to revisit anytime soon. 

10. Azrael

The latest from director E.L. Katz (Cheap Thrills) and writer Simon Barrett (The Guest, You’re Next) makes for a fascinating experiment in dialogue-free horror, with a text card establishing the post-Rapture setup behind this apocalyptic horror movie. It’s so devoid of dialogue that modern horror stalwart Samara Weaving can’t even rely on her trademark scream; her character had her voice box severed prior to the film’s events. All of which is to say that Azrael potentially makes for a tough sell on paper. Instead, Katz makes you forget almost entirely that Azrael is devoid of speaking parts. Its nonstop barrage of horror violence gets doled out over the course of 24 hours, making for a gory survival thriller that doesn’t have time to dwell on the story specifics. Weaving’s capable performance and the visceral siege horror ensure this experiment succeeds right up to its memorable final moments.

9. A Quiet Place: Day One

The prequel to 2018’s A Quiet Place merely uses the initial alien invasion that plunges the world into a silent apocalypse as a thrilling backdrop for a soulful, poignant portrait of human connection. A mundane day in New York City gets shattered by a sudden invasion that leaves the city destroyed with a devastating death toll, an easy genre allegory for 9/11, no doubt, but writer/director Michael Sarnoski is more interested in exploring the human triumphs that rise in the face of brutal adversity. Day One ensures the requisite genre thrills and creature feature chase sequences are aplenty, but it’s the tender, unlikely friendship forged between Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn’s characters, along with a scene-stealing cat, that elevate this prequel into something remarkable. It’s the type of deeply stirring storytelling that makes you want a hug and a slice of pizza. Most of all, following a woman determined to meet life and death on her terms fills you with hope.

8. Infested

Director Sébastien Vaniček delivered a shot of adrenaline with his feature debut, ensuring that spiders haven’t lost their touch when it comes to inducing paralyzing fear, even in those not prone to arachnophobia. The simple setup that sees a rare venomous spider loose in a ramshackle apartment building, free to breed and wreak lethal destruction, becomes anything but thanks to class commentary and a terrifying escalation of horror. Vaniček keeps his characters and their conflicts grounded in realism, letting him cut loose with the increasingly intense spider horror. It’s not just that Infested employs real spiders for many of the close, squirmy encounters with the eight-legged beasts, but the filmmaker wrings extreme tension even from the quiet moments. Infested isn’t afraid to kill its characters in excruciating ways, either, making it easy to see why Vaniček was immediately snatched up to helm an upcoming Evil Dead movie.

7. I Saw the TV Glow

A deeply personal examination of identity and dysphoria told with a singular vision. Few films match the striking imagery found within writer/director Jane Schoenbrun’s latest, genre or otherwise. I Saw the TV Glow captures the viscerally jarring, existential horror of ignoring all warnings until you no longer recognize yourself, framed around two outcasts who bond over a ’90s tv show. It’s that specificity and dreamlike vision that mines horror from a relatable touchstone of youth– a period where we often form our identities based on our pop culture obsessions and cling to them like lifeboats in tempestuous waters. It’s a somber, meditative allegory that emotionally devastates, even as its potent visuals cast a haunting spell. More than just an assured piece of arthouse horror surrealism, it’s a stunning and bittersweet cautionary tale to be true to yourself.

6. The First Omen

Richard Donner’s 1976 horror classic centered around the Antichrist spawned three sequels, a 2006 remake, and a direct sequel TV series to diminishing results. When a prequel to the original film was announced, it’s not surprising that it didn’t exactly set the internet on fire; The Omen laid out the details behind Damien Thorn’s birth well enough, after all. What sounded like a typical, uninspired cash grab to extend the life of a fairly dormant horror franchise transformed into a compelling surprise in the hands of director Arkasha Stevenson. Stevenson helms her feature debut with impressive confidence, delivering an exquisitely crafted piece of horror that lends a tactile quality and atmosphere with a piercing score from Mark Korven that also serves a narrative purpose. It’s a breathtaking film befitting of its period setting, anchored by star Nell Tiger Free’s audacious performance. The First Omen finds inventive ways to breathe new life into the franchise while operating within the confines of established IP lore, shifting its focus to bodily autonomy while pushing boundaries with bold subject matter and shocking horror imagery. 

5. Smile 2

As someone who found Smile a solid film bogged down by its familiar horror influences, Smile 2 caught me off guard. In true sequel fashion, the scale is expanded, and the scares are far more visceral and violent this round. But writer/director Parker Finn’s exponential growth between films is what really excites about this sequel; this filmmaker has only honed his scare-crafting chops to the sharpest of edges and is having a blast doing it. This is a filmmaker with mounting confidence, and Finn finds no shortage of ways to keep the lengthy runtime moving at a rapid clip without ever diminishing the oppressive, inescapable horror and tension it yields. It certainly helps that Naomi Scott delivers a career-defining performance, tackling so many layers of her character’s traumas with seemingly effortless ease.  It’s not just the sequel’s razor-sharp and inventive, gory scares that surpass its predecessor, but a profoundly complicated heroine shaping the edgier style of horror.

4. Exhuma

Exorcism horror, for the most part, remains beholden to tired tropes and outdated ideas on faith and religion that make it a tough sell these days. One surefire way to break from convention is by framing exorcisms through a different cultural lens. Writer/Director Jae-hyun Jang (Svaha: The Sixth Finger, The Priests) combines introspective cultural and historical themes with creepy, atmospheric horror told through a yin-and-yang style narrative structure. Exhuma uses a cursed grave to unleash supernatural terror and a potent folkloric examination of the dark history between Japan and Korea. The two distinct story halves highlight the stark contrast between cultures, modern society, and ancient customs without sacrificing the genre’s fun or scares in the process. It’s the type of horror movie that brings cultural depth and worldbuilding while featuring a behemoth samurai oni rampaging through a pig farm. This isn’t your typical exorcism horror movie; its gonzo physical manifestation of past historical trauma makes for one of the year’s biggest horror surprises.

3. Longlegs

It’s safe to say that few films captured the curiosity and attention of audiences this year quite like Oz Perkins’ latest, thanks to the enigmatic marketing behind it. The refusal to reveal much at all ahead of the film’s release also extends to Longlegs’ storytelling, which keeps things close to the vest as it centers on young FBI recruit Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) and her bid to uncover the identity of an elusive serial killer. Longlegs injects a true crime story with putrid Satanism and refuses to handhold, serving as a visceral rebuttal to society’s compulsive need to find logic in the most heinous of crimes. Nicolas Cage’s minimal screentime, combined with his shocking transformation as the eponymous killer, only fuels the film’s elusive, existentially horrifying quality. But it’s the way that evil is a constant, voyeuristic presence in Longlegs that unnerves most; a beastly Satan watches on from nearly every shadowed corner throughout. Yet, as foreboding and palpably evil as Longlegs is, it’s not without a sense of humor. It makes for Perkins’ most accessible horror film yet as well as his most downright unsettling. 

2. The Substance

There’s something remarkable about the way that writer/director Coralie Fargeat’s latest somehow surpasses her debut film Revenge in terms of gory carnage while racking up the accolades, garnering award nominations and a spot on the Oscars shortlist. Fargeat can barely contain her venom as she lambasts Hollywood’s unrealistic beauty standards that fester and, in turn, create vicious cycles of self-loathing. Yet it’s not without humor; there’s an almost whimsy to the insanity that plunges Demi Moore’s Elisabeth Sparkle into a destructive pattern of monstrous body horror in her attempts to stave off aging and forced retirement. The Substance exists in a heightened sense of reality that’s as hypnotic as off-putting, with a protracted finale that unleashes buckets of flesh and gore in Grand Guignol fashion, the precise type of gooey climax that would make Brian Yuzna proud. Fargeat helms with assured confidence, delivering a tactile visual feast for the senses and creating one of the year’s sharpest, most wickedly entertaining entries in horror. 

