Welcome back to Daily Grindhouse’s mostly-annual feature where we celebrate lots of stuff that goes overlooked by the normal-people Oscars. We like a lot of the same things they do, but we also like a whole lot of stuff that go unmentioned over there. You’ll see us mentioning a ton of horror movies, for example. Every year, parts of the horror community start belly-aching about horror being under-represented at the Oscars. Oh yeah? You want the rawest of disreputable outlaw genres to put on a tuxedo? Horror is supposed to push the envelope, not to wait on bated breath for it to be opened. Also: Who gives a shit? Don’t wait for anybody else to validate the stuff you love. The fact that you love it is enough. Shout it out! Share it with others! Make your own “Oscars” if you have to. Plenty of our peers at other sites do their own versions of year-ending ‘awards.’ (In particular, we are admirers of Fangoria’s Chainsaw Awards and Vulture’s new Stunt Awards.) This one is ours. Hope you enjoy it! We always have fun putting it together.
This is the Somethingth Annual Bizarros — an exact “annual” count is dodgy since we skipped a year somewhere in there (although here’s 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023!). We will keep it up until DC Comics sends a cease-and-desist!
KATIE BEACHY
And now… let’s ‘end’ the show…
BEST END CREDITS SEQUENCE
MAXXXINE
SATURDAY NIGHT
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE. The Fox X-Men movies were what I came up with more than the MCU, so it was nice to see them fondly remembered this way.
CARRY-ON has a Darlene Love song. So, that.
BEST POST-CREDITS SEQUENCE
BOY KILLS WORLD
LOVE LIES BLEEDING. Technically, I guess you’d say I’m talking about the final scene, which plays throughout the end credits until they’re all done. Whatever. It’s the best.
BEST END CREDITS NEEDLE DROP
Martin Rev, “Whisper,” in LOVE LIES BLEEDING
BEST FINAL SCENE
I SAW THE TV GLOW
YOUR MONSTER
SPACEMAN
KATIE BEACHY
IMMACULATE and THE SUBSTANCE
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A NOT-SO-GOOD MOVIE
Russell Crowe in THE EXORCISM
Dakota Johnson, MADAME WEB
Jennifer Lopez in THIS IS ME…NOW
Nicolas Cage in LONGLEGS.
Every woman in Zoe Kravitz’s BLINK TWICE brought the sauce, and it’s possible this one might be eventually do for a revisit in the future. I have some issues with the ending, but I think Naomi Ackie, Adria Arjona, Alia Shawkat, et al really brought their game to a movie that would likely not have worked as well as it did had the characters not felt as good as they did.
KATIE BEACHY
Nicola Peltz in LOLA (as both actor and director)
David Jonsson in ALIEN: ROMULUS
BEST MOVIE MOST PEOPLE PROBABLY DIDN’T SEE
MY OLD ASS
AGGRO DRIFT
OUT OF MY MIND, directed by Amber Sealey; written by Sharon M. Draper and Daniel Stiepleman. OUT OF MY MIND probably — or seemed to — slip under people’s radar, at least on my feed, but when I found out it was the story of a young woman with Cerebral Palsy essentially fighting for her space to exist and be heard and treated as an equal in the world around her, I knew I had to make time for it. I spend much of my time writing about genre film, but I always have a soft spot for something that seeks to authentically depict the fight people like me have to live day in and day out just to live, and this heartwarmer did not disappoint.
KATIE BEACHY
WORLDS APART and TAEYONG: TY TRACK IN CINEMAS
THE THICKET. Even better than the Joe Lansdale book, maybe? And if you know me, there is NO higher compliment. Lansdale to me is Stephen King to the rest of you. Unsurprisingly but thrillingly, a killer anti-hero performance by Peter Dinklage. Completely unique, brilliant villain performance by Juliette Lewis. There is maybe one performer I wish could be airlifted out of this movie and replaced with anyone else, but outside of that, great stuff. See this movie.
BEST SCORE
I SAW THE TV GLOW
CHALLENGERS
KATIE BEACHY
NOSFERATU and TAEYONG: TY TRACK IN CINEMAS
FURIOSA: A ‘MAD MAX’ SAGA. Sure, it’s of a piece with FURY ROAD, but who’s complaining?
