As usual, my top 10 films of the year list is chaotic and very me. It also excludes so many favorites that weren’t technically released this year. I hate that Mother of Flies, Fucktoys, Obsession, Boorman and the Devil, and Mag Mag will have to fight for a place on next year’s list when their spots were guaranteed in this uneven year for horror. While 2025 gave me some movies I genuinely love, it also left me wanting more. Perhaps that’s because this year was a shitshow and harder to get lost in cinema. It could be entirely possible that the weight of everything made it harder for filmmakers to get us to turn our brains off and take a journey. Or maybe the genre took a huge step back, and I’m looking for reasons when the easy answer is the only answer.
Whatever the case may be, these 10 movies got me. They shook me, delighted me, and got me to leave the dumpster fire that is 2025 outside the door for the duration of their runtime. I’m grateful for that. Also the more we learn about how challenging it is to create anything good, the more I root for these filmmakers. Let me stop bringing the vibe down and get into my list already, though.
10. V/H/S Halloween
I have liked many segments from this franchise, and loved even more of the filmmakers who make these disturbing shorts. However, I never expected to have a V/H/S entry in my top 10 list. However, I loved the big fuck them kids energy, the chaos, the carnage, the sick imagery, and the endless imagination on display. V/H/S Halloween is the first time all of the segments and even the wraparound story understood the assignment. There is a wicked artistry that makes this a damn good ride and that is why I am excited to see what’s next for this franchise.
9. The Ugly Stepsister
You know the story of Cinderella, but have you ever wondered what it was like to be the eldest stepsister in this alleged fairytale? Well, this feminist body horror puts you in the bloody shoes of Elvira (Lea Myren) and forces you to walk a few miles. The Ugly Stepsister nearly flew under my radar, and what an awful world that would have been. This international banger made me squirm in my seat, look away, and laugh at some very sick shit. This movie is so me-coded that it’s a little creepy, and that’s why it squeezed itself into this top 10 list with all of its toes intact.
8. Together
A couple at a crossroads in their relationship move to a new place and discover a sinister force has plans for them. Together is effectively creepy, cute, and cool. It also has the best Alison Brie performance I have ever seen, and I have followed her since Community. While there is plenty to pick apart toward the end, this film is the ultimate “They should break up” horror movie. I’m recommending it to friends as I write this because I subscribe to the quitting things, people, and places agenda. While this couple didn’t get a say in the matter, I like to think we all saw there was a correct solution, and that was to be single.
7. Final Destination: Bloodlines
A college student returns home to get to the bottom of nightmares that are haunting her. She soon discovers that her family is on death’s list. I have been very vocal about how none of the Final Destination sequels understood the first one. I went into this one expecting to be disappointed again, but left eating some crow. To be fair, no one told me that Guy Busick co-wrote this because I am starting to think that pen doesn’t miss. Busick’s name explains why this movie felt dangerous, fun, and was the first installment since the original to open with something claustrophobic and stressful. We also get a WOC leading this banger. Saying goodbye to the iconic Tony Todd made for an emotionally heavy watch. However, I have to learn to rewatch through the tears because this movie is going into my rotation.
6. Queens of the Dead
Found family and fear collide when drag queens have to fend off zombies at a Brooklyn nightclub. Tina Romero’s Queens of the Dead is the fun zombie-filled heartwarming horror comedy we needed in 2025. Romero not only does her dad’s legacy justice, but she also has the best zombie movie of the year. Aside from the axe wound heard around the world, this movie also saw my co-host Xero Gravity live out her dream in a quick cameo near the end. So, clearly, these glittery undead Bushwick kids were destined to take a bite out of my top 10 list.
5. Best Wishes to All
A young woman’s visit with her grandparents reveals the disturbing secret to her family’s happiness. Best Wishes to All is the kind of movie that keeps us resubscribing to Shudder. It’s the kind of J-Horror that leaves you speechless, disturbed, a little confused, and makes you want to take the ride again as soon as the credits stop rolling. I have been in love with this movie since I saw it at Overlook Film Festival earlier this year. It marches to the beat of its own sinister drummer while making us think. That is really all I ask of most of my favorite movies, and this one delivers.
4. Heart Eyes
Two coworkers find themselves the targets of the Heart Eyes Killer on one fateful Valentine’s Day. If you had told me a rom-com slasher would be one of the moviegoing experiences that brought me the most joy this year, I wouldn’t have believed you. However, it makes sense that the filmmakers who kept us sane during a pandemic would know how to make this beast work. I hope Josh Ruben, Christopher Landon, and Michael Kennedy got the greenlight and are already working on a sequel because I am saying yes to this slasher. Heart Eyes wears its heart on its sleeve (along with so many victims’ bodily fluids and organs). That’s why HEK is my new favorite slasher in the genre and the reason I have plans for February 14th.
3. Bring Her Back
Two orphaned siblings land in a foster home where their real problems begin. Bring Her Back was by far the heaviest movie of 2025. The Philippou Brothers are the only filmmakers I want handling grief and trauma at the moment. Between this and Talk to Me, they have cemented themselves as professional trauma wranglers. This is a refreshing contrast to people who wield trauma like a weapon, resulting in movies that feel hollow. The weight of this film was palpable as it forced us to feel our feelings. It also introduced us to Sora Wong, who is sadly left out of most conversations about this movie that she plays a central character in.
2. Dust Bunny
A little girl hires the hitman who lives on her floor to kill the monster under her bed. As a long-time Bryan Fuller fan, I knew his feature debut would be good. However, I did not expect it to be one of the most beautiful and whimsical movies of the year. His aesthetic, humor, and heart are on full display as he continues making media for those of us who know the real monsters are usually in our own homes. Fuller also dared to ask, what if gateway horror had teeth again? I’m here for that agenda and cannot stress enough that Dust Bunny feels like a hug for our inner morbid moppets.
1. Sinners
Twin brothers try to start over by opening a juke joint, but evil finds them and demands to be invited to the cookout. Ryan Coogler reset culture this year and also taught us a lot about film while doing it. It’s hard to watch Sinners and not understand that it’s one of the best films of this millennium. The amount of talent on and off camera is ridiculous, and if award shows were real, this film would be sweeping them all. Watching Variety and The Rolling Stone play in this movie’s face also reminded us that the old guards are irrelevant and it’s time for new blood. That’s just one of the many lessons Sinners delivered and another reason original movies by Black and Brown filmmakers are so desperately needed.
Honorable Mentions:
I’ll Be Taking These With Me
This list isn’t just my top 10 movies. It’s also 10 things I would take with me as I escape this nightmarish year. If asked to say something nice about 2025, I’m going to look at this list and the hours of escapism, fear, joy, and wiggins these films gifted me. Hopefully, you found some fucked up shit in here to keep you warm as we wait on 2026.
