Let’s evaluate 2025's fine crop of horror releases. This year, like most years, highlighted the dependability of Hollywood’s favorite cash-cow genre. As theaters struggle to draw pre-lockdown box office numbers, horror fans prove to be a reliable demographic keeping auditoriums packed. Blumhouse alone is having another profitable year despite financial disappointments like M3GAN 2.0, boasting an estimated $253 million cumulative worldwide gross (thanks largely to Black Phone 2) against a high-end budgeted ballpark of $103 million — and that’s before Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. Or there’s the duo of The Monkey and The Long Walk, two scrappy Stephen King adaptations grossing upwards of $60 million worldwide on reported budgets of around $11 million and $20 million, respectively.
However, the real surprise of this year was the number of quality studio releases. My end-of-year lists tend to lean toward independent features, but 2025 saw almost an equal balance of mainstream releases and surprising TV breakthroughs. Studios took bigger gambles, whether they be charming holiday slashers, sports-centric thrillers, or another twisty Zach Cregger doozy. It’s refreshing to see as a genre fan, and hopefully an indication for even bolder and more unpredictable creative freedoms on the horizon.
Let’s run through ‘em all and count down the best scary movies and TV shows of 2025!
20. Clown in a Cornfield
Clown in a Cornfield made $3.7 million in its opening weekend, setting a new opening record for IFC (sorry, Late Night with the Devil). Good on Shudder's young adult slasher, because it deserves the haul. Eli Craig leaves Tucker and Dale behind to adapt Adam Cesare's novels into a teen-friendly splatterfest that introduces moviegoers to their new evil clown obsession: Frendo. I hadn't read any of Cesare's series, which helped since plotted surprises hit much harder than if I'd known. Craig's having fun with brutal murder scenes, but he also keys into the generational commentaries embedded in Cesare's pages. It's not a kiddie movie by any means, but it's a fantastic starting point for budding horror fans who want to try a gateway slasher with a little more bite.
19. Get Away
Nick Frost writes and stars in this vacation thriller on a Swedish island. “Get Away” plays with the term “getaway,” as your picturesque British family finds themselves interrupting a secluded community’s Karantan celebration that might or might not be dangerous for outsiders. From here, the film subverts what you’d expect from your average fish-out-of-water tourist horror comedy. I don’t want to say much more because the ride is all the fun, but rest assured there’s brutality, survival instincts, and a body count that’ll tip any airport security scales.
18. The Damned
Thordur Palsson's icy feature debut chills like AMC's The Terror and lurks like Emma Tami's The Wind. It's a 19th-century Nordic thriller rooted in dreary folklore that hardly blazes forward, but establishes an authentic period presence with supernatural influences. Palsson's tiny fishing community haunter bathes in slinking dread, as you can feel the characters on screen succumbing to their paranoias. It's a frigid Arctic ghost story worth a shiver, even if the ending introduces more questions than answers.
17. It Feeds
I don't see a lot of It Feeds chatter, so hopefully this sparks a few watches. Chad Archibald's tale of disturbed children and clairvoyant psychiatrists packs a decent amount of scares into an inviting indie package. Ashley Greene stars as the woman with powers, hoping to save a young patient who insists an entity is feeding on her. Enter Shawn Ashmore as a suspiciously stern father, a jet-black figure that haunts its victims, and exciting frights that keep audiences on their toes. It's simple and unassuming, but that's what lets Archibald focus on the good stuff: the horrors.
16. Deathstalker
The year’s most unexpected remake is an absolute treat. Steven Kostanski follows PG: Psycho Goreman and Frankie Freako with a swords-and-sandals revamp of 1983’s Deathstalker. Kostanski’s horror actioner echoes everything from Ray Harryhausen to Army of Darkness, pre-Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson to Heavy Metal. A rockin’ score by Blitz//Berlin sets the mood while stuntman Daniel Bernhardt vanquishes fantasy realm foes as the Deathstalker himself. It’s all very tongue-in-cheek, down to Patton Oswalt voicing a miniature wizard named Doodad, while Kostanski stays true to his passion for throwback practical effects. It’s like a stoner’s van mural come to life, complete with a theme song by guitar virtuoso Slash and Bear McCreary.
15. The Creep Tapes Season 2
Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass had the right idea with Season 1 of The Creep Tapes, and they keep that momentum going in Season 2. The anthology format lets us watch a new batch of Josef’s victims, starting with David Dastmalchian as a Peachfuzz copycat murderer. Each episode offers another glimpse into Josef’s exploits, whether that be fooling “unprofessional” cops or a cheeky Saw-inspired episode. Brice and Duplass poke fun at the serial murderer genre through Josef’s outward monologues, and find unique ways to keep us engaged. It’s like a reverse “Monster of the Week” series, where we know the monster, and we know what’ll eventually happen, but the twisted fun is getting to know Josef as he racks up a larger body count.
