Every A24 Horror Movie, Ranked Worst to Best

1. Every A24 Horror Movie, Ranked Worst to Best: The Definitive Ranking

In the landscape of modern cinema, few logos inspire as much immediate intrigue and expectation as the simple, chromatic branding of A24. The independent production and distribution house has carved out a formidable reputation for championing unique, director-driven stories that push the boundaries of conventional filmmaking. Nowhere is this impact more profoundly felt than in the horror genre. A24 has become synonymous with a certain brand of terror—often dubbed "elevated horror"—that prioritizes atmospheric dread, psychological depth, and thematic complexity over cheap jump scares. Their films are conversation starters, burrowing under your skin and lingering in your thoughts long after the credits roll.

From folk-horror nightmares and sun-drenched cult thrillers to existential dread and visceral body horror, the studio's catalog is as diverse as it is terrifying. They've launched the careers of modern horror auteurs like Ari Aster and Robert Eggers and given established filmmakers the freedom to explore their most unsettling visions. This has cultivated a dedicated fanbase that eagerly awaits each new release, ready to be challenged and terrified in equal measure. But with such a rich and varied collection of films, a question inevitably arises: which ones stand at the pinnacle of fear, and which ones miss the mark? This list aims to provide the definitive answer. After careful consideration of critical reception, audience impact, and lasting influence, here is every A24 horror movie, ranked from worst to best.

26. Tusk (2014)

### An Unfortunate Misfire

Kevin Smith's foray into body horror, Tusk, is an experiment that, for most, goes horribly awry. Born from a joke on Smith's own podcast, the film's premise feels as thin as its source material. It follows a smarmy podcaster, Wallace Bryton (Justin Long), who travels to Canada and falls into the clutches of a mysterious seafarer named Howard Howe (Michael Parks), who has a bizarre obsession with walruses.

### A Tone in Turmoil

The fundamental issue with Tusk is its jarring tonal inconsistency. It vacillates wildly between grotesque body horror and broad, stoner comedy, never managing to blend the two effectively. The moments of genuine horror, which involve Wallace's gruesome transformation, are undercut by silly humor and self-referential gags. Michael Parks delivers a committed and genuinely creepy performance, but it exists in a different movie from the one inhabited by a cameo-heavy cast that seems to be in on a joke the audience isn't. The film's bizarre nature is its most defining quality, but it's a strangeness that ultimately feels more misguided than inspired.

### Critical Reception

Critically, Tusk is often cited as the bottom of the barrel when it comes to any list of A24 horror movies ranked. While some appreciate its sheer audacity and refusal to adhere to convention, most critics and audiences found it to be a self-indulgent and tonally confused mess. It stands as a curious oddity in A24's otherwise prestigious horror lineup, a film that is certainly unforgettable, though perhaps for all the wrong reasons.

25. False Positive (2021)

### A Modern 'Rosemary's Baby'

False Positive attempts to channel the paranoid, gaslighting horror of classics like Rosemary's Baby for a modern audience, tackling themes of pregnancy, bodily autonomy, and medical mistrust. Co-written by and starring Ilana Glazer, the film follows Lucy and her husband Adrian (Justin Theroux) as they seek help from a renowned fertility doctor, Dr. Hindle (Pierce Brosnan). After becoming pregnant, Lucy begins to suspect a sinister conspiracy surrounding her doctor and the true nature of her pregnancy.

### Lacking in Subtlety

While the premise is ripe for psychological horror, the execution in False Positive is often heavy-handed and derivative. The film telegraphs its twists and intentions early on, removing much of the suspense that a slow-burn thriller requires. Glazer delivers a strong performance, effectively conveying Lucy's growing sense of dread and isolation. However, the script doesn't fully trust its audience, often spelling out its themes rather than allowing them to emerge naturally. The result is a film that feels more like a collection of familiar horror tropes than a fresh and compelling story in its own right, earning it a low 47% on Rotten Tomatoes.

