10 great movies you may have missed in 2024

This year, for the first time ever, the top 10 performing films were all sequels. Which some might find pretty saddening.

Don't get me wrong, I loved finding out how Godzilla got his groove back and learning that you can actually milk a panda that knows kung fu. But in this haze of returning franchises clogging up the screens in theatres and at home, there's always a few gems that deserve a bit more attention but never get it.

So, before you create your Letterboxd list of your favourite films of 2024, screengrab that list and post it in Instagram stories (that’s what I do anyway), here’s some films you should probably check out first...

JUROR #2

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This Clint Eastwood-directed legal drama would have made a big splash in the 90s but in 2024 it came and left cinemas quickly and quietly. Justin (Nicholas Hoult) is a recovering alcoholic now leading a blissful suburban life with his pregnant wife when he's called to attend jury duty for a case involving a man accused of murdering his girlfriend. In the opening of the trial, Justin realises he's actually connected to this case and knows something that nobody else does.A tense tale of morality that totally sucks the viewer in.

Available to rent on Apple TV, Microsoft and Amazon

FEMME

One night after a show, drag artist, Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) becomes the subject of homophobic slurs from Preston (George MacKay) and his friends. Jules aims a retort at Preston who responds by brutally assaulting him. Months later, Jules sees Preston in a gay sauna. The closeted Preston doesn't recognise Jules out of costume and the two begin a relationship… but to what end? Love or revenge? This British thriller has two incredible leads and a premise that you just have to see play out.

Streaming on Netflix. Available to rent on Sky Store, Curzon and Apple TV

RED ROOMS

The synopsis for this French-Canadian thriller may make you think you're about to watch a graphic Hostel-style torture film. It’s not that at all. In Montreal, model Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy) attends the trial of man who has been accused of murdering three teenage girls for the entertainment of viewers on the dark web, a site called Red Room. Kelly-Anne’s interest in this particular case is mysterious and she plays her cards close to her chest as she bonds with fellow attendee and "fan" of the defendant, Clementine (Laurie Babin).A fascinatingly dark film that’ll keep you guessing right till the end.

Available to rest on Apple TV and Microsoft

MY OLD ASS

During a magic mushroom trip with her friends in the woods, 18-year-old Elliot (Maisy Stella) meets her future self at 39 (Aubrey Plaza). Older Elliot offers advice from the future, "Wear your retainer", "Spend more time with your family" and "Stay away from Chad". Elliot identifies as gay and is bewildered as to why she would need to be warned away from this nice young boy she’s just met. It’s a high-concept comedy that actually plays out in a very grounded way with a surprisingly meaningful and emotional message.

Streaming now on Amazon Prime

PROBLEMISTA

Writer, director, comedian and actor Julio Torres brings his unique humour to a feature-length film with great success and lots of giggles. Torres plays Alejandro, a young man who grew up in El Salvador dreaming of working as a toy inventor for Hasbro. Now in Brooklyn, he desperately attempts to find a work visa sponsor or else he faces deportation after being fired and falling down the endless spiral of immigration beaurocracy, he finds himself working as an assistant for Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), an eccentric and frustratingly difficult woman trying to market her cryogenically frozen husband's egg paintings. A beautifully funny and surreal comedy.

Available to buy on Apple TV and Amazon

IT'S WHAT'S INSIDE

A group of friends gather for a party before a wedding. One mysterious member of the group, Forbes (David Thompson), has yet to arrive - nobody has seen him since he was expelled in high school. The confidently geeky Forbes stands out like a sore thumb in this group of influencers and "cool kids". Everyone is intrigued when he introduces a device that allows them to swap bodies for the benefit of a game in which people have to guess who is really who. Unsurprisingly, it all gets very complicated when jealousy, grudges and secret infatuations come to the surface. Great fun.

Streaming now on Netflix

THE HYPNOSIS

This is Swedish cringe comedy at its best. Vera and André are co-founders of a new app that tracks women's reproductive health. André is the domineering of the two, instructing Vera to tell the traumatic story of her first period as part of the sales pitch for their invention. Just before they’re due to attend a possibly fortuitous pitching event, Vera has a hypnotherapy session to help quit smoking. The hypnotist realises Vera is holding back her true self and instructs her to listen to her inner child. The normally meek and compliant Vera loses her inhibitions and becomes a playful and unpredictable hazard in front of big money investors. Extremely awkward but very funny - get ready to squirm.

Streaming now on Mubi

ODDITY

Oddity opens with a chilling premise that feels like a classic urban legend. One night, Dani (Carolyn Bracken) is alone in her new home she shares with her psychiatrist husband Ted (Gwilym Lee). When there's a knock on the door, she's greeted by Olin (Tadhg Murphy) a patient of her husband, who frantically tells her he saw a man enter the house and he’s still in there. If she lets him in he’ll make sure she’s safe. Can she trust him? This scene is essentially just the prologue that kicks off a very spooky and unsettling horror tale, but it sets the tone perfectly. While Longlegs got all the attention for being possibly the "scariest film of the year", this Irish horror entry from Damian McCarthy is a serious contender to that title. Watch with the lights off.

Streaming now on Shudder

STRANGE DARLING

Strange Darling opens in rural Oregon as an unamed lady (Willa Fitzgerald) is pursued by a seemingly deranged man (Kyle Gallner). Just as it looks like she's found safety in a farmhouse with an old hippie couple, the film flashes back to the previous night. Here’s it revealed that the lady and man met in a bar. As we see them playfully flirting and toying whether or not to go to a motel room, we’re left to wonder how they possibly got into the situation we first found them in. Thankfully, the story is slowly pieced back together. Unpredictable and thrilling with a killer twist or two.

Available to rent on Apple TV and Microsoft

SLEEP

Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) and Hyeon-soo (Lee Sun-kyun) are newlyweds living in a small apartment together. Soo-jin discovers that her husband has suddenly become a sleepwalker. His nocturnal behaviour becomes increasingly strange and possibly insidious, all of which is even more concerning as a new-born baby is introduced to their home. A delightfully dark slice of South Korean cinema, and a fine legacy for one of the country's finest actors, the late Lee Sun-kyun, who many will remember from Parasite.

Available to rent on Amazon and Apple TV