Joey Magidson
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! Today, the last 2025 installment of the column looks back on the horror efforts of the year…
2025 has proven to be a strong year for horror, to the point where there are three notable fright flicks that are in contention for Academy Award nominations. Scary movies don’t always even sniff awards season, so multiple films that have legitimate Oscar aspirations is really something. Sure, this will be a year remembered for Sinners and Weapons, without question, but the genre goes even deeper than those wonderful efforts.
Below, what you’ll see are ten scary movies that were the cream of the crop this year. This here is where I stood at the midway point of 2025, for comparison’s sake. I’ll be linking to my reviews, so give them a look, but anything that made this list is certainly something I recommend. As always, there’s original films, prequels, sequels, and just an overall sense of creativity that made me very happy. Now, on to the list…
Enjoy my top ten, but first, as a special added bonus, let us begin with our own Myles Hughes’ list for 2025:
10. Good Boy
9. Final Destination: Bloodlines
7. The Ugly Stepsister
6. Frankenstein
3. The Monkey
2. Weapons
1. Sinners
Now, here are some of the best fright flicks of 2025, according to yours truly:
Honorable Mentions: Black Phone 2, Bone Lake, Chain Reactions, Final Destination: Bloodlines, and Wolf Man
10. 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.
9. 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.
8. Frankenstein
It was only a matter of time before Guillermo del Toro tackled Frankenstein. In some ways, his whole career has been building up to this moment. The filmmaker just always been a fit for the material, which has been thematically in his work over the years. So, having him actually done it is a bit of an occasion. His version of the monster tale has all of his trademarks, which in some ways makes it the most del Toro movie to date. Playing as a surprise screening at the Telluride Film Festival, it closed out my fest on a stylish note.
Frankenstein is technically sumptuous, as you might expect. The beauty of the grotesque is done up here in a way that’s absolutely stunning. If it doesn’t necessarily feel like del Toro has something particularly new to say about Mary Shelley‘s tale, it also feels like it was a flick he 100% needed to make. So, seeing the fruits of those labors is something to behold.
When you find out that The Long Walk is adapted from one of the earliest works of Stephen King, you’d be forgiven for worrying that Hollywood has started scraping the bottom of the barrel. Luckily, that’s hardly the case, and if this film isn’t the masterpiece that is The Life of Chuck, or the batshit crazy fun that is The Monkey, it’s very much a compelling piece of cinema. Is the movie a tough watch? Yes. Is that the point? Also yes.
The Long Walk takes a premise that does not sound very cinematic and makes it almost hypnotic. Despite the static nature of what’s going on, you keep getting more and more drawn in, to the point where the ending almost feels abrupt, even with how punishing getting there has been for the characters. The experience is not especially fun, to be fair, but it’s the sort of flick you definitely want to think about once it ends. This one lingers, folks.
6. Good Boy
There are few horror films that would be able to simultaneously compel and stress me out in equal measure like Good Boy. On the one hand, as a dog lover, a fright flick where a canine is the lead and the sole perspective? That’s incredibly creative and interesting, so count me in. On the other hand, as a dog lover, putting one of our four legged friends as the center of a movie like this puts them in (fake) danger, which stresses me the hell out. So, mission accomplished, Good Boy. I feared for this dog’s well being every second of this emotional and unsettling genre tale. By the end, I knew I’d seen something wholly unique, while also needing to immediately give a scratch to my own dog, who also is a very good boy.
Good Boy gets an all-timer of a dog performance out of Indy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever playing himself. We’ve seen some great animal performances of late, especially with Anatomy of a Fall, but this sees a dog as the lead and also the hero of a scary movie. That’s truly one of one. The film simply wouldn’t work if you don’t believe the dog and his performance. That you do is one of the great accomplishments of the year.
5. 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.
4. Together
Relationships take a lot of work. They take work to make sure that you’re keeping the other person happy, as well as to make sure you don’t lose yourself within them. The bonding that a couple does is wonderful, at least until it becomes codependency. That very real fear for folks is taken as a very literal inspiration for Together, another top notch horror film this year. 2025 is becoming the year of the scary movie, as this is another excellent one.
Together is a creative take on the body horror genre, as well as a commentary on codependent relationships. Plus, having a real-life couple in the lead roles adds a bit of mystery to things, as well as verisimilitude. The things happening are gory and wild, but perhaps some of the feelings could be real? It’s part of what elevates this fright flick into being not just very good, but absolutely great. Plus, there’s an all-timer of a musical needle drop in the third act, as well as a moment of body horror that will have everyone in the audience cringing.
3. Weapons
Only two films in, it’s time to proclaim Zach Cregger as a master of horror. Not only does the filmmaker have a very unique sensibility that he deploys in his movies, he’s able to mix comedy, horror, and genuine surprises with deft social commentary. Weapons is a far bigger scope than Barbarian, operating on a comparatively epic canvas to tell a much larger story. Barbarian may have been a bit more fun, all things considered, but Weapons a better movie overall. In fact, it’s another highlight of 2025 so far, further establishing this year as one that will go down in the record books for horror.
Weapons is a slow burn that builds to an absolutely insane and deeply satisfying climax. The juice is definitely worth the squeeze here, as Cregger masterfully plays with your emotions and expectations. The mystery is handled in such a way that regardless of what you think is happening, you’re drawn further and further in. Each new character is compelling, each WTF revelation is engaging, and by the end, you feel like you’ve seen something not just big, but original as well. Bravo to Cregger and company.
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.
What were your favorite horror films of 2025? Let us know!
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