This was supposed to be a down year for movies. There was a lack of mega-blockbusters, mysteries around some of the smaller titles, and lots of releases that we never in a million years expected to be good. But now that it’s approaching the end, we can safely say 2024 was a very, very good year for movies. There was something for everyone—horror, sci-fi, musicals, animation, superheroes—you name it and it’s on this list.
But what made it? Did we love Dune: Part Two? What was our favorite scary movie? How much animation is there? All will be revealed. Without further ado, here are io9’s picks for the 25 best sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and genre films of the year.
25. Terrifier 3
Damien Leone’s horror juggernaut rose to a whole new level in 2024, giving audiences not just the highest-grossing unrated movie of all time, but some of the highest-gross-out special effects ever committed to the screen. Art the Clown’s mythology is still a little too overly mysterious—we’re hoping part four answers some of our outstanding questions—but he’s a splat-stick artist when it comes to decimating the flesh of his many victims.
24. Piece by Piece
If this was just a biopic of producer Pharrell Williams, it probably wouldn’t have been that special. Yes, Pharrell has helped craft some of the best, most memorable pop music of the past three decades, but that alone doesn’t make a great movie. The choice, however, to do it animated with Lego gives the whole thing this sheen of infinite creativity, one that works in music and Lego. It also makes every single frame prettier than the last, and so much of what would have been just normal becomes hilarious when it’s in Lego.
23. Smile 2
We liked Smile, the surprise horror hit about a demonic contagion that’s passed from person to person and involves an extremely distressing facial expression. But Smile 2 took that concept and elevated it, following a troubled pop star (a fantastic Naomi Scott) who is already in a very bad place when she has her fateful encounter with you-know-what. The end result is a part two that improves on its predecessor, making fans excited to see what Smile can come up with next.
22. Deadpool & Wolverine
Marvel needed a big win after a long period of collective wondering if the superhero genre was falling off at the box office, and it got one in Deadpool & Wolverine. A zany mishmash of violence and cameos galore, anchored in the brilliant interplay of Ryan Reynold’s wildly charming merc with a mouth and the return of Hugh Jackman’s rough-and-rugged X-Man, Deadpool and Wolverine delivered a delectably tongue-in-cheek celebration of the multiversal concept Marvel’s been building up to in recent years—and a fine, fond tribute to Fox’s mutant-forward contribution to superhero cinema’s golden age.
21. The First Omen
Did The Omen need a prequel? Probably not. But The First Omen proved that sometimes the best-case scenario can actually happen, led by the transcendent Nell Tiger Free as an American nun who moves to Rome in the early 1970s and soon becomes entangled in a very sinister conspiracy. Yes, we know how this story ends, but the rest of the movie—up to literally the very last scene—is continuously surprising.
20. Heretic
Heretic is basically a horror version of Contact. A debate and discussion of religion through the lens of a tense thriller in which a creepy man (Hugh Grant) traps two Mormon missionaries in his house and forces them to make some terrible decisions. The film fizzles a bit near the end, but it’s a lightning bolt before that. One that can not just get you talking, and it can keep you guessing while you’re on the edge of your seat filled with dread.
19. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Every time a new Planet of the Apes movie hits theaters, it feels like a special occasion to hang out with some old friends. Kingdom may be set hundreds of years after Caesar’s exploits, but it maintains those films’ examinations of humanity and apekind’s ongoing conflict, and what it means to be a part of a legacy bigger than yourself. It also looks as great as ever and features its own promising cast, whose future adventures we’re already looking forward to.
18. I Saw the TV Glow
Filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun’s work vaulted from “intriguing” to “essential” with this neon-bright yet spooky exploration of memory, nostalgia, and home-life horrors. It charts a years-long friendship between misfits that intertwines with a cult-beloved TV show that may or may not be real—in a world where wonder and nightmares share an uneasy co-existence.
17. Wicked
Jon M Chu’s blockbuster take on the Broadway icon might have taken longer to get through half of Wicked‘s story in the time it takes the whole theater production to start and finish, but it did so in sumptuous style. Wicked has it all, a movie musical that is unabashedly proud of its lyrical roots, from delightful choreography to wonderful interpretations of Wicked‘s beloved songbook. But it’s elevated into something altogether remarkable in the incredible performances of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, whose electrifying chemistry lights up the screen as brightly as a sunrise over the Emerald City. We’re more than happy to spend a year’s worth of One Short Days waiting to see how For Good builds on Wicked‘s promising first half.
16. A Different Man
Sebastian Stan has never been better than he is in A Different Man, a weird, surprising, heartbreaking story of a man with severe facial disfigurement. From the start, the movie never goes where you think it’s going and that’s bad news for Stan’s character, who thinks he has things figured out when a miracle surgery cures his ailment. Soon, he realizes though that it wasn’t just his looks that were holding him back.
15. Inside Out 2
Picking up on Riley as a teen, Inside Out 2 feels like it’s turning into a franchise that’s going to approach coming of age in Pixar style (when will we stop crying?). The sequel catches up on how feelings shift and new emotions appear in adolescence in a very real way. Lessened is Joy, who doesn’t take it well when the presence of Anxiety becomes Riley’s driving force. As things get jumbled in teen angst and the discarding of childhood habits, the inner world of Inside Out continues to craft a relatable tale of how the mind works to further understand our loved ones, and that’s just wonderful.
