This Year’s Top 10 Horror Movies of 2025

This year has been a fantastic one for horror, and given the state of the world, that feels fitting. Horror has always offered a cathartic release. It gives us control over the monsters we choose to let in as opposed to real-world monsters we have no control over.

Needless to say, there was no shortage of solid films to choose from in 2025. Admittedly, I haven’t seen every horror released this year, and keep in mind, this list is entirely personal. These films aren’t necessarily the scariest movies, the biggest box office hits, or the films most talked about. They are the films that stayed with me. The ones that lingered in my thoughts, crept into quiet moments, or left me feeling unsettled long after the credits rolled.

Overall, what stood out the most about horror in 2025 was the willingness of directors to experiment. Many of this year’s strongest films leaned away from traditional scares and toward emotional discomfort, moral ambiguity, body horror, grief narratives, and intimate psychological tension. Monsters were often secondary to loss, relationships, and the inevitability and cruelty of death.

With that in mind, here are my top horror films of 2025, ranked from ten to one.

#10 - Together directed by Michael Shanks

While there were aspects of this film I did not like, and the originality of it is questionable, I still enjoyed the theme that Together (2025) grappled with. Directed by Michael Shanks and starring Allison Brie and Dave Franco as a couple on the verge of collapse, I think the film did well to explore emotional dependency. The body horror was interesting, and the tone hit the right note. While I didn’t care for the ending, and I still felt both characters were unlikeable, I still enjoyed how well the films excels at underlining the codependency of the characters and how closeness can feel downright suffocating, even before the couple fused...together.

#9 – Final Destination: Bloodlines directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein

With five other Final Destination movies, starting from 2000, it is a hard feat not to make the franchise stale, but the 6th installment leans into what makes the series so fun. Death is not only a signed gaurantee, but it is also creative. Adding the generational angle only makes it even more interesting! As someone who saw the original film in high school (yikes!) I thought it was exactly the creative spark the franchise needed. Yes, some of the deaths were campy or didn’t make logical sense (the MRI death, for example), but it was fun. This installment proves the franchise didn’t need reinvention, only to sharpen what already works.

#8 – The Long Walk directed by Francis Lawrence

The Long Walk (2025) is a beautifully directed film that, in my opinion, was overlooked by many. I think too many were put off by the premise, whether they thought it might be too political, or because “nothing happened.” Based on a Stephen King novel, under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, it is certainly a bleak premise, but it is also insightful and emotionally relentless. You know that there can only be one winner, and yet the inevitability of death doesn’t lessen the blow for each character on screen. It’s a masterfully done film, and I wish it had a bit more fanfare.

#7 – 28 Days Years Later directed by Danny Boyle  

28 Years Later (2025) proves that this franchise still has teeth. Rather than relying on nostalgia for the films alone, director Danny Boyle expands the emotional and thematic scope of the original outbreak, focusing on legacy, survival fatigue, and what happens when an entire generation grows up in the shadow of catastrophe. It is certainly an interesting take, and while some of the camera angles and cinematography still felt etched in the early 2000s, despite there being use of iPhones, I still found the film to be a fresh take. In addition, the inclusion of the “Bone Temple” mythos was really interesting, and I am very excited for the next installment.

#6 – Companion directed by Drew Hancock

I originally avoided Companion (2025) because I didn’t think it would be any good. That is more of a commentary on the trailer and marketing than the film itself. In fact, while one could argue this leans more sci-fi, the film is a good exploration into artificial intimacy that creates slow, deliberate unease. I enjoyed it thoroughly and found the most horrifying aspect of it to be that artificial intelligence is not only a reflection of who we are, but that the plot points in the film feel like a future reality we all know is coming. Count me out for having my own artificial companion. 

#5 – The Ugly Stepsister directed by Emilie Blichfeldt

Yikes! If I were going with the movie that surprised me the most, this may be at the top. Reimagined fairy tales are always a hit or miss for me (despite having open submissions for an anthology of fairytale reimaginings). Often, they lean too hard into making everything different, so it looses the original essence, or they do not bring anything new to the table. Blichfeldt's work is body horror at its finest. Not only does the film interrogate beauty standards and entitlement, but it is visually striking, emotionally brutal, and understands how to escalate the horror in a way that feels purposeful rather than gratuitous. It’s a fantastic take on a classic story.

#4 – Sinners directed by Ryan Coogler

It saddens me that one of the top searches is whether Sinners (2025) should be considered a horror movie. It most definitely is! Horror isn’t meant to just scare you, but also shock and disturb, which the film does. Of course, if it does none of those, that’s fine too. After all, these are subjective feelings. That being said, I loved the film. It is a Southern Gothic tale that leans into moral decay and inherited guilt. The sin festers quietly, and although many aspects are pure spectacle (after all, the film doubles as a musical of sorts), it still does well to provide just enough dread and darkness to keep horror fans like me happy.

#3 – Frankenstein directed by Guillermo del Toro

Be still, my Victorian-era loving heart! Guillermo del Toro’s work is not a faithful adaptation, but it is a masterpiece in Gothic literature brought to life. It is a story of grief, ambition, and the spot where love collides in devastating ways. It feels less like a monster movie and more like a tragedy, but it works because the fairytale elements not only showcase del Toro’s filmmaking style, but I believe it is close enough to the source material to keep book fans and new audiences alike engaged.

#2 – Weapons directed by Zach Cregger

Zach Cregger’s second directorial feature film, following Barbarian (2022) and he definitely learned a lot from that first piece. While Weapons (2025) can be considered a slow burn, when it really picks up, it really picks up. It is slow, tense, and captivates the audience with an unusual plot, stunning and sometimes grotesque visuals, and plenty of action. While some explanations never fully arrive, it is a film that breathes originality and has one of the most unique horror villains that I have seen in quite some time.

#1 – Bring Her Back directed by Danny and Michael Phillippou

You know a film has impacted you when the credits roll and nobody moves a muscle. That’s exactly what happened during my showing of Bring Her Back (2025). This film made me exactly the way Hereditary (2018) did: a thick, uneasy feeling that settled as a ball in the pit of my stomach. It is the kind of horror that is so visceral that you almost feel sick. Horror that can accomplish that, in my opinion, is rare.

This film has no clean edges. It refuses comfort, easy closure, or emotional safety. There are plenty of visual horror elements (case in point, the table scene). There is no “final girl” here because even the survivor will be left with the emotional weight of everything that has occurred.

I’d say the audience will, too.

2025 Horror Hits Differently

As mentioned, 2025 was a remarkable year for horror. Rather than chasing louder scares or bigger set pieces, many directors chose to experiment, pushing horror inward, toward grief, intimacy, and moral discomfort. These films trusted the audience to sit with ambiguity and unease instead of offering easy resolutions. The result was a year of horror that felt personal, unsettling, and deeply human, proving once again that the genre thrives most when it’s willing to take risks.

Of course, once I go through my 2025 backlog, my list may shift, but for now, these are the movies that stood out to me. Would love to hear what stood out to you. 

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