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From slow-burn psychological terror to pagan bloodbaths in broad daylight, one studio has redefined what horror can be. Join us as we count down our picks for the greatest horror films from A24! Our countdown includes "Hereditary," "Midsommar," "The Witch," "Talk to Me," and more! Which A24 horror is your personal favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the very best horror movies
00:09released by A24.
00:1610. Bodies, Bodies, Bodies
00:35Kicking off our list is a wicked little satire that perfectly captured the anxiety of Gen Z culture.
00:40Bodies, Bodies, Bodies traps a group of rich and highly toxic 20-somethings in a remote mansion during a hurricane,
00:46and it doesn't take long for a deadly party game to spiral wildly out of control.
00:50While it's technically a slasher, the real monster here is petty jealousy and group chat paranoia.
01:00Right, guys? Right, Greg?
01:02After all, there's always a thematic undercurrent to these movies, however fun they may be.
01:07With a razor-sharp script, hilarious performances from an ensemble cast,
01:11and one of the most brilliant twist endings in recent memory,
01:13this whodunit is endlessly rewatchable.
01:16It's a bloody blast that never takes itself too seriously.
01:19Maybe it's not the most stereotypical A24 movie, but it sure is fun.
01:23Sparrow. So open it.
01:26You open it.
01:27What happened if Greg would never do this?
01:30You wouldn't.
01:30Okay, so open it.
01:31I will in one second.
01:33I'm going to.
01:34Number 9. Heretic.
01:36Mr. Reed, it's so nice to meet you, finally.
01:39We were just in the area, and we wanted to stop by,
01:41because you mentioned you might be interested in learning more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
01:46Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:49A24's hot streak continues well into the 2020s.
01:52Heretic pulled off a magnificent bit of stunt casting
01:54by portraying the usually charming Hugh Grant as a diabolical psychopath.
01:58When two young Mormons knock on his door to preach,
02:01they find themselves trapped in a deadly maze designed to test their faith
02:04in the most terrifying ways imaginable.
02:07Mormonism has a controversial history with the misogynist practice of men claiming multiple wives,
02:11but I am fascinated by the idea of modern revelation,
02:14which was used to erase this behavior from the Church in 1890.
02:18I just think that's worthy of conversation.
02:20Yeah?
02:21This movie is scary, yes, but the true magic lies in its dialogue.
02:25The first half especially is magnetic, with Grant chewing the scenery
02:28and delivering some fantastic monologues that toe the line between aesthetic snark and genuine theology.
02:34We could have listened to him speak for two straight hours and been content.
02:37Heretic was a box office hit that reminded audiences just how scary a simple conversation can truly be.
02:42Do you ever think about that?
02:45How missionaries are really just salespeople for an organization?
02:49The product you're selling is an idea.
02:51You knock on my door and you sell.
02:53Maybe I buy, maybe I don't buy.
02:54Those are the rules of engagement when I invite you into my house.
02:58We are negotiating a transaction of ideologies.
03:02Number 8. Green Room.
03:04He's on his way. He knows about that.
03:07Not this.
03:08You can't keep us here, man. You gotta let us go.
03:10We're not keeping you. You're just staying.
03:12There's often a very fine line between horror and thriller, and Green Room walks it effortlessly.
03:17This isn't necessarily A24's scariest movie, but it's arguably their most stressful.
03:22The premise is simple, but original.
03:24A struggling punk band witness a murder at a sketchy skinhead bar
03:27and soon find themselves trapped and hunted by neo-Nazis.
03:31We sit and we wait.
03:34And we die?
03:36Not if you sit and you wait.
03:37This one also has a splendid against-type performance in Patrick Stewart,
03:41who plays the lead skinhead with that signature British malice.
03:44Polite on the surface, but dangerous under the surface.
03:47All the performances are great, the pace never lets up, and the gore?
03:51Oh man, that gore.
03:53Very few movies nail the visceral repulsion of real-life violence quite like Green Room.
03:57It puts even the gnarliest of horror slashers to shame.
04:00Now, you're trapped.
04:02That's not a threat, it's a fact.
04:04Well, we have a loaded gun.
04:05It's also just a fact.
04:07We have plenty more guns on hand.
04:10We just want you out, not harmed.
04:14Number 7.
