In 2025, it was a weird year for movies. Horror was the only genre that, in some ways, flourished, but like most things, the echo chamber that is social media believes its own hype, and a rip-off of
"From Dusk Till Dawn" garnered the most attention. This is what happens when social Media is used to shape certainly shapes the way horror is marketed to us now. However, there was more buzz than hype for most of these movies. Most of the year's more hyped films, like
"I Saw the TV Glow," were not horror or did not live up to the hype, thus not making the list. There was less word of mouth with these movies; some I never heard being brought up. The key to horror is that it has to somehow make me feel uneasy. Just gore is not enough. This year,r the things that went bump in the night included classics like zombies, ghosts, robots, and witches
These might not be the movies that got the best Rotten Tomatoes score, though they all did pretty decently, nor are they the most popular, as the most mass-marketed movies tend to be for the lower common denominator. If your favorite movie is not on the list, it is not because I did not see it, as I saw most horror movies that graced small screens and the inner webs this year; it is because, in some cases, your favorite movie was unimpressive or trying too hard, in others, well, it was not that scary. So, these are movies that proved to engage me in some way more than the other horror movies not on this list. Here are the top ten horror movies of 2024
10-Bring Her Back
Very disturbing but effective, some of the self-harm was unnerving, but I want horror movies to make me feel uncomfortable and have to sit in that discomfort, as it's a skill kids these days don't have, unless they are the kids in this movie, and then they went through all kinds of crazy shit.
9-Else
I am counting this bizarre French film as this year since it did not make it to the States until this year. A different take on the end of the world, but I am here for it.
8-Keeper
I enjoyed the surreal nature of this film and the way it wove what was in fact a ghost story of sorts mixed with some demeneted boyfriend drama. Great acting and mood set, so when things get haunting, they did not go in the expected fashion.
Much like
"The Human Centipede," the premise of this movie is more horrifying than what happens on screen. Horror is often a dark mirror reflection of what is going on in society, so it's clear that the rise in body horror has to do with questions of identity. In this movie sense of identity in relationships. This creates a relatable and very grounding premise that does not offer a great deal of "don't go in the basement" moments. In some ways, it's like "
the Substance," and in others, John Carpenter's take on "
the Thing".
https://nastiferateau.blogspot.com/2025/09/film-review-together.html
6-28 Years Later
Danny Boyle made the third film of this series with a different eye than he had approached the previous movies. I can appreciate this, though the post-apocalyptic settlement feels very much like something we have seen already in "The Walking Dead.". But how many ways can you spin the long-term effects of a zombie outbreak without getting to some of the same tropes? The stylistic changes and the use of color are the biggest differences here, and make the movie visually stimulating, though some of the cut scenes feel like they are window dressing and not serving the story.
https://nastiferateau.blogspot.com/2025/08/film-review-28-years-later.html
5-The Gorge
The premise feels like something from a Brian Lumley novel. By the end, it feels more like something from a video game that mixes "Silent Hill" with "Call of Duty". The acting is really what sells it. Because this is an Apple Plus film, they have severely limited the impact, as it is better than most things I have seen in theaters recently. For Scott Derrickson, whose main movies have been horror aside from Doctor Strange, he is branching out and showing how much more he is capable of as a director.
4-Companion
I get that the marketing of this movie was to keep the premise more of a surprise, but it did not take long to figure out that it was about when good robots go wrong. But I suppose they did not want to draw comparisons to the MEGAN franchise, this script was not written by a Titokker so it has some brains and a great deal of heart that left you caring about the characters.
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3-The Monkey
2025 seems to be the year we are finally flushing horror tropes down the toilet and getting more original movies than remakes. A low-key Stephen King short story adaptation does the trick. Not that this movie does not have some common ground with the Final Destination franchise. It is just done with more flair. The concept of this is easy to pick up on, even more so the trailer, a cursed toy monkey brings death with the crash of its drum. Director Oz Perkins, who has also brought us other smart horror films such as " Gretel and Hansel" along with last year's "Longlegs," has a blend of fresh cinematography that complements the storytelling to give this movie its charm
2-Frankenstein
It was a close call between this and the number one pick, but it got edged out due to the terrible CGI wolves that pulled me out of the story. Del Toro stuck to the book and did not try to capture the magic of the Karloff classic, but created his own fantasy land for it, which is what he does well
1-Weapons
This film, brought to you by Zach Creggar, who made the 2022 film "Barbarian," has a different shade of creepy for this one, which is still dark enough to kick off the Halloween season. The promotion of the film kept things vague, you know, kids go missing. Bigger-name actors flourish in this film to create an interesting character study that is woven together in a fashion not unlike something M Night Shyamalan might do, as there is a plot twist at the end, but it is the most well-done, mood-setting movie that weaves a wonderful, creepy fable.
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