1. Nosferatu

There’s not a single facet of Nosferatu that doesn’t impress for the sheer artistry on display. Night scenes in Robert Eggers’ macabre masterpiece are re-envisioned as monochromatic nightmares, evocative of black and white gothic horror classics like F.W. Murnau’s seminal vampire tale. Craig Lathrop’s exquisite production design whisks audiences on a tactile, immersive journey filled with dread-inducing decrepit castles, a city torn asunder by plague, gypsy camps, and beyond. Robin Carolan’s triumphant score, combined with Damian Volpe’s unsettling sound design, ensures the twisted love triangle at the heart of this gothic horror movie repulses and delights in equal measure. Bill Skarsgård’s unrecognizable transformation as Count Orlok startles, but it’s Lily-Rose Depp’s mesmeric performance as Ellen, the outcast trapped on society’s margins and forced to become both victim and hero, that stuns. Productions on this scale are rare in horror, and Nosferatu is operatic and dramatic, bold and revolting, with a powerful final shot for the ages.

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This summer’s only getting warmed up for horror releases, with some of the year’s most anticipated titles on the immediate horizon. MaXXXine and Longlegs are just around the corner, with Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus soon to follow. Here’s hoping that means horror is only gaining momentum for the back half of 2024.

As a refresher and to ensure great movies don’t fall through the cracks, here are the ten best horror movies released in the first half of 2024.

Abigail

“Sammy, those are f*cking onions.” It’s the cast and their memorable characters that set this heist-turned-vampire movie apart, making for one highly entertaining horror-comedy with no shortage of comedic one-liners, character gags, and buckets of blood. Abigail just wants you to have a good time seeing its unlucky criminals in over their heads in increasingly deranged and violent ways. With an insane commitment to arterial spray, Abigail winds up another crowd-pleaser from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Come for the gore, but be prepared to fall head over heels for an ensemble filled with scene-stealers. It’s a blast.

What You Wish For

Writer/Director Nicholas Tomnay concocts an intense, darkly funny pressure cooker scenario for a chef in over his head. Nick Stahl stars as the weary hotel kitchen cook who finds himself thinking on his feet as he’s repeatedly forced into unthinkable scenarios. It’s a culinary thriller with a distinct horror bent, the reveal of which can likely be surmised, but I won’t spoil it here. Tomnay keeps the pressure applied at a steady clip, building the tension to occasion nerve-fraying results. Stahl’s understated performance lends well to Tomnay’s pitch-black humor and Hitchcockian approach, creating an enticing, elegant dinner party turned horrifically and comically awry in suspenseful ways.

The Devil’s Bath

The latest from Austrian filmmakers Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala happens to be their most despairing yet, mining period horror from history. It’s an affecting yet grueling depiction of life in 18th-century Austria, immersive in the way it creates profound, methodical empathy for a tender-hearted woman trapped by isolation. That the horror stems from grim reality and historical accounts leaves no room for levity or escapism; it’s two hours of escalating suffering, building toward a horrific finale that packs a potent, somber punch. The Devil’s Bath saturates itself so thoroughly in misery and psychological distress that it’s difficult not to be affected by Agnes’ plight. It’s a gorgeously made film, shot on 35mm, with an impressive lead performance from Anja Plaschg. But it’s such an emotional gauntlet that it’s one that you won’t want to revisit anytime soon. 

A Quiet Place: Day One

It’s difficult not to draw parallels to 9/11 in writer/director Michael Sarnoski’s soulful A Quiet Place: Day One. A mundane day in New York City gets shattered by a sudden invasion that leaves the city destroyed with a devastating death toll, but Sarnoski is more interested in exploring the human triumphs that rise in the face of brutal adversity. Sarnoski delivers plenty of creature feature intensity and breathless suspense, but it’s used more as a backdrop for a deeply affecting drama of human connection and compassion. Day One doesn’t bother to explain anything in the way of the alien invasion, and it doesn’t need to. What’s important is the small details and nuance of its characters, and Day One is rich on both fronts. It’s deeper, more meditative, and more effective than its predecessors, led by powerhouse performances from Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn.

Infested

Director Sébastien Vaniček has been set to helm the next Evil Dead movie, and it’s easy to see why with his feature debut. It’s not just that Infested employs real spiders for many of the skin-crawling horror moments that make it so effective, though that certainly is a factor. Or in the way the spiders’ venom inflicts a painful, grotesque demise. It’s in the constant escalation of the horror and the way Vaniček captures the arachnids on screen. It’s also in the lived-in world and its characters, earning easy emotional investment and rooting interest. That authenticity, the high octane energy, and the constant rise and fall of palpable tension as the spiders skitter about and wreak devastation are enough to leave viewers curling into the fetal position. 

Stopmotion

Art and storytelling collide in breathtaking yet revolting fashion in the feature directorial debut by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker/animator Robert Morgan. The filmmaker and stop-motion animator finds inventive and creative ways to mine visceral horror through the uncanny, unsettling nature of stop-motion animation and its painstaking process. The film’s deft blending of mediums is utterly captivating, including the way the filmmaker imbues his stop-motion creations with a tactile quality. It’s not just the animation that stuns while simultaneously inducing revulsion but the unnerving sound design. Open wounds and puppets alike often come with discomforting, squelching sounds and wet noises that ensure an immersive experience. An artist’s unraveling isn’t new, but Morgan’s approach is refreshing, stylish, and oh-so squelchy.

The Coffee Table

Horror fans looking to test their mettle should take note of director Caye Casas’s grim shocker, one so dark that it should likely come with a trigger warning. A jaw-dropping inciting event transforms the film into a relentless pressure cooker that never eases up for a minute. One that Casas intercuts with pitch-black humor that only heightens the macabre madness. The filmmaker mines horror from a freak tragedy to a degree that often leaves you torn between laughter and edge-of-your-seat suspense. But more impressive is the way that Casas fearlessly shatters at least one sacred cinematic taboo for a twisted laugh. It’s audacious in plot but even more impressive for the way it shreds your nerves with glee.

I Saw the TV Glow

Writer/Director Jane Schoenbrun delivers a singular vision of arthouse horror that entrances with its fevered dream style and insanely cool imagery. Armed with a bigger A24 budget allows the filmmaker to get even more personal while evolving their voice and visual style to an intoxicating degree. It not only creates a specificity for Schoenbrun’s deeply personal examination but a relatable touchstone of youth– a period where we often form our identities based on our pop culture obsessions and cling to them like lifeboats in tempestuous waters. I Saw the TV Glow offers a layered and authentic portrait of identity and dysphoria, wrapped in ’90s nostalgia and surreal imagery that embeds itself deep into your psyche. More than just an assured piece of arthouse horror surrealism, it’s a stunning and bittersweet reminder that you’re not alone, fictional friends or otherwise. 

Exhuma

Writer/Director Jae-hyun Jang (Svaha: The Sixth Finger, The Priests) combines introspective cultural and historical themes with creepy, gory, and atmospheric horror thrills in an exciting way, making it easy to see why it’s become a runaway box office hit in Asia. Anchored by four “ghostbusters“ of sorts, with charismatic actors behind them, Exhuma uses a cursed grave to unleash supernatural terror and a potent folkloric examination of the dark history between Japan and Korea. The narrative structure highlights the stark contrast between cultures, modern society, and ancient customs without sacrificing the genre’s fun or scares in the process. Jae-hyun Jang balances grim, sometimes bloody folkloric terror with levity and heart. Exhuma offers just about everything, including possession, ghost-induced scares, and a physical manifestation of past historical trauma in the most gonzo way. It’s one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror.

