The Best of 2024
My favorite books, films, TV shows, podcasts, and albums of the year.
Yet another year as proof that art transports, expands, inspires, and—ultimately—saves. If you’re questioning whether or not your creative calling is worth pursuing over the next likely rocky 365 days, think of all the beloved works that got you through tough times. Committing to crafting ideas born of our minds and hearts is a revolutionary pursuit. As with my 2021, 2022, and 2023 roundups, here, I tip my hat to some of the best and brightest who were brave enough to give us their creations in 2024.
BOOKS
Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk
I read this on January 3 and knew immediately it would be my favorite book of the year. It’s a lush, affecting gothic story split between two narrators—a centuries-old female vampire navigating Buenos Aires through its 1800s yellow fever epidemics, and a woman in present day Buenos Aires grappling with her mother’s terminal illness. It mixes classic Anne Rice vibes with issues of death, sex, grief, yearning, consent, and the strange, dark places where they all intertwine.
Where I End by Sophie White
Wow, is this Shirley Jackson Award-winner a new horror classic. It’s a deeply atmospheric gothic tale set on a remote Irish island, following a 19-year-old girl caring for her vegetative bed-bound mother. It’s mysterious and unnerving as hell, threaded through with Irish folklore, and explores what happens to a child whose mother has always been present yet has never given her love. The protagonist's building resentment and its various releases are…conflictingly relatable. I will always be hooked by an exploration of the “taboo” subject that is toxic mothering and its ramifications.
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (Book Two) by Emil Ferris
This much-anticipated (for 7 years!) second installment of Emil Ferris’ groundbreaking graphic novel somehow packs even more heart, imagination, pulp horror influence, and mystery into its gorgeously illustrated pages. Through 10-year-old Karen Reyes’ eyes, we experience the diverse neighborhoods and residents of 1968 Chicago, an innate love of drawing manifested through engrossing art history lessons, grief and complicated family dynamics, a queer awakening, a murder investigation that recalls the horrors of Nazi Germany, and the realization that monsters are sometimes deceptively human…and vice versa. This story, paired with Book One, combines to create one of my favorite graphic novels ever.
Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker
This book is a stone-cold masterpiece. It is both utterly singular and somehow a combination of three all-time favorite novels: Animal, White Oleander, and Nightbitch. A searing, deeply empathic investigation of how trauma reverberates through mothers and daughters, and how the denial of it manifests. It is the pinnacle of destructive mother-daughter dynamic dramas; a literary thriller that reads like a memoir, with line-level writing so exquisite it rendered me slack-jawed.
Molly Molloy and the Angel of Death by Maria Vale
Don’t let this book’s cover fool you—it’s not a romance, in the traditional sense. It lives in Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett territory, at the intersection of humor, imagination, and darkness. Death falls in love with a woman he fails to kill, and the repercussions change her life—and his afterlife—forever. It’s a weird, moving book about learning to be human when you feel anything but. It released in 2023 but I read it this year, so it still counts!
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath
This crazy fun, imaginative graphic novel is equal parts adorable and diabolical. Set in a quintessential small town inhabited by anthropomorphized animals, it follows beloved hardware store owner Sam (a bear) who lives a double life as a merciless serial killer targeting victims in the not-so-distant big city. Sam’s hometown idyll is shattered when a series of dead neighbors (a goat named Martin Brand, a pig named Cherry Gherkins, etc.) turn up on her turf, and she has to find the copycat murderer (an actual cat, perhaps??) before she’s framed for grisly handiwork she didn’t commit. This is brilliantly subversive, serving up a story steeped in dread and disturbing themes through delightful imagery that harkens back to classic childhood storybooks.
FILMS
This movie is the Barbie of body horror—its message about toxic beauty standards has an accessible, delightful (albeit disgusting) delivery service. Grotesque, feminist, satirical, and fun as hell, but not for the weak of stomach (seriously). A gnarly, slime-covered, neon green steroid-pumped Hydra with the heads of Kubrick, Raimi, Aronofsky, Cronenberg, and Verhoeven. The last hour is bananas but the end is especially unhinged (think: Carrie on meth). I'm equally aghast and delighted that it not only played at Cannes but won the best screenplay Palme d'Or. Coralie Fargeat, the woman that you are! Between her, Arkasha Stevenson, and Julia Ducournau, the future of female-fronted horror is bright as hell.
