No horror fan has any right to complain about the cinematic magic that has been in regular supply throughout 2025. This has been such an incredible year for the genre that even if you hated half of the acclaimed titles that have been released in the last nine-plus months, you’d still have at least a half dozen to awe at. There’s been a phenomenal mix of tones (some nightmarishly scary, others disgustingly hilarious), and we’ve seen winners that are wholly original (Sinners, Weapons, Companion, Bring Her Back), adaptations (The Monkey, The Rule Of Jenny Pen), and new franchise installments (Final Destination: Bloodlines, 28 Years Later).
As I look back on this smorgasbord of horrific excellence about one month before the arrival of Halloween 2025, a big part of what I feel is delight… but I also have a nagging feeling of confusion. Stoked as I am to be living in a time when amazing horror movies are arriving in theaters all year round, I can’t help but also think that there has also been some proverbial robbing of Peter to pay Paul. Simply put, the brilliance that we’ve seen from the genre since January doesn’t jive with the underwhelming slate of releases that major studios have set up for scary season.
It should be noted that recent/upcoming weeks aren’t totally without new horror movies arriving in theaters. The Conjuring: Last Rites made a splash at the start of September, the Jordan Peele-produced HIM debut this past weekend, Black Phone 2 (coming October 17) has been getting some exciting buzz following its debut at Fantastic Fest 2025, and indie studios will soon be delivering titles like Bone Lake and Shelby Oaks. But the combination of the overall slate and the various spent bullets from earlier in the year makes me think that opportunities were missed.
Now Is The Time For Horror Movies
It’s no secret that this is a time of year when people are very much into seeing horror movies on the big screen. I’m old enough to remember a time three years ago when Barbarian, Smile, and Terrifier 2 all became surprising hits because people are so into getting scared this time of year. Clearly, the releases of Weapons and Sinners didn’t need that special boost, as they became blockbuster hits based on their own merits… but I can’t help but wonder if they didn’t hit their true ceiling during the summer.
I don’t get why A24 felt the terrifying Bring Her Back was fit for late May (especially with the October 3 release date that the studio carved out for the sports drama The Smashing Machine). And while I recognize that I am in the minority as a person who actually liked the new I Know What You Did Last Summer, it surely could have gotten way more notice by coming out this fall instead of July. And why is Vicious going to Paramount+ when the decision to choose theatrical over streaming for Smile was such a big deal? It feels like there were a lot of dropped balls around the industry, and given the state of the box office, it’s not a great time for balls to be dropped.
While the good news is that there are plenty of amazing new horror movies to watch in time for Halloween this year, it’s a shame that the best of the best aren’t going to be playing in cinemas.
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