The First Omen

Director Arkasha Stevenson doesn’t just helm a prequel worthy of Richard Donner’s 1976 horror classic but establishes herself as a bold new voice in horror with this stunning feature debut. The subject matter is dark, but it’s handled with elegance and care without sacrificing the horror. It’s helped by chill-inducing imagery and smart horror influences, including Jacob’s Ladder and Possession. Stevenson helms with confidence, delivering an exquisitely crafted piece of horror that lends a tactile quality and atmosphere with a piercing score from Mark Korven that also serves a narrative purpose. The film’s strongest asset, of course, is star Nell Tiger Free, who fully commits to every stage of her character’s evolution, turning in a breathless physical performance that stuns on more than one occasion. 

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Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, and Chucky. This year? Alien.

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Available now on Shudder, Infested follows Kaleb (Théo Christine), a lonely 30 year old who’s estranged from his best friend and at odds with his sister over their crumbling apartment. His dreams of opening a reptile zoo get drastically thwarted when he brings home an illegally acquired desert spider, one that happens to be gravid, and it gets loose. One hatched egg sac gives way to hundreds more, plunging the apartment building into a visceral arachnophobic nightmare.

It’s not just that Infested employs real spiders for many of the skin-crawling horror moments that make it so effective, though that certainly is a factor. Or in the way the spiders’ venom inflicts a painful, grotesque demise. It’s in the constant escalation of the horror and the way Vaniček captures the arachnids on screen. These eight-legged terrors may not exist in the real world, thankfully, but the movements look authentic enough to make you squirm. That authenticity, the high octane energy, and the constant rise and fall of palpable tension as the spiders skitter about and wreak devastation are enough to leave viewers curling into the fetal position.

While Infested offers no shortage of arachnophobia-inducing moments, from tiny shoebox origins to giant garage encounters, we’re counting down six of the most skin-crawling moments of spider terror. Warning: some plot and death spoilers ahead…

6. Shoe Babies

Poor Toumani (Ike Zacsongo). He finally gets a shiny new pair of coveted sneakers after wearing his to the point of falling apart, only to get bit by a spider when he tries them on. It’s a move straight out of Arachnophobia. Director Sébastien Vanicek draws out the tension in this unsettling scene; the audience knows there’s a spider somewhere in that box as Toumani struggles with the light switch (hell, foreshadowing) before finally giving up to test his new kicks on the stairwell. That his sweet canine companion is with him heightens the suspense as we wait for the metaphorical shoe to drop. Vanicek doesn’t give his audience a reprieve when Toumani smashes the culprit behind his bite, though. A second look inside the shoe reveals the spider had a host of small babies that skittered across Toumani and inflicted even more spider trauma.

5. Air Duct Infestation

Madame Zhao (Xing Xing Cheng) is introduced as the tough building custodian who tirelessly works to get the crumbling building in order, which is no easy task. That makes her one of the first to notice the infestation as she carefully picks up a smashed spider and arms herself with bug spray, and she notices telltale signs of webbing. Zhao uses caution when handling the carcass and even more when attempting to clear the vents with her spray. In a normal world, the pesky spider problem would’ve been handled or at least slowed until professionals could show up. But this isn’t a normal spider situation and the moment Zhao pokes her head up into the vent to check the aftermath, she’s face hugged by a venomous arachnid. Vanicek ensures this terrifying moment comes with maximum suspense. We know what’s going to happen, and that makes it all the more excruciating to watch.

4. Never Put Your Face in a Spider Hole

Vanicek paints a visceral picture of what happens when you put your face in a spider hole in the film’s opening sequence. That brutal lesson lingers as Infested unfurls one of the most intense spider invasions on film in a long while. Seeing the consequences of an illegal trapper getting face hugged in the intro makes what happens to Moussa (Mahamadou Sangaré) all the more skin-crawling. His attempt to squash a giant spider lurking on his bedroom wall creates a hold in the wall, and Vanicek again slows time to an unbearable degree to let Moussa discover the hard way why some dark crevices, holes, and hidden spaces are better left alone.

3. Prime Time TV Watching

When the infestation has fully taken root, and the dire situation has convinced the protagonists to finally flee, Kaleb insists they also attempt to save the long-term residents that were there for him and Manon (Lisa Nyarko) when their mom died. It heralds a harrowing montage that demonstrates the physical and emotional devastation the spiders are causing. Most unsettling of which highlights the fate of Claudia (Marie-Philomène Nga), a parental figure to the siblings. Kaleb and Mathys (Jérôme Niel) enter her dimly lit apartment and find her seated in front of the TV. Though she appears to be sleeping peacefully, Vanicek terrifies with the sudden burst of spiders from the back of Claudia’s head. A quick shot later reveals that Claudia was infested from the inside out, and the image is pure nightmare fuel.

2. Bathroom Attack

Lila (Sofia Lesaffre) is deeply arachnophobic, so she understandably freaks out when she spots a giant spider while she’s using the bathroom. She screams for her boyfriend, Jordy (Finnegan Oldfield), to rescue her, who gallantly brings a glass to collect it. Of course, it doesn’t go well. Jordy eventually gives up and smashes it, scattering the babies on its back everywhere, just in time for dozens more to bubble up from the shower drain. Vanicek dials up the intensity of this scene from the start by showing the audience that there are far more spiders lurking about than an oblivious Lila knows. Keeping her in the dark lends unpredictability, but the anxious screaming from everyone, including nervous friends in the hall, only increases the stress of the unexpected attack. The constant misdirection and frenetic camerawork ensure this sequence gets your heart pumping out of fear.

1. Bad Timing in the Webbed Corridor

Early foreshadowing made it clear that the building’s broken timer on a crucial light switch would become a problem later. And boy does it. When the protagonists come upon it in their bid to escape, they find it now transformed into a webbed tunnel filled with an obscene amount of venomous spiders. The only path forward is through it, but the faulty timer leaves them vulnerable to death when the lights go out. Naturally, Vanicek wrings as much dread from this scenario as possible, leaving Manon (Lisa Nyarko) very nearly caught. The group hits a dead end, forcing them right back into the webbed corridor, which leads to one of the film’s most emotionally painful scenes. Everything about this particular hallway is a skin-crawling nightmare, from the close brushes with spider bites to the dizzying way Vanicek captures the sheer scale of the infestation within this hall alone. 

Infested is now streaming on Shudder.

The post The 6 Most Skin-Crawling Moments in Shudder’s Spider Horror Nightmare ‘Infested’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

30-year-old Kaleb (Théo Christine) is a small-time grifter with a passion for small critters. His hopes of opening a reptile zoo with his friend Jordy (Finnegan Oldfield) were squashed years ago when an argument drove the two friends apart. Kaleb makes up for his lost dream by lining the walls of his room with vivariums filled with creepy-crawlies. He purchases an exotic spider for sale in the back office of his friend’s shop, not knowing that it is extremely aggressive and venomous. Shortly after bringing it home, the spider escapes. Kaleb barricades his room in the hopes of containing it, intending to look for it later, but the photosensitive arachnid has a mind of its own and quickly wreaks havoc in the building

Make no mistake: this isn’t just one spider loosed in an apartment complex. This spider, lovingly named Rihanna by Kaleb, mates rapidly (the timeline for the film is a day, maybe two), and its offspring grow to 10 times the size of their parents. This happens multiple times over the course of the film, ensuring that the stakes escalate rapidly and adds more variety to the set pieces. One particular sequence sees our characters forced to slowly make their way to the end of a dark hallway lined with spiders before the timer on the light switch runs out and its easily the highlight of the film.

