Essential The Official Coli Horror Film Thread: Discussion, Recommendations And Murder.

[storyteller]

Best Overall Horror Movie 2024:

Spoiler

For now, it's Late Night with the Devil...It's become an instant "comfort" watch for me. I've watched it a few times already, and I enjoy it the same every time. The short list for the rest is First Omen, Red Rooms, Exhuma, and the Substance. But, I'm watching Nosferatu tomorrow and hoping it cracks top-five.

Scariest Horror Movie:

Spoiler

No movie made me as uncomfortable as Joko Anwar's Grave Torture. It builds tension slowly but hits with these big moments of horror that are great. The Final Act is a crescendo that matches even the craziness and chaos of Immaculate. It's messed up in the best way possible.

Honorable Mentions:
- The First Omen really has well-crafted scares throughout its run time. It's just missing a "that moment" scene.

- Smile 2 is the best jump-scare movie of 2024...that counts for something!

Best Kill:

Spoiler

The Yoga Kill from In a Violent Nature...I didn't have to say the movie title if you've seen this kill. It's insane, and I don't think I've ever heard a live audience react like they did to this moment.

Honorable Mentions:
- The Shower kill in Terrifier. For generations "shower kill" was synonymous with Hitchcock's Psycho, but I have a feeling younger fans will think of Art the Clown eviscerating that poor couple in the shower.

- The opening scene of Smile 2 is hard to treat as a single kill. But it feels like a one-shot scene that concludes with a twisted death that really sets the tone for the rest of the movie.

- Alien Romulus is a fun addition to a movie franchise that was starting to feel stale. It felt like the first half was inspired by the original Alien, while the second half took from Aliens...so it's a mashup of the two best movies in franchise history.

Best Original Horror:

Spoiler

I know the Substance is getting all the love right now, but I'm partial to Late Night with the Devil. It's like a meta experience, being part of the audience that sees everything unfold. Plus there's enough ambiguity to rewatch Late Night through a gang of different lenses.

Honorable Mentions:
- The Substance, of course, was great. It deserves all the praise it gets, but I think it ran longer than it needed to which is why I'm edging Late Night.

- Exhuma came out of nowhere and really came with a creative story and awesome cinematography.

- Red Rooms is a bit more thriller than horror IMO...but damn was it good!

Best Continuation:

Spoiler

The First Omen feels like a perfect set up to reboot the Omen series and brand. It had genuine scares, an absorbing plot, and didn't do too much retconning of the originals. It holds up really well.

Honorably Mention:
- A Quite Place Day One really restored the feeling. I didn't love the sequel, but this one got back to the emotional core of the original with outstanding lead performances.

- Smile 2 and Terrifier 3 both stuck to their typical recipes but did so in satisfying ways for fans of their series.

Scream Queen of the year:

Spoiler

Naomi Scott's performance in Smile 2 was too elite to ignore. The Smile franchise requires MC's to fall apart, and Scott owned it. Her performance also required doing pop star ish, bits of comedy, and doing the "one teardrop" face repeatedly.

Honorable Mentions:
- Lauren LaVera is almost as important to the Terrifier movies as Art. She's basically the beating heart of the movie that Art's determined to snuff out.

- Sydney Sweeney picked Immaculate to produce, and it's clear why...that movie brought out her best, particularly in the final act.

- Lupita Nyong'o was fantastic in A Quiet Place Day One, and I'm a little worried her great work might get forgotten.

Killer of the Year:

Spoiler

It's been the Year of Art the Clown to me. I think Terrifier 3's success has cemented Art as the biggest horror icon this millenium and the only challenger is maybe Jigsaw.

- The Golem from Oddity is such a striking image that I can't think of any horror image that I saw more often in pictures for articles about new or good horror movies.

- Without spoiling anything, the lead in Strange Darling was EXCELLENT!

The Sleeper of the year:

Spoiler

Beezel had a low budget and came out of nowhere. I completely stumbled on it and was pleasantly surprised at how many quality moments they packed into a limited run time and budget.

