The Most Anticipated Horror Movies of 2025
Anyone paying the most casual possible level of attention to the news cycle has no doubt already come to the conclusion that 2025 will be a horror show on multiple levels. So, why not extend the terror to multiplexes and on our TV screens as well? You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger bunch of horror geeks than the people at Paste, so suffice to say we’re eagerly anticipating the cornucopia of upcoming genre titles that the year has to offer. The next few months in particular are jam-packed with promising horror titles, while the back end of the year features upcoming films from luminaries like Guillermo del Toro and even the sophomore feature film of Maggie Gyllenhaal. The horror movies of 2025 promise to be a diverse and chilling bunch. Also: Catch up on our list of the best horror movies of 2024 as well.
So, let’s dive right into this upcoming sea of blood and guts. Here’s an exhaustive listing of most of the major horror fare that 2025 has to offer, in order of release.
Wolf Man
Director: Leigh Whannell
Release date: Jan. 17
Wolf Man is the next entry in Universal’s scaled-back reimagining of its iconic monster creations, following its abandonment of the big-budget “Dark Universe” that bombed hard in 2017’s The Mummy. Writer-director Leigh Whannell stepped out of the shadow of collaborator James Wan to direct his first feature in 2015 and showed some serious genre chops and a willingness to push for brutality in 2018’s Upgrade. It was 2020’s fantastically tense The Invisible Man via Blumhouse that was the true revelation for Whannell, though, cementing the path forward for the Universal Monsters in these lower budget productions. This one stars Ozark’s Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott as the poor soul bitten by a werewolf who starts to undergo a rather dangerous transformation. As the official synopsis puts it:
Family man Blake relocates from San Francisco to Oregon with his workaholic wife Charlotte and daughter Ginger after inheriting his childhood home, left vacant following his estranged father’s mysterious disappearance and presumed death. At the farmhouse at night during a full moon, the family is attacked by a werewolf that claws Blake’s arm. They barricade themselves inside the home, but soon Blake begins to transform into something horrifying, jeopardizing the safety of his wife and daughter.
Presence
Director: Stephen Soderbergh
Release date: Jan. 24
Stephen Soderbergh directing a dramatic haunted house thriller; what more would you really need to hear? Presence isn’t really quite so conventional as that sentence would make it sound, however–this is arthouse horror where the vast majority of the film employs a gliding camera style that captures the POV of a disembodied ghost or, you know, presence. That’s a type of framing device that has been done a few times before, as in 2012’s I Am a Ghost, but critics didn’t mind when Presence debuted to strong reviews at Sundance in early 2024, including our own positive review. Expect a creepy, drama-infused slow burn here, rather than something from the Conjuring universe.
Grafted
Director: Sasha Rainbow
Release date: Jan. 24
There’s no missing that Shudder has become a major player in any given year’s indie horror slate, having played host to some of our highest rated horror movies of 2024. It’s been a particularly important venue for debuting talent, which looks to be the case with the scintillating looking body horror film Grafted from first time feature filmmaker Sasha Rainbow. Inevitably, this one is going to draw some major comparisons to The Substance, though it has almost more of a teenaged Re-Animator vibe to it in its first footage. Grafted looks like it will be quite satisfyingly gross and goopy, a must for fans of the body horror genre, which is riding quite a peak at the moment. As the official synopsis describes it:
Chinese scholarship student Wei travels to New Zealand to study medical research at a prestigious university. Shy, introverted, and hiding a genetic facial birthmark, Wei is shunned by her social butterfly cousin Angela and her glamorous friends. Determined to change her fate, Wei immerses herself in her late father’s research, working on a revolutionary skin grafting procedure that could cure her deformity. As her experiments take a dark turn, she becomes more dangerous and unhinged, willing to eliminate anyone who threatens her secret.
