Alyssa VanPelt-Cathcart, Staff Writer
The summer heat is fading away, the autumn leaves line the sidewalks and paths, and the Mariah Carey memes are flooding the internet. It is fall! The season for people who get hyped on apple cider and pumpkin spice. Also, it is the perfect season to enjoy a favorite scary movie. However, the only decision is which movie? This article will look at an evaluated top five horror movies according to IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.
#5: Speak No Evil.
Speak No Evil was released in 2024 and directed by James Watkins. In this psychological thriller, “A family is invited to spend a whole weekend in a lonely home in the countryside, but as the weekend progresses, they realize that a dark side lies within the family who invited them” (according to IMDb). James McAvoy plays the role of Paddy, the husband living at the countryside home with his wife, Ciara, played by Aisling Franciosi. James Watkins has directed an episode of the Netflix Original series Black Mirror and another horror movie titled The Woman in Black (2012).
#4 Infested
A 2023 French monster horror about “residents of a rundown French apartment building battle against an army of deadly, rapidly reproducing spiders” (according to IMDb.) Director, Sébastien Vanicek, has directed a few other smaller projects such as Mayday (2015) and Crocs (2018). Théo Christine plays the role of Kaleb, a street-hustler who sells sneakers and has a fascination for exotic animals.
#3 Late Night with the Devil
This movie was ranked Rotten Tomatoes’ number one horror movie of 2024. This film was released in 2024 and directed by both Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes, known as the Cairnes Brothers. This supernatural horror uses a found-footage style to enhance the paranormal fear. “A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms” (IMDb). Colin Cairnes has directed a few episodes of the 2018 series, “How to Stay Married” and the 2016 slasher movie, Scare Campaign. As Late Night with the Devil is Cameron Cairnes’ first directed film, he has been the writer for other works such as Scare Campaign and a 2012 dark comedy horror, 100 Bloody Acres. David Dastmalchian plays Jack Delroy, the host of the live television show. Dastmalchian has been in other popular films such as Oppenheimer (2023), Dune: Part One (2021), and The Suicide Squad (2021).
#2 The Substance
A 2024 dark comedy that relies on body horror and drama to tell the story of “a fading celebrity decides to use a black-market drug, a cell replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself” (IMDb). As the first female director on the list, Coralie Fargeat, offers an insightful perspective on the feminine body and how pressures of staying young and beautiful can impact women. Fargeat has directed an episode of The Sandman (2022) and Revenge (2017), also a horror drama. Margaret Qualley stars in this movie as Sue, the fading actress. Qualley has been in other newer films such as Kinds of Kindness (2024) and Drive-Away Dolls (2024).
#1 Strange Darling
An exotic 2023 thriller, directed by JT Mollner. Mollner has directed other films such as Outlaws and Angels (2016), a western thriller, and a short film titled Flowers in December (2015). Strange Darling features the lovers, The Lady and The Demon, played by Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner, as “nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree” (IMDb). Fitzgerald has acted in a variety of shows and movies, but she has played Maben in Desperation Road (2023), a noir thriller. Gallner has been in several horror shows and movies, most notably, Mother May I? (2023) and Smile (2023).
This fall’s movies are leaning towards viewing from the perspective of the “villain” as society begins to crave more unique perspectives. The age of cliche slashers is fading fast as film makers promote more creativity in the genre of horror.
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