Horror is back! The studios are cranked up. Writers are writing. Genre was the word on the tips of Hollyweird’s collective tongues.
People really love horror and it shows. While horror didn’t crack the top ten highest grossing films of 2025 (unless you count the Japanese animated film Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle), it did amazingly well.
The Conjuring: Last Rites did kill it (no pun intended) with a $194 million opening weekend worldwide. This slice of scares actually ended up surpassing It‘s record ($190 million) for the largest opening weekend for a horror film. Not far behind was Sinners, Black Phone 2, Predator Badlands, Weapons, and 28 Years Later.
Should we be judging films purely based their cash intake? Absolutely not! That said, horror continues to be that low cost/high reward genre that the public is continually interested in voting with their increasingly spare pocket books.
While there were also some indy exceptions to horror’s rise in 2025, the films that had a couple bucks to spend on their productions, really showed us how to get spooky. Again, this is not to say that we at the Scariest Things Podcast only hype big-budget flicks. Au contraire! Indy films also held their own in 2025 with some incredible entries like the Rule of Jenny Pen, Other, Reflections in a Dead Diamond, and Japan’s Best Wishes to All.
The great thing about 2025 was its exceptionally inventive offerings. Making our jobs at the Scariest Things Podcast so easy, and our ability to throw together a top ten list even easier!
★★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Directed by Macon Blair
Frankly, there’s no better underdog than the Toxic Avenger. Part Hulk, part Frankenstein, and Elephant Man, the Toxic Avenger is a character lovingly beset by tragedy and confusion. Imagine if you will, Homer’s Odyssey filled with fart jokes, boobs, and puss. Greek tragedy meets bawdy stupidity.
The film’s brilliance lies in the incredibly tight and concise editing. No scene is wasted, and no bit of dialogue lags in any way. It’s a film that is so packed with gags that, by the time your brain gets around to processing a single gag, it will have missed two or three other gags. Most importantly, Toxic Avenger gives hope that a Troma story can be told without the more questionable elements of the 1980s. Instead, they have replaced the problematic bits with a hysterical and modern satirical approach.
2 – Weapons
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Directed by Zach Cregger
As the Scariest Things Podcast opined earlier this year Zach Cregger “…has elevated himself to the top of the ranks of horror storytellers. With Weapons, he has delivered an engrossing and wicked puzzle that comes together with shocking revelations, dark humor, and brutal viscera. The movie is a masterclass in character building, non-linear editing, and bravura acting from the entire cast.”
Here’s to hoping that we see many more horror offerings from Mr. Cregger in the coming years. If Osgood Perkins can bang out three films in a year and a half, you can too, Zach!
3 – Chain Reactions
★★★★. 5 out of ★★★★★
Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe
This year’s Alexandre O. Philippe film, Chain Reactions, isn’t about editorializing. It’s not about looking at both sides of the coin. It’s not about finding hidden meaning in Leatherface’s wardrobe selections. Quite the opposite. Chain Reactions is about deep and undying exposition about why the Texas Chainsaw Massacre launched such a wild cultural explosion and why the film’s impact continues across two centuries.
Once again, Alexandre O. Philippe, has created a fascinating look at one of the most enduring films ever made. Like the engrossing nature of all his films, Chain Reactions could have easily been three or four hours long, and I wouldn’t have batted an eye. When a documentary leaves you insatiably wanting more, you know that it’s going to stick with you for many a moon.
4 – Bring Her Back
★★★★. 5 out of ★★★★★
Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou
The Philippou Brothers have done it again. 2023 was a gold rush of quality horror movies coming out of Australia, which included Evil Dead Rise, Monolith, Late Night With the Devil, and Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism; no movie made as much of an impact worldwide as Talk To Me. It was original. It featured heartfelt stories of young people dealing with possession as an addiction. And it was SCARY. The challenge was: could they repeat themselves without feeling derivative?
Short answer…Yes!
★★★★. 25 out of ★★★★★
Directed by Michael Chaves
The Conjuring series has always been one of the BEST franchises for quality jump scares. As Eric has been pointing out for many years, “…the movies manage to achieve R ratings despite lacking most of the triggers that typically earn an R rating, such as minimal gore, little profanity, and no nudity or sexual content. Simply put, these movies earn their restricted status by being really intense and bringing excellent jump scares.
