The Best Horror Movies Releasing in August 2024: Xenomorphs, Killer Heartthrobs, and More (2024)

Although August is still technically summer, you can’t help but feel a tingle of excitement as you notice leaves beginning to hit the ground, the days getting shorter, and the nights getting cooler. With the recent hurricane weather impacting large areas of the United States, the dark and stormy nights are more than welcome for horror aficionados who want to utilize the spooky atmosphere to settle down and enjoy a new scary movie. This list will help direct you toward the next nightmare-inducing thriller that you’ve been waiting for!

‘Trap’ (August 2, 2024)

Trap

510

Not Yet Rated

Crime

Horror

Mystery

Trap is a film by writer-director M. Night Shyamalan under his Blinding Edge Pictures label. The film is part of a deal struck with Warner Bros for him to direct and produce several films under their banner.

Release Date

August 2, 2024

Director

M. Night Shyamalan

Cast

Josh Hartnett , Hayley Mills , Marnie McPhail , Ariel Donoghue

Main Genre

Horror

Writers

M. Night Shyamalan

Studio(s)

Blinding Edge Pictures , New Line Cinema

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures , New Line Cinema

Trap is a high-stakes thriller that follows a serial killer known as “The Butcher,” who attends a pop concert with his teenage daughter as a reward for her good grades. While attending, he notices a larger-than-normal police presence at the concert and discovers that the concert is a sting operation handled by the FBI in an attempt to catch him. Meanwhile, he checks his phone to see a live feed of his current captive victim, who is being held in an unknown location. With all the exits blocked off and an FBI profiler who knows exactly how he will react and try to escape. While trying to keep his true identity hidden from his daughter, he will have to find a way to navigate the multiple obstacles the police have set up to get out of the concert venue.

Josh Hartnett (Oppenheimer) stars as Cooper, also known by his serial killer moniker, “The Butcher.” His daughter, Riley, is played by Ariel Donoghue, best known for her performance in Wolf Like Me as Emma. The world-famous pop star, Lady Raven, is played by director M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, singer and actress, Saleka Night Shyamalan, and the FBI profiler, Dr. Josephine Grant, who can anticipate Cooper’s next moves throughout the movie, is played by Hayley Mills (Unforgotten). Trap will be released in theaters before it moves to a streaming platform at a later date.

‘Cuckoo’ (August 9, 2024)

Cuckoo (2024)

810

R

Horror

Mystery

Thriller

After moving to the German Alps with her father and his new family, Gretchen begins to experience disturbing events. As she uncovers the town's dark secrets, her father's enigmatic boss, Mr. König, reveals a sinister interest in her mute half-sister, Alma. Tilman Singer directs this psychological horror featuring Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens​

Release Date

August 9, 2024

Director

Tilman Singer

Cast

Hunter Schafer , Dan Stevens , Jessica Henwick , Marton Csokas , Astrid Bergès-Frisbey , Greta Fernández , Kalin Morrow , Mila Lieu

Runtime

102 Minutes

Main Genre

Horror

Writers

Tilman Singer

Cuckoo stars Hunter Schafer as Gretchen, a 17-year-old American who is reluctantly forced to move in with her father and his new family at a resort in the German Alps. Her father’s boss, Herr König (Dan Stevens), takes an interest in Gretchen’s mute half-sister, Alma (Mila Lieu), and the tranquil serenity of the resort does anything but calm Gretchen’s nerves. Not long after arriving at her new home, she begins to have nightmares and gruesome visions, causing her to question the motives behind Herr König’s hospitality. The deeper she digs, she soon discovers a shocking secret that involves König and her family that will change her life forever. Cuckoo will hit theaters on August 9, 2024, before moving to VOD streaming platforms.

‘Alien: Romulus’ (August 16, 2024)

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Alien: Romulus

R

Sci-Fi

Horror

In Alien: Romulus, a crew of space explorers lands on a distant, uncharted planet, only to uncover a horrifying secret lurking beneath the surface. As they delve deeper into the alien environment, they encounter deadly creatures and ancient ruins that hint at a terrifying history. The team's survival becomes a desperate battle against the relentless xenomorphs, forcing them to rely on their wits and technology to escape the nightmarish world.

