Horror Movies Uncut’s Top 10 Horror Films of 2025

Travis Brown
1 day ago
4 min read

HORROR MOVIES UNCUT Top Horror Films of 2025

It is I, Travis Brown, owner and creator of HMU. Today, we lock in my official list for the top horror genre films of the year. It’s impossible to ignore one thing: 2025 was a damn strong year for horror.

Not louder than 2024—but just as deep.

Franchises returned (Final Destination: Bloodlines), indie filmmakers leveled up, festival favorites refused to disappear quietly, and a handful of films reminded us why horror remains the most honest genre when it comes to fear, grief, obsession, and identity.

Some movies dominated headlines. Others quietly wrecked audiences at festivals and vanished into distribution limbo. And a few—once people finally saw them—refused to let go.

This is my Top 10 Horror Films of 2025, based on festival screenings, theatrical releases, late-year discoveries, and everything in between.

#1 –

Bring Her Back

There was no escaping it this year.

Bring Her Back wasn’t just the best horror film of 2025—it was one of the most complete films, period.

After the divisive but undeniably impactful Talk to Me, the Philippou brothers came back sharper, meaner, and more emotionally precise. The real anchor here is Sally Hawkins, delivering one of the most devastating performances the genre has seen in years, supported by a phenomenal young cast—especially Jonah Wren Phillips, whose presence lingers long after the credits roll.

This isn’t horror built on gimmicks. It’s grief weaponized. Controlled. Unrelenting.

HMU Take: The most fully realized horror film of the year.

#2 –

The Ugly Stepsister

A film that continues to surprise people months after its release.

Once word spread from the festival circuit, The Ugly Stepsister refused to stay underground. What begins as a familiar fairy-tale framework becomes something far more grotesque and confrontational—an unflinching blend of body horror, identity, and societal cruelty.

The fact that it’s now earning awards recognition for makeup and effects feels almost poetic. This film understands that horror doesn’t soften truths—it sharpens them.

HMU Take: One of the defining horror films of this decade’s first half.

#3 –

Night Patrol

This one is about to find its audience in a big way.

Blending gang culture, dirty cops, supernatural horror, and urban paranoia, Night Patrol feels like a genre pressure cooker. The cast alone—Justin Long, CM Punk, RJ Cyler, Jermaine Fowler, YG, Freddie Gibbs—should make this unavoidable once it hits wider platforms.

It scratches the same itch that Sinners did earlier this year, grounding horror in real social tension before letting the supernatural seep in.

HMU Take: Expect this to become one of early 2026’s most talked-about horror releases.

#4 –

The Long Walk

This was the hardest film to watch in 2025.

It was also the hardest ticket to sit with.

Minimalist, punishing, and emotionally devastating, The Long Walk forces the audience into a space of inevitability—one where youth, masculinity, obedience, and violence intersect in terrifying ways.

The performances from the young cast are staggering. There’s nowhere to hide in this film, and it never pretends otherwise.

HMU Take: Dystopian horror at its most honest and uncomfortable.

#5 –

Redux, Redux

Time-loop horror has become crowded—but Redux, Redux cuts through the noise with sheer brutality.

A woman reliving a cycle solely to murder her daughter’s killer over and over again is not a premise designed for comfort. The film never hesitates, never moralizes, and never blinks.

Still unreleased widely, but once it lands, expect reassessments.

HMU Take: One of the fiercest, most uncompromising indie horrors of the year.

#6 –

Appofeniacs

Easily the most fun horror film of 2025—and one of the smartest.

Built around deepfakes, paranoia, and manufactured realities, Appofeniacs blends social satire with genre chaos. Jermaine Fowler is electric, Sean Gunn brings weight, and the film thrives in that late-night, “everything is going wrong” energy.

This is a crowd movie waiting for its platform.

HMU Take: When it finally hits streaming, people will wonder how they missed it.

#7 –

Marshmallow

Kid-centric horror done right.

Marshmallow revives the “kids vs. evil” formula without sanding down the danger. Smartly written, surprisingly layered, and anchored by hilarious, believable young performances, it feels both nostalgic and fresh.

The reveal will make or break some viewers—but if you’re willing to ride with it, the payoff is worth it.

HMU Take: One of the year’s most underrated gems.

#8 –

Mermaid

A creature feature that refuses romanticization.

Johnny Pemberton delivers one of the strangest lead performances of the year, supported by a cast that fully understands the film’s tonal balance. This is gross, funny, tragic, and deeply human—sometimes all at once.

It remembers that monsters don’t exist to comfort us.

HMU Take: Creature horror with teeth—and a sense of humor.

#9 –

Good Boy

The dog lived.

The internet lost its mind.

Good Boy isn’t just notable for its premise—it’s notable for how precisely constructed it is. Seeing the world through a dog’s perspective without manipulation or cheap tricks required meticulous filmmaking.

The social media phenomenon surrounding it became part of the story, and somehow, the film still delivered.

HMU Take: Proof that execution matters more than concept.

#10 –

13 Days Till Summer

The most stylish slasher of the year.

Predictable at times? Sure.

Effective? Absolutely.

The mask design, weapon choices, location, and escalating tension make this a slasher that understands presentation matters. Once the framework clicks, the film commits fully.

HMU Take: A confident, visually striking entry into modern slasher horror.

INDIE SHOUT-OUTS

It Feeds
Disforia
Theater Is Dead
Descendent

DISAPPOINTMENTS OF THE YEAR

Alan at Night
Borderline
Fear Street Prom Night

FINAL THOUGHTS

Not every great horror film in 2025 was easy to find.

Not every one landed on a major streamer.

And not every one was designed to please everyone.

But the best films of the year all shared one thing: conviction.

Now it’s time to break these down—one by one.

Look for our extra cut podcast on our Youtube and Spotify Channel for more!