The best movies of 2024: From sci-fi stunner Dune: Part Two to the chilling Zone of Interest
Quality over quantity is the story of cinema for 2024 — but there were some bangers among the barren months.
Let’s be honest — it hasn’t been a vintage year for cinema goers.
Though we were mercifully spared another round of so-so Marvel films, their absence was felt at a box office where great blockbusters were few and far between. It was a particularly front-heavy year for Oscar-baiting titles too, with some of the best films in UK cinemas this year hangovers from 2023’s US releases that got nudged into January.
But if it was quality, not quantity you were after, 2024 had a number of bigscreen hits that will rank among the all-time greats. Dune: Part Two was sci-fi film making at its finest; The Zone of Interest is one of the most chilling dramatic depictions of the Holocaust ever put to film; The Substance and Longlegs are two horrors destined for cult-classic status; and Poor Things was the bawdy adult fairy tale we all needed in those dreary early months of the year.
And they’ve all made the cut in our rundown of the best movies of 2024.
So the only rules here relate to release date — we’re picking films that went on general release in the UK this year, and before the time of writing. No previews or early film festival considerations for 2025 releases. And so Poor Things (which debuted in US cinemas in December 2023, but released in the UK on January 12th) makes the cut, while Nosferatu, not due in UK cinemas until January 1st 2025, does not.
So draw up those watchlists! In no particular order, here’s the best of the bigscreen for 2024.
Alien: Romulus
In space no-one can hear you scream. That’s a shame, for once, as you’d have heard the cries of delight from lightyears away for Alien: Romulus. With superb practical effects, a to-the-point story that was as much a teen slasher as it was a sci-fi film, and some excellent set pieces, it was pure popcorn — if not the hard science fiction some fans are forever longing for. A great return to form for the franchise, with a star-making turn for David Jonsson as Andy the android.
The Zone of Interest
The most chilling — and challenging — film on this list. Director Jonathan Glazer masterfully builds an atmosphere of dread and fury in The Zone of Interest, which shows Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig living a twisted sort of suburban bliss just a stone’s throw from the infamous Nazi death camp. It’s the sound design that’s most frightening of all though — the hum of evil behind every scene that hints at the horrors happening off camera.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
It’s no Fury Road, but to come close to matching a once-in-a-lifetime action film like that is accolade enough for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. This prequel story sees Anya Taylor-Joy lead in the recast title role. It's less breathless than Fury Road, taking more time to revel in the beat-up world director George Millar has built over the last 45 years, but has enough bonkers set pieces and death-defying stunts to leave you on the edge of your seat.
Conclave
Pope-ing ain’t easy, as this taut drama from Edward Berger proves. Ralph Fiennes is the cardinal tasked with organizing the election of a new Pope following the unexpected death of the Holy Father, but finds himself at the centre of a conspiracy among the ruthless and ambitious candidates at the top of the Catholic church. Not a gram of fat on this sharp and seriously entertaining thriller, with great supporting performances from Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini.
Dune: Part Two
If Part One of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune adaptation felt a bit dour for your tastes, Part Two brings the bombast. Just as you’d expect from a novel split in two for the sake of dead bums on cinema seats, it feels satisfyingly like a complete picture when viewed back-to-back with the first outing, both elevated when seen side by side. Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides is out to unite the peoples of the desert against the bloated and spiteful Harkonnen, and it’s all out war. A gladiatorial scene with a deranged Austin Butler is the most stunning sequence in film this year — and maybe one of the best in all sci-fi history.
Civil War
All-too prescient, Alex Garland writes and directs this terrifying glimpse at a modern America wracked by civil war. Kirsten Dunst is the photo journalist racing across the war-torn country for a final interview with an embattled president. The best bits are in the trailers, but there are moments here that feel profoundly, and worryingly, prophetic.