A big fear walking into Infested was that it was going to be chock-full of CGI spiders (the days of Arachnophobia are long gone). Thankfully, Vaniček and his team have employed practical spiders when they are able, using CGI to enhance the scenes that involve hordes of them. In the early stages of the takeover, Vaniček and cinematographer Alexandre Jamin keep the spiders out of focus in the background behind unsuspecting characters, masking what could presumably be dodgy effects work. The really big spiders that populate the third act are fully computer-generated and look the most cartoonish, especially when seen under bright light, but a plot point that sees the local authorities shut off the power to the building ensures that the more lackluster effects are hidden behind dim lighting.

Vaniček and his co-writer Florent Bernard keep things moving at a brisk pace, but falter in the climax, where they try to cram in a few too many emotional resolutions between characters. Add in a dash of ACAB social commentary, and the film nearly buckles under the pressure of everything it’s trying to do. That this is all happening in a climactic parking garage face-off against the spiders leaves little room for any of it to resonate. It’s not a movie-killer, but it does detract from the experience. More successful are the early, if brief, glimpses into the lives of the tenants, whose early sense of community quickly turns sour once the arachnids begin to take over.

Infested may not fully stick the landing when it comes to the emotional beats, but the journey there is more than worth the watch. Full of moments that will get under your skin (I kicked my legs up more than a few times in my screening), Vaniček has crafted what is possibly the best “when spiders attack” movie in over 30 years, and that is no small feat. Infested, for lack of a better phrase, has plenty of bite.

Infested is now streaming on Shudder.

Editor’s Note: This Fantastic Fest review was originally published on September 24, 2023.

The post ‘Infested’ Review – One of the Best Spiders Attack Horror Movies in Years appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Infested will induce a new wave of arachnophobia this week; the spider horror film arrives on Shudder on April 26, 2024.

If you’re brave enough to face your fears, watch the new clip below to get a feel for the unrelenting wave of spiders that the characters (and the audience) will face in the film.

In the film, “An underprivileged suburb has been thrown into chaos following an invasion of venomous spiders. Ordered to be placed in quarantine, the project sees inhabitants living on lockdown alongside terrifying spiders that are becoming bigger and bigger.

“The story revolves around Kaleb, who’s about to turn 30 and has never been lonelier. He’s fighting with his sister over a matter of inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend.

“Passionate about exotic animals, he comes home one day with a venomous spider and accidentally lets it slip away.”

Théo Christine (“Suprêmes”), Finnegan Oldfield (“Final Cut”), Jérôme Niel (“Smoking Causes Coughing”), Sofia Lesaffre (“Les Misérables”) and Lisa Nyarko star.

Florent Bernard co-wrote the script.

In his review out of Fantastic Fest last year, Bloody Disgusting’s Trace Thurman raved that Infested (aka Vermines) is “one of the best spider attack movies in years,” noting in his 4-star review that the creature feature uses practical spiders – REAL SPIDERS – as much as possible. Thurman also wrote that the spider horror movie is “full of moments that will get under your skin (I kicked my legs up more than a few times in my screening).”

The spiders will be everywhere in Infested, are you ready?

The post New ‘Infested’ Exclusive Clip Will Make You Intensely Afraid of Bathroom Drains appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Here’s all the new horror releasing April 22, 2024 – April 28, 2024!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

First up we have a TV series rather than a movie, but we wanted to remind you that Prime Video’s “Them: The Scare,” the second season of the anthology series, premieres on April 25.

The first season of “Them” (now retroactively dubbed “Covenant”) debuted back in 2021, and this second installment of the anthology series will consist of eight episodes.

“Them: The Scare” will once again be set in Los Angeles…

The story centers on LAPD Homicide Detective Dawn Reeve, who is assigned to a new case: the gruesome murder of a foster home mother that has left even the most hardened detectives shaken. Navigating a tumultuous time in Los Angeles, with a city on the razor’s edge of chaos, Dawn is determined to stop the killer.

But as she draws closer to the truth, something malevolent grips her and her family.

The series cast includes Deborah Ayorinde as “Detective Dawn Reeve,” Pam Grier as “Athena,” and Grammy-nominated musician and actor Luke James as “Edmund Gaines.”

The daughter of horror master David Cronenberg, Caitlin Cronenberg is making her own mark in the genre filmmaking space with Humane, only in theaters on Friday, April 26.

The film is described as “a dystopian satire taking place over a single day, months after a global ecological collapse has forced world leaders to take extreme measures to reduce the earth’s population.”

“In a wealthy enclave, a recently retired newsman has invited his grown children to dinner to announce his intentions to enlist in the nation’s new euthanasia program. But when the father’s plan goes horribly awry, tensions flare and chaos erupts among his children.”

Jay Baruchel (This Is The End), Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek), Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie), Sebastian Chacon (Emergency), Alanna Bale (Sort Of, Cardinal) and Sirena Gulamgaus (Transplant) star in Caitlin Cronenberg’s Humane.

Sébastien Vaniček has been hired to direct the next installment in the Evil Dead film franchise, but first we need to experience the film that landed him the hot directing gig in the first place. It’s a spider horror movie titled Infested (Vermines), and it hits Shudder on April 26.

Watch the creepy, crawly trailer for Infested below, which looks a bit like Evil Dead Rise… with spiders. It’s already easy to see why Vaniček was chosen to direct an Evil Dead movie!

In the horror film, “Kaleb is about to turn 30 and has never been lonelier. He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

Théo Christine (“Suprêmes”), Finnegan Oldfield (“Final Cut”), Jérôme Niel (“Smoking Causes Coughing”), Sofia Lesaffre (“Les Misérables”) and Lisa Nyarko star.

Described as a heart pounding thriller set in the future, Jennifer Hudson and Milla Jovovich lead the cast of Breathe, coming to theaters and Digital on Friday, April 26.

In the film, “After Earth is left uninhabitable due to lack of oxygen, a mother Maya (Hudson) and her daughter Zora (Wallis) are forced to live underground, with short trips to the surface only made possible by a coveted state of the art oxygen suit made by Maya’s husband, Darius, whom she presumes to be dead. When a mysterious couple arrives claiming to know Darius and his fate, Maya tentatively agrees to let them into their bunker but these visitors are not who they claim to be ensuing in mother and daughter fighting for survival.”

Stefon Bristol directed Breathe, written by Doug Simon. The impressive cast also includes Quvenzhané Wallis and Raúl Castillo with Common and Sam Worthington.

Bill Skarsgård takes on the role of a deaf-mute action hero in Boy Kills World, a one-of-a-kind action spectacle set in a dystopian fever dream reality. The film comes from producers Sam Raimi and Roy Lee, and while not a horror movie, it’s a violent thriller all the same. Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions will release Boy Kills World into theaters this Friday.

Moritz Mohr directed Boy Kills World, which was written by Arend Remmers (Sløborn) and Tyler Burton Smith (Kung Fury: The Movie).

In Boy Kills World, “Boy (Bill Skarsgård) is a deaf-mute with a vibrant imagination. When his family is murdered, Boy escapes to the jungle and is trained by a mysterious shaman to repress his childish imagination and become an instrument of death.”

The cast also includes Happy Death Day star Jessica Rothe, Yayan Ruhian (John Wick 3, The Raid: Redemption), Andrew Koji (Warrior, Snake Eyes), Isaiah Mustafa (It: Chapter Two), Famke Janssen (The Postcard Killings), Sharlto Copley (District 9), Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”), Brett Gelman (Stranger Things), Quinn Copeland (Peacock’s Punky Brewster), and twins Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti (Big Little Lies).

Indonesian filmmaker Kimo Stamboel (Macabre, Headshot, The Queen of Black Magic) is back with MD Pictures’ Badarawuhi Di Desa Penari (aka Dancing Village: The Curse Begins), a prequel to the Indonesian hit movie KKN Curse Of The Dancing Village.

