The Top 10 Horror Films of 2025 (So Far): Bring Her Back, Redux Redux, and More

From time loops to sea monsters, HMU’s 2025 horror picks are soaked in trauma, style, and blood.

By Travis Brown

Listen, I’ve been trying my hardest not to turn HMU into a listicle machine. But the numbers don’t lie—lists raise awareness, engagement, and discourse. So here we are. Midway through the year, festival season is ramping up: Chattanooga just wrapped, our local beast Hysteria Fest is nearly upon us, and the global genre juggernauts—Fantasia, TIFF, Fantastic Fest, Beyond Fest—are locked and loaded.

But the question I keep hearing is:

What about 2025?

Are we in a holding pattern? Can anything touch the shockwaves left by Sinners? Or are we already sitting on some future classics?

I’d argue we’ve already seen some bangers. True, I haven’t seen Together yet (and yes, I’ve heard it’s phenomenal), but I can only speak to what I’ve watched—and what’s lingered.

So here it is—my Top 10 Horror Films of 2025 (So Far).

Ranked by impact, rating, staying power, and emotional ruin.

Grief gets violent in the Philippou Brothers’ most haunting, surreal descent yet.

1. Bring Her Back

Rating: 9/10

The Philippou Brothers don’t just return—they ascend.

This isn’t just another grief-horror flick. It’s a haunted odyssey of generational trauma, mother-son pain, and surreal possession. Bring Her Back takes the raw energy of Talk to Me and channels it into something quieter, crueler, and more emotionally naked. It’s not just good—it’s a leveling-up.

Through Indy’s eyes, loyalty becomes a supernatural battle. One dog. One nightmare. Endless heart.

2. Good Boy

Rating: 8/10

A loyal dog. A haunted house. A supernatural bond stronger than fear.

Told entirely from the POV of Indy the dog, Good Boy is one of SXSW’s most inventive standouts—blending horror, emotion, and bold cinematography into a gripping tale of protection and paranoia. Pet owners, beware: you’ll never look at your dog’s stare the same way again.

A gut-punching time loop where every reset slices deeper into the soul.

3. Redux Redux

Rating: 8/10

A gut-wrenching time fuck.

What if every wrong choice echoed across infinite timelines? Redux Redux is one of the sharpest, cruelest time-loop horrors in recent memory. A film that breaks your brain and your heart in equal measure.

Summer camp heartbreak meets surreal grief and sticky horror nostalgia.

4. Marshmallow

Rating: 8/10

Campy, sticky, nostalgic, and sad as hell.

Set at a middle school sleepaway camp, this Panic Fest gem mixes Are You Afraid of the Dark? vibes with surreal grief and gooey horror. Think Wet Hot American Summer meets The Babadook. Somehow, it works.

This online revenge tale turns cancel culture into a bloodbath of meme-fueled rage.

5. Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage-Fueled Karma

Rating: 8/10

Meta mayhem meets cyber revenge.

Part drag show, part slasher, part digital bloodbath—Hacked weaponizes meme culture and internet toxicity into a brutal, exhilarating ride. Unapologetically queer, funny, and cathartic AF.

A Florida fairytale spirals into a romantic, grotesque monster love story.

6. Mermaid

Rating: 8/10

A Florida creature feature that flirts with madness.

A grotesque romance soaked in neon and sweat. Mermaid gives us a monster movie with heart, heartbreak, and a terrifying amount of sunscreen. It’s The Shape of Water’s feral cousin who vapes behind a 7-Eleven.

“Love, lies, and lethal detours—Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid collide in a date-night thriller gone wrong.”

7. Companion

Rating: 8/10

Love, lies, and lethal intentions.

Companion turns a weekend getaway into a chilling dissection of modern dating. Sophie Thatcher stuns, Jack Quaid disturbs, and Drew Hancock delivers a tense, timely thriller.

Influencer horror gets a bloody upgrade in this fierce takedown of viral identity.

8. The Rebrand

Rating: 8/10

The algorithm can’t save you.

Brilliantly biting satire about influencer culture, queer commodification, and curated identities. The Rebrand nails the bloody sweet spot between horror, comedy, and industry critique.

Cinderella’s story warps into queasy body horror and a cruel beauty myth.

9. The Ugly Stepsister

Rating: 8/10

This ain’t your Disney princess.

A body horror fable about beauty, envy, and rage. The Ugly Stepsister turns the Cinderella mythos into a queasy, glammed-out nightmare that feels both ancient and Instagram-age relevant.

There are no sharks—only the suffocating horror of human control and obsession.

10. Dangerous Animals

Rating: 7/10

No sharks. Just humans at their worst.

It sets you up for a shark movie and then drowns you in psychological torment. Dangerous Animals is about control, captivity, and what it takes to break free—or break someone else.

2025’s horror crop is already growing teeth. With the heavy-hitters still on the way, this list will evolve, mutate, maybe combust. But for now? This is what’s stuck with me, screamed the loudest, and earned its place.

Disagree? Let me know.

Or better yet—go watch them all.

Keep the lights on.

📲 @HMUNCUT | 🎥 The Final Cut