Sunday Scaries: The Best Horror Films From the First Half of 2025

The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! This time around, we’re taking a look at the very best horror efforts that have graced screens (or streaming services) so far during the year that is 2025…

So far, 2025 has been a real top heavy year for horror. Obviously, Sinners has broken through For me, The Monkey is one of the biggest blasts that the genre, or really cinema on the whole, has provided this year. They’re top drawer, though things like 28 Years Later, Heart Eyes, and Presence certainly are quality works. As always, it all made this a very easy and very fun assignment, coming up with the best horror films of the first half of the year.

As a bonus, before we get to my actual list, fellow gorehound Myles Hughes has once again contributed his picks, which are as follows:

5. Heart Eyes

4. Final Destination: Bloodlines

3. 28 Years Later

2. The Monkey

1. Sinners

Here now are my picks for the five best horror films so far in 2025, accompanied by a piece from my review:

Honorable Mention: Clown in a Cornfield and Wolf Man

5. 28 Years Later

Well, this is something different. You’d be forgiven for assuming that 28 Years Later was simply more of the same from the dormant zombie franchise. The genre that Danny Boyle and Alex Garland revolutionized with 28 Days Later already had a solid but fully expected sequel in 28 Weeks Later. Then, we never got the presumed follow up in 28 Months Later. It turns out, in making us wait, Boyle and Garland have been considering ways to do things differently once again. Boy howdy, have they. I have no clue how audiences overall will react to this new installment, which is being presented as the start of a new trilogy, but I’m certainly tickled that this is what they chose to do. Playing it safe? Not in the slightest.

28 Years Later begins one way, but by the end, has gone off in a whole other direction. That might divide audiences, given expectations, but it does lend itself to a fresher feeling than the flick would otherwise have had. Boyle and Garland are following the beat of their own drummer, keeping their own interest level up, which in turn should buoy an adventurous audience member. Come for the blood and gore, to be sure, but stay for the new ideas, as well as the human component, which brings out some real emotional elements by the end.

4. Presence

Watching Steven Soderbergh experiment is always an interesting experience. He plays with form and upends expectations more or less no matter what he’s making. So, seeing him enter the realm of horror obviously is going to make for something unique. While one can draw comparisons to A Ghost Story, Presence is a different beast, both more unusual and more mainstream, depending on the scene. Playing on Day One of the Toronto International Film Festival, it’s an interesting movie that occasionally suggests something more.

Presence manages to be extremely confident in its experimental nature. It’s only when things get more traditional, or when the film takes a hard turn in the final section, that it feels like a lesser work. However, when it comes to Soderbergh, even a lesser work is still one more than worthy of serious consideration.

3. Heart Eyes

I love a good romantic comedy. This is not news to any of you who read my stuff. It’s also no secret that I’m fond of quality horror. So, the concept of combining the two in a novel way really piqued my interest. At the same time, it goes without saying that a romantic comedy slasher film is not easy to pull off. As such, it’s a really high compliment on my part to say that Heart Eyes is just as good a rom-com as it is a slasher. The movie is a genre fan’s dream, full stop.

Heart Eyes knows that both genres need to be honored, or else neither will work in the flick. Watching it consistently play into the emotion, horror, and laughs with equal respect is a sight to behold. Getting half of it right would have led to a quality film. Instead, by going above and beyond, we have one of the best works of 2025 so far.

2. The Monkey

When you get on a film’s wavelength, no matter what kind of a work it is, there’s a feeling that’s hard to beat. Especially when it’s an out there horror movie, you’re so attuned to the possibilities, anything that happens is a delight. In the case of The Monkey, the opening scene so perfectly sets you up for what’s to come, that you’re just excited to be along for the ride. This flick is such a good time, savagely funny and savagely gory in equal measure, it’s one of the best horror comedies in some time. 2025 is off to a hell of a year, horror wise.

The Monkey is incredibly different from Longlegs, the prior film from Osgood Perkins, but it’s just as clearly evidence that he’s a master of horror. This shows that he can go funny, which is a new exercise for the filmmaker. It’s a movie with a real devilish sense of humor. Sure, some folks may not be able to vibe with what he’s doing, but if you love horror, as well as genre works on the whole, this is an absolute riot that will shock you in all of the best ways.

1. Sinners

Okay, listen up folks. For anyone who ever complains that Hollywood never does anything original, Sinners is for you. This is the type of film that spits in the face of those who say cinema has nothing new to offer. By taking one of the oldest movie monsters there is, spinning them on their ear, and filtering it through a setting/time period that’s never utilized them before, and you have something completely singular. There has never been anything quite like Sinners. Not only is this 2025’s first truly great blockbuster, it’s also the best film of the year so far.

Sinners absolutely rocks. Bloody, horny, musical, and full of genre-bending on the part of filmmaker Ryan Coogler, it’s all the right kinds of audacious. What begins as a light period drama, with plenty of reverence for the power of music, it slowly but surely transforms into horror, with the third act becoming an actual bloodbath. Through it all, there’s impeccable technical aspects, first rate acting, and a true feeling that you’re watching the full possibilities of film. Coogler makes movies for the big screen, with Sinners being just the latest example of an event picture, meant to be seen with the best sound and on the biggest screen possible.

Stay tuned for another Sunday Scaries installment next week!