Lionsgate releases Dancing Village: The Curse Begins in select theaters on April 26.

In the horror prequel, “a shaman instructs Mila to return a mystical bracelet, the Kawaturih, to the ‘Dancing Village,’ a remote site on the easternmost tip of Java Island. Joined by her cousin, Yuda, and his friends Jito and Arya, Mila arrives on the island only to discover that the village elder has passed away, and that the new guardian, Mbah Buyut, isn’t present. Various strange and eerie events occur while awaiting Mbah Buyut’s return, including Mila being visited by Badarawuhi, a mysterious, mythical being who rules the village.

“When she decides to return the Kawaturih without the help of Mgah Buyut, Mila threatens the village’s safety, and she must join a ritual to select the new ‘Dawuh,’ a cursed soul forced to dance for the rest of her life.”

Aulia Sarah, Maudy Effrosina, Jourdy Pranata, Moh. Iqbal Sulaiman, Ardit Erwandha, Claresta Taufan, Diding Boneng, Aming Sugandhi, Dinda Kanyadewi, Pipien Putri, Maryam Supraba, Bimasena, Putri Permata, Baiq Vania Estiningtyas Sagita, and Baiq Nathania Elvaretta star.

KKN Curse Of The Dancing Village was the highest grossing film in Indonesian box office history when initially released in 2022. Its prequel is the first film made for IMAX movie ever produced in Southeast Asia and in 2024, it will be one of only five films made for IMAX productions worldwide.

While you wait for Cinderella’s Curse, another Cinderella-based horror movie is beating that movie to the punch. It’s titled Cinderella’s Revenge, coming to theaters April 26.

The Wrap recently reported, “The film stars Lauren Staerck as the famed young lady who finds freedom from her wicked stepmother with the help of her fairy godmother. Only this time, instead of sending her to a ball to find her prince, the godmother (Natasha Henstridge) helps Cinderella unleash a plan of bloody vengeance.”

Stephanie Lodge, Beatrice Fletcher, Megan Purvis and Darrell Griggs also star.

“I’m so excited for audiences to see this newly imagined horror version of Cinderella in theaters. The picture is scary and fun at the same time,” said producer Mark L. Lester.

In the wake of her return in last year’s box office hit Saw X, horror icon Shawnee Smith is back in Vertical’s horror movie Bloodline Killer, hitting select theaters & VOD on April 26.

Directed by Ante Novakovic, Bloodline Killer is being described by Vertical as “a terrifying horror-thriller that follows Moira Cole who endeavors to rebuild her shattered life after the murder of her family at the hands of her deranged and obsessed cousin.”

The cast also includes Taryn Manning, Drew Moerlein, James Gaudioso, Montanna Gillis, Kresh Novakovic, Adam Shippey, Anthony Gaudioso with Bruce Dern and Tyrese Gibson.

Tubi has been ramping up their Tubi Original horror movies in the last several months, and the latest one is headed to the streaming service on Friday. It’s titled This Never Happened.

In the film from director Ted Campbell, “While staying at her boyfriend’s childhood home with him and his friends, a young woman experiences terrifying visions of a violent spirit.”

María José De La Cruz, Javier Dulzaides, Conny Cambambia, Juana Serrano, and Gonzalo Zulueta star in the Tubi Original movie. You can watch the trailer down below.

The post 8 New Horror Movies Releasing This Week Including Spider Nightmare ‘Infested’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

We’re here today to talk about Spring 2024 and the many horrors we still have left before the weather gets warmer and we find ourselves in the heat of one hell of a spooky summer.

Here are 12 horror movies you don’t want to miss in Spring 2024!

STING – April 12

Two words: SPIDER HORROR. Writer/Director Kiah Roache-Turner (Wyrmwood) hopes to induce eight-legged terror with his brand new horror movie Sting, only in theaters April 12.

Of particular note, Sting features practical spider effects from 5-time Academy Award Winner Weta Workshop, with the spider in this one inspired by H.R. Giger’s Xenomorph!

In Sting, “One cold, stormy night in New York City, a mysterious object falls from the sky and smashes through the window of a rundown apartment building. It is an egg, and from this egg emerges a strange little spider. The creature is discovered by Charlotte, a rebellious 12-year-old girl obsessed with comic books. Keeping it as a secret pet, she names it Sting.

“But as Charlotte’s fascination with Sting increases, so does its size. Growing at a monstrous rate, Sting’s appetite for blood becomes insatiable.”

BLACKOUT – APRIL 12

Indie darling Larry Fessenden is back with new horror movie Blackout this Spring, Fessenden’s third movie – following Habit and Depraved – to put his own spin on classic monsters.

While Habit was centered on vampires and Depraved was a fresh take on Frankenstein’s Monster, Larry Fessenden’s Blackout is the filmmaker’s contribution to werewolf cinema.

The film follows Charley, an artist whose drinking binges blur with his sneaking suspicion that he might be a werewolf. He distances himself from those he loves and sinks deeper into solitude, his flashes of memory of his nighttime grisly acts manifested through his artwork.

ARCADIAN – APRIL 12

If Nicolas Cage is covered in blood, you better believe we’re going to be watching. Cage gets his own A Quiet Place with Arcadian, a new creature feature coming to theaters April 12.

In Arcadian, which also comes to Shudder later this year, “After a catastrophic event depopulates the world, a father (Nicolas Cage) and his two sons must survive their dystopian environment while being threatened by mysterious creatures that emerge at night.”

Jaeden Martell (IT 2017) also stars in the post apocalyptic monster movie.

ABIGAIL – APRIL 19

If you’re bummed about Melissa Barrera being fired from the Scream franchise, you’ll definitely want to get out to your local theater this month to support Abigail, the new VAMPIRE BALLERINA horror movie from Scream and Scream VI directors Radio Silence.

Barrera stars alongside fellow horror favorite Kathryn Newton (Freaky) in Abigail, which is actually the latest horror movie in Universal’s relaunched Universal Monsters Universe.

In the film, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL – APRIL 19

One of the most talked about horror movies of Spring 2024 has been the Halloween 1977-set Late Night With the Devil, which has been playing in theaters since its premiere on March 22.

Late Night with the Devil will begin streaming at home on April 19, 2024, less than one month after arriving in theaters. Shudder will be the exclusive streaming home of the movie.

David Dastmalchian (Dune, The Suicide Squad) stars as the host of a late-night talk show that descends into a nightmare in Late Night with the Devil, set on Halloween 1977.

In the found footage-style film that captures a period aesthetic, “A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.”

INFESTED – APRIL 26

Spring 2024 is all about SPIDERS – sorry, arachnophobes! – with the previously mentioned Sting being followed by the French creature feature Infested (Vermines) later this month.

What’s particularly exciting about Infested is that its director, Sébastien Vaniček, has been hired to direct the next installment in the Evil Dead film franchise, so this will be our first taste of what Vaniček is capable of within the genre. And the buzz for this one is strong.

In his review out of Fantastic Fest last year, for starters, Bloody Disgusting’s own critic Trace Thurman raved that Infested is “one of the best spider attack movies in years.”

In the upcoming horror film, “Fascinated by exotic animals, Kaleb finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap.”

HUMANE – APRIL 26

The daughter of horror master David Cronenberg, Caitlin Cronenberg is making her own mark in the genre filmmaking space with IFC Films’ Humane, coming to theaters this month.

The film is described as “a dystopian satire taking place over a single day, months after a global ecological collapse has forced world leaders to reduce the earth’s population.”

The wild premise? 20% of the world’s population must VOLUNTEER TO DIE!

“In a wealthy enclave, a recently retired newsman has invited his grown children to dinner to announce his intentions to enlist in the nation’s new euthanasia program. But when the father’s plan goes horribly awry, tensions flare and chaos erupts among his children.”

