The Best Horror Movies of 2025 According to Our Horror Expert

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2025 was a fantastic year for horror, offering a wide variety of scary movies for every taste. From killer robots and ghosts to unsettling children and realistic psychological thrillers, there was something to frighten everyone. The films also drew inspiration from many sources – completely original concepts, fresh takes on classic tales, and even the revival of older series.

While big, flashy movies and superhero films usually get the most buzz, horror continues to be a consistently profitable genre, sparking discussion long after the credits roll. Here are the horror movies that stayed with us throughout the year – some we enjoyed, and others… not so much.

10
‘The Ugly Stepsister’


Scanbox Entertainment

Cinderella is one of the most famous and cherished fairy tales, telling the story of a young woman who overcomes a difficult home life to achieve her dreams. The story The Ugly Stepsister asks a compelling question: what if one of Cinderella’s stepsisters wasn’t actually mean, just misunderstood? While inspired by Cinderella, The Ugly Stepsister isn’t a simple retelling. It takes the familiar story in unexpected directions, challenging your assumptions and making you see the original tale in a whole new light.

What truly sets this movie apart is its unexpectedly dark story, focusing on Elvira, the stepsister, and her desperate attempts to become beautiful. Played by Lea Myren, Elvira will do anything – from risky medieval surgeries to dangerous methods like using tapeworms – hoping to attract the prince and save her family from poverty. The Ugly Stepsister is a disturbing medieval horror film that powerfully explores the lengths people will go to in order to meet society’s beauty standards, and it features some of the most unsettling scenes of the year.

9
‘The Monkey’


NEON

It’s no surprise that director Osgood Perkins brings a unique vision to Stephen King’s work, as demonstrated in his film, The Monkey. Adapting King’s stories is always tricky. Staying too close to the source material feels pointless, but changing it too much risks alienating his dedicated fans.

Fortunately, Perkins’ comedic timing was ideal for adapting “The Monkey.” The story had a quirky, unsettling tone rather than being truly frightening, and Perkins leaned into that with his own humor while still delivering plenty of shocking, bloody deaths. This approach created a unique story that remained true to the source material. The unpredictable and strange ways people died in The Monkey reminded many viewers of the Final Destination films, but many felt it was a more effective and engaging experience than the actual Final Destination sequel released around the same time.

8
‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’


A24

Many of the most effective horror films blend genres, and Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is a prime example. It’s one of the most unsettling movies released this year, yet it cleverly avoids typical horror clichés. The film centers on Linda (Rose Byrne), a mother navigating the challenges of her daughter’s eating disorder and a series of personal setbacks. While the premise might suggest a drama or dark comedy, viewers consistently describe the film as intensely anxiety-provoking from beginning to end.

Bryne delivers a truly captivating performance – one of the most impactful of the year, regardless of genre – because you can feel her character’s anxiety. While films like Beau Is Afraid also deal with constant panic, they use humor to balance it out. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You takes a more realistic approach to anxiety, leaving little room for those same moments of relief through laughter. Bronstein’s film relentlessly throws obstacles in the path of the main character, creating a constant, terrifying experience – and that, in itself, is deeply horrifying.

7
‘Companion’


Warner Bros. Pictures 

From classic films like 2001: A Space Odyssey to more recent ones such as The Terminator, The Matrix, and M3GAN, stories have often depicted artificial intelligence becoming corrupted and threatening humanity. This trope is now so common that the idea of robots turning evil feels unoriginal. Companion offers a fresh perspective by exploring what happens when a helpful AI, simply doing what it’s programmed to do, is actually the one being exploited by people.

Iris, played by Sophie Thatcher, is a robot created to be the perfect partner for Josh (Jack Quaid), and she flawlessly fulfills that purpose. But when Josh’s friends discover a way to manipulate Iris’s programming, things take a dark and unpredictable turn, keeping viewers guessing. The strong performances from Thatcher and Quaid give the film a familiar romantic comedy feel, which makes the story’s shocking twists even more impactful and forces us to reconsider who the real antagonist of Companion truly is.

6
‘Good Boy’


IFC/Shudder

The idea behind Good Boy is brilliantly simple: a haunted house story told from a dog’s point of view, where the dog can sense things humans can’t. Directed by Ben Leonberg and featuring his own dog, Indy, this film could have been a quick experiment, but it’s actually a surprisingly heartwarming and understanding story that will make you want to give your pet an extra hug.

