2025 felt like a transition year for horror. Specifically…mid-tier productions. What I mean by that is that the number of horror movies that saw some form of theatrical release was pretty astounding. Shudder puts most of its originals/exclusives into theaters before they join the service. SCREAMBOX had a couple of big releases hit theaters too. A practice they look to continue heading into 2026.
But it’s more than just horror streamers hoping to get a surprise windfall from theater crowds. Independent horror enjoyed more screens across the US than I can ever remember. Movies that would traditionally be direct to VOD (or streaming) were booking theaters from coast to coast. The result is a year that gives the appearance of a struggling mid-major horror movie slate. In reality…those movies are just heading to movie theaters now too.
Take, for example, movie like Queens of the Dead, Shelby Oaks, Dream Eater, Self-Help, Traumatika, Bone Lake, Jimmy and Stiggs, Strange Harvest, Marshmallow, Vulcanizadora, Rosario and Hell of a Summer. Can you remember a time where this many quality indie horror titles debuted on the big screen? Put them next to more traditional theatrical horror releases like Together, Dust Bunny, Predator: Badlands, Witchboard, The Long Walk, Heart Eyes, The Monkey, Presence, The Damned and Bring Her Back…and there was no shortage of original horror on theaters screens in 2025.
Now add in those Shudder releases. Clown in a Cornfield, Good Boy, The Ugly Stepsister, Ash and The Rule of Jenny Pen would have helped round out a shaky year for the streamer. While one of the films they debuted in theaters made our top ten…zero direct to Shudder movies did for the first time ever. While they put out some good films like Night of the Reaper, Grafted, Best Wishes to All, The Dead Thing, V/H/S/Halloween and Influencers…nothing broke into the top ten of 2025.
SCREAMBOX also failed to break into the top ten this year…but they had a larger crop of direct to streaming quality releases. Meat Kills, Cannibal Comedian, The Draft!, Above the Knee, A Mother’s Embrace, Uncontained, Bleeding, Project MKHEXE and #Manhole were all strong direct to streaming titles. Throw in the theater debuts of The Toxic Avenger and Silent Night, Deadly Night…and SCREAMBOX had themselves a nice year.
Other streamers had a few things of note as well. Netflix’s love of dropping foreign horror with little to no warning gave us Dead Talents Society, Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital, Revelations and Monster Island. Hulu had a pair of worthwhile watches with Predator: Killer of Killers and The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. Tubi brought us Don’t Trip and R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead.
Video on Demand releases refused to be outdone in 2025. Not only did a few break into the top 10…there were plenty of interesting movies available. Solvent, Scared Shitless!, I Will Never Leave You Alone, We’re So Dead, The Blade Cuts Deeper, Dorothea, Somnium, Brute 1976, Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project, Hot Spring Shark Attack, It Feeds, The Death of Snow White, Freelance, Bone Face and The Devil and the Daylong Brothers were all well worth a rental.
None of the listed films made out Top Ten Horror Movies of 2025. That’s how strong the genre is right now. A lot of quality movies are listed above…from a variety of platforms. A lot of bad movies came out too. Many in theaters. But it’s not their day. It’s the day we celebrate the ten films that stood above all else.
Any movie that was widely available in The United States for the first time in 2025 was eligible. If it debuted at a festival or in another country prior to 2025…but was released in the US for the first time in 2025…it is eligible. If it made the festival rounds in 2025 but hasn’t seen a release of some kind during the year…it won’t be eligible. That goes for the Scare Value Awards as well.
Presented in alphabetical order. Write-ups may contain spoilers.
The Top Ten Horror Movies of 2025
28 Years Later
28 Years Later probably isn’t the movie you expected. It may not even be the movie you want. Boyle and Garland return to the franchise on an unexpected mission. They start by asking themselves what life would be like 28 years after the rage virus ravaged the country…and committed to the hard truth that it wouldn’t be the most frantic and engaging place to be. They limit their focus to small moments and the meaning of life (and death) after the world has ended. It makes for a great story…but not the most dynamic movie. A brief tease of what’s to come in the second chapter of this new (hopeful) trilogy points to a more exciting future.
Read our full review
Chainsaws Were Singing
Chainsaws Were Singing feels like the culmination of a film production that asked “what’s the weirdest/funniest/craziest thing we can do today each time they showed up on set. And then answered that question correctly most of those days. It’s a musical/slasher/comedy/romance/family drama with plenty of gore and even more laughs. A success born out of the pure joy of doing whatever the hell you want.
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Companion
What Companion offers is a wild ride full of unexpected moments. Moments of shocking violence increase as the madcap festivities unfold. It’s also very funny. The ensemble cast is uniformly excellent…with Thatcher and Quaid confidently leading the way. A movie that entertains and surprises from start to finish. One that you should carve out time to experience unspoiled. The first largely anticipated release of 2025 set the tone for what’s shaped up to be a memorable year for genre movies.
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Dangerous Animals
Dangerous Animals takes a sick and simple premise and plays it for twisted fun. Jai Courtney gives a tremendous performance as the delightfully evil Tucker. Hassie Harrison’s Zephyr is a great final girl. The story never veers far from “serial killer feeds people to sharks” because, honestly, why would it? It gets a bit too loose in the end…but the ride is so entertaining getting there that you won’t care.
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Final Destination: Bloodlines
Time has been kind to the Final Destination franchise. If you don’t believe that…take a look at critics’ reviews from the original series compared to this one. Your favorite installment received mixed notices at best…Bloodlines has garnered series best acclaim. That’s not because Bloodlines reinvented the wheel. It’s because contemporary critics during the original run were asleep at it. The series has (almost) always been a winner. Final Destination: Bloodlines is its victory lap.
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Frankenstein
If you’re looking for the best version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein…it’s now streaming on Netflix. Guillermo del Toro’s waited a long time to bring his version of Shelley’s tale to life. It was worth the wait. Terrific performances, a few genuine narrative improvements, gorgeous visuals…it’s everything you want out of an adaptation of the material. One of our best filmmakers telling one of his favorite stories.
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Pater Noster and the Mission of Light
Pater Noster and the Mission of Light is a total success. A great cast of characters are served up to a demonic alter. It’s bloody. It’s wild. More importantly, it’s really, really good. When a missing hippie cult purported to have recorded a cursed record invites you to their commune…you’re probably better off giving that trip a pass. This movie, on the other hand…you shouldn’t miss.
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Sinners
Sinners is a great vampire movie. It’s also a great Ryan Coogler movie. Full of great performances, moments and music. It even finds time to land some great jokes. Michael B. Jordan is at his best. Coogler is too. It’s a combination that seems capable of transcending genres and simply delivering great movies. With no shortage of beautiful imagery, moving scenes and surprising moments…Sinners is one of the best movies of the year. Horror or otherwise.
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They Call Her Death
They Call Her Death is a masterclass of independent filmmaking. It’s an unforgettable experience that will have you laughing one minute and picking your jaw up off the ground the next. Incredible moments are waiting to be discovered…all packed into a gorgeous package wrapped in a story of bloody revenge. If you enjoy anything that movies do…They Call Her Death was made for you.
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Weapons
Everything about Weapons from marketing to resolution hits. The performances are top-notch. The production quality is unmatched. Most importantly, Weapons is a horror movie. A specific kind of horror movie. It tricks you into not looking for it…then shoves it in your face. That should play well with genre fans. For casual, mainstream viewers it could feel like they’ve been blindsided in the same way that Barbarian did to them in 2022. Weapons is the better movie. The more complete vision. The epic tapestry.
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