"If you’ve been on the film side of social media, you’ve likely noticed that we are in the middle of an awesome horror movie renaissance right now. The promotion for the new horror film Longlegs starring Nicholas Cage gained excitement all over social media, showing live footage of his co-star Maika Monroe meeting him as “Longlegs” for the first time, which caused her heart rate to spike to 170 bpm. This genius marketing clip went viral, exciting the adrenaline junkies around the world in anticipation of the film.
After years of repetitive jump scares and the same old plots, horror (and horror marketing) is finally scary again. Don’t believe it’s a renaissance? Just ask our resident horror and thriller expert, Senior Fashion Editor Madeline Galassi, who helped us assemble this stellar film list. Madeline is our go-to source for fast-paced thrillers and genuinely scary films, and according to her, horror movies are so back.
With plot twists you never see coming and movies finally focusing on unsettling and eerie performances, recent horror films have brought us back to that feeling of watching when we were younger—hiding behind a pillow, or maybe sleeping with a light on that night. Here they are in all their glory: the best horror movies to watch right now.
1. Longlegs
Starting off incredibly strong, this movie went viral for its marketing campaigns with Maika Monroe, playing an FBI agent, being introduced to Nicolas Cage as “Longlegs” for the very first time. Her raw adrenaline made us all so excited for this one, and it did not disappoint. The story follows a serial killer (Cage), and the FBI agent (Monroe) pursuing him, as she uncovers a series of occult clues that she must solve to end his terrifying killing spree.
2. X
If you love the slasher horror genre, Mia Goth, and Jenna Ortega, this one will hit all the marks for you. In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in a rural Texas farm. When their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the crew find themselves fighting for their lives. Mia Goth stars in dual roles in this film: As the young porn star, Maxine, and an elderly woman, Pearl.
3. Abigail
In this terrifying thriller, a young ballet dancer named Abigail is kidnapped by six criminals. As the six kidnappers rotate watching over the child, one of them realizes that she is the daughter of Kristoff Lazaar, a powerful and mythical crime lord. When the kidnappers start to get mysteriously decapitated and mauled, they realize that Lazaar’s hit man, Valdez, must be trying to rescue Abigail. But when they turn to Abigail for answers, they realize that she is not, in fact, a ballerina. Instead, she’s a vampire.
4. The Menu
You wouldn’t think that a comedy horror movie based around food could be actually scary, but ‘The Menu’ is here to prove us all wrong. As guests arrive on a private island, awaiting an exclusive and once-in-a-lifetime culinary experience, they quickly realize that the experience leaves a deadly aftertaste—the head chef has brought them all there to kill them. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy, this movie is the perfect combination of funny and terrifying, with a little bit of social commentary sprinkled in.
5. Run
Another psychological horror film that you cannot miss out on if you haven’t already seen it. And let’s be honest, anything with Sarah Paulson and horror in it, we love. In an adrenaline-pumping story of lies, ‘Run’ highlights Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome, focusing on a daughter who has lived her life with disease and is paralyzed from the waist down (Kiera Allen). Slowly, she comes to find out that her mother has been keeping some big secrets from her about her past and her own diagnosis.
6. Barbarian
Bill Skarsgård and scary movies just make so much sense—his ability to turn on and off a creepy persona is truly incredible yet terrifying. Traveling to Detroit for a job interview, a young woman (Georgina Campbell) books a rental home. She arrives late at night to find that the house is double-booked, and a strange man (Skarsgård) is already staying there. Against her better judgment, she decides to spend the evening, but soon discovers that there’s a lot more to fear than an unexpected house guest.
7. Late Night with the Devil
If you liked the documentary style of ‘The Blair Witch Project,’ you’ll love ‘Late Night with the Devil.’ The film focuses on the events following a late-night talk show episode in 1977, in which the hosts attempted to boost ratings by hosting a possessed girl. Jack Delroy is the host of a late-night talk show called Night Owls, and after the death of his wife, Madeleine, he needs to boost ratings. In the middle of the Halloween episode, strange things start to happen to Jack’s cast and crew. As Jack begins to fight back against Lilly, the possessed child, on live television, all may not be as it appears.
8. Watcher
Maika Monroe and psychological thrillers are a match that never disappoints. As a serial killer stalks the city, a young actress (Monroe) who just moved to town with her boyfriend notices a mysterious stranger watching her from across the street. She begins to have vivid dreams about being strangled and decapitated in the manner of the serial killer’s victims—but in spite of her fears, her boyfriend still won’t believe that she’s being watched. We love a horror movie with a female director, and Chloe Okuno’s directing absolutely shines in this film.
9. Inside
Willem Dafoe playing in a psychological thriller is everything that we could have ever wanted, and his skills in portraying a descent to madness is one you don’t want to miss. ‘Inside’ tells the story of Nemo, an art thief trapped in a New York penthouse after his heist doesn’t go as planned. He becomes locked in the penthouse with no access to food for several weeks, slowly losing his grip on reality while surrounded by the priceless art that he had attempted to steal. Gradually, Nemo’s escape attempts become even more desperate and brutal.
10. The Platform
I’ll never forget the first time I watched this film, and how eerie it seemed to watch something so relative to what could be reality. In an incredibly twisted and dark social allegory about mankind and its insatiable hunger, inside a vertical prison system, inmates are assigned to a level and forced to ration food from a platform that moves between the floors. Predictably, the inmates on the upper levels take more than their fair share, and the lower levels get scraps—until one man decides to change everything.
11. Talk to Me
This wouldn’t be a horror movie roundup without at least one suspense film that has you screaming at the characters for making some incredibly dumb decisions. But either way, this movie gets brownie points for having us on the edge of our seats throughout every second of the film. ‘Talk to Me’ revolves around a group of friends who unleash terrifying supernatural forces when they become hooked on the new thrill of conjuring spirits with an embalmed hand.
12. Smile
If you’re looking for a movie that’ll make your skin crawl and maybe not look at people quite the same for a little, this one’s for you. After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.
13. Candyman (2021)
A film that feels like a scary story from childhood, this rendition of the cult classic is sure to have you on your toes. Decades ago, a neighborhood and its residents were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. A chance encounter with an old-timer exposes Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity.
14. Bones and All
Timothée Chalamet starring in a horror romance? Say less. In a world that cannot abide anyone outside the social norm, a young woman (Taylor Russel) is learning how to survive on the margins of society. She gets wrapped up in a romance with an intense, disenfranchised drifter (Chalamet). Together, the two embark upon a road trip, searching for identity and chasing beauty in a perilous world. The more they travel together, the more they must confront each other’s sinister pasts.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jenna Piotrowicz, Editorial Assistant
Jenna began working as an Editorial Assistant for The Everygirl in 2024. With her eye for detail, she assists the team with content creation, sourcing products and images, and works behind the scenes to support The Everygirl in uploading and updating content.