Just another top 10 list

My favorite movies of 2024

Happy New Year!

Every year I pick my 10 favorite first-time watches and force my friend to listen to me rave about them. This year, I get to spare her and do it here! These are tentatively ranked based on my enjoyment, so take my word with a grain of salt. These are not the best films of 2024, these are simply my best films. Enjoy some mini-reviews to close out the year. Please excuse any spelling errors, I’m having a bad writing week.

I’ll be honest, I had a very hard time writing this and almost didn’t put it out. I am unclear why I continue to try and rank my favorite films of the year because I have such a difficult time putting one movie over another. I also simply don’t know what to say about these films. I like what I like and I rarely feel the need to justify my reasoning. If I enjoy a movie it’s instantly 4 stars. Everything below that is just a different level of dissatisfaction. Maybe in 2025 I’ll leave the ranking and rating behind.

I watched over 200 movies this year, which to some people is nothing but it’s probably my new personal best. While the top 10 list is dominated by some great new releases, 2024 was also my year of 80s movies, Italian horror, and films I had just been putting off seeing. When I lost my job last December I had to cancel most of my streaming services and was forced to turn to my only option, Tubi. While I’m suspicious of Tubi’s motives¹, one cannot deny the bang for the buck you get—free access to hundreds of horror films. They have a wonderful selection of, you guessed it, 80s movies, Italian horror, and iconic films I’ve been ignoring. Most of the movies I enjoyed this year are films I found on Tubi, so shout out to them for being the real MVP of my year.

1. Longlegs (2024)

Actual footage of me standing at the bus stop outside Ulta yesterday

I’ve been an Osgood Perkins fan for years and I was thrilled to catch a movie of his in a theater. Beautifully shot, great performances, haunting sound design, an all-around thrill. Sometimes you just watch a movie and feel you are the target audience. Longlegs is a movie you have to be properly prepared to see. I think it was another victim of the “scariest movie of the year” label, and while the unique marketing worked, it may have given people the wrong idea of what Longlegs would be. For this viewer, the dread was sustained, the supernatural was welcomed, and the story resonated. I can see myself loving it for years to come, but I hesitate to recommend it as I can understand why it got the critical pushback it did. It worked for me, I understand if it didn’t for you. No other movie this year made me feel quite like Longlegs, and for that it’s my #1.

2. Furiosa (2024)

I still can’t decide if I like Furiosa more than Fury Road, but it was by far the most fun I’ve had in a theater all year. I felt like I could not get enough air the entire runtime. There was just something about the lighting that captivated me. I was afraid Furiosa wouldn’t meet my expectations, but it took a much-appreciated different approach to storytelling than Fury Road. Fury Road throws the viewer into the Mad Max world and takes off running. No need for explanations or extensive backstory, the present is what matters. Furiosa is all about the past and delves into the Mad Max lore in a way that could have felt laborious but is just as exhilarating as the first film. I’m disappointed that the hype around Furiosa seems to have flamed out just as quickly as it began, it deserves to burn eternal.

3. Nosferatu (2024)

I was afraid I would not make it to Nosferatu by the end of the year, but here we are. I walked 20 minutes in the rain to catch it at the earliest showing, and it was worth it. Robert Eggers is a hit or miss for me as I loved The Witch and enjoyed The Northman, but disliked The Lighthouse. I approached Nosferatu with anticipation, but with the expectation I may be let down. From the first scene to the last, I was absolutely enthralled. Nosferatu had such a weight to it that I was missing in a lot of other new releases². In a way, it reminded me of Longlegs; dark, occult, and self-indulgent. Both films are made purely for the creator’s pleasure, and they both just happened to cater to my taste. A freaky film after my own heart, I have nothing but love for it.

4. La Chimera (2023)

Starting slowly and with little explanation, I was concerned that I would be nothing but bored and confused during La Chimera. However, it establishes a mystery that I couldn’t help wanting to follow through to the end. What’s up with this man, what happened to Beniamina, where is this story even going? The scene in the tomb is where my entire perception of the film flipped. From that point on, I just got it. As someone with a high tolerance for poor acting, I am rarely very moved by an actor’s performance but Josh O’Connor brought me to tears. It’s his world and we’re all just living in it (shout out to him in Challengers as well).