PRETTIEST MOVIE
I SAW THE TV GLOW
I SAW THE TV GLOW
DUNE: PART TWO
I am torn on this one between the bright feast of LISA FRANKENSTEIN and the incredible cinematography of THE FIRST OMEN. Both of them count toward some of my best of the year, so I think in different ways and for different reasons, they’ll just share top spot.
For me, either THE THICKET or FURIOSA. Weird to say they’re pretty, because they’re both dystopias, one past and one future. But for all the horrible things happening in them, those are sweet-looking movies!
BEST “BAD” MOVIE
THE INHERITANCE
JOKER: FOLIE a DEUX
MADAME WEB: It is great fun to watch with friends.
KATIE BEACHY
MEGALOPOLIS
FRANKIE FREAKO. Shabadoo.
BEST VILLAIN
Longlegs, LONGLEGS
Chris Hemsworth, FURIOSA
Orlok, NOSFERATU
Curry Barker’s MILK & SERIAL took the internet by storm, a veritable YouTube sensation in my very own time. It’s funny, unsettling, and a real testament to getting out there and doing the work of making what you want to see — even if what you want to see is a guy whose freak-mode is indicated by his dairy consumption.
Honorable Mention in this category to Channing Tatum as Slater in BLINK TWICE. I’ve been watching his work for years and I’ve never hated him more than I hate him in this study on patriarchal insincerity (complimentary).
KATIE BEACHY
Bill Skarsgard in/as NOSFERATU
Kevin Durand, KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (Mo-Cap Category): Obviously there are plenty of people who appreciate Kevin Durand, since he works constantly, but I’ve felt for a long time that he’s one of the strongest character actors around and this was just more proof. Ferocious work.
Chris Hemsworth, FURIOSA (Prosthetic Features Category): Not really surprised Hemsworth had this in him, since he has been really good in so many things. But this has to be his finest performance to date, and absolutely one of the best I saw all year.
BEST EVIL HENCHMAN
C.J. Wilson & Joey Slotnick, DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS
The entire family from BOY KILLS WORLD.
Yura Borisov, ANORA. Not evil, obviously, but definitely a henchman. Really intriguing to see how this character emerges from henchman status to evolve into something deeper over the course of the movie. Maybe someone inclined to look at the actor as more than a simple goon (meaning: if you think he’s cute) could have more easily seen it coming, but I didn’t. He did the goon role so well that I was disarmed when something else started happening with him!
BEST HORROR-MOVIE MASK
THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER ONE
Vlad in DESTROY ALL NEIGHBORS
IN A VIOLENT NATURE. Admired what the movie was trying to do more than I enjoyed it, but I do appreciate the mask. It’s a helmet, more than a mask. There’s nothing “cool” about it. As silly that it is that Jason Voorhees wears a hockey mask and as infinitely sillier that it is that Michael Myers wears a melted Captain Kirk Halloween mask, the fact is that those are striking and iconic looks. There’s a reason those characters have persisted, despite having zero personality. Like them, Johnny has zero personality. Like them, he grabbed whatever was available to cover his face. Unlike them, what was available to him wasn’t particularly iconic. Your mileage may vary, to be sure. But what I respect most about IN A VIOLENT NATURE is how much thought the filmmakers put into how little thought Johnny put into his mask. Does that make sense?
BEST GIANT MONSTER
Sandworm, DUNE: CHAPTER TWO
The wooden man in ODDITY. I cannot let this list pass without speaking on ODDITY, and while he’s arguably a benevolent force through some lens, he’s so so scary in a downright horrifyingly unsettling movie that is about violence without showing violence directly.
KATIE BEACHY
Bill Skarsgard in/as NOSFERATU
The boys, GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE
WORST GIANT MONSTER
Sebastian Stan in THE APPRENTICE
BEST ALIEN
Xenomorph, ALIEN: ROMULUS
Hanus in SPACEMAN
KATIE BEACHY
Every alien in V/H/S BEYOND
Venom, VENOM: THE LAST DANCE
BEST WEREWOLF
You heard the man. WEREWOLVES!
BEST VAMPIRE
ABIGAIL
Frank in ABIGAIL
KATIE BEACHY
Bill Skarsgard in/as NOSFERATU
BEST SKELETON
NOSFERATU
Does Bob in BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE count here? He should count. Bob deserves a win.
