Heretic and 4 Other Unhinged Horror Films Released in 2024 That Reinvented the Genre
It's time to highlight releases that may have gone unnoticed.
We're talking about five horror films from 2024 with unusual visual solutions and bold flirtations with the rules of the genre.
1. In a Violent Nature, 2024
In his debut feature film, Chris Nash combines two seemingly polar directions: slasher and slowburner. The result is a leisurely, contemplative movie in which the action is seen from the perspective of a madman of mystical origin.
We learn little about the maniac's nature, but within the framework of the attraction we follow him closely. Despite gallons of blood and rather brutal reprisals, the spectacle turned out to be almost meditative.
2. Strange Darling, 2024
Strange Darling has become an indie hit and is vying for cult horror status this year. First of all, the form is fascinating. The narrative is divided into chapters that randomly show the viewer the story of the chase: a man with a gun chases a woman in a red jumpsuit.
Some believe that the movie enriched the genre with a new approach, others – that it turned out to be an effective stylistic exercise and nothing more. In any case, Strange Darling is definitely an unforgettable movie.
3. Lovely, Dark, and Deep, 2024
First-time director Teresa Sutherland combines fear of the woods and Lovecraftian motifs with the main character's inner experiences. Lennon gets a job as a ranger in a national park to look for lost tourists and find the one she once lost.
And if the screenplay's portrait of the woman is not very impressive, the transitions between worlds – mystical, subconscious and real – are truly inventive. The movie sometimes resembles one of the best games of the year, Alan Wake 2.
4. Cuckoo, 2024
Director Tilman Singer made a truly strange and cinephile debut with Luz, so expectations were high for the second film. In part, Cuckoo turned out to be a much more compromised movie with a clear environmental agenda. But many of the visual and musical choices are truly impressive, as is the work with texture in the frame.
After the death of her mother, Gretchen is forced to move with her father's new family to a mountain resort in Germany. There she gets a job as a manager at a local hotel owned by Mr. Konig, her father's employer and an extremely suspicious man.
5. Heretic, 2024
First of all, the movie attracts with the dark side of British romantic hero Hugh Grant: with age, the actor has expanded his range and surprises the audience with each new role. But fans of the genre were left with mixed feelings: the directors did not offer an exciting horror in a confined space, but a conversational thriller.
Two Mormon women come to the retired intellectual Mr. Reed as part of their missionary work to convert him to their faith. The first impression quickly fades, and the man's charm becomes more and more frightening.