5. From Beyond (1986)

I LOVE From Beyond. It was my introduction to Stuart Gordon and I can’t believe it took me this long to see it. Really campy, great effects, very goopy, unnecessarily horny, what’s not to love. It is not as refined as Re-animator, but captured my heart nonetheless.

6. Alien: Romulus (2024)

So Resident Evil

I love (almost³) all the Alien movies, and I feel like Romulus is a wonderful entry into the universe. Some call it too derivative, I call it a return to form. I walked 20 minutes in the pouring rain⁴ to see this movie and when the power went out in the theater I almost broke down in tears. Luckily they got the power back and I had a smile plastered on the whole runtime. I don’t care it wasn’t very original, I don’t care it was fan-service-y, I don’t care I couldn’t understand half of what the characters were saying, I loved Romulus. I will mention I did not enjoy the unnecessary CGI abomination that was Rook, but my distaste was outweighed by my intense joy at seeing the “Offspring”. David Jonsson gave the performance of the year that I’m sure will go underappreciated during award season, but I have some hope Alien: Romulus will get the flowers I know it deserves.

7. Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

Welcome back Heathers. That’s all.

8. Inferno (1980)

I somehow had low expectations for a Suspiria sequel, but oh boy did this blow me away. The lights, the mood, the imagery! What’s going on? Who knows, it doesn’t matter! I swear I’ve never seen a more beautiful movie. Style over substance has never looked so good. I have always been captivated by Suspiria, but never found it very frightening. There’s a scene in Inferno where we delve into the basement of a library that scared the hell out of me. Inferno is a movie trapped in time, never to be recreated quite the same way again.

9. Cemetery Man (1994)

I was not a fan of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise until a worker at my local theater suggested Evil Dead 2. He insisted I’d like it even though I was wary of the whole “no trust me the second one is better!” routine. Evil Dead 2 is not only a complete tonal shift from the first movie, it scratched an itch I didn’t know I had. After watching Evil Dead 2 earlier this year, I decided I needed to see more campy horror. Enter Cemetery Man. Cemetery Man combines all of what I loved in Evil Dead 2, scrambles it around with some Italian flair, and produces one of the most unique movies I’ve ever seen. Basically a perfect movie, it’s bursting from the seams with charm and originality. I’ve never seen anything quite like it⁵. Shout out to that random dude for essentially single-handedly altering my taste in film.

10. Jack’s Back (1988)

Last but not least, let’s talk about this incredibly underrated James Spader movie. I recommend you don’t look up what it’s about and just turn it on. How many plot twists can someone squeeze into 90 minutes? There’s just something about the way Jack’s Back looks and sounds that had me in love. Maybe it’s just young James Spader driving around in a leather jacket that’s got me hooked, but in any case, Jack’s Back clicked in a way that many movies this year just didn’t.

Special shout-out to the following:

The Holdovers (2023), The Company of Wolves (1984), I Like Bats (1986), Challengers (2024), Society of the Snow (2023), Lake Mungo (2008), Dog Soldiers (2002), Candyman (1992), Pandorum (2009), and so many more. I’m serious when I say any of the top 50 movies I saw this year could be #1. I just love movies y’all.

Other things?

I did not read as many books as I wanted to in 2024, but I did finally read Anna Karenina and really enjoyed it. I finished it while on a 20-hour Amtrak, so it just felt right. My goal next year is to actually get through all the books unread on my nightstand. Next up is Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer.

My music taste has not changed much compared to previous years. Bastille remains my most listened-to artist (if you haven’t listened to them since Pompeii you’re missing out), but I did discover a new fondness for dance/synth music. I was not immune to Brat Summer as I have been a casual Charli XCX listener for years, but Brat pushed me over to being a devout fan. As for new artists, I found Julia Jacklin this year and highly recommend her Pre Pleasure album.

The goal for 2025, like every year, is to watch 100 new-to-me movies. I’d like to see some more classic films/black & white movies, and just generally push myself to explore new genres. My most anticipated film of next year is of course 28 Years Later, but I am trying to temper my expectations⁶. Obviously, I’ll be keeping an eye out for new weird war movies and hope to write many more reviews in 2025. Here’s to a better year.

See you in 2025 xoxo

1. Is it stealing my data? Do I even care??

2. *cough* Gladiator II

3. Not Prometheus, but I am rocking with Covenant.

4. Are we sensing a pattern?

5. Someone count how many times I’ve said that

6. I’m mad it’s a 2 part-er