The Conjuring: Last Rites continues the proud tradition. Interestingly, this film front-loads most of its jump scares. James Wan mastered this craft. Michael Chaves has proven he, too, can deliver the audience screams.”
Sure, it’s a Conjuring greatest hits, but sometimes fan service and hearing the hits is the most satisfying time you’ll have at the movies.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Directed by Mike P. Nelson
Mike P. Nelson, as writer and director, has pulled off another incredible feat. Breathing life into a beloved franchise that should have been left on the side of a blood-soaked road. By fully understanding how to balance reverence and originality, Nelson can unpack a series of frightful scenes and ensure that there’s no lump of coal in his stocking.
Bonus? If you love seeing Nazis killed — and frankly who doesn’t — Silent Night Deadly Night packs in a Nazi killing scene that rivals anything in Inglorious Bastards.
7 – The Monkey
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Directed by Osgood Perkins
Given Osgood Perkins’ showing in 2024 with Long Legs, we were definitely fascinated to see what he had to offer in 2025. Osgood banged out two flicks and did not disappoint. The Monkey, based on Stephen King’s 1980 short story, was a wild tale about family, fate, and failure. Truly inventive and truly pleasing, the Monkey showed that Perkins knows how to tell a story, or in this case, reinterpret one of the all-time greats in Stephen King. Stick around until the very end and you’ll be deeply satisfied.
8- The Keeper
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Directed by Osgood Perkins
What!?!?!? Osgood is back with another film? How is that even possible? Sure this one’s a little more quizzical and sure there’s critics out there that whined and moaned about its seemingly incomplete nature, but I’m here to tell you that this is super interesting film that follows this year’s theme of inventiveness.
Beautifully shot and replete with three of the better horror performances in a while — Tatiana Maslany as Liz, Rossif Sutherland as her boyfriend Malcom, and Birkett Turton Darren, Malcom’s brash, annoying younger cousin who owns a lodge right next door.
As Eric said in his review, “This movie holds its secrets tight. It reveals the plot visually, languidly holding focus on a scene, allowing you to soak in the situation, often waiting for something dramatic to happen. It’s a great way to earn jump scares.” Think Ti West with some of the weirder nightmare fuel you’ll ever see.
Have you ever seen anyone asphyxiated by honey? Nope. Didn’t think so.
9 – Sayara
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Written and directed by Can Evrenol
This is a BRUTAL film with the biggest capital B that there ever was. Revenge with a capital R and blood with another capital B. Note: This film is not for the faint of heart!
Turkish director, Can Evrenol, keeps getting better and better with each passing film, and this one’s no exception. If you thought his inaugural film, Baskin, was a big ball of horrifying madness, then you’re in for a treat because Saraya is a wild and unique look into the world of revenge.
By revenge, we don’t mean your average kung-fu flick, or the latest Liam Neeson film in the Taken series. We’re talking I Spit on Your Grave or worse yet, They Call Her One Eye. This is the gnarliest of the gnarly.
10 – Good Boy
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Directed by Ben Leonberg
OK…admittedly, I’m a “cat guy.” Always been drawn to black cats — hence the horror podcasting. Sure, I love dogs too, but cats have always been my thing. Good Boy not only challenges my assumptions about dogs, but it challenges Hollywood on the very nature of filmmaking and what’s really required to develop a film that resonates with every possible demographic — cat and dog lovers alike.
As Eric noted in his review, it took the director “…three years and 400 days to achieve what is a monumental passion project. In an age of digital animals in movies, Good Boy is an honest and tangible effort that radiates from the screen. Indy is charisma personified and radiates supreme pet vibes. You root so hard for Indy. All the limitations of a dog are present here, but the film does everything it can to let you see and feel what Indy perceives.
Nothing here is cheap. Everything is earned. There are no cloying attempts to anthropomorphize Indy. They let the dog be the dog, and we get to be on the ride-along program with Indy. The directorial choices are subtle and tremendously effective.”
There you have it…2025 in a nutshell. Wild, weird, and most importantly, inventive. Some people took huge swings, and it really paid off in the world of horror.
Don’t like the list? That’s OK. This year, there’s plenty for everyone to find something they really like. Got ideas, feelings, or thoughts? Drop me a line at mike@scariesthings AKA msoup.