Rabbit Trap
Director: Bryn Chainey
Release date: Jan. 24 (Sundance)
Another horror debut that is having its premiere at Sundance but doesn’t yet seem to have a scheduled wider release, Rabbit Trap stars Dev Patel and Rosy McEwen as a husband and wife as musicians/sound technicians who move to a remote house in the Welsh countryside and awaken some kind of supernatural force with their music. It evokes perhaps the aesthete horror sensibilities of Peter Strickland and movies like Berberian Sound Studio, and it’s always nice to see Dev Patel against those lush backdrops, as in The Green Knight. This looks like one of the buzzier horror movies premiering at Sundance this year, despite the relative lack of details available. Here’s the synopsis we have:
Set in 1973, writer and director Bryn Chainey’s extraordinary debut feature invokes the eerie spirit of British folk horror, conjuring supernatural dread in a fecund Welsh forest. Obsessive avant-garde musician Daphne (Rosy McEwen) toils over reel-to-reel tape machines and oscillators in their cottage while her withdrawn husband, Darcy (Dev Patel), collects field recordings in the nearby woods. Their activities draw the attention of a mysterious young rabbit trapper (an unnerving Jade Croot) who beguiles them, disturbing their fragile peace.
Together
Director: Michael Shanks
Release date: Jan. 26 (Sundance)
Husband and wife Allison Brie and Dave Franco are teamed up in what has been described as a “co-dependence horror film” in the form of Together. This is reportedly a body horror concept of some kind–as the synopsis puts it, “With a move to the countryside already testing the limits of a couple’s relationship, a supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, their lives, and their flesh.” Given the references to co-dependence, why do we have a feeling that this might involve the two bodies literally merging together in disturbing fashion? Expect some grim humor here, we’re thinking.
Brie and Franco have collaborated together a number of times previously, from small appearances in movies like The Little Hours and The Disaster Artist, to Brie starring in Franco’s directorial horror debut The Rental in 2020. In 2023, they co-wrote the film Somebody I Used to Know together, with Brie again starring and Franco directing. Here they surrender themselves to first-time director (and writer) Michael Shanks, “diving headfirst into a physical and emotional maelstrom.” Well alright, then. Given the star power, horror audiences at Sundance will no doubt be paying attention.
Companion
Director: Drew Hancock
Release date: Jan. 31
We still don’t have an official premise or synopsis for Companion despite the theatrical release being only weeks away, but the teaser trailer we do have marks the film as one of 2025’s more anticipated and audacious-looking horror flicks. Cheekily introduced as being “from the studio that brought you The Notebook,” Companion looks like an exceedingly dark anti-love story starring Sophie Thatcher of the recent Heretic and an insidious-looking Jack Quaid. We’re getting some big imprisonment vibes here; we wouldn’t be surprised if this was a story about bondage and escape, much in the same manner as producer Zach Cregger’s Barbarian. Regardless, we’ll finally know more about Companion within only a few more weeks.
Heart Eyes
Director: Josh Ruben
Release date: Feb. 7
There’s no one in the horror scene doing better horror comedies these days than former CollegeHumor veteran Josh Ruben, whose 2020 debut Scare Me and 2021 follow-up Werewolves Within marked him as a filmmaker with a great feel for likeable, oddball characters and horror bonafides. He looks to jump up a notch on the aggression scale with February’s Heart Eyes, described as a “romantic comedy slasher film,” released just in time for Valentine’s Day. The premise revolves around a platonic pair of coworkers who are mistaken for a couple by the dreaded Heart Eyes Killer, a slasher villain who specifically stalks young lovers. Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding of the recent Scream entries star as said couple, with a script co-written by Happy Death Day’s Christopher Landon. Judging from the teaser trailer, Ruben pulled no punches on the over-the-top slasher violence.
The Gorge
Director: Scott Derrickson
Release date: Feb. 14
Director Scott Derrickson of Doctor Strange, who also happens to have a sequel to his own The Black Phone dropping in October, helms this rather silly looking Apple TV+ action horror hybrid, which is adapted from a 2020 Black List script by Zach Dean. Oh, and it’s also sort of a love story as well? The story concerns a pair of “elite snipers” who are “assigned a mysterious mission: To guard either side of a deep and impenetrable gorge, without knowing what actually lies beneath them.” Said marksmen are played by Miles Teller and perennial it-girl Anya Taylor-Joy, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s not long before their telescopic lenses are focused clearly on each other. But if the trailer below is to be believed, the gorge is sitting somewhere above … a door to hell, or another dimension? Why their governments wouldn’t want more than two people watching such a sensitive thing, we’ll just have to watch and find out. This looks deeply ridiculous, but I can’t help but want to see whatever the twist will be, all the same.
