Spooky season is almost here, and with it comes a fresh batch of horror movies to scare and delight audiences.
We’ve waited long enough, children of the night! It’s time to make music. Halloween will be upon us before we know it, and that means streamers and theaters alike will soon be packed with — to quote Diondre Cole — “spooky, kooky, ooky, soupy, loopy, it’s the great pumpkin, Snoopy!” There are legacy sequels, family-friendly horror gateways, prestige creature features, gnarly slashers, and even a Christmas horror film gracing our screens in the next two months leading up to the big day. Here’s every major horror movie coming out in September and October of 2024.
September
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
(2024)
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara, Willem Dafoe
Release Date: September 6, 2024
Everyone’s favorite bio-exorcist is back! Tim Burton returns to helm a sequel to the audience favorite horror-comedy 36 years after its initial release. Familiar faces return, this time accompanied by some fresh new victims for Beetlejuice’s shenanigans. Expect out-of-this-world set designs, plenty of visual gags, and a love for the macabre that brings an old-school style to the modern blockbuster.
The Front Room
(2024)
Directed by: Sam Eggers, Max Eggers
Starring: Brandy Norwood, Andrew Burnap, Kathryn Hunter
Release Date: September 6, 2024
In the the Eggers Brothers’ feature film debut, newly-pregnant Belinda’s mother-in-law moves in and tries to get her claws on her child. Now, Belinda is forced to draw the line somewhere to protect her family. Brandy stars in this A24 psychological thriller alongside Kathryn Hunter, who plays her mother-in-law.
Speak No Evil
(2024)
Directed by: James Watkins
Starring: James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy
Release Date: September 13, 2024
The original Speak No Evil was a brutal film with a bleak-as-hell ending, and now we’re getting a remake that brings the horror a little closer to home. In this story of good manners gone deadly, an idyllic weekend vacation slowly turns into a nightmare when an American family stays at the country estate of a British family they befriended on vacation. Add in James McAvoy in another spooky scenario, and you have a perfect recipe for thrills and chills.
The Substance
(2024)
Directed by: Coralie Fargeat
Starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid
Release Date: September 20, 2024
Coralie Fargeat, who thrilled audiences with her debut Revenge, is finally back, and this Cannes Best Screenplay-winner promises to go just as hard on the thrills. The film follows a former A-list celebrity (Demi Moore) fired from her fitness TV show who tries a mysterious new drug that gives her a whole new body — literally. Critics out of Cannes praised Moore’s performance and the film’s grotesque body horror.
Bagman
(2024)
Directed by: Colm McCarthy
Starring: Sam Claflin, Antonia Thomas, William Hope
Release Date: September 20, 2024
The director of the poignant The Girl with All the Gifts is back with another horror film, this time emphasizing the sheer terror of being a kid. Bagman follows a man who narrowly escaped the titular mythical monster when he was a kid, and now that he is a father himself, the creature is back and on the hunt for his family.
Never Let Go
(2024)
Directed by: Alexandre Aja
Starring: Halle Berry, Percy Daggs IV, Anthony B. Jenkins
Release Date: September 20, 2024
Halle Berry in a horror movie! Need we say more? If you need any more convincing, add in Alexandre Aja, director of the terrific alligator creature feature Crawl, and a story about a mother and her twin sons who are literally all tied together with ropes to stay connected and safe from the malignant spirits that plague them — until the bonds start to become undone. Audiences can expect an emotional horror movie with high thrills, and a dog who better make it safe and sound to the end of the story.
October
A Different Man
(2024)
Directed by: Aaron Schimberg
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Adam Pearson
Release Date: October 4, 2024
This genre-bender from A24 delighted audiences at Sundance, who praised Sebastian Stan’s performance as an aspiring actor who undergoes a medical procedure that drastically changes his appearance and turns his new winning smile into a nightmare. There’s drama, there’s sci-fi, and there’s comedy, plus a healthy dose of body horror and even some Lynchian vibes in this gothic descent into madness.
The Platform 2
(2024)
Directed by: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
Starring: Milena Smit, Hovik Keuchkerien
Premiere Date: October 4, 2024 on Netflix
Netflix is serving seconds with The Platform 2, the sequel to the massive Spanish horror film from 2020 about a futuristic vertical prison where those not on high floors fight to eat scraps — or anything at all. The sequel introduces a new leader in The Platform who imposes their rule and severe punishment. Rising up against them is a new resident who fights against the prison’s feeding system. The new film does seem to play up the cannibalism, so expect more carnage in this new course.
V/H/S/Beyond
(2024)
Directed by: Jordan Downey, Christian & Justin Long, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal, Kate Siegel
Premiere Date: October 4, 2024 on Shudder
The V/H/S franchise is back with a seventh film, this time featuring six new terrifying stories with a sci-fi twist. The anthology series has always prided itself on tapping exciting voices in horror and giving a start to some of the biggest genre filmmakers of tomorrow. This time we have the directorial debut of The Haunting of Hill House star Kate Siegel, from a script by horror maestro Mike Flanagan. Justin Long and his brother Christian Long write and direct a segment, while Justice Martinez of the Radio Silence collective returns to direct a new segment after bookending the very first V/H/S.
Terrifier 3
(2024)
Directed by: Damien Leone
Starring: David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Chris Jericho
Release Date: October 11, 2024
Art the Clown is back, and there are few things in life as certain as the knowledge that he will bring with him plenty of horrifyingly grotesque carnage. This time, Terrifier 3 will tackle a fan-favorite double-holiday genre, the Christmas horror movie, as Art the Clown unleashes chaos in a town preparing for the holidays while Victoria Heyes, the possessed villainess, returns for another round of horror.
Smile 2
(2024)
Directed by: Parker Finn
Starring: Naomi Scott, Lukas Cage, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Gallner
Release Date: October 18, 2024
The first Smile was one of the biggest surprise horror hits of 2022, so of course we’re back for more smiles — and more killer demons. Director Parker Finn is back at the helm, and this time he’s tackling the world of pop superstardom, following a pop sensation who starts experiencing increasingly bizarre and bloody events. Is it the fame that’s getting to her? Or something more sinister?
Thumbnail images by Jay Maidment/©Universal Pictures, Matt Infante/©A24, ©Cineverse