Honorable Mentions:
- Lowlifes is the best horror movie that Tubi's put out in a very long time. It's got elements of a bunch of horror movies I loved in the past, but puts a clever spin on everything. It's still Tubi horror, but this was good enough for me to keep giving their originals a shot for another year.

- MADS feels like it came out of nowhere. I'm not sure if it's actually a one-shot film or just edited brilliantly, but the effect is all the same. It's REC or 28 days later if we followed around people as they slowly became infected.

- Ironically, Sleep is a damned good movie that hasn't gotten its propers. It's Bong Joon Ho-approved and puts a really clever spin on a tried and true horror trope.

 

[Lootpack]

Best Overall Horror Movie 2024:

Spoiler

The Substance.

Spoiler

It's Cronenberg, Yuzna, and Henenlotter all rolled into one and was still able to tell its own story at the end of the day. It's also a story that I feel is prevalent in all eras of Hollywood, where the celebrated actress reaches that middle age where things aren't necessarily sunshine and rainbows anymore. They're fighting to stay relevant, trying to land that perfect role that makes them big again, and some of them end up lost in the sauce. Demi Moore is quite possibly the best actress for this role, and puts on a hell of a performance. It definitely feels like Letterboxd's Film of the Year. Seeing it rack up them Golden Globe noms the other week was a pleasant surprise and I hope the movie keeps riding the wave to possibly bigger awards.

Scariest Horror Movie:

Spoiler

Oddity

Spoiler

There's some genuinely creepy shyt in this that stayed with me well after the credits rolled. That tent jump scare got me good. I liked how the camerawork tricks you into thinking that something nefarious is in play to pop out along the background staircase, but instead has the scare reveal itself far closer in Dani's field of vision. It was super effective to me.

Best Kill:

Spoiler

Terrifier 3

Spoiler

For me, that poor couple getting sliced and diced with the chainsaws takes the cake over the bedroom scene in Terrifier 2. As annoying as those characters were, they didn't deserve to go out like that. Lol. I thought 3 managed to step up their sound design game in a big way where every axe hack, chainsaw rip, and hammer smash were felt.

The mall bombing is another batch of kills I want to mention here because it felt as if the film had told the audience: "Yeah, we went there. You gonna get up and walk out the theater or you staying put for the rest of this madness?"

Is it disturbing? Yes. Do I like it when a film doesn't give a fukk about holding your hand? Also yes.

Best Original Horror: (What new horror property was the best of the year, we've got some contenders this year).

Spoiler

The Substance, again.

Best Continuation:

Spoiler

'Smile 2' plays off similar beats as the first in its formula, but still finds a way to set the third entry up to be even more bonkers. I said it in the other thread...if this fukkery doesn't end up at the White House, I'd be shocked.

The Parker Finn season tickets are copped though. Can't wait to see what he does next. I will say a part of me wants to sock him in the jaw though for touching Possession (1981), but maybe he'll cook with the remake.

Scream Queen of the Year:

Spoiler

Naomi Scott, 'Smile 2'

The highlight of it all. Naomi's performance is so good here that it almost masked the script's issues. She melts into her role easily and so much so that I had to remind myself that the poor soul she portrayed was, in fact, a fictional character.

And the songs were actually catchy as fukk.

Killer of the Year:

Spoiler

Strange Darling

Spoiler

Willa Fitzgerald as 'The Lady' was easily the most twisted killer I've seen this year. I'd credit such to the way the movie's directed. Its non-linear structure had me thinking she would be the film's runaway damsel in distress and I couldn't have been any more wrong. Her character is so fukkin' diabolical. I'm still thinking of that long shot of her fading away to her death in the truck.

Sleeper of the Year:

Spoiler

'Strange Darling'.

My sleeper is a thriller. It didn't get a wide theatrical release and is nowhere close to receiving acclaim like 'The Substance' currently, so I think this qualifies. Strange Darling felt like an ode to Tarantino's pulpy indies of the 90s, and that's probably my favorite era of his. So this is sitting high on the Best of 2024 list for me. One of those flicks where you think you know where the story's headed...

...until you don't.

