Emily’s Favorites of 2024 – Daily Dead

2024 is almost over! It went super fast, had a lot of ups and downs, and at times, threatened to drive some of us to the brink of insanity. I’m sure 2025 promises most of the same, but if there is one thing we can celebrate, it’s the glut of amazing movies, books, and general nerdy stuff that keeps us entertained and loving the horror genre. 

The Substance

The Substance might be the best thing I saw this year. I always have a hard time picking my absolute favorite, but this might be it. Coralie Fargeat’s takedown of beauty culture was one of the best times I had in the theater this year. The excitement of having no idea where the story was going, combined with the increasingly loud reactions and squirming from the audience, created a singular experience. I was positively giddy when this film ended and I can’t wait to revisit it. It’s a completely unique and new take on body horror that earns every single “WTF” uttered during its runtime.

Vampires Slayed 2024!

Abigail: Look, I love vampires, Radio Silence, Melissa Barrera, and above all, Dan Stevens. So I was beyond excited when this one premiered, and it has remained one of my favorites. It is well written, well acted, and takes so many fun turns that it’s impossible not to have fun with it. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett reliably make films that are thrilling, funny, and above all, entertaining. And Abigail delivers on all fronts.

The Vourdalak: This film came out of nowhere and immediately won my heart. It’s a beautiful period piece with creepy imagery and the weirdest, coolest puppet I have ever seen. An old-world vampire tale with some classic horror flair.

Interview with the Vampire: Season 2 aired this year and AMC’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s work is absolutely killing it. It simultaneously delivers a new version of the material, while also offering a bit of an analysis of the original work and prior film adaptations. The cast is great, the writing is stellar, and it is an incredibly beautiful, queer story. 

Furiosa

George Miller’s 2015 Mad Max: Fury Road is one of my very favorite films. I love every second of the story, the beautiful filmmaking, and the months of work that went into it. And though I have faith in Miller, the bar was set high with his new prequel. Thankfully, it delivered on all levels. It perfectly complements the story told in Fury Road while 100% being its own film. Miller tells this amazing story in a way that never seeks to top its predecessor, but instead shows up as the perfect companion piece. Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth deliver incredible performances and everything is top-notch.

The Creep Tapes

The Creep films (from Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice) are some of the most unique entries into the found footage subgenre. After two excellent films, they found the perfect way to allow the concept and character to move forward. The Creep Tapes premiered on Shudder last month and the 30-minute episodic format could not be more perfect. It’s a great space for Duplass and Brice to play and explore this concept further, without retreading the same ground. It’s crazy fun and I’m really hoping we get another season.

Longlegs

I am a HUGE fan of Osgood Perkins. His films are like no others. The way he creates these spaces that intrigue, entrance, and ultimately horrify is 100% my jam and Longlegs is no different. Not only was it exciting that we got a new Perkins film in 2024, but the fact that it pitted Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage against each other in such an unsettling way was the cherry on top. 

Arthouse Nunsploitation

Nuns were unexpectedly huge in 2024. Horror has a history of nun-centered exploitation flicks that most recently morphed into the The Nun films based in The Conjuring universe. But this year brought us two new entries into the subgenre. The First Omen and Immaculate were both unexpected, incredibly effective films. Though not connected, storywise, they do occupy similar spaces in terms of theming and atmosphere. Both approach their stories thoughtfully and with intention, and harbor some of the most unsettling moments I saw onscreen all year. Go nuns!

Books!

The Soul of Wes Craven: The Soul of Wes Craven (Joseph Maddrey) is a beautiful biography of one of horror’s greatest storytellers. Pulled together from interviews spanning decades, this offers a window into the life of Wes Craven in a way that makes his film even richer. We learn about some of his formative experiences and the way he viewed the world at different points throughout his life, and we can see how these aspects are reflected in the art that he created. It’s respectful and it paints a portrait of a three-dimensional person who is thoughtful, sometimes frustrated, and at all times yearning to create.  It’s a really fascinating and beautiful portrait of the filmmaker and his work. 

A Cut Below: Yes, Scott Drebit is a friend, but I still really enjoyed his book, and I’m going to celebrate it as part of the list of stuff that made my year great. There is nothing better than reading a film book that feels like the writer is sitting on your couch, geeking out about movies with you. The book is fun, well-written, and best of all, joyous. It celebrates the films you love, it gives you exciting new movies to check out, and it leaves you feeling energized and movies. It really doesn’t get better than that.

Cuckoo

Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo offered up a horror experience that was thoughtful, horrifying, and kept me guessing until the end. He has a beautiful and deliberate storytelling style that never gives away too much and keeps the audience hooked until the last moments. Bonus Dan Stevens! 

Late Night with the Devil

This one was a lot of fun. In the vein of Ghost Watch, I loved the work that went into bringing the vibe of 1970s television to life. Particularly, the performance from David Dastmalchian as Jack Delroy. He really put a lot of details into that character to bring him to life and fit him perfectly into the setting. This film was a lot of fun, and I really loved the separation between what was happening on air and what was happening behind the scenes. 

Happy New Year, Everyone! There is a ton of great stuff on slate for 2025, and I don’t know about you, but personally, I have a ton of movies from 2024 that I still need to get caught up on. So I’m going to go work on that, and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!