BEST SUPERHERO COSTUME
Sydney Sweeney, MADAME WEB
Wolverine in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Isabela Merced, MADAME WEB
BEST CHARACTER ACTOR
Jeff Fahey, HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA
David Jonsson in ALIEN: ROMULUS
Rob Morgan was absent from the big screen in 2024, but he appeared in a cool, under-seen TV series called Teacup. It’s funny to say about someone who made the Times’ list of the greatest actors of the 21st century, but I’m thinking this man is still way undervalued and underutilized for what he’s been bringing.
BEST TAG TEAM
Adam Pearson and Sebastian Stan, A DIFFERENT MAN
BEST MICHAEL SHANNON
Michael Shannon, A DIFFERENT MAN
MOST “SUPPOSED TO REMIND YOU OF MAD MAX BUT REMINDS YOU MORE OF STACY KEACH IN ‘ROAD GAMES‘”
Tom Burke in FURIOSA: A ‘MAD MAX’ SAGA.
BEST DESERVES-HER-OWN-MOVIE CHARACTER
Wow Platinum, MEGALOPOLIS
The Lady in STRANGE DARLING
This nun from WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL
KATIE BEACHY
Young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) in FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
June Squibb in THELMA. Normally this category is reserved for supporting characters in movies that we think should have their own movies. But in THELMA, an actor who should have had her own movie for a long time finally gets one, and it’s an action movie! Fuck yeah June Squibb!!!
MOST ASS-KICKING SHITKICKERS IN ONE PLACE
HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA
TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN
THE SHADOW STRAYS
MOST BRITISH ACTORS FORCED TO DO AMERICAN ACCENTS IN ONE PLACE
Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, and Stephen Graham, VENOM: THE LAST DANCE
BEST CATCHPHRASE, OR BEST OUGHT-TO-BE-A-CATCHPHRASE
“Life sucks, and people are jerk-offs.” — LISA FRANKENSTEIN
JON ABRAMS”Do you have it in you to make it epic?” — FURIOSA: A ‘MAD MAX’ SAGA.
BEST NICOLAS CAGE MOVIE
LONGLEGS
LONGLEGS
KATIE BEACHY
LONGLEGS
Our man made a surprisingly paltry three films in 2024. I liked ARCADIAN and I guess I won’t see THE SURFER until this year, so yeah. It’s LONGLEGS. And should be!
BEST STUNT SEQUENCE
take your pick, FURIOSA
The gameshow fight sequence in BOY KILLS WORLD
KATIE BEACHY
Anya Taylor-Joy’s motorcycle being sucked underneath the War Rig in FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
BEST FIGHT
Elizabeth vs. Sue, THE SUBSTANCE
Pretty much every fight in MONKEY MAN.
Dev Patel’s MONKEY MAN. I could argue every fight in this movie is the best because Dev Patel is the best, but in particular I did have an excellent time watching him and the group of trans women who took him in beat the shit out of some oppressors.
KATIE BEACHY
Sue vs. Elizabeth in THE SUBSTANCE
I would prefer to narrow down just one from THE SHADOW STRAYS, but gun to head, I’ll settle on the opening, in which Timo Tjhajanto outdoes Quentin Tarantino handily, and totally defeats the “Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves” sequence from KILL BILL: VOLUME ONE, oh yes he fucking does, fight me.
BEST CAR
FURIOSA
KATIE BEACHY
The Pursuit Special with its absurd supercharger in FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
Runner up: The scary haunted carriage in NOSFERATU
BEST CAR CHASE
FURIOSA
KATIE BEACHY
BORDERLANDS
THE SHADOW STRAYS
BEST DOG
V/H/S BEYOND (“Fur Babies”)
Alleydog in MONKEY MAN
Amy Adams in NIGHTBITCH
BEST ANIMAL PERFORMANCE BY AN ANIMAL ACTOR
Frodo in A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE
Rufus in DON’T MESS WITH GRANDMA
BEST WORST MOVIE
HUMANE
MADAME WEB
KATIE BEACHY
THE IDEA OF YOU, absolutely, hands down.
