HMU Picks: The Plague Is One of 2025’s Best Horror Films — In Theaters This Week

Charlie Polinger’s The Plague brings festival-proven dread to theaters nationwide starting January 2.

The Plague Is Already One of the Best Horror Films of 2025 — And You Can See It Next Week

While we’ll be publishing our official Best of 2025 lists next week, there’s one title that’s already locked in for us — and that’s Charlie Polinger’s The Plague.

Simply put, it’s one of the most unsettling, confident, and emotionally sharp horror films of the year.

The Plague has been quietly — and then loudly — tearing through the festival circuit. It played at some of the most respected festivals in the world and took home Best Feature at Fantastic Fest, where it quickly became one of the most talked-about films of the entire event. That momentum didn’t slow down. We also caught it at the St. Louis International Film Festival, and the response was just as strong. This is one of those rare genre films that lands with critics, programmers, and audiences alike.

Now, the good news: everyone gets a chance to see it.

The Plague opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 24 (Christmas Eve), before expanding nationwide on January 2. If this film is playing anywhere near you, it’s one you should make time for — especially if you care about where modern horror is headed.

Set at an all-boys water polo camp, The Plague follows a socially anxious 12-year-old who gets pulled into a cruel camp tradition targeting an outcast boy suffering from an illness the kids refer to as “The Plague.” What starts as ritualized bullying slowly curdles into something far more disturbing, as the line between joke and reality begins to dissolve. The film weaponizes peer pressure, masculinity, and childhood cruelty in ways that feel deeply authentic — and genuinely terrifying.

Polinger’s direction is razor-focused, but it’s the young cast that truly makes the film hit. Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin, and Kenny Rasmussen deliver performances that feel lived-in and raw, capturing the exact emotional volatility of being young, scared, and desperate to belong. Joel Edgerton provides steady, unsettling adult presence, but this is very much a film driven by the kids — and they absolutely carry it.

What makes The Plague stand out isn’t just its scares. It’s the way it understands childhood as a pressure cooker, where fear, shame, and loyalty can become something monstrous without anyone realizing it until it’s too late. It’s restrained, cruel, empathetic, and deeply uncomfortable — the kind of horror that lingers long after the credits roll.

There’s no question about it:

The Plague is one of the best horror films of the year.

Catch it in theaters starting December 24 in NY/LA, and January 2 nationwide. Trust us — this one’s going to stay with you.

Do you fear what I fear?