These are the horror films to get excited over in 2025 – including a chilling ‘masterpiece’

2025 is looking set to be a huge year for horror cinema (Picture: Neon/Focus/Universal)

Now New Year’s Eve celebrations are behind us, it’s time to look forward to 2025 and the film calendar ahead.

The past 12 months have been stellar for the world of horror, with Demi Moore’s body horror The Substance garnering five Golden Globe nominations, and gory slasher sequel Terrifier 3 smashing box office records.

Longlegs, Heretic, Alien: Romulus, Strange Darling, Smile 2, and Immaculate all hit the big screen in 2024 to delight fans of all things frightening.

And 2025 isn’t showing any signs of slowing down, with several exciting horror titles coming to cinemas in the coming months.

We have everything from a remake dubbed a ‘modern masterpiece’, another Universal Monsters flick, video game adaptations, and even an A24 unicorn horror to sink our teeth into this year.

Here, we’ve rounded up the horror films hitting our screens in 2025 for you to get excited for – get marking your calendars.

Nosferatu – January 1

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu kicks off the 2025 calendar after being released on Christmas Day in the US, with reviews claiming the vampire horror is a ‘masterpiece.’

Starring Lily-Rose Depp, Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the film has been a passion project 10 years in the making for The Witch director and comes more than 100 years since FW Murnau’s original film was released.

It follows the story of Thomas Hutter (Hoult) who travels to a remote village in the Carpathian Mountains to facilitate a property deal for the mysterious Count Orlok (Skarsgård), only for his life to turn into a nightmare when he discovers the Count’s true vampiric nature.

Wolf Man – January 17

After revitalising the planned Universal Monster Movie reboots with 2020’s The Invisible Man, Leigh Whannell is back with his take on the iconic Wolf Man.

Starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, the werewolf film follows Blake (Abbott), Charlotte (Garner), and their daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) as they are attacked while driving by an unseen animal, leading to Blake being injured.

They run to safety in an isolated farmhouse, but the danger is closer than the family thinks as Blake begins to act strangely and experiences unusual body changes.

The Monkey – February 21

After terrifying audiences with serial killer horror Longlegs, Osgood Perkins is back with Stephen King adaptation The Monkey.

In the film, which sees Perkins team up with horror legend James Wan, Theo James plays twin brothers Bill and Hal.

The brothers find their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, after which a series of gruesome deaths start.

Until Dawn – April 25

The star-studded horror game is coming to cinema screens (Picture: Sony Computer Entertainment)

In January 2024 it was announced a film adaptation of hit 2015 horror game Until Dawn was in the works, set to hit cinemas in 2025.

The game tells the story of a group of friends who reunite in a remote mountain home one year after two of their friends, Hannah and Beth, went missing.

Peter Stormare will reprise his role of Dr Alan J Hill from the games in a cast made up of Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo, and Odessa A’zion.

Final Destination: Bloodlines – May 16

Death is coming (Picture: New Line Cinema)

More than 10 years after last being in cinemas, horror fans are finally getting a new Final Destination film.

The late Tony Todd returns to his role as William Bludworth in a cast including Brec Bassinger, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, and Rya Kihlstedt.

Little information is available as yet about the film, though creator Jeffrey Reddick told Dread Central: ‘I will say that it’s not just going to be another kind of “we set up a group of people, they cheat death, and then just death gets them.” There’s one wrinkle that we kind of added to every movie to kind of like change it up a little bit: this one is… a true Final Destination movie, but it doesn’t follow that kind of formula that we’ve kind of established… I think I can say that much.’

28 Years Later – June 20

Final Destination isn’t the only iconic horror film receiving the sequel treatment in 2025 as 28 Years Later is finally released.

The third installment in the franchise reunited writer Alex Garland, director Danny Boyle, and original star Cillian Murphy alongside the likes of Ralph Fiennes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Jodie Comer.

Rumours of the film had been brewing for 12 years since the release of 28 Weeks Later, and the terrifying first trailer released last year gave fans their first glimpse of a Rage-ravaged world after 28 years, with one zombie causing quite a stir.

M3GAN 2.0 – June 27

Will we get another hit Tiktok dance routine? (Picture: NBC Universal)

Continuing the summer of sequels in M3GAN 2.0, the follow-up film to 2022’s viral android horror.

M3GAN ended with the titular doll destroyed by its creator, Gemma (Allison Williams) and her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) after the AI became sentient and deathly possessive over the child.

Plot details have been kept tightly under wraps, but with Williams and McGraw returning to their roles, it seems the doll isn’t quite done with them yet – nor their other smart tech appliances if the first film’s ending is anything to go by.