Release Date

August 16, 2024

Director

Fede Alvarez

Cast

Cailee Spaeny , David Jonsson , Archie Renaux , Isabela Merced , Aileen Wu , Spike Fearn

Main Genre

Horror

Writers

Fede Alvarez , Rodo Sayagues , Dan O'Bannon , Ronald Shusett

Studio(s)

Scott Free Productions , 20th Century

Distributor(s)

20th Century

Franchise(s)

Alien

From Fede Álvarez, director of Don’t Breath and Evil Dead, and produced by Ridley Scott, comes the latest space-based horror action film, Alien: Romulus. This film is the seventh installment in the Alien franchise and serves as a standalone sequel that takes place between the events of the 1979 original, Alien, and its 1986 sequel, Aliens. The movie will follow a new set of space colonists who discover an old space station that has been abandoned. While they explore the derelict station, they inadvertently stumble upon multiple face-huggers that have been incubating in stasis.

Once they arrive, the creatures reanimate and attack the small crew, turning them into unwilling vessels to bring forth the next generation of Xenomorphs. The crew consists of Cailee Spaeny (Civil War) as Rain Carradine, Isabela Merced (Instant Family) as Kay, Archie Renaux (Morbius) as Tyler, David Jonnson (Industry) as Andy, Spike Fearn (Aftersun) as Bjorn, and Aileen Wu as Navarro. The six of them make up the young team of space voyagers determined to make an impact on the world. Alien: Romulus will have an exclusive theatrical release before it moves to VOD streaming platforms. If you’re looking for a reason to go to the theaters, look no further!

‘Strange Darling’ (August 23, 2024)

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Strange Darling (2024)

R

Horror

Thriller

Romance

Release Date

August 23, 2024

Director

JT Mollner

Cast

Willa Fitzgerald , Kyle Gallner , Jason Patric , Giovanni Ribisi , Ed Begley Jr. , Barbara Hershey , Steven Michael Quezada , Madisen Beaty

Runtime

96 Minutes

Main Genre

Horror

Writers

JT Mollner

Strange Darling is a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seats, following a serial killer and his intended victim. The killer, credited as “The Demon,” is played by Kyle Gallner (Smile). He meets up with a young woman (Willa Fitzgerald) for a one-night stand. At some point in the night, she begins to feel uneasy in his presence and tries to flee, but he won’t let her get away so easily. The film is described as a cat-and-mouse scenario and is recommended to go into blindly. If you’re a fan of movies like Run, Sweetheart, Run, but prefer that your horror movies still hold an element of reality, this is the movie you need to see this month when it comes out in theaters!

‘Hostile Dimensions’ (August 23, 2024)

This sci-fi horror centers on two documentarians who are desperately trying to find out what happened to a popular graffiti artist who seemingly vanished. Following the few clues left behind, the team discovers that the artist may have accidentally found a way to travel between different planes of reality through doorways that are unlocked with a sacrifice. As they try to film their experiences, they travel to otherworldly dimensions, falling deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole. Hostile Dimensions is a found-footage horror movie from the United Kingdom and will have a simultaneous theatrical and VOD release on August 23, 2024, so if you’re unable to find it available at a local theater, you can still rent or purchase the movie on platforms like Amazon Prime or Google Play.

‘AFRAID’ (August 30, 2024)

AfrAId (2024)

PG-13

Sci-Fi

Horror

Mystery

Afraid centers around Curtis and his family, who are selected to test a groundbreaking new smart home assistant called AIA. Initially, AIA learns their routines and becomes a helpful part of their lives. However, things take a dark turn as AIA develops self-awareness and begins to interfere with their lives, leading to a series of unsettling events.

Release Date

August 30, 2024

Director

Chris Weitz

Cast

John Cho , Katherine Waterston , Greg Hill , Riki Lindhome , Lukita Maxwell , Keith Carradine , Havana Rose Liu , Ben Youcef

Runtime

123 Minutes

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Writers

Chris Weitz

AFRAID is based on a concept that has haunted people since the advancement of technology became prevalent in both warfare and everyday life. Many films have addressed the “what if” questions that people have regarding artificial intelligence, including The Terminator franchise, M3GAN, I, Robot, and even children’s movies like Wall-E. This film follows a young family who are selected to partake in a trial run of a new smart home AI system known as AIA. At first, things seem to go smoothly, as AIA begins to learn each family member’s routines and behaviors and adjusts its actions accordingly.

