So that was 2025. Yikes! “May you live in interesting times”, they say. Fuck that! At least times as troubled as these can produce often extraordinary works, and these past twelve months have been no exception, with horror cinema proving itself as a mirror to these unsettling and divisive days. There is also the fact that over the past year, the genre has proven itself with a number of supremely entertaining, yet scary, films. The return of the FINAL DESTINATION saga and THE MONKEY providing enough gory fun in counterpoint to such serious minded fare as Cronenberg’s sad, elegiac THE SHROUDS and Rupert Russell’s fascinating folk-horror documentary THE LAST SACRIFICE, films that would have made the list at any other time.

With such a strong year, particularly a summer season that offered a varied and compelling slate of genre films, deciding what to include here was a challenge. As you’ll see, the following films represent the breadth and depth that horror cinema now explores to great effect. May you live in interesting times? If the films continue to be as entertaining, interesting, and scary as those that follow, then yes, why not?

10. MOTHER OF FLIES

In a career that has already seen them deliver a string of wholly original films, the Adams family deliver their most distinct and striking work yet. This tale of a young terminally ill girl seeking a cure from a mysterious woman in a remote forest is a dark fairy tale that takes an unflinching look at the spectre of death and illness with its many straining effects and the bond between father and son. On top of that we bear witness to the persecution of women through the ages in a film that is unnerving and in the end deeply touching. Expertly realised it further proves the skills of writers, directors and actors Toby Poser, John and Zelda Adams, in this beautifully crafted dark gem of a film.

Check out our review from FrightFest here.

9. STRANGE HARVEST

A faux true-crime documentary detailing the multi-year killing spree of a serial killer named Mr Shiny, this was a smart deconstruction of a now over familiar and exploitative genre. Director Stuart Ortiz returns to directing for the first time since 2011’s GRAVE ENCOUNTERS with a truly chilling tale that expertly mixes its “real life” stylings with cosmic horror. The instances of violence and murder are made all the more convincing and shocking through the various methods of found footage captured via webcam or police bodycams, granting the film a truly unnerving edge. Convincing in its execution, aided by an unfamiliar cast, this is a dark and terrifying vision of vast evil that deserves far more recognition than its straight to VOD release would suggest.

Check out our review from October here.

8. GOOD BOY

No protagonist has garnered as much sympathy as Indy, the adorable retriever who finds himself trying to defend his owner against a sinister spirit in the year's most original ghost story. Filmed almost entirely from the dog's point of view, this was a haunting tale of loss that avoided cliches at every turn thanks to its inventive direction. Without the use of explanatory dialogue, this was a short, sharp and scary exercise in visual storytelling, elevated even further by its smart direction by Ben Leonberg and the best performance by any animal in many a year.

Check out our review from October here.

7. REDUX REDUX

Kevin and Matthew McManus’s revenge driven, multiverse thriller was my favourite film to play FrightFest this year. Reminiscent of early James Cameron with its expertly executed action set pieces, it breathes new life into the now over familiar parallel universe tropes with its mix of lo-fi 80’s style tech and its expertly paced tale of a grieving mother wreaking grisly revenge on the man who murdered her daughter in every universe she travels to. Examining the effect such a campaign of violence has on the soul, Michaela McManus, sister to the directors, made for a compelling heroine on the verge of losing her humanity while Jeremy Holm made for a completely chilling and hateful villain(s).

Check out our review from FrightFest here.

6. 28 YEARS LATER

This triumphant return to Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s virus ravaged Britain provided enough fresh twists to the well worn zombie/infected genre to justify its return within minutes of starting, mixing in such elements as an effective Brexit allegory, the Teletubbies, effective iPhone camerawork and a brace of new characters to guide us through this new dangerous world. Jodie Comer and Alfie Williams made for an immediately sympathetic pair of protagonists as a terminally ill mother and her son, it was Ralph Fiennes as the kindly Dr Kelson, a Kurtz like figure, visually striking in his shaven headed and iodine covered body, who made the biggest impression. Bringing a tender counterpoint to the gruesome carnage, it sets up the rest of the promised trilogy in great fashion, especially the gonzo conclusion that introduces the troublingly familiar figure of Jack O’Connell’s Jimmy Crystal.

Check out our review from June here.