WORST BEST MOVIE
LAST NIGHT AT TERRACE LANES
EMILIA PEREZ
KATIE BEACHY
TRAP
BEST HERO MOMENT
FURIOSA
THE BOOK OF CLARENCE: When they try to capture/kill Barabbas
KATIE BEACHY
Sienna basically the entire time in TERRIFIER 3
REBEL RIDGE. That movie has several, maybe most notably the sequence where Sheriff Don Johnson is educated on exactly who he and his guys fucked with. But ultimately, it’s gotta be this
BEST OPENING SCENE
I SAW THE TV GLOW
KATIE BEACHY
LONGLEGS
THE SHADOW STRAYS
BEST OPENING CREDITS SEQUENCE
SLAY
THE SUBSTANCE
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
JON ABRAMS
THE CROW (2024). Not an endorsement of anything other than the opening titles.
ARE YOU BACK TO THEATERS REGULARLY? IF SO, WHAT MOVIES BRING YOU OUT OF THE HOUSE?
AND WHAT WAS YOUR BEST BIG-SCREEN EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR? (NEW RELEASE and/or REPERTORY)
seeing THE CROW (1994)
FRIDAY THE 13th PART VI: JASON LIVES: With a packed audience! Just a sloppy great time.
IT COMES AT NIGHT: My local theater was running A24 movies for a month, and I saw this one for a first time. They made this before the pandemic?
THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE with a couple friends. I’ve seen this movie several dozen times, but not on the big screen until October 2024!
WHAT STREAMING RELEASE DO YOU WISH YOU SAW ON THE BIG SCREEN WITH AN AUDIENCE?
THE SUBSTANCE
IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE
SPACEMAN, CITY HUNTER, or THE BOOK OF CLARENCE: impossible to pick between the three.
It isn’t exactly a direct-to-streaming release, but it did seem to have a very limited theatrical release and some spotty marketing, but A DIFFERENT MAN would probably have been really fun to see with an audience. It wasn’t playing anywhere near me, but I imagine the (personally unexpected) graphic body horror Sebastian Stan goes through as he endures the medical experiment and Adam Pearson’s undeniable charisma would have been a really fun combination to watch in a crowd.
HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS. I messed up, man. My inbox is filled to the brim with screener offers and screening opportunities and I can’t even respond to a fraction of them, let alone check them out. I remember seeing this in my inbox and going “Hm…” but not following up and seeing it months later and going “What the devil was I farting around about?” Only thing that could have been more fun than watching this movie alone would have been not seeing it alone.
WAS THERE ANY STUDIO FEATURE YOU FELT ACTUALLY BENEFITTED FROM WATCHING AT HOME?
LONGLEGS
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE. Waiting to see this one at home took a lot of the pressure off of it, I think.
KATIE BEACHY
I was not at home, but I saw TERRIFIER 3 with a friend in an empty theatre and was so thankful to be able to scream, cry, and critique fighting styles with no judgement.
LOVE LIES BLEEDING, only because seeing it at home, I could watch it again immediately after I finished watching it the first time, which is the rarest and maybe most emphatic rave review I can give to any movie.
DID YOU HAVE A GO-TO 2024 SUB-GENRE? i.e. contagion horror, Nicolas Cage, ninjas, zombie-apocalypse, shark movies, etc.
Slashers.
Slashers!
According to Letterboxd, it was ‘The Undead’ and ‘Monster Classics,’ clocking in with 74 movies last year!
I spent a lot more time this year than in the past digging into foreign work, particularly Korean dramas and films. Every time I sit with one I hear the voice of Bong Joon-Ho saying how much is out there and available to the world in terms of storytelling, if only people will get past the subtitles. Shout out to both EXHUMA and SLEEP, both of whom I consider to be minor miracles of release.
Shark movies. It’s always shark movies. And now, a brief gallery of the shark movies of 2024. Yes, I watched every one of these. (Our post will resume after the pictures!)
The Shark Movies of 2024:
WHAT ONE 2024 TV SERIES DID YOU MOST ENJOY BINGE-WATCHING?
Cobra Kai
Shogun.
KATIE BEACHY
Fallout and Under the Bridge
Shogun. Hiroyuki Sanada tha god. Tadanobu Asano tha mega-deity. Relative newcomer Anna Sawai coming out of the heavens to give them both a run for their money.
