Tricks, treats, and total flops: How 2025 redefined, and recycled, horror

It doesn’t have to be Halloween to watch a good horror film. This year has been extremely eventful for horror fanatics, with multiple elements and aspects of the genre being explored in new ways. Though not all of them have been good, sometimes the bad horror films are just as fun to watch. Here are some of the best and worst horror films of the year to watch in time for Halloween weekend.

1. Beautifully Haunting: Sinners

Genre: Supernatural Horror

Rating: R

Available on: HBO Max, Hulu, Prime Video and Apple TV

(From left to right) Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Canton and Omar Benson Miller rehearsed for two weeks before the filming began in New Orleans. Photo courtesy by Warner Bros. Studios

From its jaw dropping cinematography to its acting choreography, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” stands out among all films this year. Set during the Jim Crow and post-Great Depression era, the film dives into the racial and social complexities in Southern Mississippi.

In addition to that, “Sinners” completely revamped the identity of vampirism, as Ryan Coogler makes a clever choice of not only using vampirism as a metaphor for Christianity, but choosing to show vampirism in the film through an Irish vampire. I absolutely love the directive choice because Irish immigrants at the time were on the binary line of black and white people and usually tended to be victims of white supremacy. Remnick, the vampire played by Jason Clarke, delivers the haunting line, “Long ago… the men who stole my father’s land forced these words upon us. I hated those men, but the words still bring me comfort.” Vampirism in this film is used as a symbol of sucking the culture and ‘sin’ of blues and what people like the ones in the jukejoint and immigrants faced, the same way Christianity was forced upon others as a way of cleaning them from ‘sin.’

Its horror elements aside, the film has a standout score with one specific musical number that really shines through. Taking place in the film’s main setting, a juke joint, the scene combines blues, gospel, rock and traditional African and Chinese music. The mesmerizing scene is used to highlight multiculturalism through music showing how generations cross paths through art. The choreography and stylistic camera choices left me in absolute awe. I remember searching up the cinematographer the moment I left the theater and doing intense research on everything she did because her camera choices were so deliberate I couldn’t believe someone as creative as Autumn Durald existed.

2. Psychological Precision: Weapons

Genre: Supernatural Horror/Thriller

Rating: Horror/Mystery

Available: HBO Max

The children leave their homes at 2:17 A.M. Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema

Looking for something to scratch the itch that “Barbarian (2022)” left? Director Zach Cregger came back with another hit, “Weapons”, serving as a masterful entry into horror this year. The film’s psychological mystery is akin to “Longlegs (2024).” A unique execution of a relatively simple concept, the film starts with a child’s narration of an entire classroom of children mysteriously running away from their homes one night at 2:17 a.m..

Albeit falling a bit in its second half, the film manages to stay at my top two this year because of its production and unique storytelling choices. The cinematographer, Larkin Seiple, perfectly encapsulated the mood through its visceral feel. Seiple did not fray from using uneven lighting to display moments of tension, purposely letting lighting diminish in certain scenes to convey a sense of unease. I was also not expecting the film to have multiple perspectives. The choice was unique and its execution slightly uneven but ambitious.

For those who enjoyed “Longlegs”, this film is right for you.

3. March of the Damned: The Long Walk

Genre: Horror/Sci-fi

Rating: R

Available: Prime Video and Apple TV

(From left) Cooper Hoffman, David Johnson and other actors walked 15 to 32 miles on average per day on set. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Fans of series like “The Hunger Games” or “The Maze Runner,” meet Stephen King’s “The Long Walk.” Set in a dystopian world where 100 teens participate in a long walk through a voluntary lottery system, the teens must walk until only one of them is left. Failure to walk or reach the 3 miles per hour minimum results in execution. The story has received critical praise for its exploration and depth of its complex male bonds. Audiences have also talked about its queer subtext between the two protagonists, Ray Garraty played by Cooper Hoffman and Peter McVries played by David Johnson, a rising horror actor who just starred in “Alien Romulus (2024)”!

This film is an emotional rollercoaster, its executions succeed in making the viewer feel every emotion and hardship that the characters experience. I remember being brought to tears by Tut Nyout’s character Arthur Baker in his final monologue which detailed for Ray and Peter to not look back as he dies, urging them to continue on with their journey before handing Peter a necklace to give to his mom before being killed. Tut Nyout brought a sense of rawness to the film that showcased the character’s vulnerability and the toll that the long walk has on its participants.

Even the side characters are memorable, with scenes that pull on the viewer’s heartstrings. One character, Richard Harkness, played by actor Jordan Gonzales, is barely in the film but has a memorable scene. Richard had joined the walk because he wanted to write a book, and broke his ankle while trying to head up the hill. He goes on to walk from night till day on an ankle that is literally falling off the bone. His character’s fate is just one of the many jaw-dropping moments.