The Monkey
Director: Osgood Perkins
Release date: Feb. 21
As a longtime horror geek who had been watching the languid, arthouse horror films of Oz Perkins for years, flicks like The Blackguard’s Daughter and I Am The Pretty Thing Who Lives in the House, it was quite odd to see Perkins suddenly ascend to buzzy genre darling status in 2024 with the arrival of Longlegs, which many people seemed to treat as a debut feature. Suffice to say, Perkins has been at this for a while, but Longlegs broke through in a way that none of his previous projects have done, despite being just as loony–a Nicolas Cage performance for the ages and a clever marketing campaign are probably to thank. Now in quick follow-up The Monkey we’ll see if Perkins can keep the momentum going as he adapts a classic Stephen King short story from 1980, one that has somehow never been adapted in the past. The story quite literally involves an evil cymbal monkey toy, although we have a feeling that Perkins will probably take that prompt and run to stranger places with it, unless he’s been drawn in by the allure of filmmaking as an actual money-making proposition. Either way, the well-edited and surprisingly comedic first trailer does look promising, as you can see below.
The Rule of Jenny Pen
Director: James Ashcroft
Release date: March 7
Horror films about the aging process and infirmity seem to be an ascendent subgenre these days, and The Rule of Jenny Pen looks like a standout in that regard. This one is quite clearly an excuse to pair together two great actors–Geoffrey Rush and Jonathan Lithgow–for an intense film while they can still manage it, and who among us wouldn’t want to see those two going at it in a psychological power struggle in a retirement community? Lithgow gets to play the arch-villain here, a role he always seems to relish. I’m expecting a powerhouse acting display from the duo in The Rule of Jenny Pen, which you can get a taste of in the trailer below.
The film follows arrogant Judge Stefan Mortensen (Rush), who suffers a near-fatal stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed and confined to a retirement home. There, Mortensen clashes with a seemingly gentle resident named Dave Crealy (Lithgow) who is actually secretly terrorizing the home with a sadistic game called “The Rule of Jenny Pen” while wielding his dementia doll as an instrument of cruelty. When Mortensen’s pleas to the staff go unanswered, he takes it upon himself to put an end to Crealy’s reign of terror.
Opus
Director: Mark Anthony Green
Release date: March 14
Very little has been released about Opus, the psychological horror debut of filmmaker Mark Anthony Green, but we can’t help but be quite curious from the synopsis and cast, which includes The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri and none other than John Malkovich as its primary players. Look for a Paste review out of Sundance on this one, where it should be one of the fest’s most anticipated offerings. The synopsis below hints at what Opus has to offer.
A young writer is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago. Surrounded by the star’s cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan. Mark Anthony Green’s feature debut is a bold, fun, and flashy pop-horror. Ayo Edebiri delivers as the meek yet hungry journalist Ariel — her unique charm radiating alongside a distinct final-girl prescience. John Malkovich is effervescent and hypnotic as Moretti, a deified global phenomenon making a dramatically malevolent reintroduction. Amidst eye-catching, synthy musical numbers and the enigmatic desert compound, the facade of civility gradually erodes between the pair, revealing the underbelly of a tense, psychosocial game of cat and mouse.
The Woman in the Yard
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Release date: March 28
Jaume Collet-Serra’s recent Taron Egerton-starring TSA airport thriller for Netflix, Carry-On, didn’t do much for us, despite it being a competent return to the director’s penchant for mass transportation-based action films. But in March he’ll get another shot at a theatrical horror thriller in the form of The Woman in the Yard, which stars a returning Danielle Deadwyler, who was rather wasted in Carry-On. There’s not much other information available on The Woman in the Yard, but the two-sentence teaser below does leave us wanting to learn more. Regardless, this feels like a lower budget Blumhouse offering than tentpoles like M3GAN 2.0.
A woman in black appears on a family’s front lawn and delivers a chilling warning. No one knows where she came from, what she wants, or when she will leave.
Drop
Director: Christopher Landon
Release date: April 11
Absolutely prolific writer-director Christopher Landon, who basically hasn’t let up at any point since the success of Happy Death Day in 2017, returns yet again here with Drop, another high-concept horror thriller that feels very much in his particular wheelhouse. This one seems like it could be a low-budget, one-location sort of thriller focused on strong performances from its leads, Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar. The premise concerns a woman who meets a date at a restaurant, only to start receiving mysterious instructions and threats via her phone. Hey wait, that actually sounds like Jaume Collet-Serra’s Carry-On as well, right? There’s no trailer on this Blumhouse production yet, but the synopsis below makes it easy to envision in Landon’s energetic, slightly humorous style.