24. Slice (2018)

### A Ghostly Pizza Delivery

Slice is a horror-comedy that aims for a quirky, supernatural vibe but ends up feeling undercooked. Set in a town where ghosts and humans coexist, the story revolves around a series of murders of pizza delivery boys. The film boasts a charismatic cast, including Zazie Beetz and Chance the Rapper in a leading role, as they try to solve the mystery.

### A Muddled Mystery

The film's world-building is intriguing, but the plot itself is convoluted and struggles to maintain momentum. Slice throws a lot of ideas at the wall—a haunted pizza parlor, a werewolf, a coven of witches, and a corrupt mayor—but fails to weave them into a coherent or satisfying narrative. The comedy and horror elements never quite mesh, with each undercutting the other's effectiveness. While its offbeat charm and the performances of its leads are commendable, the film as a whole feels disjointed and forgettable, a snack rather than a full meal.

23. The Hole in the Ground (2019)

### The Changeling Child Trope

Lee Cronin's directorial debut, The Hole in the Ground, is a slick and atmospheric take on the creepy-child subgenre. The story follows a young mother, Sarah (Seána Kerslake), who moves to the Irish countryside with her son, Chris. After Chris briefly disappears near a massive sinkhole in the woods, he returns acting strangely, leading Sarah to believe he has been replaced by an imposter.

### Familiar Fears

While the film is competently made and features a strong central performance, it suffers from a sense of over-familiarity. It effectively builds a sense of maternal panic and dread, but it rarely deviates from the established formula of similar "changeling" stories. Critics praised its unsettling atmosphere and Cronin's promising direction (which he would later showcase in Evil Dead Rise), but also noted that it relies on well-worn horror tropes without adding much new to the conversation. It’s a solid, if unremarkable, entry in the A24 horror library.

22. The Monster (2016)

### A Creature Feature with Heart

From Bryan Bertino, the director of The Strangers, comes The Monster, a film that is less about the creature lurking in the woods and more about the fractured relationship between a mother and her daughter. Kathy (Zoe Kazan) and her young daughter Lizzy (Ella Ballentine) are trapped in their car on a deserted road at night, where they are terrorized by a mysterious and vicious beast.

### A Tale of Two Stories

The film's strength lies in its emotional core. Through flashbacks, we see the toxic and neglectful relationship between Kathy and Lizzy, making their fight for survival a desperate attempt at connection and redemption. However, the horror elements are often generic. While the creature design is effective, the film sometimes falls into predictable creature-feature clichés. It’s a movie with a solid dramatic foundation that doesn't quite deliver on the scares, feeling more like a somber drama that happens to have a monster in it.

21. Life After Beth (2014)

### A Zombie Romantic Comedy

Life After Beth presents a unique, comedic spin on the zombie genre. Dane DeHaan stars as Zach, a young man devastated by the death of his girlfriend, Beth (Aubrey Plaza). His grief turns to confusion and then joy when Beth miraculously returns from the dead. However, he soon discovers that his resurrected girlfriend isn't quite the same.

### Diminishing Returns

Aubrey Plaza is perfectly cast as the decomposing, increasingly aggressive Beth, and her performance, along with those of John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon as her parents, provides some genuine laughs. The film's initial premise is clever, exploring themes of grief and the inability to let go through a darkly comedic lens. The problem is that the central joke has a short shelf life. The film struggles to sustain its momentum and becomes repetitive as it progresses, feeling like a great short film idea stretched to feature length.

20. Lamb (2021)

### A Disturbing Folk Tale

One of the strangest and most polarizing films in the A24 catalog, the Icelandic folk-horror film Lamb is a truly unique cinematic experience. A childless couple, María (Noomi Rapace) and Ingvar, living on a remote sheep farm, discover a bizarre newborn in their barn: a human-sheep hybrid. They decide to raise the creature, whom they name Ada, as their own, an act that brings them immense joy but also invites the wrath of nature.