Best Score of 2024:

Spoiler

Smile 2, Cristobal Tapia de Veer

Cristobal is that guy. He composed the score for Utopia and The White Lotus. He comes back to serve up a continuation score for Smile 2 with new soundscapes that managed to tie my stomach into knots. The paranoia of Smile doesn't fully work without his contributions here, IMO. His pieces can be considered characters that are arguably just as essential as the rest of the story beats.

Spoiler: Smile 2

The way he was able to remix Skye's cries into her song at the end was some twisted shyt and I salute the theater clean-up crew having no clue what the film is about and having to listen to that. Crazy stuff.

Biggest Disappointments:

Spoiler

- 'Heretic' - Hugh Grant letting the wall down and embracing the charming prick that he is was dope as fukk, but the Reddit theology lecture wasn't for me. I'm hesitant on even calling it a horror. It felt more like a thriller.
- Scream 7's determination in casting DCOM-level acting talent after fumbling the bag so hard with Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega.
- Still don't know what the fukk Blumhouse is doing. Can talents like Whannell, Derrickson, and Flanagan put them in the right direction? We'll see.
- Bryan Fuller giving the Irish Goodbye to the A24 Crystal Lake series he initially pitched.

 

[storyteller]

Best Overall Horror Movie 2024:

Spoiler

The Substance.

It's Cronenberg, Yuza, and Henenlotter all rolled into one and was still able to tell its own story at the end of the day. It's also a story that I feel is prevalent in all eras of Hollywood, where the celebrated actress reaches that middle age where things aren't necessarily sunshine and rainbows anymore. They're fighting to stay relevant, trying to land that perfect role that makes them big again, and some of them end up lost in the sauce. Demi Moore is quite possibly the best actress for this role, and puts on a hell of a performance. It definitely feels like Letterboxd's Film of the Year. Seeing it rack up them Golden Globe noms the other week was a pleasant surprise and I hope the movie keeps riding the wave to possibly bigger awards.

Scariest Horror Movie:


Oddity


There's some genuinely creepy shyt in this that stayed with me well after the credits rolled. That tent jump scare got me good. I liked how the camerawork tricks you into thinking that something nefarious is in play to pop out along the background staircase, but instead has the scare reveal itself far closer in Dani's field of vision. It was super effective to me.

Best Kill:

Terrifier 3

For me, that poor couple getting sliced and diced with the chainsaws takes the cake over the bedroom scene in Terrifier 2. As annoying as those characters were, they didn't deserve to go out like that. Lol. I thought 3 managed to step up their sound design game in a big way where every axe hack, chainsaw rip, and hammer smash were felt.

The mall bombing is another batch of kills I want to mention here because it felt as if the film had told the audience: "Yeah, we went there. You gonna get up and walk out the theater or you staying put for the rest of this madness?"

Is it disturbing? Yes. Do I like it when a film doesn't give a fukk about holding your hand? Also yes.

Best Original Horror: (What new horror property was the best of the year, we've got some contenders this year).


The Substance, again.

Best Continuation:

'Smile 2' plays off similar beats as the first in its formula, but still finds a way to set the third entry up to be even more bonkers. I said it in the other thread...if this fukkery doesn't end up at the White House, I'd be shocked.

The Parker Finn season tickets are copped though. Can't wait to see what he does next. I will say a part of me wants to sock him in the jaw though for touching Possession (1981), but maybe he'll cook with the remake.

Scream Queen of the Year:

Naomi Scott, 'Smile 2'

The highlight of it all. Naomi's performance is so good here that it almost masked the script's issues. She melts into her role easily and so much so that I had to remind myself that the poor soul she portrayed was, in fact, a fictional character.

And the songs were actually catchy as fukk.

Killer of the Year:


Strange Darling


Willa Fitzgerald as 'The Lady' was easily the most twisted killer I've seen this year. I'd credit such to the way the movie's directed. Its non-linear structure had me thinking she would be the film's runaway damsel in distress and I couldn't have been any more wrong. Her character is so fukkin' diabolical. I'm still thinking of that long shot of her fading away to her death in the truck.


