As we usher in a brand-new year of genre filmmaking, I think it’s also worth looking back on what did and didn’t work about our previous trip around the sun. When it comes to the horror genre, that means celebrating the latest additions to horror iconography that were cooked up by filmmakers attempting to take […]
As we usher in a brand-new year of genre filmmaking, I think it’s also worth looking back on what did and didn’t work about our previous trip around the sun. When it comes to the horror genre, that means celebrating the latest additions to horror iconography that were cooked up by filmmakers attempting to take the genre to the next level.
And in a year chalk-full of new monsters and killers I thought it might be fun to highlight six of the scariest horror masks of 2024. After all, a slasher is only as good as his murderous attire, and last year offered up plenty of memorable headgear for fans of stylish antagonists.
As usual, this list is purely based on personal opinion, but keep in mind that we’ll be focusing on the scare factor and memorability of the masks themselves rather than the overall quality of the film they originally appeared in. With that out of the way, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite horror masks of 2024 if you think we missed a particularly cool one.
The varied assortment of killers in Michael Leavy’s Stream (a sister-production to the same team’s excellent work on the Terrifier films) all benefit from unique character designs and personalities, but it’s the recurring player masks that really tie this ragtag gang of competing murderers together.
On their own, these grinning black masks seem like your standard Purge-inspired Halloween store fare, but the fact that you can still make out the actors’ eyes underneath the tinted lenses means that there’s an added level of unhinged performance here that you don’t usually get with slashers.
5. The Founder’s Theater Mask – Founder’s Day (2024)
Scream-inspired whodunnit slashers are a dime a dozen, but not every scary movie needs to reinvent the genre wheel. That’s why I appreciate Erik Bloomquist’s Founder’s Day as a well-executed piece of bloody political satire that also happens to feature one of the most memorable masks of cinematic year.
While the scare-factor behind this crimson theater mask really depends on your definition of “scary,” I like how production designer Joshua Schneider hand-sculpted this contorted face to look like an American equivalent to a Japanese Oni mask. It’s just a shame that the killer’s (thematically appropriate) legal wig doesn’t do the design any favors.
4. The Frank Stone Mask – The Casting of Frank Stone (2024)
Yes, this long-awaited Dead by Daylight spinoff is technically a videogame, but Supermassive’s narrative-driven projects are basically interactive movies at this point, and that’s why I feel comfortable with including the mangled Frank Stone mask on this list alongside entries from more traditional scary stories.
A welding mask from hell (with the underside even featuring tusks made out of warped metal), the headgear on the very first Dead by Daylight killer is one of the coolest horror designs of the year, with the developers of the main game even including it in DbD as cosmetic DLC so players could show it off online.
3. The Fool Mask – Tarot (2024)
Tarot may have been dismissed by some viewers are a disappointingly tame creature feature (I personally think it’s a fun example of PG-13 Gateway Horror), but I don’t think anyone will be surprised to learn that a film featuring monsters designed by the insanely talented Trevor Henderson – creator of viral hits like Sirenhead – would also be included on a list celebrating the best horror masks of the year.
More specifically, I’d love to shout-out Tarot’s eerie portrayal of the Fool archetype, with this multi-faceted demonic entity being one of the film’s creepiest monsters. And while Felix Leech’s performance is clearly responsible for a lot of the spook factor here, it’s clear that the Fool’s uncanny facial expressions are what make him so memorable.
2. The Soul Eater Mask – Soul Eater (2024)
The darkest film featured on this list, Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo’s investigative folk horror opus Soul Eater is a deeply haunting exploration of cult mentality and child abuse. That being said, I have to admit that I only decided to check it out because of the freaky horned mask featured on the film’s posters.
While the film itself is by no means a slasher, with the oddly foreboding mask only being a small detail among a larger smorgasbord of horrific storytelling, I can’t help but include the design on this list if only as an excuse to recommend this deeply disturbing flick to other genre fans.
1. Vintage Firefighter Mask – In a Violent Nature (2024)
Chris Nash’s introspective commentary on slasher flicks may have divided audiences with its deliberate pacing and arthouse presentation, but even the film’s harshest critics agree that the undead Johnny is a great addition to the slasher genre’s ever-growing pantheon of masked killers. And while having Johnny use an assortment of firefighting tools as weapons was an inspired choice, it’s his vintage headgear that really completes the ensemble.
Funnily enough, Johnny’s decision to wear the anti-smoke helmet is much less arbitrary than Jason Voorhees’ sudden obsession with hockey gear, as our undead anti-hero was actually killed during a prank gone wrong at a local fire lookout tower. I also appreciate the implication that an instrument which once represented safety has been turned on its head as a symbol of violent death.