Violet, a widowed mother on her first date in years, arrives at an upscale restaurant where she is relieved that her date, Henry, is more charming and handsome than she expected. But their chemistry begins to curdle as Violet begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone. She is instructed to tell nobody and follow instructions, or the hooded figure she sees on her home security cameras will kill Violet’s young son and babysitting sister. Violet must do exactly as directed, or everyone she loves will die. Her unseen tormentor’s final directive? Kill Henry.
Sinners
Director: Ryan Coogler
Release date: April 18
I suspect that you would be hard-pressed to find a film geek who isn’t excited about the idea of Creed and Black Panther helmer Ryan Coogler suddenly turning his attention in the direction of the horror genre … in a film starring Michael B. Jordan, no less! In a dual role! In an American horror movie! It feels kind of wild that this one even exists.
As for what it is … well, the film has been playing pretty coy with its advertising, as even the first trailer below really stops short of naming the threat, though the people gathered in a confined place evokes the outline of Night of the Living Dead. We won’t spoil it, but we don’t think that zombies are the potential threat here. The only synopsis so far, meanwhile, simply reads that “Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.”
The impressive cast for Sinners includes the aforementioned Michael B. Jordan in a double role as the brothers, along with Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller and Delroy Lindo. Expect to hear a lot about this one come spring.
Until Dawn
Director: David F. Sandberg
Release date: April 25
Horror videogames don’t exactly have the best track record of being adapted into feature films, but considering that the structure and gimmick of 2015’s influential Until Dawn was quite clearly inspired by golden age slasher films in the first place, perhaps it’s appropriate for this one to return to the format of movies. The basic story is one that will surely be familiar, involving a group of young people in a secluded place, and forces that want them dead. What will be interesting is if the film is somehow able to preserve any elements of the game’s branching storytelling system and meta-approach, or whether that will simply be deemed unworkable. Regardless, there’s not necessarily a lot of connection to the videogame version in the casting, other than the presence of Peter Stormare’s character.
Horror geeks who have a soft spot for Until Dawn’s influence on the horror game genre will be hoping that director David F. Sandberg can gin up some of the scary atmosphere of his notable 2013 short film Lights Out, which he hasn’t really shown an ability to replicate in longer formats. It feels like the pitfall here would be the chance of this Until Dawn adaptation reading like an entirely interchangeable slasher derivative. We’ll just have to see what they have in mind.
Clown in a Cornfield
Director: Eli Craig
Release date: May 16
I have to be honest: With a title like this, I would typically assume that this was a zero-budget gimmick movie from the likes of Wild Eye Releasing. Only reading the directorial line piques my interest, because Eli Craig is responsible for one of the best of all modern horror comedies in the form of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, which he also co-wrote. Seeing that he likewise co-wrote Clown in a Cornfield, an adaptation of a novel by Adam Cesare, makes me hope that there’s some kind of additional satirical level here, something to push it beyond the obvious content its title implies. Craig’s only other feature to date was the modest but uninspired Little Evil on Netflix–I’ll be hoping this one is more in Tucker & Dale territory. Here’s what we have in terms of synopsis:
CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD follows Quinn and her father, who have just moved to the quiet town of Kettle Springs hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning figure emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time. Welcome to Kettle Springs. The real fun starts when Frendo the clown comes out to play.
Final Destination: Bloodlines
Director: Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein
Release date: May 16
Did we need a sixth entry in the Final Destination series, which last bowed out after 2011’s Final Destination 5? Apparently the answer was yes, but it does not exactly inspire confidence for this one to bear what may be literally the most overused subtitle in the entire history of the horror genre: BLOODLINES. I’m expecting that familiar moniker means they’re diving into some kind of legacy sequel angle here, which would make a little sense given the cheeky reveal in the ending of Final Destination 5.
Regardless, one of the major narratives here is going to be the reported starring presence of the recently deceased genre icon Tony Todd as noted mortician/Death expert William Bludworth. There’s something a little garish (but undeniably appropriate) about the film reportedly revolving largely around Todd’s character in a posthumous release. Only Final Destination could make that feel logical, but Bloodlines will probably have a high bar to clear in order to avoid feeling exploitative.
