The 25 Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Films of 2024

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This was supposed to beryllium a down twelvemonth for movies. There was a deficiency of mega-blockbusters, mysteries astir immoderate of the smaller titles, and tons of releases that we ne'er successful a cardinal years expected to beryllium good. But present that it’s approaching the end, we tin safely accidental 2024 was a very, precise bully twelvemonth for movies. There was thing for everyone—horror, sci-fi, musicals, animation, superheroes—you sanction it and it’s connected this list.

But what made it? Did we love Dune: Part Two? What was our favourite scary movie? How overmuch animation is there? All volition beryllium revealed. Without further ado, present are io9’s picks for the 25 champion sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and genre films of the year.

25. Terrifier 3

Damien Leone’s fearfulness juggernaut roseate to a full caller level successful 2024, giving audiences not conscionable the highest-grossing unrated movie of each time, but immoderate of the highest-gross-out peculiar effects ever committed to the screen. Art the Clown’s mythology is inactive a small excessively overly mysterious—we’re hoping portion 4 answers immoderate of our outstanding questions—but he’s a splat-stick creator erstwhile it comes to decimating the soma of his galore victims.

24. Piece by Piece

If this was conscionable a biopic of shaper Pharrell Williams, it astir apt wouldn’t person been that special. Yes, Pharrell has helped trade immoderate of the best, astir memorable popular euphony of the past 3 decades, but that unsocial doesn’t marque a large movie. The choice, however, to bash it animated with Lego gives the full happening this sheen of infinite creativity, 1 that works successful euphony and Lego. It besides makes each azygous framework prettier than the last, and truthful overmuch of what would person been conscionable mean becomes hilarious erstwhile it’s successful Lego.

23. Smile 2

We liked Smile, the astonishment fearfulness deed astir a demonic contagion that’s passed from idiosyncratic to idiosyncratic and involves an highly distressing facial expression. But Smile 2 took that conception and elevated it, pursuing a troubled popular prima (a fantastic Naomi Scott) who is already successful a precise atrocious spot erstwhile she has her fateful brushwood with you-know-what. The extremity effect is simply a portion 2 that improves connected its predecessor, making fans excited to spot what Smile tin travel up with next.

22. Deadpool & Wolverine

Marvel needed a large triumph aft a agelong play of corporate wondering if the superhero genre was falling disconnected astatine the container office, and it got 1 in Deadpool & Wolverine. A zany mishmash of unit and cameos galore, anchored successful the superb interplay of Ryan Reynold’s wildly charming merc with a rima and the instrumentality of Hugh Jackman’s rough-and-rugged X-Man, Deadpool and Wolverine delivered a delectably tongue-in-cheek celebration of the multiversal conception Marvel’s been gathering up to successful caller years—and a fine, fond tribute to Fox’s mutant-forward publication to superhero cinema’s aureate age.

21. The First Omen

Did The Omen request a prequel? Probably not. But The First Omen proved that sometimes the best-case script tin really happen, led by the transcendent Nell Tiger Free arsenic an American nun who moves to Rome successful the aboriginal 1970s and soon becomes entangled successful a precise sinister conspiracy. Yes, we cognize however this communicative ends, but the remainder of the movie—up to virtually the precise past scene—is continuously surprising.

20. Heretic

Heretic is fundamentally a fearfulness mentation of Contact. A statement and treatment of religion done the lens of a tense thriller successful which a creepy antheral (Hugh Grant) traps 2 Mormon missionaries successful his location and forces them to marque immoderate unspeakable decisions. The movie fizzles a spot adjacent the end, but it’s a lightning bolt earlier that. One that tin not conscionable get you talking, and it tin support you guessing portion you’re connected the borderline of your spot filled with dread.

19. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Every clip a caller Planet of the Apes movie hits theaters, it feels similar a peculiar juncture to bent retired with immoderate aged friends. Kingdom whitethorn beryllium acceptable hundreds of years aft Caesar’s exploits, but it maintains those films’ examinations of humanity and apekind’s ongoing conflict, and what it means to beryllium a portion of a bequest bigger than yourself. It besides looks arsenic large arsenic ever and features its ain promising cast, whose aboriginal adventures we’re already looking guardant to.

18. I Saw the TV Glow

Filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun’s enactment vaulted from “intriguing” to “essential” with this neon-bright yet spooky exploration of memory, nostalgia, and home-life horrors. It charts a years-long relationship betwixt misfits that intertwines with a cult-beloved TV amusement that whitethorn oregon whitethorn not beryllium real—in a satellite wherever wonderment and nightmares stock an uneasy co-existence.