Sleeper of the Year:


'Strange Darling'.

My sleeper is a thriller. It didn't get a wide theatrical release and is nowhere close to receiving acclaim like 'The Substance' currently, so I think this qualifies. Strange Darling felt like an ode to Tarantino's pulpy indies of the 90s, and that's probably my favorite era of his. So this is sitting high on the Best of 2024 list for me. One of those flicks where you think you know where the story's headed...

...until you don't.


Best Score of 2024:


Smile 2, Cristobal Tapia de Veer

Cristobal is that guy. He composed the score for Utopia and The White Lotus. He comes back to serve up a continuation score for Smile 2 with new soundscapes that managed to tie my stomach into knots. The paranoia of Smile doesn't fully work without his contributions here, IMO. His pieces can be considered characters that are arguably just as essential as the rest of the story beats.

The way he was able to remix Skye's cries into her song at the end was some twisted shyt and I salute the theater clean-up crew having no clue what the film is about and having to listen to that. Crazy stuff.

Biggest Disappointments:

- 'Heretic' - Hugh Grant letting the wall down and embracing the charming prick that he is was dope as fukk, but the Reddit theology lecture wasn't for me. I'm hesitant on even calling it a horror. It felt more like a thriller.
- Scream 7's determination in casting DCOM-level acting talent after fumbling the bag so hard with Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega.
- Still don't know what the fukk Blumhouse is doing. Can talents like Whannell, Derrickson, and Flanagan put them in the right direction? We'll see.
- Bryan Fuller giving the Irish Goodbye to the A24 Crystal Lake series he initially pitched.

I co-sign all these picks and the logic for 'em. I forgot to do the best score, but that's definitely Smile 2 for me as well; that movie uses audio as effectively as anything I can think of in the genre.

I'm glad to see Strange Darling get it's due...what a great movie! Funny you mentioned Tarantino's best era, because it gave me the vibe of another famous director whose early work is my favorite...Memento by Christopher Nolan. It's a deceptive movie in the best ways.

I agree on Heretic being disappointing. The thriller aspects were definitely the best part, and once it waded into being a true horror movie...it kinda failed for me. My biggest disappointment is Long Legs, not that it was even bad. It just didn't live up to the insane amount of hype for it.

 

[Duke Dixon]

I still haven't seen some movies like First Omen, Oddity, Exhuma, Azreal, Quiet Place franchise, Nosferatu etc.

Best Overall Horror Movie 2024:

Spoiler

The Substance

Scariest Horror Movie:

Nothing that I can think of.

Best Kill:

Spoiler

Yoga Kill from In a Violent Nature.

Best Original Horror: (What new horror property was the best of the year, we've got some contenders this year).

Spoiler

The Substance. Love this movie think about it at least once a week.

Best Continuation:

Spoiler

Weak year for sequels. Smile 2.

Alien Romulus was alright to me. I enjoyed PREY more. I don't have an issue with any of the fan service. Maybe I hyped myself up because I enjoyed the other Fede Álvarez I've seen before this.

Scream Queen of the Year:

Spoiler

Naomi Scott in Smile 2. She was great. I watched the movie twice so far and I wouldn't have done that without her performance.

Killer of the Year:

Spoiler

Josh Hartnett in Trap. Maybe Electric Lady in Strange Darling. Josh Hartnett makes Trap a good enough movie with him. Without him it is a terrible movie. No interesting kills, but he puts on a strong performance in his return to horror.

Honorable Mention : Jeffrey Combs in STREAM. I don't think he kills anyone but he's at 100% Jeffrey Combs in a Terrifier 2 type budgeted movie. He's also in it a lot. Had a lot of fun seeing him in this.

Sleeper of the Year:

Spoiler

Strange Darling. I agree its great. I assume people don't talk about it to not ruin the twist. I normally just saw complaints about it being shot on film. I'm glad it was shot on film. I'm slightly sensitive to colors and the color red in this movie was so great.

Barbara Hershey being in this film reminded me that I wanted to watch The Entity. I'm glad I did, because that is truly a gem.