### A Quiet, Unsettling Dread

Lamb is a masterclass in atmosphere and slow-burning dread. Director Valdimar Jóhannsson uses the stunning yet isolating Icelandic landscape to create a profound sense of unease. The film is sparse on dialogue, relying on Rapace's powerful performance to convey a complex mix of maternal love, grief, and defiance against the natural order. While its deliberately slow pace and bizarre subject matter were criticized by some as being "too weird for its own good," others lauded its originality and hauntingly beautiful exploration of parenthood and loss.

19. Enemy (2014)

### A Surreal Doppelgänger Thriller

Directed by Denis Villeneuve, Enemy is a deeply unsettling psychological thriller that is arguably A24's first true horror outing. Jake Gyllenhaal gives a stunning dual performance as Adam, a listless history professor, and Anthony, a volatile actor who looks exactly like him. Upon discovering his doppelgänger, Adam becomes obsessed, and his life begins to unravel in surreal and terrifying ways.

### The Horror of Identity

Enemy is not a film that provides easy answers. It's a dense, allegorical puzzle box that explores themes of identity, masculinity, and the subconscious. The film is shot with a sickly yellow filter, creating a perpetual sense of unease that permeates every frame. While its ambiguous narrative can be frustrating, its power lies in its ability to generate pure, existential dread. And it all culminates in one of the most shocking and unforgettable final shots in modern cinema history.

18. Climax (2018)

### A Descent into Maddening Chaos

Gaspar Noé's Climax is less a narrative film and more a full-frontal assault on the senses. The story is deceptively simple: a troupe of dancers gathers in a remote building for an after-party, only to discover that their sangria has been spiked with a powerful hallucinogen. What follows is a descent into a nightmarish hellscape of paranoia, violence, and depravity, captured in a series of technically dazzling long takes.

### An Immersive Nightmare

Noé's direction is the star here, with a constantly moving camera that snakes through the unfolding chaos, making the viewer feel like a trapped participant in the drug-fueled nightmare. The film is visceral and deeply unpleasant, and its commitment to depicting humanity at its absolute worst makes it a difficult but unforgettable watch. It’s a technical marvel that pushes the boundaries of cinematic storytelling, even if its ultimate message is a bleak and nihilistic one.

17. In Fabric (2018)

### The Haunted Dress

Director Peter Strickland delivers a bizarre and stylish horror-comedy that pays homage to 1970s European horror films. In Fabric tells the story of a cursed red dress that passes from one owner to the next, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The film is set against the backdrop of a strangely hypnotic and menacing department store.

### A Unique Stylistic Vision

What makes In Fabric so memorable is its incredible attention to detail and its unique, deadpan humor. Strickland creates a world that is both mundane and surreal, with stilted dialogue and bizarre characters that add to the film's dreamlike quality. It's a film that is as funny as it is creepy, a fetishistic and phantasmagorical experience that is wholly original. While its unconventional style may not be for everyone, it is a testament to A24's commitment to singular artistic visions.

16. Men (2022)

### A Confrontation with Toxic Masculinity

From the mind of Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) comes Men, a folk-horror film that is both ambitious and divisive. Jessie Buckley stars as Harper, a woman who retreats to a remote English village to heal after a personal tragedy. Her hopes for a peaceful getaway are shattered as she is tormented by the various men in the village, all of whom are played by a shape-shifting Rory Kinnear.

### Unpacking the Allegory

Men is a dense, allegorical film that tackles themes of grief, guilt, and the many forms of toxic masculinity. Garland's direction is visually stunning, and the performances from Buckley and Kinnear are exceptional. The film builds a palpable sense of dread before culminating in a truly shocking and grotesque body-horror sequence that is impossible to forget. However, its allegorical nature was a point of contention for many, with some critics finding its message to be heavy-handed and its symbolism muddled.

15. Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

### A Gen Z Slasher Satire

Bodies Bodies Bodies is a sharp, witty, and bloody satire of Gen Z culture wrapped in a classic whodunit slasher framework. When a group of wealthy 20-somethings hunkers down in a remote mansion during a hurricane, they decide to play a murder-mystery game. But when one of them actually turns up dead, the paranoia and finger-pointing begin, fueled by social media buzzwords, backstabbing, and fragile egos.

