Another year, another catalog of new movies! In 2024, the Venom, Terrifier, and Sonic franchises all released their third installments, while Disney put out sequels to both Inside Out and Moana. While I unfortunately wasn’t able to squeeze in nearly as many movies as I’d hoped to this year (there are exactly 33 movies from 2024 that I intended to watch within the year but never got around to seeing), but I did at least manage to see 35 of them. Here is how I would rank them against each other, from those I enjoyed the least to those I enjoyed the most!
35. I Saw The TV Glow
Part of what makes me rank this movie so lowly is the fact that my expectations for it were so high. The premise was very interesting, and I’d seen it praised for being a trans allegory, but I just felt like it was 100 minutes of nothing. The pacing was abysmal, and every time it seemed like the story was about to pick up, it would just drop off. I was honestly bored out of my mind the entire time and came very close to turning it off multiple times. Reading a summary of the movie was genuinely far more interesting than watching the movie itself. Maybe my brain just isn’t wired to appreciate this type of elevated horror, but the fact is this is the only movie I gave 1 single star all year.
34. Garfield The Movie
I had absolutely no intention of ever watching this movie; however, my students at my day job voted to watch it the day before Thanksgiving, and I can’t just not watch a movie that’s playing right in front of me. I have been known to enjoy many a kids’ movie, but this one just wasn’t for me. It was too obviously intended for kids born in the mid-to-late 2010s, and the story was ridiculous. I admit it got a few chuckles out of me, though.
33. Turtles All The Way Down
I might have enjoyed this movie a lot more in 2014, but I’ve found that heterosexual YA love stories really don’t appeal to me anymore. The most interesting part of the story was sidelined for the vast majority of the movie, only to be abruptly resolved in a very unsatisfying way at the end.
32. Immaculate
Sydney Sweeney’s foray into the horror genre was unfortunately rather unmemorable. This movie dragged along slowly without much suspense or fright. I was hoping that maybe the baby would end up deformed or demonic, but we never even see what the baby looks like. There are better nun-based horror movies out there (such as The Nun II, which ranked an unimpressive 20 out of 26 in my 2023 movie ranking).
31. Mufasa
The visuals were beautiful, but the story was, frankly, horrendous. The script was riddled with plot holes, clichés, and unnecessary breaking of the fourth wall. And this may land me in hot water, but in my opinion Lin-Manuel Miranda hasn’t made any good music since Hamilton and Moana in 2016. There was NO reason for this movie to be made other than another big cash grab for Disney. You can read my friend and colleague Hailey’s review of this nonsense here.
30. Joker: Folie à Deux
I love Lady Gaga, and I love Harley Quinn, but I did not love the idea of Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. I was pleasantly surprised to find I actually didn’t hate her portrayal of the beloved character like I expected to; however, this didn’t save the movie from being disappointingly lackluster. I can’t think of any other franchise where the sequel was a musical when the original film wasn’t, and this change in style from the 2019 film to Folie à Deux felt very awkward. It also lacked the depth of its prequel and had a horribly unsatisfying ending.
29. The Watchers
I think Ishana Night Shyamalan was trying too hard to make her directorial debut live up to the Shyamalan name. The Watchers felt like two separate movies stitched sloppily into one. There were many points in the movie that I felt like would have served just fine as the ending, but it just kept on going. There was far too much lore introduced far too late in the story.
28. Heretic
I expected this film to involve Saw-esque tests and traps, but it turned out to be less of a horror movie and more of a dissertation on the philosophy of religion. I didn’t fully understand the twist, and the whole movie could have been more suspenseful for a thriller. It wasn’t necessarily boring, though.
27. Venom: The Last Dance
The comedic aspects were this movie’s saving grace, because the plot was honestly a mess. There were so many characters that were given partial backstories that we never really saw pan out or have actual significance other than a single callback shot. It also didn’t make any sense that finding someone who was compatible with a symbiote was such a huge deal, yet towards the end of movie about a dozen background characters were somehow able to successfully bond with symbiotes to the point that they were able to fight together. It was a fun, decent conclusion to the Venom trilogy, but not fantastic.
26. Oddity
It felt like this movie was just missing something. I would have liked a closer look into the twins’ relationship, or more time in Darcy’s shop. I also would have liked to see/know more of the wooden man. With a runtime of less than 100 minutes I think they could have given us at least a little more.
