Today is Halloween, which marks the culmination of what is popularly referred to as spooky season. And as is no doubt customary in most households, it is a time for horror fans to indulge in some of their favorite season-appropriate offerings from Hollywood studios big and small. Thankfully, 2025 has provided quite the stellar lineup to choose from, so in light of the ongoing festivities, I have decided to share my Top 10 Horror Movies for the year.
It bears stating that the year is not quite done with horror releases, even though most studios typically capitalize on the buildup to Halloween. Also, of all the horror movies that have been released thus far, I've only managed to see a handful, or at least more than enough to fill up a listicle, so do with that information what you will. All that said, here is my totally subjective ranking of the very best the genre of horror has had on offer in 2025.
10. The Conjuring: Last Rites
Billed as the final film in the mainline Conjuring series, The Conjuring: Last Rites once again finds paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren going toe-to-toe with supernatural forces. I wasn't too keen on their previous outing and was pleased to find that this latest entry was a return to the campier thrills of the first two films, even though it never quite manages to recapture the magic of those older movies.
9. The Gorge
Speaking of campy thrills, The Gorge certainly had its fair share of those. What started as a run-of-the-mill action thriller with a strong tinge of romance (it was released on Valentine's Day after all) eventually devolves into a full-blown science fiction horror film. It definitely felt like a throwback to the schlocky sci-fi movies of the 90s, or a video game brought to life, which, if you ask me, was precisely what it needed to be, given its premise.
8. Companion
In this day and age of AI chatbots, a film like Companion doesn't seem as out there as it once did. And it is that contemporary quality that serves as the movie's biggest draw, the fact that we are already living with the kind of technology that would make its central conceit somewhat plausible. But it is in the execution of its familiar premise that it manages to set itself apart from its forebears with some genuinley thrilling twists and turns.
7. Final Destination Bloodlines
After an extended hiatus, the Final Destination franchise was brought back to roaring life this year with its sixth entry, Final Destination Bloodlines. And while I wouldn't consider myself the biggest fan of the series, I still remember being captivated by the outlandish kills seen in the earlier films. And the new film clearly understood the assignment, subverting expectations as it finds even more inventive ways to thin out the film's roster.
6. Bring Her Back
The YouTubers that gave us Talk to Me were out to prove they weren't one hit wonders, which is what they've been able to accomplish with their sophomore effort, Bring Her Back. But rather than follow-up their last movie with more of the same, their new film falls more in line with the psychological horrors of an Hereditary than the supernatural horrors of the former. The result is a disturbing examination of grief and the pain of letting go.
5. Good Boy
Speaking of grief and letting go, no other horror film has been able to get me to tear up the way I did at the end of Good Boy. The movie tugs at the heartstrings in a way that is most unusual for a genre often more concerned with jump scares than anything else. And sure, we've had countless haunted house movies at this point but not many can boast of the novelty of being set entirely from the perspective of a dog.
4. Together
Body horror is one specific subgenre of horror that seems to be getting a lot of love lately. Last year, we got The Substance, and now we can add Together to that list of shining examples. The film flips the very concept of the former on its head, as it explores the physical and psychological ramifications of a couple whose strained relationship is put to the test when their bodies start to merge.
3. 28 Years Later
To say that I was hyped going into 28 Years Later would be an understatement. I was beyond pumped due largely to the incredible first look at the film that came in the form of its teaser trailer. It perfectly conveyed the sense of scale and dread the film was aiming for, and even though the final product fell just shy of doing that trailer justice, it still proved once again that Danny Boyle is a top-tier filmmaker with a flair for the dramatic and striking visuals.
2. Weapons
Is it just me, or was Julia Garner everywhere you looked in 2025? From her appearance in the somewhat lackluster Wolf Man to the more crowd-pleasing The Fantastic Four: First Steps, she definitely wasn't lacking for film roles. But perhaps she'll be best remembered for her turn as a troubled school teacher in the horror mystery box, Weapons, a film that boasts one of the wildest and most satisfying climaxes I've seen in a movie all year.
1. Sinners
After I was ultimately disappointed by his work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, I confess that my interest in Ryan Coogler's next project, Sinners, was minimal to nonexistent. But following a flood of positive word of mouth in the lead up to the movie's release, I was compelled to give it a shot and was not disappointed by what I saw. Spoiler alert for my year-end favorites list, but Sinners is not only the best horror film released in 2025, but quite possibly the best film overall.
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