2024 promises to be another blockbuster year for horror with burgeoning franchises releasing more chapters, reboots, and the return of genre favourite directors.
Terrifier 3
Top of the list has to be the return of Art the Clown in Terrifier 3. After the runaway success of the second film on a shoestring budget, director Damien Leone has been given a bigger budget and there is scope to take the extremities to a whole new level.
Instead of terrorising around Halloween, Art will now take on Santa, with a yuletide/blood-filled chapter this time around. Lauren LaVera is back alongside David Howard Thornton’s Art plus wrestler/rock star Chris Jericho. We don’t know much about the third chapter so far, but guaranteed it will have gore fans at fever pitch come next Halloween.
Alien Romulus
Genre stalwart Fede Alvarez is tackling another well-known property with a fifth Alien film. Another sequel to this series has had many false starts, including attempts by Neill Blomkamp which were so close to rolling, that the director doesn’t ever want to talk about it in interviews ever again.
The plot for Alien: Romulus is as follows:
Young people from a distant world must face the most terrifying life form in the universe.
Let’s hope it’s more Aliens than Alien: Resurrection…
A Quiet Place: Day One
John Krasinski is taking a break from the director’s chair, with this prequel to his hit series A Quiet Place. Wife Emily Blunt returns in a stacked cast that includes Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn (Eddie Munson!), Denis O’Hare, and Djimon Hounsou.
The plot is still under wraps, but we will likely see the origins of the beasts from the first two films, so expect some more nerve-shredding tension and hopefully a prequel that can match the quality of A Quiet Place to date.
Smile 2
The success of Smile took many by surprise, but given its plot motif it felt like a sequel was almost inevitable. Writer/Director Parker Finn is back in the director’s chair for another film with an airtight plot at this stage.
Actress Naomi Scott is the only confirmed cast member so far, with an October 2024 release date the aim. Given the conclusion of Smile, Smile 2 is likely to have a fresh new direction, with a plot centering around Kyle Gallner’s Joel a safe bet, adding connective tissue to the original. Gallner is fast-becoming a horror icon, so any project he is part of has us interested.
The Strangers: Chapter 1
It was quite surprising news when we heard that The Strangers was being rebooted for not just one, but a new trilogy all directed by Renny Harlin. The Scandinavian creative cut his teeth in the genre with the fourth A Nightmare on Elm Street and has also helmed Deep Blue Sea and The Dyatlov Pass Incident over the years, but can he gives us a fresh spin on the home invasion classic?
All three films were filmed back-to-back with rumours of a multiple release, giving fans all three films at once, potentially on a streaming platform. A teaser clip was released in October, evoking the same tone as the original from 2008. The plot for chapter 1 is as follows –
Madelaine Petsch stars as a young woman on a road trip with her fiancé. But when they stop at a remote vacation rental in the woods, they become the prey of a vicious gang of masked strangers who attack without warning or reason and must use courage and cunning to survive one long, terrifying night.
This has potential to be a nerve-shredding crowd pleaser or total disaster, we’re not sure which yet…
Maxxxine
Full disclosure, Pearl was my favourite film of 2022.
While I enjoyed X, the style and execution of its prequel showed Ti West and more importantly, Mia Goth were the real deal.
Here we follow Maxine in the aftermath of X, as she heads for Hollywood and the promise of blood-soaked infamy via the adult entertainment industry.
West has employed some well-known faces including Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon, Bobby Cannavale, and singer Halsey.
Will Maxine be able to move on from the horrors of X, or will she become the heir to Pearl’s bloody throne?
Never Let Go
Alexandre Aja is back with Never Let Go, a haunting tale of a family that has been terrorized by an evil entity for years but all is not what it seems as one of the children questions its existence.
Aja is a genre star with credits such as Crawl, High Tension, Piranha 3D and The Hills Have Eyes remake under his belt. Halle Berry heads the cast of Never Let Go, and after her recent resurgence with the John Wick series, it would be a delight to see her command the screen once again under Aja’s guidance.
Which horror film are you looking forward to most in 2024? Let us know in the comments.
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