Chloe's Not Scared

Between multiple zombie apocalypses, trauma-as-generational curse, and a return to the Gothic, the horror scene was certainly giving us banger after banger this year. Some of the best horror movies from this year are the best movies of the year, period, in any genre. And while you are probably able to guess my number one (isn’t it everyone’s number one?), the rest of the list may surprise you. I also have a humongous amount of honorable mentions– I simply could not pick just two or three. Let’s dive into the top 10 best horror movies of the year, shall we?

10. Good Boy- dir. Ben Leonberg

Todd (Shane Jensen) and his dog Indy move into Shane’s late grandfather’s cabin as Todd battles an unknown disease. The story, primarily told through Indy’s point-of-view, is a haunted house story at its heart. A few good jump scares and some incredible animal acting, Good Boy is an indie horror that is a little sad and a little scary in tandem. Don’t worry, the dog is only in very minor peril and is ok at the end. And if I, a cat person, enjoyed this film, so will you.

9. 40 Acres- dir. R.T. Thorne

In this post-apocalyptic family drama, director R.T. Thorne imagines a collective run by an African American and Native American family against a zombie outbreak in his film 40 Acres. Matriarch Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler) runs a tight ship and she has to: the outbreak threatens her family’s daily life. But when her teenage son develops a crush on an outsider, the dynamic threatens her family in ways she could never imagine. Deadwyler is a joy to watch in any role, and it was a blessing to see her star both in this and The Women in the Yard this year.

Read more: Chicago Critics Film Festival 2025 Roundup

8. Den Stygge Stesøsteren (The Ugly Stepsister)- dir. Emilie Blichfeldt

This takes the cake for being one of the most disgusting movies of the year (complementary). Written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt, The Ugly Stepsister stars Lea Myren as Elvira, one of the stepsisters of Cinderella. Elvira longs to be beautiful and with toxic encouragement from her mother (Ane Dal Torp), she begins to take drastic measures to make herself palatable for the prince’s ball. Fans of body horror will rejoice in this gross satire on the beauty industry and fairy tales.

Read more: 11 Excellent Fairy Tale Horror Films

7. Opus- dir. Mark Anthony Green

Pop star Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich) announces his newest album in 30 years, exclusively inviting some of the biggest names in podcasts, social media, talk shows and more, plus mysteriously inviting a burgeoning young print journalist Ariel (Ayo Edbiri). This culty movie has some of the most gorgeous shots in any movie this year. And despite middling reviews, I’m firmly in the camp that Opus is just misunderstood. Knowing that director Mark Anthony Green used to work in journalism makes so much sense, as the backdrop of this horror is a cynical cautionary take on new media.

6. Mārama- dir. Taratoa Stappard

In this anti-colonial Gothic revenge horror by director Taratoa Stappard, Mārama follows a Māori woman (Ariāna Osborne) in the year 1859 as she attempts to gain information about her birth parents in North Yorkshire, England. While there are an exorbitant amount of jump scares, the slow burn dread and the color palette makes up for it. I hope this movie receives the wide release that it deserves ASAP because Osborne truly blew me away with one of the most powerful horror performances of the year– her haka was legendary. For fans of the book Mexican Gothic who don’t look away from violence of all kinds.

5. 28 Years Later- dir. Danny Boyle & Alex Garland

I’m not usually a Danny Boyle or Alex Garland fan but I really loved what they did with the new film 28 Years Later in the post-apocalyptic franchise. Spike (Alfie Williams), a 12 year old living safely on an island, accompanies his father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) into the mainland to hunt zombies and scavenge. When they return, Spike hears rumors of a doctor on the mainland and becomes more confident to take his mother (Jodie Comer) to get medical help. A powerful and bleak commentary on masculinity and violence, 28 Years Later really resituates the franchise at the top of the horror game. With a score by Young Fathers, what’s not to love?!

4. Weapons- dir. Zach Cregger

Everyone has Weapons fever and the success of the sophomore feature from director Zach Cregger (Barbarian) speaks for itself. The movie, presented from several POV’s in a nonlinear style, explores the event in which teacher Justine Tandy’s (Julia Garner) class disappears all on the same night… all except one child. With some notable jump scares from Amy Madigan, this film ratchets up the tension until its terrifying conclusion. Cregger’s movies are crowd-pleasers and guarantee to make you jump, even if you’re just watching it on Halloween with your friends.

Read about Cregger’s Barbarian: Best Horror Movies of 2022

3. みなに幸あれ (Best Wishes to All)- dir. Yuta Shimotsu

I saw Best Wishes to All in a midnight screening and perhaps I was enchanted by the magic of that experience, but I also found that it was simply just a well-made J-horror film. Mentored by director of The Grudge Takashi Shimizu (who is ultimately a producer on this film), debut director Yuta Shimotsu shows his surrealist horror chops by following a young nursing student (Kotone Furukawa) who travels back to her grandparents’ house in the country only to discover a shocking unpleasant truth about her family’s success. The theme of familial sacrifice has permeated the horror scene in 2025, but in my opinion, Best Wishes to All does it best.

Read more: Chicago Critics Film Festival 2025 Roundup

2. Frankenstein- dir. Guillermo del Toro

Frankenstein is the movie that Guillermo del Toro has been itching to make for years. Hell, I’d argue that he’s already made it a few times over. Oscar Issaac stars as the titular Victor Frankenstein, whose experiments yield The Creature (Jacob Elordi). GDT knows how to make a lavish Gothic wonderland and while some of the green-tinting is less-than-desired in my opinion, I still marvel at the near-Steampunk aesthetic of the sets and gorgeous garments, especially the dresses on Elizabeth (Mia Goth). The music by Alexandre Desplat is a match made in heaven. Mary Shelley would’ve been very happy to see her work portrayed like this (until that quote by Lord Byron at the end).

Read more about GDT’s other films: Guillermo del Toro Filmography Ranked

1. Sinners- dir. Ryan Coogler

Of course Sinners is going to be the best movie of the year. It may be the best movie of the decade so far. The story follows two brothers, Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan), as they return to their hometown in Mississippi from Chicago to open a juke joint. The sly businessmen enlist their cousin Sammy (Miles Caton) to play the blues. That’s really all I’m going to tell you because if you haven’t seen it yet and you’ve avoided spoilers this far into the year, then I’m not going to be the one to take that fun moment away from you. But yes, it is a horror movie. It’s also a musical, a drama, a comedy at times, and everything in between.

I wrote this in my Letterboxd review, but Sinners reminds me of the sprawling nature of a John Steinbeck novel. You immediately get endeared to the cast of characters (even the evil ones) and you get treated to some beautiful dialogue about the nature of humanity against the backdrop of hard working conditions of, in this case, the American South. Music owes so much to Black Americans and director Ryan Coogler shows this in an intricate cinematic language, infused with action and horror elements. To me, it’s just the perfect film, full stop.

Read more (spoilers ahead): 20 Books to Read If You Liked Sinners

Honorable mentions: Hell of a Summer, Him, It Ends, Rabbit Trap, The Running Man, Shelby Oaks