Like “Sinners,” the story is more than a piece of horror. It’s a social commentary critiquing the abuse of authoritarian rule and power imbalances. Originally written in 1979, the themes of the story continue to apply today.

The Worst

1. Disjoined Disaster: Until Dawn

Genre: Horror/Survival

Rating: R

Available: Prime Video and Apple TV

(From left) Odessa A’zion, Belmont Cameli, Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino and Ji-young Yoo formed a strong bond during the filming of Until Dawn. Photo courtesy by Sony Pictures Entertainment

Taken from Supermassive Games’ award-winning “Until Dawn” (2015), the game’s adaptation was highly anticipated. The game follows a group of friends who go up to a ski cabin a year after their friends’ death. After a couple days they find themselves fighting for their lives when they are haunted by a “psycho-killer” and monster in the snow.

The film however does not follow the game’s plot to the audience’s disappointment. Only containing hidden easter eggs like game locations and character cameos, the game and film feel like two entirely different entities. Director Francis Lawrence decided to tell the story of a group of friends that find themselves stuck on an endless time loop.

If they had kept the original plot and characters of the video game, the characters who once had character wouldn’t have felt as flat. The execution of the time loop was disorganized.

The story itself falls short in developing the overall conflict, relying on repetition and abrupt transitions leaving the viewers more confused than curious. Instead of building up on the idea of a time loop to continue the story, it completely focuses on cheap jump scares and follows the live, die, repeat trope to the point where character deaths lose impact. By the third act, the story completely collapses on its own, plot holes multiplying, character arcs disappearing and the ending feeling rushed and unresolved. If there was a time loop in real life, I think I’d honestly use that to completely forget this movie.

2. Bland and Bare: Wolf Man

Genre: Supernatural Horror

Rating: R

Available: Prime Video

Christopher Abbott’s Wolf Man transformation was broken into five stages and would usually take six hours to apply. Photo courtesy of Blumhouse Productions, Cloak & Co., and Motel Movies.

It’s been a couple years since there’s been a decent werewolf film. Nothing’s topping classics like “An American Werewolf In London (1981)” or “Van Helsing (2004),” but with the trailer releases of “Wolf Man” rising in popularity across vertical platforms, hope for werewolf fans grew. In addition to that, the fact that Leigh Whannel, who directed the successful reboot “The Invisible Man (2020),” would be directing, the film was expected to do exponentially well.

The film follows Blake and his family, who vacation at his childhood home. When his family arrives, they are attacked by an animal in their camp and soon barricade themselves atop a greenhouse.

“The Wolf Man” sets itself up as a reboot of the 1941 original, modernizing and using themes of lycanthropy mythos as an infectious disease that passes from host to host. The film was beautifully shot with its cinematography serving as the only saving grace of the overall film. The same couldn’t be said for its sound design which was flat with visual and practical effects disengaging the viewer and adding nothing.

While “The Invisible Man” created an immersive experience for viewers with its suspenseful direction and well-paced storyline, “Wolf Man’s” plot is simple and dull, relying on overused tropes inspired by the original film. The film is an overall uninspired execution of an otherwise cool concept.

Worse than being a bad film, “Wolf Man” is forgettable.

3. Nostalgic Callback: Clown in a Cornfield

Genre: Slasher/Mystery

Rating: R

Available: AMC

Frendo the Clown was originally a cheerful mascot before the people in the town Kettle Springs became unhappy with a lack of tradition and growing conflict. Photo courtesy of Temple Hill Entertainment

From Pennywise in “IT” to Art the Clown from the “Terrifier” franchise, killer clowns have grown in popularity over the last decade. Based on a book by Adam Cesare, the protagonist, Quinn, moves into the small town of Kettle Springs with her father, Dr. Glenn Maybrook, after her mother’s death. She ends up becoming friends with a group of teens who undermine the traditions of their town. Soon after, the teens are killed off by a clown who chases after unruly teens. Clown In A Cornfield follows the typical killer clown agenda, the only difference being that the killer clown isn’t just one person, but an entire mob after the group of teens.

While an overall entertaining film that pays homage to classic 80’s slasher films, using clowns as a metaphor to reflect conservatives that can’t handle change, it’s riddled with plot holes and relies on overplayed tropes. There is not one thing that stood out from any other film. The film leans so heavily on its nostalgic cliche of a masked killer that it forgets to carve out an identity of its own. Every twist feels like one you’ve already seen, even its deaths being boring and non-scary. Even its commentary on small-town conservatism ends up shallow and unsalvageable.

Even if the film may not be the best piece of work, it definitely serves as a perfect film for sleep overs or if you’re ever in the mood for something that serves as a love letter to 80’s horror.