Horror in 2025 has refused to play it safe, and honestly, we would not have it any other way. There has been a thrilling mix of films this year that made us jump, squirm, and occasionally audibly gasp at our screens, often in the middle of completely normal, non-horrific settings.

What is striking about this year’s slate is how inventive the genre has become. These films are not just about blood and gore; they are about ideas, atmosphere, and characters that stick in your head long after the credits roll. From Britain overrun by a ferocious rage virus, to cursed pop stars, Gothic vampires, and small towns hiding deeply unsettling secrets, horror in 2025 has managed to be as thoughtful as it is terrifying.

It has been a year where directors have taken risks, sometimes audacious, sometimes completely unhinged, and most of the time it has paid off spectacularly. Whether it is blending genres, subverting expectations, or delivering performances you cannot stop thinking about, these films prove that horror can surprise, delight, and genuinely scare all at once. This is our round-up of the very best, the ones that made us sit up, shout at the screen, and ultimately fall in love with horror all over again.

28 Years Later

After 23 years of waiting, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland return to one of our very best homegrown horror franchises, but even luckier is that it was worth the wait in ways we had not even hoped for. A sequel that enriches the ongoing story of a Britain savaged by the deadly rage virus, mutating those contaminated into violent ‘infected’, this is a film that balances scenes of ferociously tense terror with surprisingly thoughtful meditations on the nature of death and contemporary Britain. It subverts expectations but never loses sight of what matters, engaging human drama and decapitations.

Using iPhones to capture the feral bleakness of this very British zombie apocalypse has resulted in something truly unique. The blend of distorted visuals, frenetic editing, and inventive sound design delivers an experience that stands apart from everything else in recent memory. A film of profound emotion, it is one of the best horrors in recent years.

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Nosferatu

Despite countless retellings of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and this being the third outing for Count Orlok, Robert Eggers has managed to breathe new life into Nosferatu, creating one of the most haunting horror films of the year. The Gothic atmosphere is exquisite, with production design and cinematography that feel almost tactile, while Willem Dafoe and Ralph Ineson deliver performances that are as chilling as they are magnetic. Eggers has taken everything that made his previous films, The Witch and The Lighthouse, so effective and amplified it, resulting in a story that is timeless, terrifying, and utterly unforgettable.

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Sinners

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is ambitious, audacious, and unlike anything else in recent horror. It blends period drama, supernatural terror, and musical flourishes to explore race, power, and communal trauma in 1930s Mississippi. Michael B. Jordan is exceptional playing twin brothers Smoke and Stack, while Jack O’Connell as the enigmatic vampire Remmick is both unsettling and compelling. The ensemble cast is uniformly strong, with Miles Caton delivering a standout feature film debut. Topped with striking visuals and a mesmerising score from Ludwig Göransson, Sinners is a horror spectacle that balances blood-soaked thrills with deeply human storytelling.

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The Substance

Coralie Fargeat has delivered a horror film that is equal parts stylish, nasty, and fascinating. Demi Moore gives a career-best performance as Elisabeth, a former 1980s star struggling to find her place in the modern world, supported beautifully by Margaret Qualley as Sue, a figure who is both a mirror and a challenge to Elisabeth. The direction is bold, the synth score pulses perfectly with the tension, and the body horror is unflinching. It is a film that grips you from the first frame to the last, leaving a lasting impression.

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Weapons

Zach Cregger has crafted a horror mystery that creeps under your skin and never lets go. In a Stephen King-esque town, children vanish in the dead of night, and the ensemble cast, including Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Benedict Wong, and Alden Ehrenreich, carry multiple intertwining stories that gradually reveal the town’s secrets. Cregger’s storytelling is precise and haunting, and his creation of Gladys, a villain destined to sit alongside other classic horror icons, ensures this film will linger in the imagination long after the credits roll.

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Smile 2

Smile! Everything a great horror sequel aspires to be, director and writer Parker Finn has crafted a follow-up to his breakout hit that is somehow even more viscerally terrifying than the original. The gore is meatier, the jump-scares might just be the jumpiest ever, and the smiles are still as unnerving as anything else in modern horror. Building on the established rules and lore of the original, Smile 2 introduces a brilliant new cast of characters unfortunate enough to become entangled in the cosmic horror of the smile virus. Lead Naomi Scott delivers a horror all-timer performance as pop sensation Skye Riley, struggling to cope with the pressures of stardom after a traumatic accident, all while singing and co-writing some genuinely catchy pop tunes. World tour when?