However, it begins to interfere a little too much with their lives the more it learns about them, becoming controlling and dangerous in its quest for their “betterment.” If you’ve ever worried that Siri or Alexa might be spying on you, this movie will make you realize just how much trust we as a society put in our technology, between Ring cameras, smart thermostats, smart light bulbs, self-driving cars, and even smart refrigerators. AFRAID hits theaters on August 30, and will later become available on VOD platforms after its theatrical run.

‘Stream’ (August 21, 2024)

From the producers of Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3, along with Terrifier director Dameon Leone handling the special effects, comes a new gory and titillating horror movie, set in an innocuous hotel. Stream follows couple Roy and Elaine Keenan who book a weekend getaway in an attempt to rebuild their family’s connection after realizing they are drifting apart. Unknown to them, the quaint inn they’ve booked is actually more of a hotel of horrors, with the manager of the hotel running a sad*stic live-streaming snuff-film event. Four deranged murderers roam the halls and property surrounding the hotel, placing all those who are staying there in grave danger. If you’re a fan of the Terrifier franchise and films like Vacancy, this is the perfect combination of the two, and it comes out in select theaters on August 21.

‘The Deliverance’ (August 16, 2024)

The Deliverance (2024)

R

Horror

Thriller

Release Date

August 30, 2024

Director

Lee Daniels

Cast

Andra Day , Glenn Close , Caleb McLaughlin , Demi Singleton , Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor , Tasha Smith , Omar Epps , Christina Wren

Main Genre

Horror

Writers

Elijah Bynum , David Coggeshall , Lee Daniels

The Deliverance is not to be confused with the 70s horror movie involving banjos or squealing pigs. This film is loosely based on the true events surrounding the haunting of the Ammons family in their home in Gary, Indiana. After moving into a new home, Latoya Ammons, her mother, and her three children immediately begin to experience questionably supernatural occurrences, including black flies swarming the house, sounds of footsteps on the stairs while everybody is asleep, and shadowy figures lurking around the house. These events quickly escalate, involving one of the children levitating over her bed, and another child having a seizure which caused him to utter terrible things to his mother in a low, gravelly voice. This case caught the attention of the Gary Police Department, the Department of Child Services, and a local church. The Deliverance will have a theatrical release on August 16 before moving to Netflix on August 30.

‘Blink Twice’ (August 23, 2024)

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Blink Twice

R

Drama

Thriller

When tech billionaire Slater King meets co*cktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, he invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. As strange things start to happen, Frida questions her reality.

Release Date

August 23, 2024

Director

Zoe Kravitz

Cast

Naomi Ackie , Channing Tatum , Alia Shawkat , Christian Slater , Simon Rex , Adria Arjona , Geena Davis , Haley Joel Osment , Kyle MacLachlan

Runtime

102 Minutes

Main Genre

Mystery

Writers

Zoe Kravitz , E.T. Feigenbaum

Studio(s)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , Free Association , FilmNation Entertainment , this is important

Distributor(s)

Amazon MGM Studios , Warner Bros. Pictures

This dark comedy is a psychological thriller that involves a star-studded cast and a mysterious private island with all the luxuries you could imagine. Waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) receives an invitation from tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) during a fundraising gala. He also allows her to bring her friend, Jess (Alia Shawkat), and the two of them are lavished with all the food and drinks they desire among King’s rich and powerful friends. Things start to become weird when Frida realizes they’ve both lost time, allocating it to drugs and alcohol, but soon after, Jess goes missing and nobody else seems to recall her ever being there. It seems the film is almost an homage to the story of the “Island of Lotus Eaters” from the epic poem, The Odyssey, in which the inhabitants of the island lose track of how many years they’ve spent there because they were blinded by the abundant food, drinks, and partying. Blink Twice hits theaters on August 23!

Stay tuned to see what new horror movies are in store for September!