25. Under Paris
With the 2024 Olympics being held in Paris and the mayor planning to make the Seine clean enough to swim in before the event, the timing of this movie couldn’t be more perfect. I didn’t love that the “bad guys” were environmentalists who cared about the well being of the sharks, especially because they were portrayed as foolish and reckless. I also would have appreciated more gore. Still, it wasn’t a terrible movie by any means. At the very least it was a fun way to practice my French listening comprehension and relive the time I spent in Paris. (And it was definitely better than last year’s shark movie, The Meg 2, which coincidentally also placed #25 in my 2023 ranking – but that was out of only 26 movies instead of 35).
24. Rite Here Rite Now
This year I finally came to terms with the fact that Ghost has overtaken Breaking Benjamin to claim the title of my #1 favorite band. So, it goes without saying that I was stoked when I found out they were making a movie. With how much I love this band, I’m kind of disappointed that Rite Here Rite Now is so low on this list. This was the first concert movie I’ve ever seen, so maybe this genre just isn’t for me, which is weird because I am a total concert junkie. Although, maybe it’s because I’ve been to so many concerts that this type of movie doesn’t do anything for me. Casual fans who only listen to the band’s music and don’t watch their series on YouTube were likely lost during the non-concert scenes that drove the plot, since they were a direct continuation of the series. It was a fun experience watching this in a sold out auditorium filled with other Ghost fans, but the film itself was nothing to write home about.
23. Red One
Was this the best Christmas movie ever? No. But did I thoroughly enjoy it with my family on Christmas Eve? You bet! I absolutely adore and am fascinated by European Yule folklore, so to see the figures of Krampus and Gryla appear in a major film alongside A-listers like Dwayne Johnson and Lucy Liu was awesome. Kiernan Shipka admittedly wasn’t great in her role as Gryla, but I did think it was neat that she got to play the same character that appeared in the Christmas special of her show The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. My biggest critique of the film is that it definitely could have done with fewer monologues.
22. Mean Girls
It’s difficult not to compare this to the 2004 movie (especially when it’s one of my favorite movies of all time), but seeing as this is a screen adaptation of the Broadway musical based on the movie and not a remake of the movie itself, I’m evaluating the 2024 movie in isolation. My primary takeaway is that the talent in this cast was extremely disproportionate. Renee Rapp and Auliʻi Cravalho’s performances were stellar, and Jaquel Spivey was great as well; yet everyone else was frankly unmemorable. I would even go so far as to say Angourie Rice, who played the main character, was subpar at best. The uneven range of talent was noticeable and sometimes even distracting. But at least most of the soundtrack made it into my Spotify Likes! You can read fellow Fandom Spotlite writer Martin’s review of this movie musical here.
21. Nosferatu
I really wish I enjoyed this movie more than I did. It’s been a long time since I read Bram Stoker’s Dracula, so I can’t say just how book-accurate it was, but it did at least successfully capture the dark, Victorian eeriness of the infamous novel. Objectively, I can’t think of any legitimate criticisms: the acting was fantastic, the ambiance was chilling, and the choice to make Count Orlok a disgusting rotting corpse was perfectly disturbing. Nevertheless, I simply didn’t love it, and therefore wouldn’t feel right ranking it much higher than this.
20. Cuckoo
I have to confess that my primary reason for watching this movie was that Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens are both in it. I didn’t honestly know what to expect (other than some blue-eyed eye candy), but I certainly didn’t expect… all that. Cuckoo is bizarre and honestly a bit confusing, with an unexpected twist involving the main character’s half sister. While moving to a foreign town that’s hiding a sinister secret is nothing new in cinema, the exact nature of the secret in this movie was certainly original.
19. Abigail
I’m a bit conflicted over how I feel about the trailer for this movie revealing that the titular character is a vampire. On the one hand, it clarified expectations and let the audience know what they were in for, but on the other hand it removed the potential for a bigger reveal. I think it might have been more exciting if the trailer insinuated that Abigail wasn’t a normal girl without explicitly telling us that she’s a vampire. Nevertheless, this movie was fun (albeit a bit cringe at times) and gorey and perfectly entertaining even though I knew what to expect.
18. Azrael
A Quiet Place is the most well-known modern horror movie with little-to-no dialogue, but that doesn’t mean Azrael wasn’t excellent in its own right. Perhaps explaining the context of the movie via on-screen text wasn’t the most elegant method, but it was certainly efficient. There were a few things I wouldn’t have picked up on if I hadn’t read about them afterwards, though, such as the meaning of the scars on the characters’ throats. They also never established any of the characters’ names, even though the entire movie is named after the main character. Still, the cast was able to keep my attention the entire time without saying an entire word – especially Samara Weaving (Martin was completely justified in placing her on his list of underrated Scream Queens!).