04:15The Lighthouse.
04:16Should pale death with treble dread,
04:19make the ocean caves our bed.
04:22God, who is the surgeon's role, deign to save our suppliant soul.
04:27To four weeks.
04:29Let's get weird with it.
04:30Robert Eggers' nautical nightmare is a hypnotic descent into cabin fever.
04:34It's also a funny bromance.
04:35It's also a retelling of the Prometheus myth.
04:38It's a lot of things, really.
04:39Shot in moody black and white on 35mm film,
04:42the Lighthouse pits Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe on a remote rock in the 1890s.
04:47It's been weeks ago since we missed Erwinslow.
04:50And I've been asking ye to ration for weeks now too,
04:54but you kept barking at me like a mad dog,
04:57saying you can take the dory out.
05:00I'll look here.
05:01Oh no, don't be losing your head.
05:02When a storm comes and strands them together,
05:04the two men slowly lose their grip on reality,
05:07leading to mermaid hallucinations,
05:09vicious seagull murders,
05:10and a whole lot of spilled beans.
05:12It's definitely one of the most polarizing entries on our list,
05:14straddling the line between tense psychological thriller and absurdist comedy.
05:19Regardless, Dafoe and Pattinson's manic chemistry is undeniable,
05:22and the Oscar-nominated photography is just breathtaking.
05:25Dance! Dance, Winslow! Dance!
05:34Number 6, Talk to Me.
05:36Alright, somebody time it.
05:38As soon as she lets it in.
05:39It cannot go for more than 90 seconds, am I clear?
05:42What happens after 90 seconds?
05:45They don't want to stay.
05:47Directed by YouTuber twins Danny and Michael Filippo,
05:50Talk to Me centers on a group of teens,
05:51who discovered they can contact spirits using a cursed hand.
05:54Linking the supernatural with the high of social media clout,
05:57was a stroke of thematic genius,
05:59and the film features some horrific moments of violence,
06:02that left audiences genuinely shocked.
06:04Talk to me.
06:08When the kid starts pulling his own eyeball out?
06:11Hell no.
06:12Again, all the performances here are fantastic,
06:14and the direction from the Filippo twins is outstanding,
06:17establishing them as modern-day maestros to watch.
06:20Talk to Me is an inventive ride that rightfully dominated the box office,
06:23and proved that original horror is in good hands with Gen Z.
06:26Did you kill yourself?
06:33No.
06:35Not on purpose, me.
06:39Is that the truth?
06:43I'd never want to leave you.
06:46Number 5. Pearl
06:47So, to what do I owe this pleasure?
06:50I've been thinking a lot about what you said to me the other day,
06:54about not forgetting to live my life.
06:56And, well, there's a dance audition coming up at the church.
07:01I like the sound of that.
07:02While Ty West's ex revived the grimy 70s slasher in all sorts of fun ways,
07:07it was its secret prequel, Pearl,
07:08that elevated the franchise into horror movie history.
07:11Mia Goth delivers the performance of a lifetime,
07:13as the titular farm girl who will do literally anything to become a star.
07:17Unlike most A24 horrors that rely on dark, moody shadows,
07:21this film is soaked in classic Technicolor,
07:23another fun, stylish choice that harkens back to a bygone age of Hollywood history.
07:27You're not gonna leave me here.
07:29I'm not staying on this farm!
07:32Goth's unhinged explosions,
07:34and that agonizing, tearful smile,
07:36became instant pop culture legend.
07:38Ironically enough,
07:39it was this movie, and its memes,
07:41that made her a star.
07:42Fans were genuinely outraged when she was snubbed by the Oscars,
07:45and honestly, were still pretty mad about it too.
07:47Thank you for everything.
07:51I know you'll look down on me proudly.
07:54Number 4.
07:55Midsommar
07:56So, Sweden.
07:58Yeah.
07:59You're coming, right?
08:00I mean, I...
08:01I guess so.
08:03That's not completely ruining your guys' plans.
08:05Oh, sure.
08:06The Dark is overrated.
08:08Ari Aster's Midsommar is a psychedelic folk horror masterpiece,
08:11set entirely under the blinding Swedish sun.
08:14What stars as a trip to a remote midsummer festival
08:17quickly spirals into a pagan bloodbath
08:19and an unsettling exploration of grief and toxic relationships.