SAME QUESTION AS ABOVE, BUT WHAT NON-2024 TV SHOW SAVED YOUR YEAR?
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Buffy the Vampire Slayer always saves me.
Star Trek … it’s always Star Trek…
KATIE BEACHY
The White Lotus! Season 3 of the show is already shaping up to be my answer for 2025.
Not proud to say so, but it’s episodes of Howard Stern’s old Channel 9 show. Shout-out to Underdog for keeping it real, to this day.
WHAT MOVIE GAVE YOU HOPE FOR THE FUTURE IN 2024?
BLINK TWICE
HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA (assuming WB doesn’t try to bury the sequels, in which case we RIOT)
THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE: It’s a good reminder of how to deal with Nazis and much needed for our future.
I couldn’t rightfully review it because they are friends of the site and I am totally biased, but BYSTANDERS made me hopeful for many more movies from writer Jamie Alvey and director Mary Beth McAndrews. REBEL RIDGE made me feel pretty damn hopeful too. Genre movies about things that matter, by people who truly care.
WHICH SONGS SAVED YOUR LIFE IN 2024? BONUS POINTS IF IT CAME FROM A MOVIE SOUNDTRACK.
“My Stranger” from YOUR MONSTER
Phoebe Bridgers, “Waiting Room”
WHICH BELOVED CELEBRITY WE LOST IN 2024 WOULD YOU CHEER FOR LOUDEST DURING THE BIZARRO ‘IN MEMORIAM’ TRIBUTE? AND WHY? CLICK HERE FOR A VERY SAD REMINDER OF WHO WE LOST.
Roger Corman, because there is no modern Hollywood as we know it without him.
Kris Kristofferson. But, and I say this as the person who initially created this category, with the idea being to mention the late icons who had the biggest influence on each of us, I don’t like the category anymore. We should try to remember every life with equal love. That said, Kris Kristofferson. Even knowing no man is immortal, and we would one day have to say goodbye to that guy, didn’t make it any easier when that day came.
WHAT CATEGORY SHOULD THE REAL OSCARS HAVE THAT THEY DON’T?
Best Horror Movie
Best Stunts
Best Ape
WHAT CATEGORY IS THIS LIST MISSING, AND WHO SHOULD WIN?
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Best Musical Interlude: LISA FRANKENSTEIN
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Best Soundtrack: I SAW THE TV GLOW
- Best Gore Effects: V/H/S: BEYOND
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Best Actress: Kathryn Newton, LISA FRANKENSTEIN
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Best Actor: Jack Haven, I SAW THE TV GLOW
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Best Inexplicable Fred Durst Appearance: Y2K
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Best Final Girl: Hunter Schafer, CUCKOO
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Best Dan Stevens: ABIGAIL
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Best Psycho: Josh Hartnett, TRAP
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Best Movie: I SAW THE TV GLOW
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Best On-Screen Friendship: Ilana Glazer as Eden and Michelle Buteau as Dawn in BABES
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Best On-Screen Rivalry: Amanda Lehan-Canto as Val vs. Patrick McDonald as Reed in I LIVE IN YOUR HOUSE
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Best Cameo: Amber Benson in I SAW THE TV GLOW
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Good Movies From 2024 That I Couldn’t Figure Out Another Way To Mention But Wanted To Mention So You Check Them Out: JUROR #2! CUCKOO! BILLY & MOLLY! A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE! EXHUMA!
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Movie I Saw That I Can’t Believe Exists: FRANKIE FREAKO. God bless those Astron-6 guys. We may never be friends in real life, but we would be!
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Movie I Saw That Definitely Shouldn’t Exist: RICKY STANICKY
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Movie That I Wish Existed: There are a lot of ways for me to answer this, but I’ll just say BLADE 4, with Wesley back, and with Kristofferson’s last performance. Just a wish. Adios, Kris.
SEE YOU LAST YEAR!
- [THE BIG QUESTION] WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FEMALE ENSEMBLE IN MOVIES? - July 22, 2016
- [IN THEATERS NOW] THE BOY (2016) - January 24, 2016
- Cult Movie Mania Releases Lucio Fulci Limited Edition VHS Sets - January 5, 2016
Tags: 2024, Bizarro Oscars, The Future, The Past
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