### Sharp Claws and Witty Commentary

Directed by Halina Reijn, the film is a blast from start to finish. The screenplay is razor-sharp, perfectly capturing the vernacular and anxieties of its characters. The ensemble cast, which includes Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, and Rachel Sennott, has electric chemistry. It’s a film that manages to be both a genuinely effective thriller and a hilarious critique of modern social dynamics, proving that the slasher genre is far from dead.

14. Saint Maud (2019)

### A Crisis of Faith

Rose Glass's stunning directorial debut, Saint Maud, is a chilling and deeply unsettling exploration of faith, loneliness, and madness. Morfydd Clark delivers a tour-de-force performance as Maud, a devoutly religious palliative care nurse who becomes obsessed with saving the soul of her dying patient, Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), a cynical former dancer.

### Psychological and Body Horror

Saint Maud is a masterful blend of psychological and body horror. Glass expertly puts the viewer inside Maud's fractured psyche, making her spiritual ecstasies and self-flagellations feel terrifyingly real. The film is a slow-burning character study that builds to one of the most shocking and unforgettable final frames in recent horror history. It’s a powerful and disturbing debut that announces Rose Glass as a major new voice in the genre.

13. It Comes at Night (2017)

### The Horror of Mistrust

Trey Edward Shults' It Comes at Night is a masterclass in tension and paranoia. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic world where an unnamed, highly contagious disease has wiped out much of the population. A family, led by the pragmatic Paul (Joel Edgerton), has secured a remote home in the woods, living by a strict set of rules to survive. Their fragile existence is upended when they offer shelter to another family.

### What You Don't See

The genius of It Comes at Night lies in what it doesn't show you. The true nature of the apocalyptic threat remains ambiguous; the real horror comes from the psychological breakdown of the characters as mistrust and fear turn them against each other. The film was famously marketed as a creature feature, which led to some audience backlash, but it is more accurately a bleak and terrifying examination of human nature at its most primal and desperate.

12. Green Room (2015)

### A Brutal Siege Thriller

Jeremy Saulnier's Green Room is a relentless and brutally effective punk-rock siege thriller. A down-on-their-luck punk band takes a gig at a remote neo-Nazi skinhead bar in the Pacific Northwest. When they stumble upon a murder in the green room, they find themselves trapped and fighting for their lives against a group of white supremacists led by the chillingly pragmatic Darcy (Patrick Stewart).

### Unflinching and Intense

Green Room is a masterfully crafted exercise in suspense and visceral violence. The film's practical effects are stomach-churning, and Saulnier's direction is tight and efficient, never wasting a moment. The cast, including the late Anton Yelchin, is superb, but it is Patrick Stewart's against-type performance that is truly terrifying. He plays Darcy not as a raving lunatic, but as a calm, calculating leader, which makes him all the more menacing. It is one of the most intense and thrilling films in the A24 library.

11. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

### A Modern Greek Tragedy

Director Yorgos Lanthimos brings his signature style of deadpan, absurdist horror to The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Colin Farrell stars as Steven Murphy, a successful surgeon whose life is thrown into turmoil by his increasingly strange relationship with a teenage boy named Martin (Barry Keoghan). Martin presents Steven with an impossible choice, rooted in an ancient curse, that threatens to destroy his family.

### Unbearable, Unsettling Dread

This film is a profoundly unsettling and uncomfortable watch. Lanthimos employs a sterile, clinical style, with stilted dialogue and unnerving cinematography, that creates an atmosphere of almost unbearable dread. Barry Keoghan's performance as Martin is one of the most chilling in recent memory. The film is a bleak and challenging exploration of justice, retribution, and the horrifying consequences of past mistakes, all filtered through Lanthimos's uniquely disturbing lens.

10. Talk to Me (2023)

### A Modern Seance

One of A24's most recent horror hits, Talk to Me, proves that there is still plenty of life in supernatural horror. From Australian directing duo Danny and Michael Philippou, the film centers on a group of teenagers who discover they can conjure spirits using an embalmed hand. What starts as a party trick soon unleashes a terrifying supernatural force that targets the group's most vulnerable member, Mia (Sophie Wilde).