5. EDDINGTON

While Ari Aster seems to step further away from the genre that made his name, EDDINGTON still contained enough of the dark, chaotic aspects that runs through his previous works. Dismissed by many on its release as an empty display of political provocation, this portrait of a COVID era society on the brink continues to prove itself as an increasingly accurate portrayal of a terminally online nation tearing itself apart in evermore ridiculous and disturbing ways. While not without flaws, it has more characters than it knows what to do with, the central antagonistic relationship between Joaquin Phoenix’s Sheriff Joe Cross and Pedro Pascal’s Mayor Ted Garcia captured in satirical yet familiar detail the clash between COVID sceptics and seemingly well meaning public servants, while laying bare the empty or clueless political posturing of both sides. Cynical and darkly humorous, the film's unexpected lurch into a gory, action packed final act that pokes fun at online conspiracy theorists and social media influencers make EDDINGTON one of the darkest and funniest American satires in quite some time.

Check out our review from August here.

4. SINNERS

A real surprise in a number of ways, Ryan Coogler’s first non-franchise work since his debut FRUITVALE STATION, was far more than a simple vampire film. With its show stopping musical sequences, excellent dual performances from Michael B. Jordan, beautiful IMAX and 65mm photography and an evocative early 1930’s period setting, the vampirism aspect could possibly be seen as one of the film's lesser, but still impressive, elements. For all of the film's technical achievements, the film's central story of vampires laying siege to an embattled community provided enough thematic substance to go along with the blood soaked action. As much a treatise on blues and folk music and its multiple cultural assimilations and appropriations as it is a horror film, this was one of the year's most purely entertaining films, its runaway success proving that audiences will turn out for original films when given the opportunity.

Check out our review from April here.

3. BRING HER BACK

In a year which saw a large number of well drawn female antagonists across the genre, none was more sinister than Sally Hawkins' monstrous foster carer, Laura in the Philippou brothers’ sophomore film. Perhaps the hardest edged horror film to receive a mainstream release this year, this was an unflinchingly dark vision of grief and abuse with all manner of unnerving imagery on offer; the knife chewing scene proving just as hard to listen to as it was to watch while flinching uncontrollably. While it failed to catch the attention of an audience as large as TALK TO ME, it nonetheless proves the skill and vision of the writing and directing duo beyond any doubt, as well as showing the truly terrifying and malevolent side of Hawkins, an actress best known for her cheery and likeable characters from the likes of the PADDINGTON films. This cruel twist on life after death tropes was this summer's darkest surprise.

Check out our review from July here.

2. THE LONG WALK

Director Francis Lawrence takes a break from directing the Hunger Games franchise to adapt Stephen King’s Bachman Book that still influences all manner of dystopian tales to this day. J.T. Mollner’s script slightly tweaks the story to deliver a film that pulled zero punches to deliver its hard hitting tale of a bunch of teenagers undertaking the punishing titular life or death challenge to win a life changing fortune. Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson continue to prove themselves as leading men while Lawrence delivers the best work of his career yet. Depressingly timely with its portrayal of a heartland America fallen to fascism, it was still somehow a thrill to see one of Stephen King’s darkest tales brought to the screen in such an uncompromising and haunting fashion.

Check out our review from September here.

1. WEAPONS

The wait to see how Zach Cregger would follow up his excellent debut, BARBARIAN was a long one. With news of a bidding war between studios and multiple casting changes, brought about by the Hollywood strikes, speculation was high as to what WEAPONS was actually about right up until its release at the height of summer. The premise hinted at in the trailers, a group of children in a Los Angeles suburb disappearing at the same time, was only the jumping off point for this multi-character supernatural saga. Months after its release, it still has us wondering what exactly it all adds up to; what’s with that giant gun in the sky being the most obvious. Is it a commentary on school shootings? An allegory for the disassociation between children and parents brought about by their online habits, or is it just a super-entertaining, scary and funny tale of a witch in oversized glasses?

As confident and entertaining as his debut was, it was still a surprise and pleasure to see the confidence and skill on display here in the storytelling and direction. From the back and forth structure, shifting viewpoints from multiple characters to a tone that deftly skips from horror to comedy and back again, this was a dark fairy tale that struck a chord with its large audience. Despite the excellent performances of Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich and Austin Abrams it was long time character actor Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys who made the biggest impression with her orange wig, large glasses and cheery manner. One of the most memorable characters onscreen in many a year, she was the sinister centrepoint of this horror saga that dragged the supernatural out into the daylight in unnerving and spectacular fashion.