Every year when we look in retrospect, it can be a bit disorienting to really absorb how many great films we actually received over the past 12 months. While I feel there weren’t really a lot of intensely frightening movies in the horror realm this year, there were certainly a ton of fun and interesting films at the least. As you’ll see below, most of these are just super quick summaries with my own added projections. But we’ve dropped some full-length reviews on most of these throughout the year, but don’t hesitate to holler if you want to see either a full review of a new one, or even a revisit piece. So otherwise, sit back and relax while I spill my thoughts on 2025s releases.
BUT FIRST: I’m going to cheat real quick and drop a number 11 at the top here, because I had 3 titles really fighting it out for the #10 spot, so I’m going to give in and give y’all an extra one:
11.) Hot Spring Shark Attack – A gang of vicious sharks are terrorizing Atsumi City, Japan, and nothing can stop them – not fresh water, not plumbing, not even concrete. This movie is the goofiest goddamn thing I’ve ever seen, and I sat in utter disbelief watching this thing play out. It’s absurdly creative, nonstop hilarious, and definitely one film on this list I seriously wish I saw with friends. Watch this one if you can.
10.) Good Boy – A man and his loyal canine, Indy, are living in an old home with a dark past, but only Indy seems to be attune to the horrors that await them. There’s no denying that this film is essentially a gimmick – a haunted house film from the perspective of the family dog – but it’s so much more than that. The scares are effective, the direction of a dog character is smartly accomplished, and it really is a triumph of a passion project. With how dark and heavy of a year 2025 was for myself, this film honestly gave me an existential crisis. It made me want to go home and cuddle with my cats and just bawl. I truly found this film to be brilliant.
9.) Marshmallow – After experiencing the traumatic death of his grandfather, a young boy goes to summer camp where he hears the campfire tale of a mad doctor who abducts children and experiments on them, until one night he begins to suspect that this may be more than a tall tale. I found this film to be a super refreshing take on the summer camp-themed slashers, with some excellent child actors, a beautiful soundtrack and scenery, and a twist I never saw coming. I may be alone in championing this film this year, but I stand proud by it.
8.) 28 Years Later – Picking up 28 years after the rage virus infiltrated and devastated London, ’28 Years Later’ picks up where ’28 Days Later’ basically left off. The virus has continued to evolve while all remaining humans have been finding ways to survive. While it seems a lot of audiences really hated this film, I really marveled at it. Director Danny Boyle & writer Alex Garland re-unite to bring us a tale that is about far more than zombies ravaging the UK, showing us the de-evolution of humanity when stuck in isolation. It’s a film that really grows on you, and I’m ecstatic to see the sequel ‘The Bone Temple’ this weekend.
7.) Bugonia – A conspiracy theory-fueled man and his cousin abduct the CEO of a major corporation, set out to prove that she is in fact part of an alien race hell-bent on imprisoning and murdering humanity. This new Yorgos Lanthimos film is a soft, contemporary reboot of the Korean film ‘Save the Green Planet’, but it feels all too perfect for Lanthimos’ style. Jesse Plemmons and Emma Stone give knock-out performances for this story that really has you switching sides over and over. And when the violence does begin to slowly creep in, this film really goes up a whole other level. Equally funny and equally unsettling, I’m glad to have squeezed this in just last weekend.
6.) V/H/S/Halloween – Another year, another Shudder release of a new ‘V/H/S’ film. Continuing with the found footage series that features different directors and stories, this one centers around the theme of Halloween and fully delivers. As a whole, this may very well be my favorite ‘V/H/S’ film so far. It’s creepy, funny, creative as all hell, and also features one of the darkest segments this series has produced so far. Ths is 100% going into my yearly October viewing schedules.
5.) Sinners – When the Smoke-Stack twins return to Mississippi after getting rich in Chicago (set in 1932), they decide to open up a juke-joint for their colored friends and family to enjoy a night of freedom – all the while providing some of the best food, music, and community. Things seem to be going very well until sinister forces arrive and decide they want in. This film is one everybody’s been talking about all year. I was late to watching it (because I usually try to wait for the hype trains to slow down), but I was really impressed by it. Everything from the acting, the authenticity of the period, the cinematography, and the music is perfection. The “piercing the veil” musical set piece is a crowd-pleaser that really deserves its praise, and everybody is firing on all cylinders here. While the horror almost feels tangential to the overall experience (being how it comes so late into the film and finishes rather fast), this is still a phenomenal film that merits a watch.
4.) The Long Walk – In a dystopian America, there is a yearly event where many boys are selected by a lottery-style system to participate in the annual Long Walk. The rules are simple: when the whistle is blown, you begin walking. If you drop below 3 miles an hour (monitored by handheld devices) you receive a point, and if you accrue more than 3 points you are instantly killed. The last boy standing at the end of the walk gets more wealth than you can imagine, and also you receive one wish for anything you desire – all the while, this march is broadcasted for all to see. This film goes hard on the violence and the tension, making what seems like a dull premise on paper unbelievably enticing. It’s a Stephen King adaptation filled with colorful characters and existential dialogue that makes you really wish the best for all involved, while you inevitably know that only one of them can survive. It’s heart-wrenching, thought-provoking, and easily one of the best King adaptations in a decade. I’ll be doing a full review of this one sometime soon.
3.) Bring Her Back – When Andy and her sight-impaired sister Piper lose their father, the foster care system sends them to live with a new mother, Laura (played by Sally Hawkins). Everything seems lovely and Laura is quite charming, but things are slowly revealed over time showing that the lovely surface may in fact be hiding some dark, sinister intentions. The Philippou brothers follow up their smash debut hit ‘Talk to Me’ with a tale full of grief and tragedy. Inspired by their own real-life grief, this film is as dark and brooding as it is authentic and bizarre. It’s a story that really hurts to witness but feels too human to ignore.
Quick author note: I really went back and forth between my number 2 & 1. Both films were definitely my favorites of the year, but I really couldn’t decide which one was my absolute favorite. So, after much debate, I’m here to pull the trigger once and for all.
2.) Companion – Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid) are off for a lovely weekend at an AirB&B with his friends, until a tragic event occurs, leaving a dead body and many questions up in the air. At this point, there is a serious revelation made about Iris that changes everything. This film is one that was spoiled by its trailers (which thankfully, I don’t fucking watch anymore), but it really is an entertaining, very well-written story that really embraces the ideas of a predatory relationship, trust and secrets, and technological advancements. I fell in love with Sophie Thatcher thanks to this film, and I watched it at a point where it really spoke to my subconscious in a peculiar, comforting way.
1.) Weapons – After an event where 17 children, all from the same classroom, all inexplicably ran away from their homes at 2:17 AM, the community is in shambles to make sense of what happened. Told through a story that is divided into 6 different perspectives, this is a puzzle of a mystery that endlessly has you engaged and asking “what the fuck is happening?” Director Zach Cregger follows up his debut surprise hit ‘Barbarian’ with a film that is written levels above the previous and technically sharper. While it may not work for everyone, there is something undeniably cool about having high expectations for a piece and walking out feeling satisfied. This film was such a fun, mysterious piece that I really love revisiting.
Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):
The Ugly Stepsister
Strange Harvest
Final Destination: Bloodlines
Together
Bone Lake
Favorite Non-Horror Films:
Friendship (my legit favorite film of the year)
Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
Twister: Inside the Storm
Stans
Caught Stealing
This is the Tom Green Documentary
And that’s a wrap! I’m excited to see what 2026 has for all of us.
Let us know what you think of this list, and what you recommend that I may have missed.
‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra
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