Horror isn’t just a source of constant innovation within the film industry, but a rare genre that’s consistently reliable. Although 2025 saw a great number of major disappointments both critically and at the box office, there were more than a few great horror films that stood out. Even though, historically, horror is a genre that has struggled to find respect, it more than overperformed in 2025. Not only did several horror films perform better than expected and sustained at the box office, but many might be in serious contention for end-of-year awards.
In a year as robust and exciting as 2025, narrowing down only ten selections was not an easy task. “The Conjuring: Last Rites” was one of the biggest surprises of the year, as it became a massive hit and brought the story of the Warrens to a satisfying conclusion. Smaller films like “Borderline,” “Opus,” “Heart Eyes,” “Predator: Killer of Killers,” and “The Monkey” even had a lot to love about them, and the dog in “Good Boy” seemed to inspire a passionate following of its own. Even a film as flawed as “The Wolf Man” indicated that there are still valiant efforts being made to incorporate more practical effects into horror films, which almost always end up looking better than CGI nonsense. Here are the ten greatest horror films of 2025.
10. The Ugly Stepsister
Even if there have been countless reimaginings of the “Cinderella” story, “The Ugly Stepsister” is a work of frightening originality that delightfully tears down the cliches found in so many fairy tale films. The medieval-set Norwegian horror film retells the classic princess story from the perspective of Elvira (Lea Myren), a homely girl who is subjected to intense manipulation by her mother, Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp), who intends to see her married to the Prince. Of course, Elvira is doomed to be “The Ugly Stepsister” that the title refers to because her adopted sister Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss), later given the name “Cinderella,” is the one who ends up receiving magical benefits and charming the young royal.
To see Agnes subjected to horrific bodily mutilation is sickening and an indictment of the standards of beauty that women have been subjected to throughout history. Although it’s a film that touches on some nasty themes about the history of abuse and depravity of impoverished economic circumstances, “The Ugly Stepsister” is also frightfully funny, albeit in the darkest possible way. It’s a powerful, entertaining, and absorbing achievement in vision and immersion that serves as a great alternative to Disney’s soulless live-action remakes of their animated fairy tale films.
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9. Bring Her Back
Former YouTube creators Danny and Michael Philippou made a splash with their demented directorial debut “Talk to Me” a few years ago, but their second A24 horror film is even more chilling and upsetting. Tackling the very real issue of foster siblings who seek to stay together, “Bring Her Back” centers on the teenager Andy (Billy Barratt) and his visually-impaired sister Piper (Sora Wong), who are taken in by the enigmatic foster mother Laura (Sally Hawkins). “Bring Her Back” excels at creating the sort of nauseating, unknowable tension of being trapped in a hopeless situation without any power, but it slowly evolves into a nightmarish vision about the lasting implications of grief.
A24 may have become a brand unto itself thanks to its merchandising and active social media presence, but “Bring Her Back” isn’t catering to film buffs with an “elevated” approach. It’s a sincerely disturbed film that is challenging to watch, and shows no concern about delving into taboo issues. It’s certainly a feat in casting thanks to the remarkable breakout roles for the two young leads, and Hawkins reaches a register of chilling and hypnotic that would shock anyone who primarily knows her from her work in Mike Leigh’s films.
8. Final Destination: Bloodlines
Nearly fifteen years after the previous installment, the “Final Destination” franchise came roaring back to life with its most ambitious entry yet, and it served as a reminder of how much fun the series can be. This isn’t a slasher saga like “Friday the 13th” or “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” where there are narrative hijinks needed to explain the killer’s comeback, nor is this a pseudo-intellectual arthouse title trying to make societal commentary. “Final Destination: Bloodlines” is a gnarly, playfully absurd battle against the inevitability of death that offers a return to the foundation of the series.