Untitled I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel – July 18

Another huge horror franchise is getting a reboot (Picture: Mandalay Ent/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

It’s the year of legendary horror franchises making their cinema return as 1997 classic I Know What You Did Last Summer gets the reboot treatment.

It was previously confirmed that Freddie Prinze Jr would be reprising his role as Ray Bronson for a new sequel, though it has not yet been revealed what the storyline will be.

Jennifer Love Hewitt, who played Julie James in the original film and one of its sequels, will also be following suit.

The Conjuring: Last Rites – September 5

The paranormal investigators will tackle a new mystery (Picture: Warner Bros. Pictures/Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

The Conjuring is the highest-grossing horror franchise ever created, and it’s set to become even bigger with a ninth instalment.

Michael Chaves is back in the directing chair with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson returning as Lorraine and Ed Warren respectively in what is said to be the final film in the main Conjuring timeline.

While plot details have been kept secret, we do know Ben Hardy and Mia Tomlinson are set to star, and it is rumoured they will appear as adult versions of the Warrens’ daughter Judy Warren and her husband Tony Spera.

SAW XI – September 26

Saw fans will be treated to a host of new, gory traps in 2025 (Picture: Lionsgate)

While we’re on the subject of long-standing horror franchises, the 11th Saw film hits outs screens in September 2025 following the success of 2023’s Saw X.

Tobin Bell reprised his role as John Kramer, aka the Jigsaw Killer, for the tenth film, and he’s set to do it again for number 11, so it seems we could be getting another prequel story.

A post-credit scene for Saw X saw Costas Mandylor return as Kramer’s apprentice Mark Hoffman, so the next film could also focus on one – or many – of his dedicated followers.

The Bride! – September 26

Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale star alongside each other in this unique take on a classic tale (Picture: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

As spooky season rolls around, we can enjoy the re-imagining of an iconic horror story in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride!

Acting as a re-imagining of Frankenstein, The Bride! is set in 1930s Chicago where a lonely monster (Christian Bale) seeks out a companion – naturally resulting in his creator ‘reinvigorating’ a dead woman.

However, this titular Bride, played by Jessie Buckley, is not what either of them had planned as she ignites a ‘radical social movement’ and runs riot.

The Black Phone 2 – October 17

The Grabber returns to our screens in 2025 (Picture: 2022 Universal Studios. All R)

Alongside the IT prequel series Welcome To Derry coming to our screens in 2025, another story inspired by the world of Stephen King hits the big screen.

The Black Phone, written by King’s son Joe Hill, was adapted into a film in 2022, and its sequel comes to cinemas just in time for Halloween.

Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, and Ethan Hawke will all reprise their roles, with Scott Derrickson once again directed.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 – December 5

Freddy Fazbear and friends are back (Picture: NBC Universal)

Rounding out 12 months of horror for 2025 (so far) is the second Five Nights At Freddy’s film in what appears to be a year of sequels.

The extensive gaming franchise means there’s plenty of material to draw from, but it is not yet known exactly what will happen in the follow-up to the2023 film.

Scream icon Matthew Lillard is set to reprise his role as William Afton despite his character dying in the first film – though it’s unknown exactly how he will appear, whether it as a main character or during flashback sequences.

Death Of A Unicorn – TBA

Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Richard E Grant, and Will Poulter are set to commit crimes of the magical variety in what could be 2025’s weirdest film.

Death Of A Unicorn, directed by Alex Scharfman, will follow a man and his daughter who accidentally crash into and kill a unicorn while driving through a remote forest.

As scientists experiment on its body, a herd of unicorns track down their fallen friend and seek vengeance on those behind its death.

Frankenstein – TBA

There’s a double dose of Frankenstein this year (Picture: Euan Cherry/Getty Images)

Classis horror novel Frankenstein is being adapted not once, but twice in 2025 – this time by genre maestro Guillermo Del Toro with a cast including Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, and Charles Dance.

It is based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel in which Dr Frankenstein defies the laws of nature while striving to create life from death, resulting in the inception of a terrifying yet misunderstood creature.

Originally slated to go straight to Netflix, Del Toro confirmed in 2024 that Frankenstein will be receiving a theatrical release.

Heart Eyes – TBA

Slated for release in the US on February 27, hopefully the UK will have heart eyes for Heart Eyes in 2025.

The romantic comedy slasher, directed by Josh Ruben, will follow co-workers on the late shift during Valentine’s Day who are mistaken for a couple by the dreaded Heart Eyes Killer, and inadvertently find themselves stalked by the masked murderer.

The cast includes Final Destination star Devon Sawa as well as Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, and Jordana Brewster.

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