14. Longlegs
We were having night terrors inspired by Longlegs’ carefully plotted marketing campaign even before the movie arrived, and thankfully it lived up to the hype—and then some. Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage both deliver unforgettable turns as an FBI agent and her serial-killer prey, in a movie that makes gleeful work of ripping just about every police-procedural genre trope to shreds.
13. Alien: Romulus
Director and co-writer Fede Alvarez injected new excitement into the Alien franchise with this sci-fi horror tale set between the first two films, and styled with early ‘80s vibes to match. There are some heavy-handed fan-service moments, yes, but Romulus also takes some big original swings, introducing a ghastly new monster and earning the approval of the prickly Ridley Scott himself.
12. Late Night With the Devil
A 1970s talk-show host with serious skeletons in his closet gets his comeuppance during a live Halloween broadcast in this indie hit, which lovingly recreates a very specific era of retro TV with breathtaking accuracy. Late Night With the Devil also offers proof that the found-footage horror genre is still capable of delivering fresh stories—and shriek-worthy frights.
11. Nosferatu
Robert Eggers has yet to make a bad film and his latest, Nosferatu, may be his best yet. That’s because his unique, extremely detailed and designed approach to filmmaking is married with a famous vampire story, giving his work that ever-so-slight mainstream bump it needed. The cast, led by Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, and Bill Skarsgård as the terrifying titular character, leaves an impression that you won’t soon forget.
10. Civil War
The genius of Alex Garland’s Civil War is that it’s not at all what you think. You’d expect a movie about a U.S. civil war in modern times to be about reality, but this alternate reality follows journalists who are trained to be objective, no matter what occurs. And so does Garland embrace that, showing both sides of an awful conflict in a way that lets the audience decide what to think and feel. Action-packed, scary as hell, and poignant as can be, Civil War is a great film.
9. Flow
A cat in a post-apocalyptic world fights to survive in this dialogue-free animated French film. It’s a beautiful emotional movie just on its own as you watch this cat go through harrowing, awful, and scary circumstances. But if you’re an animal lover, as we are, a whole other level of tension and emotion gets lathered on top as we cheer for this cat, and his friends, to survive the world humanity left for them.
8. Monkey Man
It’s always nice to see Dev Patel in things, and it was really nice to learn he wrote and directed an action movie for himself to star in. It’s clear from the start that he’s got the chops as a filmmaker and onscreen fighter, even if Monkey Man may not have as much action as you’d like. As a first effort, it’s a solid debut, and it hopefully allows him to make more of what he likes, action or otherwise.
7. My Old Ass
My Old Ass never quite explains how a young woman named Elliot happens to meet, befriend, and keep in contact with herself from 20 years in the future. But we don’t care. This hilarious coming-of-age film with that hint of sci-fi perfectly captures the wonder of being on the verge of adulthood as well as the inevitability of growing up. Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella co-create a lovely character who can be both so full of life and so broken, just like any of us.
6. Transformers One
It’s been months since we saw Transformers One and we’re still in disbelief that it’s as good as it is. How is it that a movie about robots, on a robot planet, based on a toy line, could be so exhilarating, so shocking, and so smart and thoughtful about friendship? Well, Transformers One is. Plus, it gave us an origin story we never knew we needed: how the mortal enemies we now know as Optimus Prime and Megatron started as the best of friends. It’s a tightrope walk, to be sure, but Transformers One nails it while also being wildly entertaining.
5. The Substance
The agony of aging has been explored in sci-fi movies before, but rarely with such genuine poignancy mixed into all the ooey-gooey weird science. Demi Moore gives a stunning performance as an actress who loses her job and her self-confidence because, as the powers that be have determined, she’s too old to turn on audiences. Margaret Qualley is also very good as the perky product of a bizarre experiment that lets Moore’s character be young again—for a gruesome price.
4. It’s What’s Inside
If It’s What’s Inside was released in theaters, and not just unceremoniously dumped on Netflix, everyone would have been talking about it. Now though—since you’re reading this—maybe you’ll make a point to check it out, because it’s a really awesome movie. It’s What Inside follows a group of college friends who reunite before a wedding and end up playing a sick and twisted party game where their personalities swap into each other’s bodies. Things only escalate from there, with intrigue, mystery, romance, violence, and a few twists we’re still thinking about. “It’s what’s inside”? More Like “it’s so good.”
3. Dune: Part Two
After getting a light dusting of Dune fever back in 2021, the world was really feeling the spice with this year’s Part Two. Denis Villeneuve’s second outing to Arakkis makes good on the setup of the first film as the cast all bring their A-game (and their freak game) and the world looks better and worm-ier than ever. For a lot of people, it was hard not to get swept up in all of it, which makes the eventual threequel even more exciting.
2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
It may have gotten overshadowed by other big movies this year, but Furiosa was a fun, often gnarly examination of the Mad Max franchise’s newest lead. Despite being a prequel, it doesn’t try to top Fury Road, but makes its own mark through very good performances and great “are you kidding me?” set pieces that made this a joy to watch on the big screen.
1. The Wild Robot
No other movie in 2024 moved us quite like The Wild Robot. And part of that is because the film was so unexpected. We went into it being like “Oh, look, another animated movie about a robot” and came out with our lives changed. The film tells the story of Roz, a super smart helper robot mistakenly stranded on a deserted island. There, she’s forced to raise a goose she names Brightbill as every other animal on the island laughs at the odd couple. What grows from there is not just a harrowing tale of parenthood, it’s a snapshot of the world around us. We see and feel how our differences can’t come close to our similarities and that life is much better with the ones you love.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
