The 10 Best Horror Movies of 2025!
It’s the end of 2025, so you know what that means: rounding up our favourite films of the year! From singing vampires to couples melding together to alien splatterfests, this was a pretty eclectic year. It felt like the year of the original movie, with only one sequel and two adaptations making our list—and that feels damn good. So here’s JoBlo Horror’s Best Films of 2025.
And, as can be expected for any Best of the Year list, spoilers ahead!
10. Dangerous Animals
I love a good shark movie, and Dangerous Animals certainly fits the bill. With an unhinged performance from Jai Courtney and a more grounded approach to the sharks themselves, there’s a lot to like about this film. The concept of a man kidnapping people is already horrifying enough, but then using those people as live bait for sharks is a whole other kind of insane. We don’t often get good shark movies, so it’s worth celebrating when we finally get one that’s more than silly jump scares. Just don’t expect me to be going on any shark-diving expeditions anytime soon. No thank you.
9. Together
Body horror has been in a good place this decade, with last year’s The Substance being among the year’s best. And while this one doesn’t go nearly as hard, Together has plenty of great moments for the squeamish. With real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie stepping away from city life to enjoy the countryside—only to come across a weird ritual site that causes them to start to fuse together. It’s a tale of relationships and codependency, resulting in plenty of gross-out moments.
8. The Monkey
I love the idea of people dying in over-the-top ways. I mean, hell, there are two entries on this list that feature that, so that may be a bit of an understatement. But The Monkey manages to tell the story of a monkey toy that causes the deaths of those around it in absurdly over-the-top ways. And it gets so crazy that the only appropriate reaction is to simply laugh at it all. Osgood Perkins is a unique filmmaker, and it’s impressive to see how he was able to expand upon Stephen King’s short story. I still remember being in the theater going, “Wait, is that fucking Adam Scott?”
7. Final Destination: Bloodlines
As a big fan of the Final Destination franchise, I never expected it to come back—let alone come back in such a strong way. The idea of focusing on an accident in the past involving over a hundred people, to the point where they have kids and grandkids and death has to come after generations of family members, is pretty brilliant. This manages to be extremely violent while still keeping the series’ wry sense of humor. This has some all-timer deaths in it and makes me excited for the franchise’s future. And I will always love that beautiful moment with Tony Todd, in one of his last-ever roles.
6. Sinners
I know some people will be upset about Sinners’ placement on this list, but hey—at least it’s on here at all. Ryan Coogler managed to create a vampire movie that transcended the horror genre and earned worldwide praise. It’s already been nominated for some Golden Globes and is likely to get some Oscar noms as well. And it’s no surprise: this story expertly weaves together vampires, sex, music, and evil racism in a way that both makes you think and entertains. Michael B. Jordan really gets to flex those acting muscles as twin brothers, and Jack O’Connell makes for one devilish vampire. Come for the vampires, stay for the soulful tunes.
5. Bring Her Back
Speaking of awards consideration, dear God—should Sally Hawkins be getting some kind of accolades for her performance as a grieving mother who is willing to do absolutely terrible things to, quote-unquote, “bring her back.” There are some genuinely unnerving moments, like this boy chomping on everything in sight, including a knife. There are few films that have made me squirm as much as this one, and it’s a truly satisfying narrative by the end. The less said about this one, the better. Just go watch it.
4. Companion
Reminder that at the beginning of this article I said spoilers, because this has to be experienced as purely as possible. Set in the future, a couple played by Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher head out on a weekend getaway with friends. We find out that she’s actually a robot and has been hacked for nefarious reasons—so now she has to fight back for her own autonomy. It’s a brilliantly written script that features both an intriguing and terrifying future. Thatcher is a great lead who delivers a nuanced performance, and Quaid is so good you just love to hate him. And can we talk about the marketing for a moment? Why on earth did they spoil this film? Why, oh why!? I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive that blunder.
3. Jimmy and Stiggs
I love a film set in a single location that manages to still be entertaining throughout, and Jimmy and Stiggs is a downright blast. Writer-director Joe Begos also stars in this low-budget film about a guy who, in a drug- and alcohol-fueled stupor, must fend off aliens within his apartment. This may have genuinely been my favorite theatrical experience of the entire year. I had a smile on my face the entire time, as it’s so batshit insane. I sang this movie’s praises so hard that I was lucky enough to appear on the cover of the physical release. This is “an absolutely bonkers splatterfest” that reminds me of why I love both 16mm film and practical FX.
2. The Long Walk
Just like the story, things are pretty simple here: The Long Walk is one of the best Stephen King adaptations we’ve had this century. It takes the concept of a group of teens walking and makes it absolutely harrowing, with the momentum never breaking or the need to add some other element. The walk is all we need. The characters and their dialogue feel straight out of classic King, like Stand by Me. You feel for these boys with every death, as they come to some very violent ends. Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson have you rooting for them to the very end.
1. Weapons
Weapons is arguably just the plain ol’ best film of the year—horror or not (in fact – it also made our non-horror best of 2025 list). Its storyline approach, giving us different character perspectives and jumping all over the timeline, almost feels like Pulp Fiction’s witchy little baby. The first half is pure confusion as you’re trying to parse out what the hell happened to this classroom full of kids. When it’s finally revealed, we’re met with one of the greatest villains of the modern era: Amy Madigan as Gladys. Her look, her demeanor, and her actions make for the stuff of nightmares. And she has one of the greatest—and most deserving—deaths in all of horror. Zach Cregger has cemented himself as one of the most intriguing names in the genre.
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