08:23Florence Pugh turned in a phenomenal performance as Danny,
08:27capturing a deep, lonely, heart-wrenching kind of sorrow
08:29that is very hard to replicate.
08:31Hey, Danny!
08:35How are you?
08:37They were laughing at me.
08:40What? No, no, no. I'm sure they weren't.
08:43They've been laughing.
08:45You want to call me my friends?
08:47It's no wonder Midsommar catapulted her straight to the A-list.
08:50The other star here is the lush and beautiful photography
08:53from Pavel Pogorzelski,
08:55whose bright daytime shots make the gruesome rituals
08:58and cultish horror that much harder to witness.
09:00It's a twisted fairy tale you have to see to believe.
09:03I'm so sorry I didn't warn you better.
09:10You feeling okay?
09:13I just really need to not be here right now.
09:16Yeah.
09:17Number three, Backrooms.
09:24Who knew a fun little internet creepypasta
09:26would grow into such a phenomenon?
09:28With its origins on 4chan,
09:30the Backrooms are a creepy, liminal space
09:32that people get to after no clipping out of reality.
09:35Young director Cain Parsons took the concept
09:38and his famous YouTube videos about the Backrooms
09:40and translated it for the big screen to magnificent effect.
09:43It's a real mess.
09:46But also beautiful.
09:49The film is gorgeously shot and designed,
09:52brilliantly acted, and confidently directed.
09:54Indeed, the movie took the world by storm,
09:56and Parsons became the youngest director
09:58in the history of filmmaking
09:59to have a number one movie at the box office.
10:02We can confidently say
10:03that he has a long and exceptional career ahead of him.
10:12Number two, The Witch.
10:26This is the movie that started A24's path to horror royalty.
10:30Robert Eggers strikes again,
10:32and his slow-burn debut practically birthed
10:34the modern elevated horror movement.
10:36Set in 1630's New England,
10:38The Witch follows a Puritan family
10:39tearing itself apart in the wilderness
10:41as they come undone by hunger, isolation,
10:44and yes, a baby-eating witch.
10:46We can search no more, Caleb.
10:49We cannot.
10:52If not a wolf, then hunger would have taken him here.
10:55It's a creeping dread reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick,
10:57the type of horror that never quite feels real.
10:59Of course, The Witch also introduced the world
11:02to the excellent Anya Taylor-Joy,
11:04who has gone on to become one of the biggest stars on the planet.
11:06The challenging but rewarding dialogue,
11:09bleak visuals,
11:09and sheer madness
11:11makes The Witch feel like you're watching a cursed piece of history.
11:14It's a grotesque exploration of paranoia,
11:16sin,
11:17and American folklore.
11:26What's that like to live deliciously?
11:31Before we continue,
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11:40Are you not entertained?
11:43Number 1.
11:44Hereditary.
11:45You didn't kill her, Annie.
11:52What?
11:53She isn't gone.
11:55Yep.
11:56How could it be anything other than Hereditary?
11:58This movie masquerades as a supernatural thriller
12:01about ghosts and cults,
12:02but that's just window dressing.
12:04When it gets down to it,
12:05Hereditary is mostly concerned
12:06with exploring concepts of generational trauma.
12:09We don't know what's scarier.
12:10I never wanted to be your mother.
12:16Why?
12:17Tony Collette's raw performance
12:19is nothing short of legendary,
12:21and the movie is packed with genuine,
12:23jaw-dropping shock value.
12:24We all remember how we reacted
12:26during that car scene,
12:27or that piano wire scene.
12:28If you know, you know.
12:29The whole movie is fantastic,
12:31but the final act is a flawless piece
12:33of horror filmmaking,
12:34and it will rightfully be remembered,
12:36studied,
12:36and copied for years to come.
12:38From its critical dominance
12:39to its lasting legacy,
12:41Hereditary isn't just A24's best,
12:43it's one of the greatest horror movies ever.
12:46It's heartening to see so many
12:48strange new faces here today.
12:53I know my mom would be very touched
12:56and probably a little suspicious.
12:58Did we miss one of your favorites?
12:59Let us know in the comments below.
13:06We'll move on to the next one
13:08and I'll get to you soon.
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