I love Halloween and I love horror movies, and so far, 2024 has been a really interesting year for the genre. From sleeper hits, to continuations in classic franchises, and some real independent scares, I’d like to go over some of my favorite.

The First Omen (20th Century Studios)

Let’s kick things off with one the years biggest surprises. When I was a kid, horror prequels for classic movies were all the rage, but rarely were they any good. “The First Omen”, is also the first feature from filmmaker Arkasha Stevenson, but it doesn’t feel like a debut feature. It is so assured in its direction and successfully captures the mood of the prestige horror from the 1970s. Nell Tiger Free, another relative new comer, leads the cast as a postulant nun who finds herself in the middle of conspiracy to birth an evil on earth and she’s fantastic. The “First Omen” pretty openly takes visual cues from horrors past from the original “Omen”, “The Texas Chain saw Massacre”, “Possession”, and “Rosemary’s Baby”. It does it so well tjat it never feels like a rip off, but always a loving homage. I can’t recommend this one enough for its pure craft. It just feels so great. “The First Omen” is currently streaming on Hulu, can be rented on digital, and is available on Blu-ray.

Frogman (Rotting Press)

Next up, another first time feature and a true independent production, “Frogman”. A man in his mid-30s heads out into the woods with his two college friends to get proof a monster he briefly captured on camera as a kid. If you don’t like find footage horror, I don’t believe this one will change your mind, but for fans of the subgenre, this one has a really believable cast and takes some really big swings in its third act that that brings its central character arc into unexpected places. It’s a slow burn to get to the action and plays a lot more as a found footage character piece of a sad sack filmmaker trying to find some value in himself, but once we get deeper into the woods, its settles into something really gooey and fun while still maintaining its character depth. Suspend your disbelief and have a good time. “Frogman” is currently streaming on Screambox and is available to rent digitally.

Oddity (Wilcard Distribution)
We’re heading over to Ireland for the sophomore effort of director Damian McCarthy, “Oddity”. A blind medium visits her former brother-in-law and his new girlfriend with a creepy gift of a wooden man and a plan to discover the truth about her sister’s death. A truly creepy and tense ghost story and murder mystery that makes incredible use of a home’s dark corners. This one gave me probably my biggest scare of the year and the wooden man might be one of my favorite designs of the year. If he’s in frame, you’ll most likely be on edge! “Oddity” is streaming on Shudder and AMC+ and can be rented on most digital platforms.

In a Violent Nature (IFC Films)
Finally lets took a look at not just my favorite horror movie I’ve seen this year, but just one of my favorite movies I watched this year, Chris Nash’s debut feature, “In a Violent Nature”. A zombie slasher, a la Jason Vorhees, raises from the grave when rowdy young people remove a pendant from his gravesite. Its tough to tonally describe this one.

Is it a slasher deconstruction where we mostly slowly follow the killer and then bare witness to detached violence? Yes.

Is it a really funny horror comedy that has a lot of fun with genre tropes? Yes.

Is it a melancholy reflection on the will to live spurred by human kindness? Believe it or not, yes.

Nash tows the lines of all these seemingly at odd moods and it adds up to something really special. If you’re prepared to follow the films through its tonal changes instead of being annoyed by them, nothing this year will bring you the range of the emotions this one does. It’s truly one of kind. “In a Violent Nature” is streaming on Shudder and AMC+, can be rented digitally, and also has a Blu-ray release.