Although “Final Destination: Bloodlines” is clearly operating from a bigger budget than its predecessors, as evidenced by its stunning opening scene set in the past, it still feels nihilistic, dangerous, and alternative in a way that other contemporary horror franchises have not. Perhaps the most surprising element of the film is the moving performance by Tony Todd, the late actor who plays the embodiment of death in the series. Todd’s real-life passing casts a somber shadow over the film, and a scene in which his character discusses his own acceptance of the end he knows is coming soon may be the oddest moment in 2025 cinema that could end up inducing tears.
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7. Companion
Warner Bros. had such a legendarily successful year in 2025 that it’s easy to forget that the studio’s first release was an underseen, original science fiction horror film that didn’t nearly earn as much recognition as it deserved. “Companion” tackles the issue of artificial intelligence by showing the perspective of a companion robot, Iris (Sophie Thatcher), who begins to recognize the nature of her reality after a getaway to the middle of the woods with her boyfriend, Josh (Jack Quaid), and his friends.
While there were a few films this year that felt oddly in favor of AI (including the Russo brothers’ disastrous “The Electric State”), “Companion” makes some fascinating points about its implementation. The film suggests that giving humanistic traits to disposable intelligence gives humans an excuse to lean into their worst impulses and gives them yet another chance to elude consequences for abusive behavior. “Companion” has a lot of high-concept ideas that could easily spark endless interpretation and theories, but it’s also a well-directed, fast-paced thriller with a number of twists and turns. Quaid has now starred in a number of the year’s most underrated films, and between “Companion” and last year’s “Heretic,” Thatcher is making a case for herself as an emerging scream queen.
6. Frankenstein
Guillermo del Toro has been alluding to elements of the “Frankenstein” story within nearly all of his films, so it’s not that surprising that he ended up making a straight adaptation of the original novel. Nonetheless, del Toro managed to unlock themes of Mary Shelly’s material that were not unpacked in previous versions. His version of “Frankenstein” is the story of fathers and sons. Victor (Oscar Isaac) tries to create pure life in his monster (Jacob Elordi) as a result of the abuse and neglect he suffered at the hands of his own father (Charles Dance). It’s a broken cycle of restraint and resistance that defines mankind’s willingness to play God, and it’s beautifully explored in an eye-popping visual feast that includes some of the year’s best production design.
Del Toro has never been a particularly subtle filmmaker, but “Frankenstein” is so sincere that it’s hard not be moved. Elordi’s expressiveness and physical transformation create a thoughtful, well-rounded version of the creature who evokes immense empathy. Perhaps the boldest decision del Toro made was to alter the ending of the material, suggesting that enough time has passed for a potentially more optimistic story of this iconic tragedy to be told and passed on.
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5. Sinners
“Sinners” is the most satisfying vampire thriller to emerge in years because it taps into the same magic that classics like “The Lost Boys” or “From Dusk Till Dawn” captured. The film needs to be compelling as a well-written character drama of a specific time and place before it takes a shift into horror-tinged action. Ryan Coogler was given the freedom to explore the intricacies of the Deep South during the early 19th century, and came up with a gothic adventure that gave insight and consideration to each of its characters.
Michael B. Jordan’s dual performances as the twins Smoke and Stack are certainly an achievement worth commending, but the scene-stealers of “Sinners” were breakout actor Miles Canton as an unusually talented young musician and the great Delroy Lindo as the wise sage who becomes his mentor. “Sinners” is able to take familiar tropes relating to vampire mythology and make them feel fresh again, and the film’s rousing final sequence feels like the ultimate tribute to John Carpenter. The success that “Sinners” has had isn’t just indicative of the power horror has to be both empowering and involving, but a sign of why more studios should invest in original projects.
4. The Long Walk
Although “The Monkey” and “The Running Man” were both valiant efforts to make contemporary Stephen King adaptations, “The Long Walk” outshone them by telling a grim version of one of the author’s earliest and most influential stories. It’s not hard to imagine a totalitarian future in which a military regime has control over the livelihood of young men, and given today’s obsession with reality programming, it’s even more feasible that their suffering would be broadcast for a captive audience. The simple, yet deliberate worldbuilding from director Francis Lawrence gives just enough details about this sobering reality to set up the gruelling premise, which sees a group of youths taking an extended hike at a maintained pace until all but one of them have survived.