Death of a Unicorn
Director: Alex Scharfman
Release date: Spring 2025
A24’s recently unveiled horror comedy is really rocking a title that sounds like it would be metaphorical, and then bam, you’re standing in front of a dead unicorn. Did you know that you can just run one of those beautiful, supernatural beasts down with your car? Because that’s a very real possibility for Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega in the trailer below, and things only get worse from there. Death of the Unicorn turns into a full-on monster horror comedy mash when a group of elitist biochemists attempt to harvest the creature “for science,” only for its parent or big brother to show up seeking vengeance. Wacky hijinks and blood-spilling understandably ensue. Tonally, the trailer below gets across the comedic vibe pretty strongly, and it’s just another notch on the prolific horror belt of Ortega.
In general, though, Death of a Unicorn stands out even more for the sheer quality of this ensemble, which is the kind of thing you of course expect from A24 productions. In addition to Ortega and Rudd, we’ve got Tea Leoni, Will Poulter, Sunita Mani and Barry’s wonderful Anthony Carrigan, in addition to the always severely underrated Richard E. Grant. It’s definitely one of the most promising horror comedy casts assembled in recent memory.
28 Years Later
Director: Danny Boyle
Release date: June 20
Well, this is one trailer that certainly stirred up a lot of interest when it landed not too long ago, and seemingly not just among horror geeks, either. Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later (he produced and not directed) have had long enough to marinate in the cultural consciousness where some nostalgia has clearly built up for them, and it seems that a whole lot of people are very curious to see Boyle step back into the director’s chair, flanked by original writer-turned-director-of-esteem Alex Garland. And the fantastic cast doesn’t hurt either, including Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jack O’Connell and Alfie Williams, along with a returning–in some capacity–Cillian Murphy.
That last name was a matter of great and silly debate when the trailer hit the web, with some people insisting that a striking shot in the trailer of a particularly gaunt zombie was a reveal that Murphy’s character Jim from 28 Days Later had become infected. Given that films don’t generally, you know … reveal their legacy character in a half-second shot in the trailer … we didn’t put too much stock into these theories, which have since been rebuked. At this point, we’re mostly concerned about the potentially forced and artificial nature of doing an entire new trilogy of 28 Years Later films, rather than simply focusing on making the best, singular film that can be made. Hopefully Boyle and Garland can make my anxiety look unwarranted here.
M3GAN 2.0
Director: Gerard Johnstone
Release date: June 27
The first M3GAN was a smash hit for Blumhouse, notable for being one of the first American horror films of the current cycle to really tap into the essence of TikTok culture and Gen Z as a film-going cohort. It was a classic high-premise film with a familiar outline, but one that took advantage of advances in special effects to craft a truly memorable title character and antagonist. “Humans create a robot that runs amok” has been horror fodder since the 1950s, but few have had as much bubbly, killer personality as this uncanny queen. The obviously named M3GAN 2.0 brings back all the key players you would expect: Director Gerard Johnstone and writer Akela Cooper, along with Allison Williams and Violet McGraw as their characters from the first film.
As for plot, nothing concrete has dropped yet, but I’ve seen rumors suggesting that M3GAN 2.0 will see the resurrection of the companion doll as it faces off against another, even more advanced A.I. companion or network. This could potentially push the character of M3GAN in the direction of antihero status, as was foisted upon Chucky in his eponymous SyFy TV series. We wouldn’t be surprised to see things go that route, but at the end of the day we’d prefer to see M3GAN remain an unabashed villain. With good word of mouth, this release could potentially clear the $181 million brought in by the first film.
Untitled I Know What You Did Last Summer Sequel
Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Release date: July 18
What a mouthful. It’s not entirely clear what is going on with the title for this long-gestating I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel–it may not be officially named yet, but other places are suggesting that its title is literally just I Know What You Did Last Summer, echoing the profound stupidity of other legacy sequel series. It’s bad enough that we have three Michael Myers movies just named Halloween; can we please stop this stupid convention before all ability to communicate is obliterated?