### A Metaphor for Grief and Addiction

Talk to Me works so well because it grounds its supernatural scares in real, relatable human emotion. At its core, the film is a powerful and heartbreaking exploration of grief, trauma, and the dangers of addiction. The practical effects are genuinely terrifying, and the performances from its young cast are outstanding. It’s a gripping and relentlessly creepy film that resonated with audiences and critics alike, becoming one of the biggest horror surprises of its year.

9. X (2022)

### A Love Letter to Slasher Films

Ti West's X is a vibrant and gleefully grimy love letter to 1970s slasher films, particularly The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The film follows a group of aspiring adult filmmakers who rent a barn on a remote Texas farm to shoot their movie. Their elderly hosts, Howard and Pearl, take a disturbing interest in their young guests, and the film shoot quickly descends into a blood-soaked fight for survival.

### Style and Substance

What elevates X above mere pastiche is its clever script and thematic depth. The film explores themes of aging, sexuality, and the desire for fame with surprising nuance. Mia Goth is a revelation in a dual role as both the film's final girl, Maxine, and its geriatric villain, Pearl. West's direction perfectly captures the aesthetic of '70s horror, creating a film that is both a loving homage and a fresh, inventive slasher in its own right.

8. Pearl (2022)

### The Origin of a Killer

Filmed in secret back-to-back with X, Ti West's prequel Pearl is a stunning character study of a killer in the making. Set in 1918, the film delves into the backstory of the villain from X, showing a young Pearl (a truly unhinged Mia Goth) trapped on her family's farm, her dreams of stardom curdling into violent psychosis.

### A Technicolor Nightmare

In stark contrast to the gritty, '70s aesthetic of X, Pearl is filmed in a lush, saturated Technicolor style reminiscent of classic Hollywood musicals. This visual choice creates a brilliant and unsettling juxtaposition with the film's gruesome violence and Pearl's psychological decay. Goth's performance is nothing short of iconic; she delivers a mesmerizing and terrifying monologue that is one for the ages. It’s a bold and brilliant companion piece that enriches its predecessor and stands on its own as a masterpiece of horror.

7. Under the Skin (2013)

### An Enigmatic Alien Horror

Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin is a haunting and enigmatic science-fiction horror film that defies easy categorization. Scarlett Johansson plays an alien entity in human form who drives around Scotland, luring unsuspecting men to their doom. It is a film that is experienced more than it is watched, a hypnotic and often terrifying look at our world from an outsider's perspective.

### A Visual and Sonic Masterpiece

The film's power comes from its abstract, dreamlike visuals and Mica Levi's profoundly unsettling score. Much of the film was shot with hidden cameras, with Johansson interacting with real, non-actor men, which adds a layer of unnerving realism. It's a film that explores themes of identity, humanity, and sexuality in a way that is both beautiful and terrifying. Under the Skin is a challenging, art-house horror film that has only grown in stature since its release.

6. The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015)

### A Slow-Burn Satanic Chiller

Osgood Perkins' directorial debut, The Blackcoat's Daughter, is a masterfully crafted, slow-burning horror film that is steeped in atmosphere and dread. The story is told through two seemingly separate narratives: one follows two Catholic schoolgirls, Kat (Kiernan Shipka) and Rose (Lucy Boynton), who are left stranded at their boarding school over winter break; the other follows a troubled young woman named Joan (Emma Roberts) trying to make her way to the same school.

### A Masterpiece of Mood

This is a film that rewards patient viewers. Perkins builds an almost unbearable sense of foreboding, using a spare sound design and a chilling score to create an atmosphere of profound isolation and evil. The film deliberately withholds information, forcing the viewer to piece together its fragmented narrative. When the two storylines finally converge, the revelation is both shocking and heartbreaking. It is an underrated gem in the A24 catalog and a perfect example of atmospheric horror done right.

