Best theatrical horror movies of 2025

Sophie Thatcher as Iris in Companion

I don't need to tell anyone that 2025 was a rough year for a lot of people, be it because of the economy, global instability, or a variety of other reasons. Horror, at least, provides comfort for genre fans, me included. it also responds well to a world in crisis. The Universal Monsters were born after the first World War. The horror boom of the 1960s and 1970s has been studied ad nauseum as a response to that turbulent time period.

So, maybe it's no surprise that over the last decade, horror has undergone a major renaissance, and 2025 was another high-water mark. Stellar films like Sinners and Weapons helped save an anemic box office, while films like Good Boy pushed the boundaries of indie filmmaking.

This list includes favorite wide release theatrical horror movies of 2025. Please note that Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein and The Ugly Stepsister were absolutely two of my favorite movies of the year, but they only had very limited theatrical runs before they arrived on streaming. Still, if you haven't watched them yet, what are you waiting for?

Without further ado, here are my favorite wide theatrical horror movies of 2025.

Companion

This was the year of AI. Simply put, AI was everywhere, to the point Time Magazine named "The Architects of AI" as its Person of the Year, to the dismay of some and the applause of others. So, it makes sense that Companion dropped at the beginning of the year and kicks off this best theatrical horror movies of 2025 list. Sophie Thatcher stars as Iris, a robot/AI companion to Jack Quaid's Josh. A weekend getaway with friends unravels and turns deadly when Iris realizes what she is and her purpose. This movie is funny, bloody, and poses thoughtful questions about the future of AI. It also proves Thatcher's growing star power after her role on Yellowjackets.

Companion is streaming on HBO Max and Prime Video.

Heart Eyes

Slasher fans, eat your heart out, literally! Heart Eyes is all kinds of fun and one bloody good time. This Valentine Day's movie stars Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding as coworkers who a serial killer mistakes for a couple. Both Holt and Gooding are fun in this self-aware hack and slash feature. Meanwhile, the killer's glowing red heart eyes made for one of the most memorable horror images of the year. I'm still hoping that this film gets a sequel.

Heart Eyes is currently streaming on Netflix.

Presence

When I left the theater on a cold January day after seeing Presence, I wasn't sure what to think of it. Initially, I didn't quite like it. The marketing made it seem like this movie flipped the haunted house script by showing everything from a ghost's point-of-view. But that's only true to a certain extent. The movie is a lot more than that and largely deals with grief, specifically teenager Chloe's (Callina Liang) grief following a tragic event. Moving to a new house doesn't make her happy, and no matter how hard they try, her parents can't lessen her pain. This is a movie I thought about a lot this year, especially its ending. In that way, director Steven Soderbergh's movie had quite an effect on me.

Presence is currently streaming on Hulu.

The Monkey

The beginning of 2025 had a lot of great horror films release in theaters, including The Monkey. I have to admit that it was a blast to see Osgood Perkins direct a horror comedy. Based on Stephen King's 1980 short story, The Monkey is a gory rollercoaster. The movie stars Theo James in dual roles as twin brothers whose lives are upended by a cursed toy monkey. The kills in this feature are some of the most ridiculous and fun that I've seen in any movie all year. There's also a great cameo in this one by Elijah Wood.

The Monkey is currently streaming on Hulu.

Bring Her Back

Compared to the absurdity of The Monkey, Bring Her Back is an utter palate cleanser. It's a harrowing and gruesome feature by Talk to Me directors the Philippou Brothers. The movie centers around stepsiblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and the hearing-impaired Piper (Sora Wong). After their dad dies from cancer, the stepsiblings are sent to live with a new foster mother, Laura (Sally Hawkins). Soon, Piper and Andy get caught up in the occult and supernatural as Laura tries to revive her deceased daughter. There is one specific sequence that stuck with me all year. The less I say about this one, the better. If you haven't seen this one yet, go in blind, but be prepared for some unsettling scenes.

Bring Her Back is currently streaming on HBO Max.

The Long Walk

Another Stephen King adaptation makes the list. However, The Long Walk contains none of the dark humor found in The Monkey. Directed by Francis Lawrence, of The Hunger Games fame, the movie focuses on a group of young men who compete in a deadly contest. They must maintain a certain walking speed or get shot. The winner earns a single wish granted in this dystopian version of America. Despite the film's violence, there are some truly beautiful and poetic moments in this feature, especially the friendship between Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) and Peter McVries (David Jonsson). Lawrence handles the adaptation well, while making some changes, especially the ending, that serve the medium of film. Meanwhile, Hoffman and Jonsson gave two of my favorite performances of the year.

The Long Walk is available to rent on most streaming platforms.

Good Boy

If I had to pick a horror star of 2025, it would be Indy, of the smash indie hit Good Boy. Indy is the adorable golden retriever who belongs to the film's director, Ben Leonberg. Like Presence, Good Boy challenges what exactly a haunted house movie could be and rewrites so many of the rules. And no, Indy doesn't die, but there's a lot of nerve-jangling sequences as Indy does whatever he can to protect Todd (Shane Jensen), his owner in the movie. Good Boy is a horror movie, but it's also a powerful meditation on death itself.

Good Boy is currently streaming on Shudder.

Weapons

Boy, oh boy, everyone talked about Weapons this year. The run that the missing children do has been turned into a meme again and again. But really, it's Amy Madigan's performance as Aunt Gladys that stands out the most. It's already become an iconic role. She's villainous, stylish as heck, and offers the movie's biggest twist. If you haven't seen Weapons yet, run, don't walk, and see it. After Barbarian and Weapons, Zach Cregger proves he's one of the most exciting genre directors working today.

Weapons is streaming on HBO Max.

Sinners

By far, Sinners is the movie I watched on repeat the most this year, including once in a traditional theater and once in Imax. I also watched my 4k physical copy twice, and I'll likely watch it again soon. Sinners contains the weight of history, specifically the Jim Crow South and the resistance that Black-owned and Black-run juke joints provided against legalized segregation. I have no doubt there will be countless academic essays written on Sinners over the next decade and entire collections dedicated to writer/director Ryan Coogler's film.

If Sinners returns to theaters for its likely Oscars push, and if you haven't seen it on the big screen, go see it, for the moving blues music, for Michael B. Jordan's dual performance as Stack and Smoke, for the gorgeous cinematography, and for the way it challenges what exactly a vampire movie could be. These are only some of the reasons that, for me, Sinners tops the best theatrical horror movies of 2025.

Sinners is streaming on HBO Max.