Today’s episode of Sounds of Cinema continued this month’s Halloween theme with a review of horror films released in 2025. The genre has been extraordinarily prolific with a variety of subjects and tones.
Horror Sequels
2025 has seen the release of several horror sequels, several to decades long franchises. The results have been mixed.
28 Years Later is the first installment of a sequel trilogy to 28 Days Later. It continues a lot of what viewers enjoyed about the previous entries but the filmmakers are preoccupied with setting up future installments and 28 Years Later is not nearly as compelling or as well executed as its predecessors.
The Conjuring: Last Rites is (allegedly) the end of this series. It’s a satisfactory installment that gives fans what they want and expect. It’s also more of the same, done slightly better but not much different from the earlier films.
Final Destination: Bloodlines delivers what audiences look for in this franchise. It doesn’t do any more than that but Bloodlines is one of the better, and maybe the best, iteration of the Final Destination formula.
I Know What You Did Last Summer may be the death knell of the legacy sequel fad. The original film was not great but it was moody with a few scares. The 2025 film is a dumb exploitation of intellectual property.
The Strangers: Chapter 2 is an improvement over its processor, if only for some meager moments of originality, but it’s still not good. It mostly consists of slasher movie clichés that have been prolonged to justify a trilogy.
Black Phone 2 is a satisfying sequel. It’s a bit too long but Black Phone 2 expands the story and the characters. It’s a good scary mix of supernatural mystery and slasher horror.
Animal Horror
2025’s Wolf Man reimagines the classic story with mixed results. It’s passably scary and brings some novel components to the lycanthropy story. It’s also thematically incomplete and technically inconsistent.
Dangerous Animals is a well made mix of sharksploitation and travel horror. The movie succeeds in thrilling and frightening the audience and Dangerous Animals offers a slightly different take on the killer shark genre.
Coyotes has a fun idea but it’s executed poorly. The story is badly structured, the most interesting characters are squandered, and the suspense is lacking.
Good Boy is not only an excellent horror film but it’s also an extraordinary piece of filmmaking. It’s a good spooky haunted house movie that has an equally affecting emotional angle.
Stephen King Adaptations
2025 continued the wave of Stephen King adaptations, many of them quite good.
The Life of Chuck is not a horror picture but it is one of the most unique Stephen King film adaptations.
The Long Walk is an impressive thriller that is skillfully made, well-acted, and thoughtfully written. It’s a brutal story and the ending doesn’t quite measure up to everything that comes before it, but this is one of the better films in the Stephen King film library.
The Monkey is not a film for everyone but viewers who are attuned to its specific flavor will find it to be a riot. It is a flawed but distinct film and its eccentricities are key to its appeal.
A new adaptation of The Running Man will release on November 7, 2025.
Retro-Slashers
A number of 2025 horror films demonstrated influence from the slasher films of the 1980s and 90s.
Heart Eyes successfully combines romance and horror in a piece of popcorn entertainment. It struggles with the pacing but the film is a lot of fun with scary thrills, humor, and an appealing romance.
A Hell of a Summer plays like an imitation of a 1980s slasher movie made by people who never actually saw any of those films. It’s not scary enough to be a horror film nor is it funny enough as a comedy.
Clown in a Cornfield is a mostly average horror picture. It’s a decent gateway horror film for young viewers new to the genre.
Fear Street: Prom Queen is a disappointment especially when compared to the quality and storytelling of the 2021 trilogy. It doesn’t work as an homage to 1980s slasher films nor does it offer much in the way of scares.
Silent Night, Deadly Night, the remake of the controversial 1984 film, releases December 12.
Celebrated Horror
The horror genre has had some great success in 2025 both with critics and with the public.
Sinners is one of the most lauded films of 2025. The first half is masterful but the second half is merely adequate. There is some great stuff in the movie, especially its characterization and use of music, but the storytelling is messy and disjointed.
Weapons is the other major horror hit of the year. The storytelling is a little unwieldy and the political subtext is clunky but Weapons is frightening and original.
Bring Her Back is an outstanding horror film. Horrific and heartbreaking, it’s the kind of picture that expands the possibilities of the genre with its thoughtful premise, nuanced characters, and great performances.
Couples in Trouble
There have been a lot of films focusing on couples facing a crisis in their relationship.
Companion is a very entertaining story with strong performances and a thoughtful approach to its ideas and themes about artificial intelligence.
Together quite literally mixes body horror and a relationship drama in the story of a couple whose bodies meld together. It’s a little baggy, especially in the first half, but the visual style and the commitment of actors Dave Franco and Alison Brie make this an effective and occasionally wrenching film.
Bone Lake is clever if not smart. The scares and suspense are satisfying and the character work by the screenwriter and the actors elevates the material.
Die My Love stars Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson as a dysfunctional couple. The film releases on November 7.
Keeper – Another horror picture about a couple at a secluded cabin. Keeper is directed by Osgood Perkins who also helmed The Monkey and Longlegs. The film releases November 14.
Dark Fairy Tales
The Ugly Stepsister is a bold and intelligent reimagining of Cinderella. It’s horrific but also a politically and emotionally sophisticated take on this fairy tale.
The Death of Snow White cannot match its ambitions with its abilities. There is a boldness to it that’s admirable but the film is too long, unfocused, and amateurish.
Social Commentary Horror
Horror has long been an outlet for social commentary. The attempts in this year’s films have been mixed.
The Home has the kernel of a provocative idea but it is treated superficially and the filmmakers don’t dramatize it well. This is a poorly made and cliché-ridden horror picture.
Delicious is an uneven cannibalism story. There are some interesting ideas here but they across incomplete. Delicious plays as a Parasite knockoff made by people who didn’t understand Bong Joon Ho’s film.
HIM mixes a sports drama and a horror film. It demonstrates some impressive technical skill but the movie is a mess.
Other Titles
Until Dawn is an uninspired horror picture based on the video game. Self-aware humor notwithstanding, the film feels like it’s just going through the motions and its horror tropes are served up without logic or motivation.
The Woman in the Yard is an effective supernatural story. It’s well produced and has a very good cast. The story is a bit too familiar and the metaphor loses its way in the end, which makes for a disappointing conclusion to what is otherwise a good haunting tale.
Abraham’s Boys is a spinoff of Dracula. Some good moments aside, the film is not frightening or exciting enough.
Queens of the Dead is a promising feature film directorial debut from Tina Romero. It’s a bit clumsy and lacks horror but the humor and the film’s empathetic regard for its characters keeps it engaging.
Coming Attractions
There is more horror to come in 2025:
Frankenstein – Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of the classic horror story will be available on Netflix starting November 7.
The Carpenter’s Son – A horror-themed take on the story of Jesus Christ focusing on Christ’s adolescence starring Nicolas Cage, Noah Jupe, and FKA twigs. Releases November 14.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 – The sequel to the 2023 film based on the video game stars Josh Hutcherson and releases December 5.
Dust Bunny – A mix of fantasy, action, and horror written and directed by Bryan Fuller starring Mads Mikkelsen. Releases December 12.