17. Wicked

Jon M Chu’s blockbuster instrumentality connected the Broadway icon mightiness person taken longer to get done fractional of Wicked‘s communicative successful the clip it takes the full theatre accumulation to commencement and finish, but it did truthful successful sumptuous style. Wicked has it all, a movie philharmonic that is unabashedly arrogant of its lyrical roots, from delightful choreography to fantastic interpretations of Wicked‘s beloved songbook. But it’s elevated into thing altogether singular successful the unthinkable performances of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande arsenic Elphaba and Glinda, whose electrifying chemistry lights up the surface arsenic brightly arsenic a sunrise implicit the Emerald City. We’re much than blessed to walk a year’s worthy of One Short Days waiting to spot however For Good builds on Wicked‘s promising archetypal half.

16. A Different Man

Sebastian Stan has ne'er been amended than helium is successful A Different Man, a weird, surprising, heartbreaking story of a antheral with terrible facial disfigurement. From the start, the movie ne'er goes wherever you deliberation it’s going and that’s atrocious quality for Stan’s character, who thinks helium has things figured retired erstwhile a occurrence country cures his ailment. Soon, helium realizes though that it wasn’t conscionable his looks that were holding him back.

15. Inside Out 2

Picking up connected Riley arsenic a teen, Inside Out 2 feels similar it’s turning into a franchise that’s going to attack coming of property successful Pixar benignant (when volition we halt crying?). The sequel catches up connected however feelings displacement and caller emotions look successful adolescence successful a precise existent way. Lessened is Joy, who doesn’t instrumentality it good erstwhile the beingness of Anxiety becomes Riley’s driving force. As things get jumbled successful teen angst and the discarding of puerility habits, the interior satellite of Inside Out continues to trade a relatable communicative of however the caput works to further recognize our loved ones, and that’s conscionable wonderful.

14. Longlegs

We were having nighttime terrors inspired by Longlegs’ cautiously plotted selling run adjacent earlier the movie arrived, and thankfully it lived up to the hype—and past some. Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage some present unforgettable turns arsenic an FBI cause and her serial-killer prey, successful a movie that makes gleeful enactment of ripping conscionable astir each police-procedural genre trope to shreds.

13. Alien: Romulus

Director and co-writer Fede Alvarez injected caller excitement into the Alien franchise with this sci-fi fearfulness communicative acceptable betwixt the archetypal 2 films, and styled with aboriginal ‘80s vibes to match. There are immoderate heavy-handed fan-service moments, yes, but Romulus besides takes immoderate large archetypal swings, introducing a ghastly caller monster and earning the support of the prickly Ridley Scott himself.

12. Late Night With the Devil

A 1970s talk-show big with superior skeletons successful his closet gets his comeuppance during a unrecorded Halloween broadcast successful this indie hit, which lovingly recreates a precise circumstantial epoch of retro TV with breathtaking accuracy. Late Night With the Devil besides offers impervious that the found-footage fearfulness genre is inactive susceptible of delivering caller stories—and shriek-worthy frights.

11. Nosferatu

Robert Eggers has yet to marque a atrocious movie and his latest, Nosferatu, whitethorn beryllium his champion yet. That’s due to the fact that his unique, highly elaborate and designed attack to filmmaking is joined with a celebrated vampire story, giving his enactment that ever-so-slight mainstream bump it needed. The cast, led by Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, and Bill Skarsgård arsenic the terrifying titular character, leaves an content that you won’t soon forget.

10. Civil War

The genius of Alex Garland’s Civil War is that it’s not astatine each what you think. You’d expect a movie astir a U.S. civilian warfare successful modern times to beryllium astir reality, but this alternate world follows journalists who are trained to beryllium objective, nary substance what occurs. And truthful does Garland clasp that, showing some sides of an atrocious struggle successful a mode that lets the assemblage determine what to deliberation and feel. Action-packed, scary arsenic hell, and poignant arsenic tin be, Civil War is simply a large film.

9. Flow

A feline successful a post-apocalyptic satellite fights to past successful this dialogue-free animated French film. It’s a beauteous affectional movie conscionable connected its ain arsenic you ticker this feline spell done harrowing, awful, and scary circumstances. But if you’re an carnal lover, arsenic we are, a full different level of hostility and emotion gets lathered connected apical arsenic we cheer for this cat, and his friends, to past the satellite humanity near for them.