Details are scant on this one but it certainly sounds very much like a modern legacy sequel take on the prominent 1990s slasher series, especially given a returning Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. (that’s a fun thing to write in 2025) again playing their characters from the first two films. They’re joined by Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers, Jonah Hauer-King and Chase Sui Wonders. Question is: Is this revival just riding the coattails of the last few Scream legacy sequels once again, or does it have something–anything–unique to bring to the table? Let’s just decide on an official name first, yeah?
The Conjuring: Last Rites
Director: Michael Chaves
Release date: Sept. 5
Hey guys, I heard that in the new Conjuring movie, a person apparently gets possessed by demons, and then Ed and Lorraine Warren have to shout the spirits away! Fresh concept, right? Not the sort of thing we’ve seen before, right? Suffice to say, the main line Conjuring entries really feel like they’re showing their age at this point, and 2021’s The Devil Made Me Do It seemed pretty widely derided by horror geeks. With that in mind, it’s not particularly encouraging that Last Rites is bringing back the exact same director and screenwriter, so it seems like almost a foregone conclusion that we can expect more of the same.
At the very least, that subtitle would seem to promise a little finality, so here’s hoping that Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are able to put Ed and Lorraine to bed with style in this entry. It certainly would have been nice to have James Wan back in the director’s chair one last time, though.
Him
Director: Justin Tipping
Release date: Sept. 19
Jordan Peele is producing this intriguing-sounding psychological horror flick via Universal and his own Monkeypaw Productions, a film that the studio says will deliver a “blood-chilling journey into the inner sanctum of fame, power and the pursuit of excellence at any cost.” Marlon Wayans stars as a “legendary quarterback tasked with training a rising young athlete, played by Tyriq Withers, who goes to train at the aging athlete’s isolated compound.” Sounds to us like a recipe for a psychologically driven power struggle–perhaps Whiplash turned into a horror film, against the backdrop of American sports obsession? Him also stars Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jeffries and hip-hop artists Guapdad 4000 and Tierra Whack, from a Blacklist script by Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie. Feels like we’ll probably hear a lot more about this project in the summer of 2025, and maybe some details about Peele’s next directorial offering at Universal as well.
The Bride!
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Release date: Sept. 26
Maggie Gyllenhaal returns for her sophomore feature film, following 2021’s well-received and Oscar-nominated The Lost Daughter, in which the writer-director was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. This looks like a quirky revisionist spin on the entire Frankenstein mythos, one that blissfully seems to assume some level of familiarity on the part of the audience so we don’t have to go through every familiar beat all over again. Christian Bale is playing a version of Frankenstein’s Monster, searching as ever for companionship and a soulmate, while Jessie Buckley reunites with Gyllenhaal following her own Best Supporting Actress nomination in The Lost Daughter to play the titular Bride. And also it’s apparently a musical??? As the official synopsis puts it:
A lonely Frankenstein travels to 1930s Chicago to seek the aid of Dr. Euphronius in creating a companion for himself. The two reinvigorate a murdered young woman and the Bride is born. She is beyond what either of them intended, igniting a combustible romance, the attention of the police, and a wild and radical social movement.
That description may have committed the cardinal sin of referring to the monster as simply “Frankenstein,” but we’ll let it slide until some footage of this wild sounding project finally arrives.
Saw XI
Director: Kevin Greutert
Release date: Sept. 26
It seems it’s time come the autumn of 2025 for yet another dalliance into the sick traps and torture devices of the Saw series, now an absurd 11 entries into its life cycle. What more is there to say about any of these films? Their convoluted mythology has become impossible to parse to anyone but longtime, devoted fans of the series. Surely there are no new fans coming on board at this point. This entry may or may not be a direct follow-up to 2023’s Saw X, which helped to revitalize the series once again. Given that Saw X was set earlier in the timeline than other installments, a direct sequel probably makes sense, as it would give the filmmakers an excuse to more fully utilize the John Kramer/Jigsaw character that actor Tobin Bell made famous. It’s difficult for us to summon much enthusiasm here, but the hardcore fans will no doubt take all they can get from the series.