14. Black Phone 2
Didn’t The Grabber perish in The Black Phone? You bet, but that didn’t stop Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill from mapping a sequel that more than earns its place. Madeleine McGraw and Mason Thames return as the brother-sister duo who survived Ethan Hawke’s villain in the original, which promotes a story about the grief and guilt they both feel. Then there’s the Freddy Krueger aspect of The Grabber’s return, as a demonic entity who hunts his sleeping enemies from beyond the grave. Set against the snowy isolation of a sleepaway camp, Black Phone 2 evolves as a continuation that thrives by reinvention, choosing originality over cookie-cutter replication. As far as sequel formulas go, Derrickson and Cargill crack the code.
13. Bone Lake
The double entendre is appropriate in Bone Lake, Mercedes Bryce Morgan’s alluring psychosexual horror flick. It’s playing with the Airbnb nightmare of a double booking glitch, where writer Joshua Friedlander exposes the vulnerability of struggling relationships. Two couples find themselves sharing an idyllic vacation home, but their romantic aspirations become a source of competition. Booze loosens inhibitions, and before long, what started as a lover’s getaway turns into a sensual cat-and-mouse game about fairy tales and fidelity. It’s a saucy and scintillating thriller that punches into overdrive in all the right moments, as Morgan breaks the laws of attraction in despicable ways.
12. Hazbin Hotel Season 2
Welcome back to Hell, sinners! Season 2 of Vivienne Medrano’s horror-musical series Hazbin Hotel hits all the same high notes, picking up after Heaven’s angel army wars against Hell’s population. The princess of Hell, Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen), gets back to her mission of redeeming sinners at her rehabilitation hotel with the help of her colorfully vulgar band of rejects. Hand-drawn animation meets a very Broadway musicality in this carnival-esque take on biblical hypocrisy, but Season 2 looks to up the ante in terms of song composition. Early singles like “Gravity” bellow with attitude, while Charlie tries to hold herself together, since Hazbin finds itself under attack by other overlords in Hell. It’s such an addictive adult cartoon bursting with heart and deviance, easily one of Prime Video’s best offerings (animated or not).
11. HIM
This might be the only end-of-year horror list to include Justin Tipping’s HIM, but you’re reading my list, and I’m planting my flag where it belongs. It’s like an episode of Hard Knocks meets Dark Side of the Ring (but for the NFL), with a very Opus-like narrative. Tipping’s stylish commentary on the cult-like worship and servitude to professional football may not be saying anything new, but its exaggerated messages about the dangers of athletic stardom make a lasting impact. Tyriq Withers nails the role of a college recruit who represents the future, while Marlon Wayans is the decorated veteran who still holds the throne as forever MVP. Together, both men embrace the absurd machismo of their rivalry and push their bodies to the limits for our entertainment. Don’t believe the hate, y’all.
10. Sinners
Yup, it’s Sinners time. Ryan Coogler’s Jim Crow-era From Dusk Till Dawn infuses musical mayhem into a 1930s juke joint vampire thriller. Michael B. Jordan is thriving as Smoke and Stack, two criminal disciples of Al Capone who return to Mississippi with dreams of opening a nightclub for the local Black community. They do, and America’s racist past comes to life in the form of a bloodsucking scourge who starts turning Smoke and Stack’s patrons one at a time. A safe haven for Black Southerners becomes a hideout under siege as pointy teeth tear flesh. Coogler sure as hell keeps the sociopolitical aspect of horror and proves why that’s important. History and genre embellishments blend into a rambunctious brand of thrills that deserves the praise it’s earned.
9. Dead Talents Society
“Imagine Sadako vs. Kayako but as a Christopher Guest sports comedy … [with shades of] Monsters, Inc. and Beetlejuice.” That’s how I described Dead Talents Society in my Fantastic Fest review, which hopefully grabs your attention. John Hsu’s Taiwanese horror comedy is a lighthearted yet gory treat that turns the afterlife into a scare competition. It’s far funnier than it is nightmarish, but nails its meta-horror commentaries by giving us behind-the-scenes looks at ghouls who haunt the living. Often sweet and frequently amusing, Dead Talents Society deserved far more than its unmarketed dump onto Netflix.
8. Redux Redux
Kevin and Matthew McManus take on murderous time loops in Redux Redux. The filmmaking brothers chase their coastal chiller The Block Island Sound with a motherly revenge flick of a different flavor. What stands out is the world-building achieved on such a restricted budget, and how lead actor Michaela McManus helps us feel the bottomless desperation of a tormented parent. It’s real simple — if you could slaughter your child’s murderer over and over again in alternate universes, how long would you endure that cycle? The McManus’ explore the stranglehold of grief and emptiness of retribution using unique sci-fi flourishes, in clever ways that aren’t always aligned with expectations.