Longlegs
“Fisher Price Silence of the Lambs” as one Shortlist writer described Longlegs — but that’s not totally fair to this surprisingly taut thriller that sees an FBI agent on the hunt for an occultist serial killer. It’s at its best when its detective work is grounded, with some eyebrow raising supernatural turns. But Nicolas Cage’s meme-worthy weirdo performance is absolutely worth the price of admission, and will be sure to inspire Halloween costumes for years to come.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
If you’ve got a gaming naysayer in your family, get them to watch this touching Netflix documentary — there won’t be a dry eye in the house. It follows the life of Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer who passed away of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His family mourn what they believe to have been a lonely and isolated life… but are amazed to discover Steen’s second life as the adventurer Ibelin in World of Warcraft — and the legion of friends he made along the way. A hidden gem, this one.
Poor Things
Barmy, beautiful and full of belly laughs, Poor Things was unlike any other movie on our screens this year. Like a maniacal fairytale (unsurprisingly, given it’s directed by Yorgos Lanthimos from a novel by Alasdair Gray), its luscious set design and art direction is the perfect backdrop for some wild performances from Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe. Stone was absolutely deserving of her best actress Oscar win, here playing the naive creation of a mad scientist on a globe-trotting adventure of sensual self discovery.
Heretic
Who knew Hugh Grant had been wasted all these years on rom-coms when he’s at his best as a devilishly creepy horror movie villain? If dastardly turns in Paddington and Dungeons and Dragons didn’t seal his place as the most watchable baddie on our screens at the moment, Heretic certainly will. A horror-house mystery box with a theological twist, Grant plays the deceptive captor of two Mormon missionaries who have the misfortune of knocking on his door. Like many horror flicks, it doesn’t quite stick the landing, but great performances from the leads make this intensely watchable.
The Holdovers
A Christmas movie that came out in January in the UK for some inexplicable reason (hence its inclusion in our list last year as well), The Holdovers is a heart-warming, odd couple tale of a beleaguered history professor who is tasked with staying in school over the festive period with ‘the holdovers’ - kids who have nowhere to go as their parents have made other plans. Paul Giamatti is Paul Hunham, the tired teacher; Dominic Sessa is Angus, the cynical student; Da’Vine Joy Randolph is Mary, the cook in mourning. Their lives are very different but when they intertwine over their forced incarceration in a sprawling school, it’s a wonderful watch, packed with equal amounts scathing humour and moving melancholy. Alexander Payne’s direction is superb throughout, making a ‘70-set movie feel like it’s from that time, from its antiquated credits to its string-drenched score.
The Substance
The Substance is a movie of greed and the extremes people go to to have more. The greed of Demi Moore’s Elisabeth, a TV fitness star trying to elongate a career that’s nearing its end. The greed of Margaret Qualley’s Sue, who was given a life with restrictions and how she ignores these. The greed of Dennis Quaid’s Harvey, a producer who is always after the next big thing, devouring seafood disgustingly while he does it. And then there’s the greed of the viewer, hoping that The Substance goes further than most Hollywood productions go - and boy does it, delivering some of the most grossed out scenes the likes we haven’t seen since Society. This one isn’t for the faint hearted but if you can stomach it, then The Substance is an essential watch.
Kneecap
Kneecap is one of the most vital movies to come out in recent years, exploring the fictional origins of the very real Irish hip-hop group of the same name. What’s brilliant about it is the blurring of fact and fiction throughout. The story may be made up but the hip-hop group is played by the real thing - Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh and JJ Ó Dochartaigh star as versions of themselves, grappling with trying to make it as a rap group in a post Troubles Belfast. And it’s their music that is as much as a star as them, vital rhymes and beats that punctuate the movie throughout. Flitting between English and Irish languages, writer-director Rich Peppiatt has created a fantastic political piece that manages to distill what it means to be Irish in the age of the ceasefire, while also being hilarious throughout.
Twisters
A sequel some 30 years in the making, Twisters could have just been another Hollywood retread that relied solely on the audience’s fondness of the original for its box office clout. Instead, Twisters is an almost standalone romp anchored by two brilliant main performances in Daisy Edgar-Jones (who plays tornado researcher Kate) and Glen Powell’s Tyler, a storm chasing YouTube sensation. This is a fun film that plays out like an old-school event movie but one with a new-ish central message: climate change really is screwing with the planet. This makes for some stunning set-pieces throughout that will have your head in a spin, thanks to the deft direction of Minari’s Lee Isaac Chung.
Additional writing: Marc Chacksfield