Predator: Badlands
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Release date: Nov. 7
Enthusiasm for a new entry in the Predator series is no doubt higher now than it’s been for a long time, thanks to the audience and critical acclaim of 2022’s Prey, a scintillating reimagining of the series timeline that thrillingly pitted a native American woman warrior (Amber Midthunder) against the seemingly invincible Predator in the year 1719. Given that film’s success, a direct follow-up would have been easy to justify, but director Trachtenberg (of the excellent 10 Cloverfield Lane) has not been at all content to rest on his laurels. The film instead seems to have an entirely different framing device–all we have for a synopsis so far is a single line: “In the future, a Predator traverses on an alien wasteland, while two sisters discover their horrifying past.” Does that wording mean that this entry is perhaps not set on Earth, maybe having more in common with 2010’s Predators? All other details are under wraps, except for the reports that Predator: Badlands will star The Great’s Elle Fanning, presumably as one of the two aforementioned sisters. We have faith that Trachtenberg will render another pulse-raising thriller here, and we’re hungry for more details.
Thanksgiving 2
Director: Eli Roth
Release date: Fall 2025
Director Eli Roth is not one to pass up a moneymaking hit, which is what he received in his long-delayed feature film adaptation of his own original short film trailer from 2007’s Grindhouse. The Thanksgiving we received was in the form of a decidedly modern neo-slasher rather than the early 1980s throwback suggested by the original trailer, but you can’t really blame Roth for tailoring the film to current tastes. The status of this direct sequel, meanwhile, is a bit murky, but Roth recently clarified that he expects shooting to happen in the spring of 2025. We can only assume that they’re aiming for an obvious holiday 2025 release window, because when else could you even release Thanksgiving 2?
As for plot, stars Nell Verlaque and Rick Hoffman are expected to return, while the conclusion of the first Thanksgiving gave more than enough room for slasher villain John Carver to make his return, ‘ala Michael Myers in Halloween 4, probably sporting some pretty nasty burns. We only question how much holiday satire there really is left in Thanksgiving after the first film hit the Thanksgiving dinner motif pretty hard.
Fear Street: Prom Queen
Director: Matt Palmer
Release date: Possible fall 2025
Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy in 2021 was a very pleasant surprise for horror fans, offering a surprisingly ambitious and notably brutal trio of modern slasher films that were simultaneously jam-packed with references and adoration of the genre’s bloody history. It was a great return for director Leigh Janiak, whose 2014 debut Honeymoon has long been underrated. It was a bummer, then, to see that Netflix’s next step in the series, Fear Street: Prom Queen would not involve Janiak, who had written and directed the entire previous trilogy. At first I was at least excited to read that this installment would instead be directed by the promising Chloe Okuno of 2022’s Watcher, but it has since been passed to director Matt Palmer, whose only film is 2018 Scottish thriller Calibre. It’s hard to know what to expect here as a result. The synopsis we have so far is the following:
As students at Shadyside High are preparing for the 1988 prom, the “It Girls” are fighting to get support to be voted Prom Queen. As an unusual nominee emerges in the race, some of the other candidates begin to vanish without a trace.
There are, however, some recognizable names among the young cast, including India Fowler, Ariana Greenblatt, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazz, Ella Rubin and David Iacono, along with Katherin Waterston. Hopefully Palmer’s continuation of the series can live up to the sizable gauntlet that Janiak threw down in 2021.
Frankenstein
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Release date: Possible fall
It should go without saying that a lavish, big-budget adaptation of Frankenstein by the legendary, Oscar-draped Guillermo del Toro will be one of the year’s biggest and most hyped film releases, horror or otherwise. It’s a film that del Toro has been wanting to make for decades, so you know he’s no doubt poured his heart and soul into it, and the first few production photos have certainly whetted the appetite of cinematic aesthetes. It’s unknown exactly how his version of the familiar tale will differentiate itself, although del Toro has said in the past that he wants to make the story as a “faithful Miltonian tragedy,” which suggests a pretty straight telling of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel.
