Horror Beat: Jared’s Top 5 Horror Films of 2025

As we at The Beat look back on 2025 and all the remarkable media it’s brought us, we can’t shake the feeling that it was a particularly great year for horror films. From up-and-coming directors to acclaimed masters, the genre brought its A-Game this year, delivering new classics and bold swings in equal measures.

Without further ado, here’s my top five favourite horror films of the year.

Courtesy of Netflix

5. Frankenstein

Guillermo Del Toro’s long-awaited passion project finally hit the silver screen this year, beautifully rendered in lush and gorgeous costumes, sets and cinematography. It’s quite frankly a beautiful movie, reframing the original novel as a tale of generational trauma, abuse, and forgiveness. Whilst it gives in to some of Del Toro’s more divisive tendencies as a director, if you click with it you’re in for an excellent treat, exploring the overlap between man and monster. Centered by one of the year’s best performances, with Jacob Elordi delivering pure movie magic as The Creature, it’s a propulsive film that never stops moving, and feels like a perfect synthesis of themes Del Toro has explored extensively throughout his career.

Courtesy of Warner Bros

1. Sinners

Ryan Coogler’s latest film is his first venture into the horror genre, and what an impression he makes. One of the year’s most acclaimed and beloved films, it’s for good reason, as Coogler uses every tool he learnt doing blockbusters for years to craft one of the best action-horror films of the decade. The beating heart of the film is excellent performances from Michael B Jordan and Miles Caton, alongside a wide range of brilliant supporting actors, who all bring the material to life flawlessly. Confidently directed, with two of the best musical sequences of the year and a carnage-filled climax that will make any horror fan blush, Sinners is undeniable. 

Courtesy of Lionsgate

3. The Long Walk

Quite possibly the biggest surprise of the year for me, Francis Lawrence’s adaptation of one of Stephen King’s earliest novels is absolutely gut-wrenching. Melancholic, brutal,  and unrelenting from the first moment to the last, it’s a grueling and moving film that will break your heart several times over. Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson give brilliant leading performances here, infusing the material with heart and ensuring that every emotional beat lands even harder than you might expect. This flew under the radar for some, which is a travesty in my opinion; it’s one of the year’s strongest films, beautiful and horrific in equal measure, and one I can’t recommend enough.

Courtesy of A24

2. Bring Her Back

The Philippou Brothers return with the darkest, most visceral horror film of the decade so far. One of the only films all year to make me physically squirm in my chair, Bring Her Back takes everything the duo did with Talk To Me and amps it up to eleven. Whilst it explores a familiar topic for modern horror fans, it does so in a way that no one will have quite seen before, channeling traditional fairy tale tropes in interesting and exciting ways whilst also delivering some of the gnarliest and most disgusting horror sequences of the year. Sally Hawkins is on top form here, with the best villain performance of the year bar none, and the film proves that the duo are without a doubt two of the strongest directors in the genre working right now. 

Courtesy of Warner Bros

1. Weapons

Zach Creggar’s second feature film is an utter delight, and everything I adore about horror wrapped in a bow. Consistently thrilling throughout, even on multiple watches, with a killer sense of humour that keeps things fun without sacrificing the humanity and tragedy at the centre of the material, it’s a gift that keeps on giving. Exploring addiction, trauma, collective grief, and the inability to move on, it’s a timely and topical movie that feels like it’s important for the current moment, which meant its massive success wasn’t a total surprise to me. It’s wonderfully well-made as well, with excellent direction, brilliant performances, a fantastic script and great work from the entire technical team. Creggar has proved himself to be one of the must-watch horror directors, and Weapons hasn’t been far from my mind at any point since I watched it.