King’s original story may have been used as an analogy for the perils of the Vietnam War, but the update of “The Long Walk” is an approximation for the futility of today’s young people to stand up against the tools of fascism that force them to abide by strict rules. The gripping story is only made more impactful thanks to the brilliant performances by Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson, who make the case for themselves as the next generation of movie stars.
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3. Presence
Steven Soderbergh released two films in 2025 that used the guise of genre to take a deeper look at interpersonal relationships and internalized self-doubt. “Black Bag” used the mechanics of an espionage thriller to explore the inherently performative aspects of a relationship, and “Presence” used the premise of a standard haunting story to look at the longstanding effects of grief. “Presence” isn’t as much of a haunted house film as it is a grimly observational drama about a family shattered by tragedy, told through the perspective of a ghostly spirit tied to their history. It’s as creative and detail-oriented as anything that Soderbergh has ever done, but it also becomes truly scary in a way that he’s never been before.
The makeshift, low-budget approach taken by Soderbergh with “Presence” may have aided in its emotional authenticity, but the film is also profoundly emotional, with a performance by Chris Sullivan that should receive more attention in end-of-year awards voting bodies. Legendary screenwriter David Koepp may have written one of the year’s worst films with “Jurassic World Rebirth,” but his script for “Presence” is a reminder of what a successful creator he can be when given the chance to flesh out a unique premise.
2. 28 Years Later
“28 Years Later” is just as willfully experimental and unnerving as Danny Boyle’s 2002 classic, and takes tremendous risks with its digital expressionism and montage-heavy immersion that feel terrifying in a way no other 2025 film did. What’s most surprising about “28 Years Later” isn’t that it managed to make zombies feel scary again, despite the overexposure of “The Walking Dead” and “The Last of Us,” but that Boyle had something profound to say about the inhumanity taken as a means of survival. In a post-Brexit world, “28 Years Later” examined how societies build rules and fear to mask any hints of vulnerability that could potentially unravel them, which inadvertently set the stage for a darker form of legacy.
The film’s commentary on Britain’s dark history surfaces most strikingly in Jack O’Connell’s brief but chilling appearance, evoking the image of serial predator Jimmy Savile. “28 Years Later” is a surprisingly intimate story about a young boy (Alfie Williams) coping with the impending death of his mother (Jodie Foster), all whilst finding the beauty within the natural patterns of life. It’s a gorgeous, emotionally wrought sequel that pushed the medium forward and has ensured that “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” is one of 2026’s most anticipated films.
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1. Weapons
It really wasn’t a question as to what the best horror film of 2025 was; “Weapons” is successful in making the type of old-fashioned setups and payoffs that the industry has forgotten in its search for “prestige horror,” and its absorbing structure allows for an immersive exploration into a shattered community plagued by fear and trauma. “Weapons” faces the unknowing pressure of an unsolvable case by suggesting that the simplest way to divide a society is to prey upon its innocents, which in turn weaponizes people’s primal reactions into a deadly force. It’s through the missed encounters, misinterpreted signals, and awkward coincidences that “Weapons” paints a tapestry of a divided America, all before delivering on a supernatural twist more satisfying than any of the year’s genre films.
With the character of Aunt Gladys, Amy Madigan created an instantly iconic figure in contemporary horror who represents a parasitic evil in society, but also serves as the type of classical antagonist whom audiences love to hate. It’s an extraordinarily cast film with innumerable breakout young stars, as well as impassioned, emotional performances from the likes of Julia Garner and Josh Brolin, both of whom do some of the best work of their respective careers. “Weapons” is dense with meaning and can be analyzed for its allusions to both current events and Biblical undertones, but on a pure level of entertainment, there wasn’t another work of horror in 2025 that thrilled, chilled, and fulfilled in quite the same way that Zack Creggar’s instant classic did.