The sprawling and impressive cast of Frankenstein, meanwhile, will certainly be drawing a ton of attention as we creep closer to a presumed Halloween window release date. Oscar Isaac stars as Victor Frankenstein, while Jacob Elordi plays the Monster. The banger of a cast also includes the likes of Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Charles Dance, Lars Mikkelsen, Ralph Ineson and David Bradley, among others. This could end up being the most lush and opulent version of Frankenstein ever made–expect the arrival of its trailer to cause quite a commotion.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
Director: Emma Tammi
Release date: Dec. 5
It may not have been every serious horror geek’s cup of tea, but it still feels like the absolutely eye-popping box office figures of Five Nights at Freddy’s have been underappreciated by a lot of people who follow the film world. Despite the movie simultaneously launching on Peacock, and despite following the very similar Willy’s Wonderland, it went on to become easily Blumhouse’s biggest ever, raking in more than $297 million worldwide on a budget of only $20 million. This speaks to an almost generational popularity and significance among younger audiences in particular–the Five Nights at Freddy’s game series, and its convoluted mythology and meme-making, are seriously important to the Gen Z audiences, and they turned out to support Emma Tammi’s film in droves. It’s the most massively successful bit of multiplex horror we’ve seen since the likes of Andy Muschiett’s It films, and that kind of cachet can’t be overlooked. Expect the sequel to draw direct inspiration from the second videogame in the original cycle.
Return of the Living Dead
Director: Steve Wolsh
Release date: Dec. 25
Return of the Living Dead is one of the most deeply influential and beloved zombie properties of all time, but you have to feel a little trepidation about that name being revived for the first time since 2005’s ROTLD: Rave to the Grave. Bolting the series onto a Christmas horror theme also strikes us as a bit on the desperate side, although the recently released first teaser at least has a decent sheen of professionalism to it. This version is directed by Steve Wolsh, best known for low-budget horror flicks like 2015’s Muck or 2023’s Fog City. It reportedly takes up the story 18 months after the original Return of the Living Dead, meaning this will be set in the 1980s, following another outbreak of the military 2-4-5 Trioxin gas that turns people into nearly indestructible, brain-munching undead.
At the very least, there’s reason to be optimistic that the zombies and guts will look decent, as the film is bringing back veteran FX artist Tony Gardner, who worked on the original decades ago and has subsequently worked on the likes of Zombieland in the years since. Now here’s hoping they can scrape together enough of a budget to not look impoverished when shot on high-definition video.
The Ugly Stepsister
Director: Emilie Blichfeldt
Release date: Unknown, 2025
A dark fantasy or horror comedy about social acceptance and the ever-evolving nature of impossible beauty standards, The Ugly Stepsister looks like a mean little piece of satire making use of the classic Cinderella story to tell a decidedly cynical tale. The directorial debut of Emilie Blichfeldt is in the Norwegian language and will be premiering at Sundance 2025, before screening on Shudder at some point in 2025. The synopsis below certainly gets across the idea that this will be a gross and boundary pushing film that will no doubt draw attention from the newly minted body horror geeks in the audience.
In a fantastical world, Elvira’ attempts to outshine her stunning stepsister, willing to do whatever it takes to attract the prince’s attention. The film is a darkly twisted reimagining of Cinderella, adhering closely to the grimmest versions of the tale. It centers on Elvira’s relentless quest for beauty at any cost. Instead of fairy tale silkworms, this story features tapeworms. It includes decomposing bodies, satirical body horror, and a 19th-century surgical transformation. This macabre yet humorous film critiques the beauty industry, which promotes body image as a pathway to desirability, success, and social status. Despite her insecurity, we sympathize with Elvira as she becomes entangled in her greedy mother’s extreme beautification scheme, driven by a desire for acceptance and a happily-ever-after.
Wildwood
Director: Travis Knight
Release date: Unknown, 2025
Studio Laika, those masters of modern stop-motion animation, have been plugging away on Wildwood for a very, very long time, since well before Missing Link was released in 2019. The film is an adaptation of Decemberists singer Colin Meloy’s 2011 children’s dark fantasy novel of the same name, with a vibe that feels quite evocative of other entries in Laika’s history, particularly Coraline. Unsurprisingly, we’re hoping for another all-ages classic here, one that can be gently scary and macabre while showcasing the studio’s ever awe-inspiring mastery of animation. The project is shepherded by Travis Knight, who directed the masterful Kubo and the Two Strings. Just look at Laika’s title reveal teaser below and try not to get excited. The bare-bones synopsis, meanwhile, is as follows:
Prue McKeel and her best friend Curtis are drawn into a hidden, magical forest, after Prue’s baby brother Mac is kidnapped by crows, led by a mysterious woman named Alexandra.
We hope very much that Wildwood does secure a 2025 release date before long, but at the very least it’s clear that a ton of progress has been made.
Jim Vorel is Paste’s Movies editor and resident genre geek. You can follow him on Twitter or on Bluesky for more film writing.