Sunday Scaries: Has NEON Become a Horror Powerhouse? (Revisited)

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 focusing in once more on how one particular distributor seems to be acing it when it comes to the world of horror…

NEON has several feathers in their cap. One obviously is winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards with Parasite, the first film not in the English language to do so. Another is their latest Oscar triumph last year with Anora. However, the independent giant is also becoming the brand name in interesting horror. Last year, Longlegs (raved about here) was an absolute force, while this year has seen Osgood Perkins drop another fright flick gem in The Monkey (reviewed here). Throw in this weekend’s release of Together (reviewed here) and it’s clear that NEON is doing this as good as anyone. So, another bit of a tribute is in order today.

This is what I said last year when I first wrote about the shingle:

NEON has only been around since 2017, but in that short span of time, they’ve managed to accomplish a lot. They’ve become one of the cool independent distributors, won Best Picture with Parasite, and really established a brand. They’ve also done something that I’m not sure people are as aware of. To me, they’ve become an indie horror powerhouse. The release and success of Longlegs this month just hammers that home.

This year alone, the studio has put out Handling the Undead (which, admittedly, I had a major issue with here), Immaculate (reviewed here), and the aforementioned Longlegs, with Cuckoo about to come out. That’s a rock solid year for fright flicks, all NEON, with a stone cold classic in Longlegs that’s going to stand the test of time. This year really did hammer it home that NEON knows horror, plain and simple.

In prior years, NEON has released work like Climax, Crimes of the Future (reviewed here), Infinity Pool (reviewed here), It Lives Inside, Little Monsters, The Lodge, Possessor, She Dies Tomorrow, Titane (reviewed here), and more. Next year, the distributor has The Monkey from Oz Perkins coming out. One has to be incredibly excited for that one, coming off of Perkins’ Longlegs. Plus, at this point, the combination of NEON and Perkins seems like a match made in cinematic heaven. You also have to assume that the distributor will pick more up in the genre throughout this year and next year. It’s a good time for horror when NEON is in town.

NEON tends to have good taste in all genres, but it’s clear to me that they’re emerging at the forefront of horror. We’ll see what happens, but Longlegs, as well as their overall fright flick output, has me thinking that they’re in rarified air. Stay tuned for my take on Cuckoo, as well as whatever else they put out going forward. NEON has me hooked.

Not only has NEON had another strong horror year with The Monkey and Together, they’re not done yet, as Perkins still has Keeper coming out later on this year. As good as 2024 was, 2025 could wind up being better. They might not be potential awards players like Longlegs kinda sorta was last year, but this year still is incredibly exciting. To say that they’re in a pretty strong groove is a massive understatement.

NEON is an indie powerhouse, to be sure, and somehow, their brightest days still appear to be ahead. As they get set to try to repeat as a Best Picture winner at the Oscars, it’s nice to see their genre work being just as good, if not better. If you love horror here in 2025, it’s a fair bet that you also love NEON. Kudos. Keep up the good work.

Stay tuned for another Sunday Scaries installment next week!