I SAW THE TV GLOW – MAY 3

Fresh off the haunting and singularly creepy indie We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, Jane Schoenbrun is back with A24‘s I Saw the TV Glow, releasing only in theaters this May.

Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review for BD, “I Saw the TV Glow offers a layered and authentic portrait of identity, wrapped in ’90s nostalgia and surreal imagery that embeds itself deep into your psyche.” Meagan continues, “Schoenbrun delivers a singular vision of arthouse horror that entrances for its fevered dream style and insanely cool imagery.”

In A24’s latest, “Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.”

TAROT – MAY 3

Originally titled Horrorscope, a much better title if you’re asking me, Screen Gems returns to the big screen with studio horror movie Tarot this Spring, a Tarot-card themed spookshow.

When a group of friends recklessly violates the sacred rule of Tarot readings – never use someone else’s deck – they unknowingly unleash an unspeakable evil trapped within the cursed cards in the upcoming Screen Gems horror movie Tarot. One by one, they come face to face with fate and end up in a race against death to escape the future foretold in their readings.

The hook for this one? Artist Trevor Henderson designed the film’s eight monsters!

THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 – MAY 17

Bryan Bertino’s 2008 home invasion classic The Strangers spawns a brand new reboot trilogy this year, with first film The Strangers: Chapter 1 kicking things off in theaters on May 17.

The Strangers: Chapter 2 is expected to follow in Fall 2024.

Madelaine Petsch is the lead of the new reboot trilogy, playing a character who drives cross-country with her longtime boyfriend to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest.

When their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon, they’re forced to spend the night in a secluded Airbnb, where they are terrorized from dusk till dawn by three masked strangers.

IN A VIOLENT NATURE – MAY 31

Slasher fans who have been hungry for a new Friday the 13th movie won’t want to miss In a Violent Nature, which plays out like a Friday movie… entirely from Jason’s perspective!

IFC Films will release In a Violent Nature exclusively in theaters on May 31.

In the film, “When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year old crime, his body is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it. The undead golem hones in on the group of vacationing teens responsible for the theft and proceeds to methodically slaughter them one by one in his mission to get it back – along with anyone in his way.”

Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review for Bloody Disgusting, “In a Violent Nature may offer slasher thrills and a delightfully gory rampage across the wilderness, but the approach captures the carnage through ambient realism. It results in a fascinating arthouse horror experiment that plays more like a minimalist slice-of-life feature with a grim twist.”

THE WATCHERS – JUNE 14

M. Night Shyamalan returns with the new thriller Trap this coming August, but the road to that film’s release will be paved by the feature debut of his daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan.

Ishana Night directed The Watchers, in theaters from WB/New Line on June 14.

The film follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist, who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.

Which Spring 2024 horror movies are YOU most looking forward to?

The post Spring 2024 Horror Preview: 12 Horror Movies You Don’t Want to Miss appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Look for Infested to hit Shudder on April 26, 2024.

Watch the creepy, crawly trailer for Infested below, which looks a bit like Evil Dead Rise… with spiders. It’s already easy to see why Vaniček was chosen to direct an Evil Dead movie!

In the horror film, “Kaleb is about to turn 30 and has never been lonelier. He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

Théo Christine (“Suprêmes”), Finnegan Oldfield (“Final Cut”), Jérôme Niel (“Smoking Causes Coughing”), Sofia Lesaffre (“Les Misérables”) and Lisa Nyarko star.

Florent Bernard and Sébastien Vaniček wrote the screenplay.

In his review out of Fantastic Fest, Bloody Disgusting’s Trace Thurman raved that Infested (aka Vermines) is “one of the best spider attack movies in years,” noting in his 4-star review that the creature feature uses practical spiders – REAL SPIDERS – as much as possible.

The post ‘Infested’ – Watch Horrifying Trailer for Spider Movie That Landed the Director an ‘Evil Dead’ Movie appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Look for Infested to arrive on Shudder on April 26, 2024.

Check out the new images below, giving a closer look at the characters and the spiders that have laid siege to their building.

In the film, “An underprivileged suburb has been thrown into chaos following an invasion of venomous spiders. Ordered to be placed in quarantine, the project sees inhabitants living on lockdown alongside terrifying spiders that are becoming bigger and bigger.

“The story revolves around Kaleb, who’s about to turn 30 and has never been lonelier. He’s fighting with his sister over a matter of inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend.

“Passionate about exotic animals, he comes home one day with a venomous spider and accidentally lets it slip away.”

Théo Christine (“Suprêmes”), Finnegan Oldfield (“Final Cut”), Jérôme Niel (“Smoking Causes Coughing”), Sofia Lesaffre (“Les Misérables”) and Lisa Nyarko star.

Florent Bernard co-wrote the script.

In his review out of Fantastic Fest last year, Bloody Disgusting’s Trace Thurman raved that Infested (aka Vermines) is “one of the best spider attack movies in years,” noting in his 4-star review that the creature feature uses practical spiders – REAL SPIDERS – as much as possible.

Prepare for a spider invasion in horror this April.

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The post ‘Infested’ – New Images from Shudder’s Spider Horror Movie Induce Skin-Crawling Arachnophobia appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In the meantime, a brand new French teaser trailer for Infested has arrived this week, and trust us when we say it’s as creepy crawly as you’re probably afraid this one is going to be.

Sébastien Vaniček directed the upcoming Infested, which is set in the French projects.

In the film, “An underprivileged suburb has been thrown into chaos following an invasion of venomous spiders. Ordered to be placed in quarantine, the project sees inhabitants living on lockdown alongside terrifying spiders that are becoming bigger and bigger.

“The story revolves around Kaleb, who’s about to turn 30 and has never been lonelier. He’s fighting with his sister over a matter of inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend.

“Passionate about exotic animals, he comes home one day with a venomous spider and accidentally lets it slip away.”

Théo Christine (“Suprêmes”), Finnegan Oldfield (“Final Cut”), Jérôme Niel (“Smoking Causes Coughing”), Sofia Lesaffre (“Les Misérables”) and Lisa Nyarko star.

Florent Bernard co-wrote the script.

Watch the French teaser below and expect a Shudder date soon.

The post ‘Infested’ – French Horror Movie Features REAL SPIDERS and This Teaser Trailer Will Ruin Your Day appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Welcome to Bloody Disgusting’s 2024 Horror Preview.

How massive will 2024 be for horror? If this preview of the year’s looming horror offerings is any indication, horror fans may be spoiled for choice. Of course, expect some release dates to shift and many surprises yet to get announced in the coming months. In other words, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Here are 51 horror movies we’re excited to check out in 2024.

Mayhem! – January 5

Xavier Gens, the filmmaker behind New French Extremity entry Frontier(s), is kicking off the new year with a violent actioner follows a boxer’s quest for bone-breaking, merciless revenge. Enough said.

Night Swim – January 5

It’s not the house that’s haunted here, but a swimming pool. Wyatt Russell (Overlord) and Kerry Condon star in this high concept horror movie from writer/director Bryce McGuire, based on the acclaimed 2014 short film by Rod Blackhurst and Bryce McGuire.

Destroy All Neighbors – January 12

Alex Winter and Jonah Ray Rodrigues star in this Shudder original splatter-comedy that combines gory practical effects with prog-rock mayhem. Rodrigues leads as the aspiring musician who unwittingly leaves a pile of dead (and undead) bodies in his quest for rock stardom.

I.S.S. – January 19

When war breaks out globally, astronauts aboard the International Space Station receive orders to take control by any means necessary. Tensions and paranoia escalate in what appears to be an intense zero gravity thriller with an impressive cast that includes Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina (The Boogeyman), Pilou Asbaek (Run Sweetheart Run, “Game of Thrones”), John Gallagher Jr. (10 Cloverfield Lane, Hush), Costa Ronin, and Masha Mashkova.