This is a relentlessly brutal film (truly, it makes Herzog's version seem quaint), and a very faithful adaptation of the 1922 original, with some Dracula plot points and characters thrown in and customized. I really appreciate that Robert Eggers expanded the generally thankless role of Ellen—Lily-Rose Depp ran hard with it (though Nicholas Hoult is the movie’s undeniable MVP). It's incredibly beautiful and technically almost perfect, theater-shaking loud, and steeped in history (as all Eggers' best *cough*The Witch*cough* are). I really can't imagine a director more suited to show and tell this story—it delivered on all the beauty and horror; my one teensy critique is that it's a bit bloodless (hehe) in comparison to Coppola's hella horny Dracula, which remains number one in my heart. I recommend watching the 1922 version prior to seeing this, if you haven't yet (locals, keep an eye out at Acme Screening Room—they sometimes run a showing of it soundtracked to Radiohead's Kid A and Amnesiac!)
This movie did not need to rip as hard as it does! It has stunning cinematography, some delightfully unsettling imagery, and an extremely female-forward story (thanks to director Arkasha Stevenson and actress Nell Tiger Free, who gives us one of the year’s best lead performances). If you're a Rosemary's Baby fan with a strong stomach, this one's for you. Revisiting the 1976 original Omen is recommended but not required.
This movie is the perfect antidote for what currently ails us. A smart, funny, modern, unexpectedly moving coming of age story with a fresh premise and a fantastic troll of a title (just try and use it in a sentence). Shades of The Edge of Seventeen meets My Girl. Aubrey Plaza remains perfect. The twist at the end made me cry so hard I had a hiccuping fit, and I thought about it for days.
Sean Baker consistently delivers touching, empathetic stories about people on the fringe (see: Tangerine, The Florida Project). This is his best yet, a dark mirror Pretty Woman if it starred a grittier Marisa Tomei's Mona Lisa Vito (in this case, the excellent Mikey Madison), far more slapstick than expected but with a gut punch ending that reminds you the main character is anything but a caricature. Respectful of and accurate about sex work and all the complexities involved with enmeshing emotion, money, and bodily autonomy. I could write essays upon essays about the final scene.
Oh, this is such a beautiful, life affirming film! It technically came out last year, but I watched it (twice!) in 2024. It's a particularly excellent viewing if you've been stuck tailspinning in your own bullshit lately (couldn't be me). A meditative, slice-of-life character study of a man who cleans Tokyo's public toilets, and sees beauty everywhere. Reflective visuals, ace soundtrack, heart squeezing (largely wordless) lead performance by Koji Yakusho; a love letter to joyfully embracing routine and a peaceful protest against achievement culture.
This movie is really tough to distill—I loved it, but it's for a very specific viewer. It's a phenomenal feat of filmmaking that combines live action with animation—a slapstick in the vein of Looney Tunes and Buster Keaton with a sort of fantastical-ridiculous Michel Gondry sensibility. A truly surreal experience of frame-worthy stunning shots juxtaposed with narrative insanity. I'm honestly in awe of it. Where does this live in someone's brain? And the amount of planning and work on screen! Respect. Totally original.
TV SHOWS
The Bear (Season Three)
Viewers are divided on this latest season, but I enjoyed it and think it beautifully deepens our relationship with every character. The first and Tina-centric episodes are series highs, and I love how the show explores all the ways trauma manifests through a family. Jamie Lee Curtis and Oliver Platt are really teaching the youths how it's done; it’s one of those painful-but worth it watches. I could write a thousand think pieces about Sugar and her mom.
I devoured this limited series—it's a stunning and very tense adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley that's deeply focused on the minutiae of crime, obsession, and survival. Where the beloved 1999 film was a sunny romp featuring a social-climbing twenty-something, this is a stark black and white slow burn centering Ripley as a scrappy, survivalist forty-something. The thriller treatment is given a gothic edge, which tonally reminded me a bit of the excellent 2022 film Tár. Andrew Scott is mesmerizing, and Robert Elswit's cinematography is completely gorgeous (every. single. frame...perfetto!) I'd really love to read an in-depth analysis of Caravaggio aesthetics and themes through the show's (literal and figurative) lens.