17. The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim
Many people are surprised to learn that I have never consumed a single piece of Lord of the Rings media in my life. It’s not for a lack of wanting to—it’s certainly up my alley and I’m sure I’ll love it—I just somehow never got around to reading the books or watching the movies. As someone who prefers to watch things in chronological order, I felt that this animated prequel was a good introduction to the franchise. There was nothing revolutionary about the plot (in fact, it almost felt like an alternate telling of Pixar’s Brave, right down to the red-haired princess who refuses to marry), but the animation was gorgeous and the character deaths were devastating.
16. Love Lies Bleeding
I’m a sucker for a Sapphic love story. Add a true crime twist and I’m totally sold! My biggest critique about Love Lies Bleeding is that towards the end, there’s one moment where the movie seems to suddenly enter the realm of science fiction for a singular minute despite not showing even a hint of sci-fi elements the entire rest of the movie. This scene was so bizarre and out of nowhere that it threw off the entire movie for me.
15. Imaginary
The more horror movies I consume, the more numb I find myself becoming to scary content. I’m always prepared for jump scares and am usually not bothered by freaky monsters. Somehow, though, Imaginary actually freaked me out. I know the haunted-toy-passed-down-for-generations story has been told a million times, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The teddy bear itself wasn’t nearly as creepy as, say, the haunted dolls that appear in similar movies, but the demon’s true form haunted me for days.
14. Tarot
I don’t honestly have much to say about Tarot: it was very predictable and not super scary. However, the monsters were creepy and I was never bored. Plus, as someone who dabbles in tarot card readings, I’m always more than happy to see movies centered around the Arcana. It may not have been an objectively amazing movie, but sometimes junk food horror like this is exactly what the doctor ordered.
13. Terrifier 3
I watched the first two Terrifier movies (as well as the anthology All Hallows Eve) for the first time shortly before the third installment was released. I don’t love the fantastical direction the franchise is taking (I preferred the dark realism of the first one), but now I’m invested for life. In the third installment there were one or two kills that were surprisingly generic, but others that were so depraved and original that it really made me question the writer’s psychiatric state. I thought all the warnings about the extreme graphic nature of this film were overkill, but I admit there were moments that made me queasy – and I can handle some pretty intense gore. Also, the song that Ice Nine Kills made for this movie is so freaking good that it ended up in my Spotify Wrapped despite not being released until October.
12. In A Violent Nature
Sometimes horror movies that take place in broad daylight are even scarier than those that occur at night. There’s just something about seeing a mangled corpse laying out in the open sunlight that’s far more disturbing than it being obscured by the darkness. After all, we’re so used to the monsters only coming out at night that we assume we’re safe during the day. In theory, this movie should have been boring, considering most of it is just walking through the woods; however, I actually found this mundanity incredibly successful. In lieu of suspenseful chases and violent struggles against the killer, we see peaceful moments abruptly interrupted by brutal, eerily silent slayings. The supernatural back story was a bit silly, and the characters were shallow and almost impossible to care about, but the unique style of this movie was fascinating.
11. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Oddly enough, the #11 spot in my 2023 ranking also went to a Godzilla movie. While Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire wasn’t as thematically powerful as last year’s international blockbuster Godzilla Minus One, it was still a great watch. If there’s one thing better than giant monsters beating each other up, it’s giant monsters working together to beat up other giant monsters – and this film had both. Plus, Godzilla curling up to take a nap in the Coliseum is probably my favorite visual to ever come out of this franchise.
10. Lisa Frankenstein
With her roles in Freaky in 2020 and now Abigail and Lisa Frankenstein in 2024, Kathryn Newton is well on her way to becoming a Scream Queen. Out of those three movies, this was by far my favorite. Lisa Frankenstein is like Jennifer’s Body meets Warm Bodies with extra humor. When I saw it in theaters, there was an elderly couple in the audience and when the movie was over I heard the woman say “Well that was a strange movie.” It sure was, and I loved it! It was funny, romantic, and bloody all at once. I do wish they had made a reference to Lisa Frank at some point, though.
