Narrowing down the scariest movie of any given year is incredibly challenging. This year alone, I was chilled to the bone by Nicholas Cage’s turn in Oz Perkins’ Longlegs, and Arkasha Stevenson’s The First Omen yielded some of the most frightening, indelible horror imagery I’ve seen in years. Exhuma was another sensational addition to the Korean horror canon and Smile 2 was unrelenting in its cruelty. There’s also The Coffee Table, a movie I won’t soon forget. Still, in terms of sheer scare power, Oddity remains 2024’s standout, a movie so scary, that it’s enraptured audiences everywhere. The great news is that the movie is now streaming free on Shudder. Check out more about 2024’s scariest movie, and a particular filmmaker endorsement, below:
Per Shudder: When Dani is brutally murdered at the remote country house that she and her husband Ted are renovating, everyone suspects a patient from the local mental health institution, where Ted is a doctor. However, soon after the tragic killing, the suspect is found dead. A year later, Dani’s blind twin sister Darcy, a self-proclaimed psychic and collector of cursed items, pays an unexpected visit to Ted and his new girlfriend, Yana. Convinced that there was more to her sister’s murder than people know, Darcy has brought with her the most dangerous items from her cursed collection to help her exact revenge.
Damien Mc Carthy’s Oddity is the movie to beat this year. While it may not have the scale or star power of 2024’s other high-profile horror releases, Oddity more than compensates with its ability to terrify, pure and simple. In our four-star review out of this year’s SXSW Film Festival, we even wrote, “McCarthy crafts a scarier and even more realized world that had me jumping so hard I almost pulled muscle. Between McCarthy’s creeping story and Carolyn Bracken’s performances as twins sisters Darcy and Dani, Oddity is a bizarre nightmare of a film that while relying on familiar story beats, crafts a very scary movie that cuts you to the bone with every new twist and turn.”
Even filmmaker Mike Flanagan was a fan of Oddity, writing on his personal Letterboxd earlier this year, “I loved this. One of the best of the year, for sure, and confirmation that McCarthy is the real deal. This one gets under the skin.” Oddity likely won’t wow you with its plot—though there is something comfortably familiar about it—but Mc Carthy’s ability to craft fantastic scares no doubt will.
Oddity is streaming now on the horror service Shudder. If you’re not subscribed, you can sign up for a free trial here. Shudder offers flexible monthly and annual plans, and beyond Oddity, houses some of the best horror cinema around (make sure to check out Mads while you’re there). Let me know whether you were a fan of Oddity over on Twitter @Chadiscollins, and keep an eye out for any wooden mannequins that might arrive at your door.
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