This show is astoundingly great, but (be warned!) it is incredibly horrifying and bleak. Like...Lovecraftian Ghibli, minus the whimsy and added the plant-based body horror and mimicry of Annihilation. It follows the stranded members of a crashed deep space freighter as they navigate the animals, insects, vegetation, and terrain of an awe and terror-inspiring alien planet. The animation, music, voice work, and sound effects coalesce gorgeously to create a truly unique and unsettling vibe. There's so much imagination and intrigue on screen—a really striking viewing experience. It released in 2023 but really found its audience (including me!) this year.
Binge-watching this in one rainy day really hit the spot. Hella charming, funny, warm, relatable, great performances all around. Adam Brody and Kristen Bell have off-the-charts chemistry—the kiss in episode two is among the best on-screen kisses ever. Sigh. The rom-com is back, long live the rom-com!
It pains me to plug anything Marvel (thus far I've successfully avoided the MCU like the plague), but boy is this exceptional. I was able to follow it without having watched WandaVision (of which this show is a spin-off), and it's a witchy, atmospheric, propulsive fun time. Insane cast! Hella gay! Tarot-centric! Created and directed by women! Episode seven is incredible!!
Interview with the Vampire (Season Two)
I wasn't quite as obsessively enamored with the latest season of this show, though the first half of it is truly excellent. It's still worth watching for the opulent sets, the incredible casting (literally everyone is in top form), and the general horniness. Anne Rice would be very proud.
PODCASTS
I’ve enjoyed this show—which brings on a new actor, director, or creative to discuss a Stephen King book—for years, as it’s hosted by two of my former film writing colleagues, Scott Wampler and Eric Vespe. Tragically, this year Scott unexpectedly passed away, which signaled the final bow for the podcast. Some of my favorite 2024 episodes include their Bill Skarsgard and Willem Dafoe interview, discussing It with Arkasha Stevenson and Nell Tiger Free, The Lawnmower Man with the hilarious Flula Borg, and this closer look at King’s female characters.
How can you go wrong with a feelings podcast about movies? That’s right: you can’t. This one always makes my list, thanks to funny and whip-smart hosts Alex Steed and Sarah Marshall plus their ever-rotating weekly guests, and the nostalgic subject matter. This year’s bests include The Holiday, When Harry Met Sally, The Witch, Near Dark, Do the Right Thing, Tremors, and Mermaids.
Rick Rubin’s podcast remains one of my top listens, and while nothing will beat last year’s Trent Reznor episode for me, a few of my 2024 favorites include Rick’s easygoing, revealing chats with Pharrell Williams, Brianna Wiest, Killer Mike, Joaquin Phoenix, and Patricia Sun.
Like most of you, I finally came to this podcast via the incredible Kamala Harris episode. Host Alex Cooper really is a refreshingly candid, sharp interviewer who manages to get fascinating (often juicy!) info out of her subjects. I listen to this when I want to feel a bit more in touch with my Gen Z pals.
Another I’ve listened to for years without fail: astrologer Chani Nicholas’ insights (which drop every Monday) are both soothing and informative.
ALBUMS
Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii
Watch her Tiny Desk Concert and just try to deny that Doechii is the future of rap.
Cutouts by The Smile
The next best thing to a new Radiohead album. Straight vibes.
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan
Don’t fight it—Chappell is everywhere for a reason. Yes, this is a 2023 album, but it caught fire in 2024.
Brat by Charli XCX
Aggressively club-core pop deliciousness.
Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves
My second favorite behind 2018’s sublime Golden Hour.
Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé
Beyoncé does country? Whatever you wish, queen, you’re always flawless.
The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift
It’s no Folkore or Evermore, but several of its songs remain on repeat.
Did I miss something you think I’d love? Want to debate your own favorites of 2024? Let me know in the comments!