9. Trap
I often say that you can tell my current mental state based on the length of my fingernails, since I bite my nails when I’m stressed or tense. Well, after watching Trap, I left the theater in desperate need of a manicure. Since the trailer revealed that the father was the killer, I knew that there had to be some other twist, because otherwise it wouldn’t be much of a thriller. I had a few theories, but it went in a totally different direction than I expected.
8. Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2
It’s actually kind of embarrassing how high in this ranking I’m placing this movie. But especially after comparing it to the dumpster fire that was the first Blood and Honey, this bizarre slasher was genuinely fantastic. You can read all my thoughts about it here.
7. The Fall Guy
I’m not a huge fan of action or heterosexual romance movies, so you wouldn’t think this movie was my cup of tea. But my love for both Ryan Reynolds and Emily Blunt was enough to make me want to see it, and the comedy genre was enough to make it a pleasurable viewing experience. I don’t think any of the jokes failed to land, and I was laughing from start to finish. Plus Reynolds and Blunt’s characters did have pretty good chemistry. You can read Hailey’s review of the film here.
6. Inside Out 2
Somehow I don’t feel right placing this in my Top 10, yet I can’t think of any legitimate reason to rank it any lower. Adding a whole new cast of emotions should have felt forced and unnatural, especially since in the first movie we see that other characters have the exact same panel of emotions as Riley (Anger, Sadness, Disgust, Joy, and Fear) in their heads. However, with the existence of suppressed memories, I suppose it makes sense that there would be suppressed or hidden emotions, too. Puberty is such a jarring life stage that the abrupt addition of all new feelings actually felt right. If only all sequels were as good as this one!
5. Speak No Evil
This was the final movie I watched in 2024, and I am so glad I was able to squeeze it in. James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi are creepily captivating as the charismatic couple who seemingly just want to extend hospitality to their new friends. Their performances were so convincing that there were many times when I wondered if the premise of the film was a trick and they actually didn’t have evil intentions. They would frequently do something that I was so sure would lead to them revealing their true murderous selves, but then they didn’t. The cyclical rollercoaster of dread, suspense, and relief kept me thoroughly invested.
4. The Substance
When I initially watched this movie, my main takeaway was that all the people calling it “the most disgusting film ever” and reporting that they fainted or vomited at the theater must not be into horror movies, because while The Substance was certainly gross it didn’t stand out as the most revolting thing I’ve ever watched. Yet the more time that passed since watching the movie, the more it occupied my mind. I think this lingering impact shows just how good of a film it was. At some point after I saw this movie, my mom was lamenting how she wished she was younger and skinnier, so I told her the overview of The Substance. The summary alone was enough to change her perspective, so you can imagine how effective it must be including the stomach-churning visuals.
3. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
I have a terrible sin to confess: I didn’t watch Beetlejuice for the first time until 2021. Therefore, I don’t have any nostalgic feelings about the original movie to impact my view on the sequel and was able to enjoy it for what it was. I have seen a lot of criticisms about there being too many stories going on at once, but I personally felt that all the different narratives flowed together nicely and I enjoyed how they connected to each other. I don’t love the direction they took Lydia’s character, but I didn’t hate it either, and Jenna Ortega was an excellent addition to the franchise.
2. Deadpool & Wolverine
This ranking is based entirely on how much I enjoyed the experience of watching each movie, and man, did I have a blast with this one. Besides the first two Deadpool movies, the only part of the X-Men franchise I’ve watched is Logan (I’m more of an MCU gal), so I didn’t catch or understand all of the Easter eggs and references, but that didn’t make the film hard to follow. On the other hand, my partner whom I saw the movie with is a huge X-Men nerd so I lived vicariously through their excitement towards every callback to comics and old films. Deadpool & Wolverine was wild, raunchy, and hilarious, and it’s one of the extremely few films that I was willing to watch in theaters more than once.
1. Wicked – Part One
For former theatre kids like myself, seeing your favorite Broadway musical adapted into a movie can either be a dream come true or your worst nightmare. Wicked was the first show I ever saw on Broadway, and when I was in my high school’s Drama League I competed with two different songs from the musical, so it goes without saying that I wanted nothing less than perfection from the movie adaptation. Fortunately, my high expectations were not only met, but exceeded. You can read my review of the film here. Out of all the movies that came out in 2024, this was the one I was looking forward to the most, so it’s incredibly satisfying that it claimed the #1 spot on this list!
To read my thoughts on the films Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle, Blue Lock: EPISODE Nagi, and given: Hiiragi Mix, check out my 2024 anime ranking!