7. Weapons
Zach Cregger's sophomore follow-up, Weapons, proves Barbarian was no fluke. It's unsettling suburban folklore that leans heavily into witchcraft, but boasts eleventy other influences as far flung as The Sadness and The 'Burbs. A cast including Josh Brolin and Julia Garner heightens the suspense of an entire classroom of children gone missing, while Cregger keeps teasing us with obscure red herrings. It's becoming the filmmaker's trademark — a genuine sense of shock and awe. And how can we forget Amy Madigan's instantly iconic villain Gladys, who's already been tapped for an origin story? Where Weapons starts and ends is a treat for horror audiences, with special thanks to a violent and bizarre finale you won't forget.
6. Dangerous Animals
In a just world, Dangerous Animals would launch a parade of projects where Jai Courtney plays nothing but psychotic freakos. He’s fantastic as the namesake of “Tucker’s Experience,” who feeds helpless women to sharks off the back of his cage-diving vessel. Hassie Harrison stars as his latest target, Zephyr, a vagabond surfer girl who regains consciousness aboard Tucker’s boat. Director Sean Byrne brings his trademark bleakness to the kidnapping scenario, especially Tucker’s predatory instincts, but there’s plenty of fight in Zephyr. Courtney’s eccentric baddie matches aquatic horror thrills, and it all comes together with storytelling that nails the comparison between nature’s creatures and actual monsters.
5. The Rule of Jenny Penn
“Let them fight,” but it’s John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush in a nursing home. That’s James Ashcroft’s The Rule of Jenny Penn, an elderly power struggle between Rush’s ailing stroke victim and Lithgow’s faking dementia patient (Royal Pine Mews Care Home’s villain by night). Ashcroft and co-writer Eli Kent coldly adapt Owen Marshall’s devious short story that illustrates how easily tyrants can amass power through psychological warfare. Even better, The Rule of Jenny Penn translates those eerie, almost ghost-town-like feelings we’d get as children walking through old folks homes into a breeding ground for dastardly behavior. The farther the film goes, the more we’re sucked into Rush’s deteriorating mind and the more the film embraces surreality. Rush and Lithgow know precisely how to generate tension with all the above — veteran actors crushing on the level you’d expect.
4. Heart Eyes
Valentine’s Day has its fair share of by-the-books slashers. My Bloody Valentine is a classic, the 2009 3D remake rips (don’t hate), and Valentine ain’t half bad. Where Heart Eyes differentiates itself is that while slasher scenes are horror-fan-approved, the twisted love story between potential victims is surprisingly sweet. Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding are oozing as much chemistry as the titular murderer’s wake of corpses oozes blood, carrying a romantic warmth throughout the otherwise knife-to-the-heart slasher. Director Josh Ruben strikes a tonal balance between humor, earnestness, and gonzo gore that fills all three cups (bringing Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy, and Phillip Murphy’s screenplay to life), delivering an easy holiday favorite for any horror fan’s date night.
3. The Monkey
I’ve been waiting for Oz Perkins to make a movie like The Monkey. It’s a better Final Destination movie than Final Destination Bloodlines. If you want blood, you’ve got it by the bucketful as a drumming toy monkey cues brutal demise after brutal demise. It’s a Stephen King adaptation by Oz Perkins that ditches all of the filmmaker’s slow-burning signatures and embraces a more off-the-wall King short with cartoonish morbidity. It’s a film about mortality, filled with gratuity and laughs, that still finds an uplifting message under all the chunky guts and dismembered body parts. I like this version of Perkins, the Midnighter madman who wants to have a little fun.
2. The Long Walk
Is 2025 the definitive year of Stephen King adaptations? I adored The Monkey, but even better is Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk. Filmmakers such as George A. Romero and Frank Darabont have been trying to bring this property to screen since 1988, but it was worth the wait. A fantastic ensemble cast led by Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson tackles King’s dystopian marathon about a non-stop march toward certain doom. Mark Hamill’s turn as a despicable “Major” keeps dread at the forefront, sacrificing children to his twisted event until one is left standing. Lawrence does a tremendous job bringing JT Mollner’s screenplay to life, finding hope in an otherwise bleak and nerve-shredding commentary about fighting totalitarian regimes.
1. The Ugly Stepsister
The Ugly Stepsister isn’t the first time Cinderella’s fable has been adapted in the horror genre (no-budget knockoffs abound), but it’s inarguably the best. Emilie Blichfeldt’s nasty body-horror take on the womanly pains to achieve beautification has way more in common with The Substance than you’d expect. Shudder’s bleak and bloody fairy tale feels like a grim period fantasy with tonal comparisons to Hulu’s The Great, with a standout lead performance by Lea Myren as the “ugly stepsister.” It’s all punishingly comical as Myren’s Elvira endures outdated plastic surgery methods and ingests tapeworms, until a finale that’ll have your stomach churning or worse.
A confident, exquisitely commanded, and memorably repulsive debut from Blichfeldt immediately announces a new filmmaking talent to watch.