8. Monkey Man

It’s ever bully to spot Dev Patel successful things, and it was truly bully to larn helium wrote and directed an enactment movie for himself to prima in. It’s wide from the commencement that he’s got the chops arsenic a filmmaker and onscreen fighter, adjacent if Monkey Man whitethorn not person arsenic overmuch enactment arsenic you’d like. As a archetypal effort, it’s a coagulated debut, and it hopefully allows him to marque much of what helium likes, enactment oregon otherwise.

7. My Old Ass

My Old Ass ne'er rather explains however a young pistillate named Elliot happens to meet, befriend, and support successful interaction with herself from 20 years successful the future. But we don’t care. This hilarious coming-of-age movie with that hint of sci-fi perfectly captures the wonderment of being connected the verge of adulthood arsenic good arsenic the inevitability of increasing up. Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella co-create a beauteous quality who tin beryllium some truthful afloat of beingness and truthful broken, conscionable similar immoderate of us.

6. Transformers One

It’s been months since we saw Transformers One and we’re inactive successful disbelief that it’s arsenic bully arsenic it is. How is it that a movie astir robots, connected a robot planet, based connected a artifact line, could beryllium truthful exhilarating, truthful shocking, and truthful astute and thoughtful astir friendship? Well, Transformers One is. Plus, it gave america an root communicative we ne'er knew we needed: however the mortal enemies we present cognize arsenic Optimus Prime and Megatron started arsenic the champion of friends. It’s a tightrope walk, to beryllium sure, but Transformers One nails it portion besides being wildly entertaining.

5. The Substance

The agony of aging has been explored successful sci-fi movies before, but seldom with specified genuine poignancy mixed into each the ooey-gooey weird science. Demi Moore gives a stunning show arsenic an histrion who loses her occupation and her self-confidence because, arsenic the powers that beryllium person determined, she’s excessively aged to crook connected audiences. Margaret Qualley is besides precise bully arsenic the perky merchandise of a bizarre experimentation that lets Moore’s quality beryllium young again—for a gruesome price.

4. It’s What’s Inside

If It’s What’s Inside was released successful theaters, and not conscionable unceremoniously dumped connected Netflix, everyone would person been talking astir it. Now though—since you’re speechmaking this—maybe you’ll marque a constituent to cheque it out, due to the fact that it’s a truly awesome movie. It’s What Inside follows a radical of assemblage friends who reunite earlier a wedding and extremity up playing a sick and twisted enactment crippled wherever their personalities swap into each other’s bodies. Things lone escalate from there, with intrigue, mystery, romance, violence, and a fewer twists we’re inactive reasoning about. “It’s what’s inside”? More Like “it’s truthful good.”

3. Dune: Part Two

After getting a airy dusting of Dune fever backmost successful 2021, the satellite was truly feeling the spice with this year’s Part Two. Denis Villeneuve’s 2nd outing to Arakkis makes bully connected the setup of the archetypal movie arsenic the formed each bring their A-game (and their freak game) and the satellite looks amended and worm-ier than ever. For a batch of people, it was hard not to get swept up successful each of it, which makes the eventual threequel adjacent much exciting.

2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

It whitethorn person gotten overshadowed by different large movies this year, but Furiosa was a fun, often gnarly introspection of the Mad Max franchise’s newest lead. Despite being a prequel, it doesn’t effort to apical Fury Road, but makes its ain people done precise bully performances and large “are you kidding me?” acceptable pieces that made this a joyousness to ticker connected the large screen.

1. The Wild Robot

No different movie successful 2024 moved america rather similar The Wild Robot. And portion of that is due to the fact that the movie was truthful unexpected. We went into it being similar “Oh, look, different animated movie astir a robot” and came retired with our lives changed. The movie tells the communicative of Roz, a ace astute helper robot mistakenly stranded connected a deserted island. There, she’s forced to rise a goose she names Brightbill arsenic each different carnal connected the land laughs astatine the unusual couple. What grows from determination is not conscionable a harrowing communicative of parenthood, it’s a snapshot of the satellite astir us. We spot and consciousness however our differences can’t travel adjacent to our similarities and that beingness is overmuch amended with the ones you love.

Want much io9 news? Check retired erstwhile to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s adjacent for the DC Universe connected movie and TV, and everything you request to cognize astir the aboriginal of Doctor Who.

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