Anyone who loves dogs understands how upsetting it is to see one in danger, and filmmakers Leonberg and Fischer could have easily used that to create cheap scares. Instead, they made their dog, Indy, a truly expressive star – his small changes in expression speak volumes. Of course, Indy was never actually in danger; the filmmakers cleverly edited together his natural reactions and behaviors to build a compelling story. Good Boy is similar to the original Paranormal Activity in that it proves you don’t need a big budget or famous actors to create a great film – just a strong idea and the dedication to bring it to life. And, admittedly, having a dog as adorable as Indy certainly helps!

5
‘The Long Walk’


Lionsgate

As a big Stephen King fan, I was really struck by how impactful The Monkey was this year, but The Long Walk also stayed with me. It was fascinating to see Francis Lawrence, known for the action in Hunger Games, tackle such a bleak and draining story. Apparently, King wrote it thinking about young men going off to Vietnam, each believing they’d make it back. And honestly, even after all these years – more than 50! – the idea of these boys being promised a reward just for not stopping, for simply continuing to walk, is still incredibly powerful and resonant.

While the movie focused more on the friendship and teamwork between the boys as they tried to motivate each other, knowing most of them wouldn’t survive, it didn’t rely on jump scares like films such as Sinner or 28 Days Later. Instead, its portrayal of strict control and the random way people were killed – the sense that anyone could die at any moment – made The Long Walk feel unsettlingly realistic, perhaps more so than any other similar movie released this year.

4
’28 Years Later’


Sony Pictures Releasing

It’s surprising that 28 Years Later was made, considering it’s been almost 20 years since the last film in the series. What makes it even more remarkable is that the original director, Danny Boyle, and writer, Alex Garland, both returned. While other legacy sequels often aim to recapture the magic of the original, Boyle and Garland took the series in a completely new direction, offering something unexpected.

While 28 Years Later delivered the expected thrills with its terrifying, rage-fueled infected and intense chases, it was the film’s exploration of death and different cultural perspectives on it that truly set it apart from typical zombie movies. The story’s deeper, more thought-provoking themes might not have appealed to viewers simply seeking gore, but that’s precisely what makes the film so effective. Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland didn’t give audiences what they expected from a horror movie; they gave them something unexpectedly profound.

3
‘Frankenstein’


Ken Woroner /© Netflix /Courtesy Everett Collection

Throughout his career, Guillermo del Toro has often focused on stories about misunderstood creatures, a theme he fully explores in his take on Frankenstein. While the film features a creature brought to life (played by Jacob Elordi), a central idea of both the movie and its promotion is that Oscar Isaac’s Victor Frankenstein is actually the more monstrous character.

For almost a hundred years, Boris Karloff’s depiction of the monster has been the most famous, but it didn’t fully capture the complexity of Mary Shelley’s original novel. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein fixed that, powerfully showing the creature’s suffering and loneliness – a being forced to live a life he never wanted, and experiencing all the joys and sorrows of humanity. Beyond its strong themes, the film’s stunning visuals and cinematography prove del Toro is a masterful storyteller, brilliantly reimagining a classic tale that many would avoid adapting.

2
‘Weapons’


Warner Bros. Pictures

One thing I really loved about Zach Cregger’s Barbarian was how the trailers kept everything a mystery, and the marketing for Weapons did the same thing! It successfully creeped me out without giving away anything about the plot. Honestly, all the teasers and promotional stuff made it impossible to guess what was going to happen, and it really drove home the idea that Weapons wasn’t a movie you could easily categorize or predict. It felt like something totally different, and that was exciting.

The movie felt like a collection of different horror ideas – witches, creepy children, and unsettling neighbors, to name a few. Like the director’s previous work, it balanced genuine humor with frightening moments. With this film, the director demonstrated that his success with Barbarian wasn’t a fluke and that he’s growing as a storyteller.

1
‘Sinners’


Warner Bros. Pictures

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners stood out as one of the year’s best films, not just in horror, but across all genres. Just as Steven Spielberg’s Jaws defined how a horror story could create a truly satisfying movie experience, Sinners delivered everything audiences look for in a trip to the theater.

The movie Sinners felt like a grand, terrifying story. It’s a disturbing vampire tale, but also a moving family drama and a look at the birth of blues music in Mississippi. It powerfully addresses the issue of cultural appropriation, showing how white people took from Black culture. The scary parts were genuinely frightening, and the joyful moments were equally impactful. Like the ambitious story, the film boasts a strong cast who each brought unique perspectives to their roles. Michael B. Jordan’s performance in two roles was particularly impressive, and the supporting actors – Miles Caton, Wunmi Mosaku, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Yao, and Li Jun Li – were all compelling enough to carry their own films.

Although Sinners has already been nominated for several Golden Globe Awards, it’s expected to receive many more awards in the future.

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2025-12-12 23:06