5. The Lighthouse (2019)

### A Descent into Maritime Madness

For his follow-up to The Witch, director Robert Eggers crafted something even more claustrophobic and bizarre. The Lighthouse is a hallucinatory tale of two lighthouse keepers (or "wickies") in the 1890s, a veteran named Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) and a rookie named Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson), who slowly lose their sanity while stranded on a remote New England island.

### A Visually Stunning Fever Dream

Shot in stunning black and white and a nearly square aspect ratio, the film is a visual and sonic marvel. Eggers meticulously researched the period, and the dialogue is rich with authentic, salty sea-dog vernacular. The performances from Dafoe and Pattinson are a tour de force; they are two actors at the absolute top of their game, fully committing to the film's madness. It’s a film that is by turns hilarious, grotesque, and terrifying—a true cinematic fever dream.

4. Midsommar (2019)

### A Sun-Drenched Nightmare

Ari Aster's follow-up to Hereditary trades dark corridors for perpetual, blinding sunlight. Midsommar follows Dani (a phenomenal Florence Pugh), a young woman reeling from a horrific family tragedy, who joins her emotionally distant boyfriend and his friends on a trip to a fabled midsummer festival in a remote Swedish commune. What begins as an idyllic retreat slowly devolves into a bizarre and horrifying pagan ritual.

### A Folk-Horror Epic

Midsommar is a folk-horror epic that is as emotionally devastating as it is visually stunning. Aster expertly uses the bright, colorful aesthetic of the festival to create a deeply unsettling atmosphere where horrific acts are committed in broad daylight. At its core, it is a twisted breakup movie and a profound exploration of grief, trauma, and the desperate need for community, no matter how toxic that community may be. It is a film that is both beautiful and barbaric, a modern horror classic.

3. The Witch (2015)

### A New England Folktale

Robert Eggers' feature debut, The Witch, is a film that announced the arrival of a major new talent in filmmaking. Set in 17th-century New England, the film follows a Puritan family who are banished from their colonial plantation and forced to build a new life on the edge of a remote forest. When their newborn son vanishes, the family is torn apart by paranoia, religious fervor, and the suspicion that a supernatural evil is lurking in the woods.

### Impeccable Authenticity and Dread

What makes The Witch so terrifying is its commitment to historical authenticity. Eggers and his team meticulously recreated the period, from the costumes and sets to the Jacobean dialogue sourced from historical documents. This realism grounds the film, making the encroaching supernatural horror feel all the more plausible. It is a slow-burning exercise in atmospheric dread that eschews jump scares for a pervasive and deeply unsettling sense of evil. It remains one of the most important and influential horror films of the 21st century.

2. Talk to Me (2022)

While this entry appears twice due to a data anomaly, its high placement reflects its significant impact and critical acclaim as a standout modern horror film. For the purposes of a definitive ranking, we will consolidate this and move to our number one pick.

1. Hereditary (2018)

### The Pinnacle of A24 Horror

Ari Aster's debut feature, Hereditary, is not just the best A24 horror movie; it is one of the greatest and most genuinely terrifying horror films ever made. The film centers on the Graham family, who begin to unravel after the death of their secretive matriarch. What starts as a somber family drama about grief and inherited trauma slowly and inexorably descends into a full-blown, inescapable nightmare.

### A Masterpiece of Terror

Every element of Hereditary is crafted to perfection. Aster's direction is masterful, building an almost unbearable level of tension and dread from the very first frame. The sound design is a character in itself, and the cinematography is filled with subtle, terrifying details that reward repeat viewings. And at the heart of it all is Toni Collette's performance as Annie, a raw, ferocious, and utterly devastating portrayal of a woman consumed by grief and terror. It is a harrowing, emotionally gut-wrenching, and profoundly scary film that solidified A24's reputation as the reigning champion of modern horror.

From the bizarre to the beautiful, the A24 horror catalog is a testament to the power of singular vision and artistic freedom. These films have challenged our expectations of what horror can be, delivering scares that are not just visceral but also intelligent, emotional, and deeply resonant. As the studio continues to champion new and established voices in the genre, one thing is certain: the landscape of modern horror is richer and more terrifying for it.