The Seeding – January 26

The feature debut of director Barnaby Clay evokes the gritty horror of the ‘70s and centers on a hiker lost in the desert. He seeks refuge from an isolated woman living alone, a setup ripe for grim horror.

Lisa Frankenstein – February 9

An ‘80s set coming of rage love story between an unpopular high school student and the perfect dead she’s resurrected for herself. The goth lovebirds with a penchant for murder are played by Kathryn Newton (Freaky) and Cole Sprouse (“Riverdale”). The Weird Science-inspired tale was written by Diablo Cody (Jennifer’s Body) and directed by Zelda Williams.

Out of Darkness – February 9

Stone age horrors will be unleashed in the upcoming Out of Darkness, which had previously been titled The Origin. The paleolithic set film follows a group of survivors attempting to find a new home in an unforgiving land, only to find themselves being hunted.

Monolith – February 16

Evil Dead Rise star Lily Sullivan plays a podcaster drawn into a strange alien conspiracy when embarking on her latest project. Expect a quiet, meditative chiller centered almost entirely around Sullivan.

History of Evil – February 23

A family on the run from an oppressive rule takes shelter in a remote safe house. But the house harbors a dark, insidious past that seems to awaken with the arrival of the family.

Stopmotion – February 23

Aisling Franciosi (The Last Voyage of the Demeter, The Nightingale) stars as a stop-motion animator who is struggling to control her demons after the loss of her overbearing mother. To cope, she begins a new creepy puppet feature, which winds up becoming the battleground for her sanity as the puppets take on a life of their own.

Imaginary – March 8

A stuffed bear named Chauncey gets bloodthirsty in the upcoming horror movie from Jeff Wadlow (Cry Wolf, Kick-Ass 2, Truth or Dare, Fantasy Island, The Curse of Bridge Hollow). DeWanda Wise (Jurassic World Dominion) leads the cast as the woman who must take on a sinister imaginary friend.

Love Lies Bleeding – March 8

Revenge gets ripped in Saint Maud director Rose Glass’s romantic thriller starring Kristen Stewart as a gym manager Lou, who falls for a body builder (Katy O’Brian). The couple get embroiled in vengeance and violence thanks to Lou’s criminal family.

Late Night with the Devil – March 22

Up next from Australian writing-directing team Colin and Cameron Cairnes (100 Bloody Acres, Scare Campaign) is found footage horror Late Night With the Devil, with David Dastmalchian (Dune, The Suicide Squad) starring as the host of a late-night talk show that descends into a nightmare.

You’ll Never Find Me – March 22

A torrential downpour late one evening brings an unexpected Visitor (Jordan Cowan) to a stranger’s door in a quiet RV park. The man, Patrick (Brendon Rock), invites the Visitor inside to dry off and take refuge from the raging storm outside. It sparks an eerie cat-and-mouse game where not everything is as it seems in the feature directorial debut by Indianna Bell and Josiah Allen.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – March 29

In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, to battle a supernatural threat that’s rendered the city an icy wasteland. Gil Kenan (Monster House, Poltergeist) directed the upcoming sequel.

The First Omen – April 5

The prequel to the classic horror film franchise sees a woman travel to Rome to begin a life in service to the Church, only to uncover a dark conspiracy that seeks to birth a great evil. Nell Tiger Free (“Servant”) leads a cast that also includes Ralph Ineson (The Witch, Onyx the Fortuitous) and Bill Nighy (“Living”).

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire – April 12

The fifth entry in Legendary’s MonsterVerse sees titans Godzilla and King Kong teaming up to combat a world-ending new threat. This sequel was written by Simon Barrett (You’re Next, The Guest) and directed by franchise returnee Adam Wingard.

Untitled Universal Monster Thriller – April 19

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett helm this currently untitled Universal Monster movie that sees a group of criminals bite off far more than they can chew when they kidnap a young girl. As if this isn’t enticing enough, the untitled film stars Melissa Barrera and Dan Stevens.

Infested – April 26

Arachnophobes beware: this creepy crawly horror movie sees a venomous spider let loose upon an apartment building, where it quickly spawns hundreds of offspring.

Horrorscope – May 10

College friends find themselves dying in fates revealed by mysterious horoscope readings, based on the novel by Nicholas Adams. Jacob Batalon (“Reginald the Vampire”), Alana Boden (The Invitation), Adain Bradley (Wrong Turn: The Foundation) and Avantika (Senior Year) star.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 – May 17

Based on the original 2008 cult horror franchise, the project features Madelaine Petsch, who drives cross-country with her longtime boyfriend (Froy Gutierrez) to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest. The couple soon runs afoul of the masked strangers. Chapter 1 marks the first of three installments from director Renny Harlin.

The Watchers – June 7

Director Ishana Night Shyamalan‘s feature debut stars Georgina Campbell (Barbarian) and Dakota Fanning, and adapts A.M. Shine‘s novel. The plot sees a woman trapped with three strangers, all stalked by mysterious creatures every night.

A Quiet Place: Day One – June 28

The next installment in Paramount’s hit horror franchise, A Quiet Place: Day One is set to be a universe-expanding spinoff movie. Plot details are currently under wraps, but Lupita Nyong’o (Us),  Joseph Quinn (“Stranger Things”) and Alex Wolff (Hereditary) star.

Trap – August 2

The latest from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan is a psychological thriller set at a concert. Details remain scarce, other than the upcoming feature stars Josh Hartnett.

Borderlands – August 9

Unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect a missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power in Eli Roth’s video game adaptation. The ensemble cast includes Jack Black as Claptrap, Florian Munteanu as Krieg, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, Jamie Lee Curtis as Tannis, Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Kevin Hart as Roland, and Gina Gershon as Moxxi.

Speak No Evil – August 9

In this remake of the 2022 Danish horror movie will follow a family’s descent into an unimaginable psychological nightmare when they accept a holiday invitation from another family they’ve just met. What could go wrong? James McAvoy stars.

Untitled Alien Event Movie – August 16

An original Alien feature set between the events of the first two films, directed by Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe).  Cailee Spaeny (The Craft: Legacy, Pacific Rim Uprising) leads the cast alongside Isabela Merced, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu. Ridley Scott produces.

Beetlejuice 2 – September 6

Tim Burton is back with the long awaited sequel Beetlejuice 2, which will feature Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder alongside several faces fresh to Burton’s afterlife. No word yet on plot details, but it’s known that Jenna Ortega will be playing the daughter of Lydia Deetz, the character Winona Ryder is of course returning to play.

Saw XI – September 27

Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw returned in 2023’s Saw X and it was a huge success, making this sequel no surprise. While plot details haven’t been revealed, it feels safe to predict that Saw XI might explore the epic showdown teased in the end credits of Saw X.

Smile 2 – October 18

Parker Finn’s Smile, an adaptation of his own short film Laura Hasn’t Slept, will expand its world with this year’s Smile 2. Plot details, of course, are under wraps at this time, but Naomi Scott has been announced as the lead.

Terrifier 3 – October 25

The third entry in Damien Leone’s popular film series sees Art the Clown expanding his slaying ground. The ruthless killer is set to unleash chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve.

The Wolf Man – October 25

Leigh Whannell is reteaming with Universal and Blumhouse to direct a new take on the Wolf Man, with Christopher Abbott (Possessor, Poor Things) in the lead role.

Nosferatu – December 25

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman in 19th century Germany and the ancient Transylvanian vampire who stalks her. Willem Dafoe, Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Emma Corrin and Lily-Rose Depp star in the highly anticipated feature.