Biggest Disappointments:

Spoiler

The Front Room - Worst A24 movie I've seen so far. Just shyt. The whole movie is shyt that's all it is, shyt.

Maxxxine - Its alright but X and Pearl are all great for their own reasons.

Hold Your Breath- Sarah Paulson is a scream queen for sure. She isn't given much to do, and the movie is below average. There was so much potential here.

Night Swim - This is what the general population think all horror movies are. Its safe and boring. Very predictable.

 

[MenacingMonk]

Just watched Wishmaster.

Can’t believe I just found out about the franchise. First film is good.

 

[Straw Hat Luffy]

End of year is here. I think it's a good time for everyone to give us your Superlatives. I've made a little list of categories, feel free to fill it in and throw in some honorable mentioned where they're deserved.

Best Overall Horror Movie 2024: (Simple as it sounds, what was the best movie for the genre)?

Scariest Horror Movie: (A lot of sites list the Substance as the best horror of the year, but it's comedic and gross...not scary. This is for movies that actually build tension, creepiness, and scare scenes. If you wanted to scare someone, which 2024 movie is your top pick)?

Best Kill: (Every few years a kill scene comes along that's so iconic that it gets a name..think "the saw scene" in the original Terrifier. Which kill(s) stood out the most this year)?

Best Original Horror: (What new horror property was the best of the year, we've got some contenders this year).

Best Continuation: (Sequels, Prequels, and Requels get their chance to shine here).

Scream Queen of the year: (Self-explanatory)

Killer of the Year: (Same)

The Sleeper of the year: (What's a horror movie that didn't receive much hype but surprised you this year)?

Best score of 2024: (I'll say this until I'm blue in the face, Scores make scares...what movie had a soundtrack and score that stood out the most)

I'm curious to hear your takes. We had a crapload of horror movies this year, with a few standouts and a lot of decent to good films. I kept it positive, but we could throw in a Worst of 2024 and Biggest disappointment if yall want.

Reserved for later.

You guys know I watched close to 200 scary movies this year. So I I need to sort out which movies are from this year and watch some movies i still havent seen.

I keep seeing the first omen is good

Might need to rewatch a few

 

[storyteller]

Reserved for later.

You guys know I watched close to 200 scary movies this year. So I I need to sort out which movies are from this year and watch some movies i still havent seen.

I keep seeing the first omen is good

Might need to rewatch a few

I started keeping a list this year to track most of what I watch. I forgot to add a bunch of stuff, but it's been hella useful to keep track of everything and compare my reactions to movies while they're fresh in my head.

 

[Straw Hat Luffy]

I started keeping a list this year to track most of what I watch. I forgot to add a bunch of stuff, but it's been hella useful to keep track of everything and compare my reactions to movies while they're fresh in my head.

The plan for 2025 is to keep a detailed account of all the movies I watch.

I rewatched the substance for the first time the other day and i liked it way more the first time.

I think my movie of the year comes down to Nosferatu and smile 2.

I’ve seen Smile 2 a few times already so I already know it’s a lock in for at least 2 spot

But I need to go rewatch Nosferatu again this weekend

 

[El Jefe]

Anyone watch succubus just popped up 1of the streaming joints

Is it hot garbage

 

[storyteller]

The plan for 2025 is to keep a detailed account of all the movies I watch.

I rewatched the substance for the first time the other day and i liked it way more the first time.

I think my movie of the year comes down to Nosferatu and smile 2.

I’ve seen Smile 2 a few times already so I already know it’s a lock in for at least 2 spot

But I need to go rewatch Nosferatu again this weekend

I'm clock-watching out of excitement to close the year strong on a theater viewing of Nosferatu. The theaters for every screening after 4:00 are pretty much full. So, I'm hoping to get a good crowd for this viewing.

Rewatchability is one thing I like to factor into my picks. Certain movies are great on first-watch but feel long or lose impact on rewatch. I love it when a movie is better on the second watch...surprisingly, Immaculate was better on the second watch for me than the first. Anticipating the payoff in the final act made the journey worthwhile.