Blackout – Quarter 1, 2024

The latest from Larry Fessenden follows small town artist Charley (Alex Hurt), a tortured man whose drinking binges blur with his sneaking suspicion that he might likely be a werewolf. Dark Sky Films will release the werewolf tale in the first quarter of 2024.

Ash – TBD

Musician-turned-director Flying Lotus (Kuso) recently directed a segment in Bloody Disgusting’s V/H/S/99, and his next project will be a sci-fi thriller titled Ash. Eiza Gonzalez and Aaron Paul star in the paranoid horror movie, and recently released first look images signal strong potential for a 2024 release.

Blacula – TBD

Deon Taylor (The Intruder) helms this reboot that picks up where the original saga left off, after the 1973 sequel Scream Blacula Scream, and will be set in a metropolitan city post-coronavirus pandemic. In a recent Variety piece, the outlet noted that the upcoming Blacula reboot movie is “slated for release next Halloween.”

Caddo Lake – TBD

This M. Night Shyamalan produced feature revolves around an eight-year-old’s disappearance on Caddo Lake, linking past deaths and disappearances that’ll irrevocably alter a broken family. The cast includes Dylan O’Brien, Eliza Scanlen, Lauren Ambrose, Eric Lange, Sam Hennings and Diana Hopper. That Caddo Lake received an MPA rating indicates that a release date shouldn’t be too far behind, making this a likely 2024 release.

The Crow – TBD

From director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman, Ghost in the Shell), Bill Skarsgård (IT) is leading the cast of a brand new take on The Crow as Eric Draven, with singer/actor FKA Twigs co-starring. Danny Huston (30 Days of Night) also stars, alongside Laura Birn (Foundation), Sami Bouajila (A Son), and Jordan Bolger (The Woman King). The reboot is expected to release sometime in 2024.

Cuckoo – TBD

Luz director Tilman Singer is back with another horror movie. Plot details remain scarce, but production images suggest a potential slasher. We’re in either way, between Singer and a cast that includes Dan Stevens (The Guest) and Jessica Henwick (Underwater) as well as Hunter Schafer (“Euphoria”), Marton Csókás (Freelance), Greta Fernández (Santo) and Jan Bluthardt (Luz).

Frankie Freako – TBD

Psycho Goreman filmmaker Steven Kostanski‘s latest stars Conor Sweeney (The Editor, Father’s Day) as he accidentally lets loose “a trio of tiny trouble-makers into his home, led by the maniacal rock-n-roll party monster Frankie Freako.”

Handling the Undead – TBD

A strange phenomena erupts across Oslo, causing a strange spike in electricity that resurrects people who recently died. The Norwegian film is the feature-length directorial debut of filmmaker Thea Hvistendahl. The horror drama feature is based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Let the Right One In). Lindqvist co-wrote the script along with the director.

Hostile Dimensions – TBD

Found footage sci-fi horror film Hostile Dimensions is poised to unleash multiverse madness in 2024. Two documentary filmmakers investigating a missing artist instead find themselves in an interdimensional nightmare.

I Saw the TV Glow – TBD

Two teenagers bond over a scary TV show, but the series’ cancellation causes a rift in reality. Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair) helms this A24 horror film starring Justice Smith (Jurassic World Dominion) and Brigette Lundy-Paine (Bill & Ted Face the Music, Bombshell).

In a Violent Nature – TBD

Shudder’s upcoming slasher follows “the enigmatic resurrection, rampage, and retribution of an undead monster in a remote wilderness.” The streaming service acquired this slasher ahead of Sundance and is expected to debut the film sometime in 2024.

Longlegs – TBD

Up next from writer/director Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Gretel & Hansel) is the Nicolas Cage horror movie Longlegs, which sees the actor playing a serial killer. Maika Monroe also stars. That the MPA gave this an R-rating teases that NEON will likely target a 2024 release.

MaXXXine – TBD

The third entry in Ti West’s slasher trilogy that began with X and continued with Pearl “follows Maxine (Mia Goth), after the events of X, as the sole survivor who continues her journey towards fame, setting out to make it as an actress in 1980’s Los Angeles.”

Salem’s Lot – TBD

The James Wan-produced reboot of Stephen King’s novel, directed by Gary Dauberman (It, The Nun, Annabelle Comes Home), has been delayed and shelved so frequently that we’re not holding our breath. Instead, we’re hoping 2024 is the year it finally surfaces and gets a proper release.

Shelby Oaks – TBD

YouTube critic Chris Stuckmann’s feature debut follows a paranormal investigation that dates back to childhood and will include found footage elements. It stars Camille Sullivan (Hunter Hunter), Brendan Sexton III (Don’t Breathe 2), Michael Beach (If Beale Street Could Talk), Robin Bartlett (Shutter Island), Keith David (The Thing), Charlie Talbert (The Big Short), Emily Bennett (Alone with You) and Sarah Durn (Where the Crawdads Sing).

Starve Acre – TBD

A ‘70s set folk horror movie. Starring Matt Smith (His House, Morbius) and Morfydd Clark (Saint Maud) in the lead roles, Starve Acre is written and directed by Daniel Kokotajlo based on the book by Andrew Michael Hurly. That it was acquired for NA distribution in October 2023 gives strong indication that a 2024 release is likely.

The Toxic Avenger – TBD

Macon Blair’s update on the Troma cult fave seems all but destined for a 2024 release. It even received a red-band teaser already. The zany horror-comedy follows Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) as he transforms from corporate janitor to mutant superhero.

Witchboard – TBD

A remake of Witchboard is on the way from Dream Warriors and The Blob director Chuck Russell, expected sometime in 2024. Madison Iseman (I Know What You Did Last Summer), Aaron Dominguez (Only Murders in the Building), Antonia Desplat (Shantaram) and Charlie Tahan (Ozark) star.

The post 2024 Horror Preview: 50 Horror Movies We Can’t Wait to See This Year appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thrillers and the supernatural, announced today it has acquired North American, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand rights to Charades and WTF Films’ thriller Infested ahead of its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

In the film, “Kaleb is about to turn 30 and has never been lonelier. He’s fighting with his sister over a matter of inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a bazaar and brings it back to his flat. It only takes a moment for it to escape and reproduce, turning the whole place into a dreadful web trap. At the same time, the police lock down the building where the residents are ambushed. Only option for Kaleb and his mates – find the way out to survive.”

Infested was directed by Sébastien Vaniček, who co-wrote with Florent Bernard.

Théo Christine (Gran Turismo), Finnegan Oldfield (Reinventing Marvin), Jérôme Niel (Les Tutos), Sofia Lesaffre (Les Misérables) and Lisa Nyarko star in the film, which was shot in France, and was produced by Harry Tordjman (Last Dance) for My Box Films.

“Infested terrifies, on a multitude of levels. The film is full of horror, suspense and some serious bite,” said VP of Global Acquisitions and Co-Productions Emily Gotto. “Sébastien is an incredibly talented director, and we are thrilled to bring his feature film debut to the Shudder audience.”

“The idea was always to make a movie that’s worth your ticket, a spectacle worth showing up for. To make a film to blow your mind, your ears, and to hit you in the gut,” said Infested director Sébastien Vanicek. “It’s also a very personal film which depicts French suburbs I know, far from the eeriness of the auteur films or the caricature of the comedies. It’s a genre film that shakes you to your core, moves you, makes you shiver, because it seems to me that through emotions you end up concerned and involved.”

Infested is set to make its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, followed by a screening at Fantastic Fest. While we don’t have a release date just yet, stay tuned for our Fantastic Fest coverage for more news on this spider-filled nightmare.

The post ‘Infested’ – Shudder Acquires Arachnophobic Thriller Ahead of Festival Premiere appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.