Here at Binge News we made every attempt to check out, to screen every horror movie of note last year and rank them by grade. There are some exceptions though:
If the film wasn’t available in English, had no subtitles or dubbing we had to pass.
If the film was so low, low, low budget that the “filmmakers” couldn’t even get the simple things like editing, continuity or lighting right, we had to pass.
Also, each grade installment is listed from best to worst. So, the last entry in F Grade is what we consider the worst Horror movie of the 2025 and in turn the first entry in A Grade is what we consider the best of 2025.
Here are the C Grades, which barely pass.
Synopsis: A group of friends trapped in a time loop, where mysterious foes chase and kill them in gruesome ways, must survive until dawn to escape it.
Review: Nothing special and not anything like the brilliant 2015 video game, which is part of the problem. That story was far better than this one.
The other gaming tie is that former Attack of the Show!, X-Play writer/host Blair Butler co-wrote the screenplay. She also scribbled out that horrendous Vampire Diaries knock-off The Invitation back in 2022…but she probably doesn’t want you to know that. I know I wouldn’t.
Echoing Happy Death Day, Until Dawn is another Groundhog Day horror flick with characters caught in a time loop in which they are splattered in different ways, in different circumstances unless they figure out how to break the timeline without the assistance of the T.A.R.D.I.S, a sonic screwdriver or K-9.
Jason’s understudy, unemployed Deadites extras and a Kandarian Demon impersonator from Evil Dead round out the cast of this barely passable, certainly not exceptional cinematic version of a cluttered potluck lunch at the Sawyer family’s house. Play the game instead.
Synopsis: College student Deena visits home and is roped into babysitting. The local sheriff is mailed a piece of evidence and is led on a scavenger hunt to reveal the killer of another babysitter.
Review: Night of the Reaper is another movie that claims to be an eighties throwback that doesn’t capture the tone, spirit or atmosphere of the eighties but we will let that go for now. What the film has going for it is a clever little twist part way through turns every slasher trope on its head. Now, it takes a bit to get there as a college student (Jessica Clement as Deena Golding) returns home only to find herself subbing for her friend on a babysitting gig. There is a lot of unnecessary exposition and a lot of background on Deena’s life, parents that really and truly just isn’t necessary. All that does is act as filler until the the main event comes. There aren’t enough kills until we get to that big twist either. Is the wait worth it? It is. I just wish that the first act measured up to the second act.
Synopsis: A family at a remote farmhouse is attacked by an unseen animal, but as the night stretches on, the father begins to transform into something unrecognizable.
Review: Wolf Man is not as adventurous nor as fascinating as his The Invisible Man. Sure, that has a lot to do with Wolf Man not having an Elisabeth Moss like tour de force performance but just how the events transpire in such an uninspired way cursed this project from the very start. The script needed a boost, that missing creative spark that is sorely lacking, that silver bullet fix.
Full Review: https://binge-news.com/2025/01/24/wolf-man-has-no-bite/
Synopsis: Nora, Andreas and Captain Kris leap back into action when a dangerous new troll awakes – and this time they’ll need more help to take it down.
Review: There are two trolls and we want them to do battle but they only have one BIG battle. The other troll is kind of a wimp too. You have to wait far too long to get to the good stuff. It borrows a lot from the “giant monster movie” playbook so it isn’t as original as the first film.
Synopsis: Science teacher Hank’s life changes when he reconnects with his first love and suspects a new student is his daughter, all while facing an alien threat in their town.
Review: The general public’s apathy and indifference unlare the calling cards of this sci-fi flick featuring Brandon Routh returning to his comedy and fantasy roots. He’s high school football quarterback Hank Wallace whose life and its opportunities passed him by. Now a high school science teacher, Hank sounds the alarm bell about an alien presence in their small town but since they are just annoying, odd weeds and plants in their present state nobody gives a shit until that shit hits the fan and they evolve. Ick is too much CW melodrama and not enough Invaders From Mars. You have to pull a lot of weeds before finding the roots of something that could have bloomed into something better under the right guidance.
Synopsis: A loyal dog moves to a rural family home with his owner, only to discover supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. As dark entities threaten his human companion, the brave pup must fight to protect the one he loves most.
Review: The dog, Indy, is the star of the show. From the way he is shot, to his responses and actions, you really do see things and can maybe appreciate more how things are, how life looks like from a dog’s perspective. It is something you will probably carry though the rest of your life. That is an amazing achievement in itself. Unfortunately, the story is about as thin as tissue paper and isn’t really anything we haven’t seen before and done better.
Synopsis: Four friends get trapped in a sadistic game show, forced to outwit a twisted serial killer while racing against time. Every move brings them closer to freedom or a gruesome fate.
Review: Four friends are kidnapped and forced to participate in a deadly and gruesome game show hosted by a demented, sadistic host. This gory throwback to the Torture Porn horror era of the early 2000s fails to break any new ground but sure breaks a lot of bones. What stops this from being yet another lame Saw rip-off is the intense bat shit crazy performance by Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach in Watchmen, Freddy Krueger in 2010’s A Nightmare on Elm Street) as the unhinged vengeful game show host Barry Miller. When the screaming and screeching stops long enough there’s a couple of plot twists along the way that ratchet up the drama even more. Gotta love that compressor scene.
Synopsis: In a world succumbing to hunger, a Muay Thai fighter fights off zombies to save his beloved.
Review: The undead get kung fu-ed and that is fun although implausible. It comes close to pushing the envelope like Train to Busan did. It backs away though repeating much of what we have seen before elsewhere. The finale is particularly disappointing.
Synopsis: After a family tragedy, Chuck Wilson hopes to start a new life in Ashland Falls with his wife Maria and little sister Isabelle, but he quickly discovers that the town has a dark secret.
Review: Even though I am not a fan of the Hell House franchise Stephen Cognetti really surprised me with his first foray outside of the found-footage genre. 825 Forest Road heightens the creepiness as the story unfolds with little disturbing events that intensify until the big final confrontation still the entire film needed more to punch it up, to scare it up.
Synopsis: Years into their relationship, Tim and Millie find themselves at a crossroads as they move to the country. With tensions already flaring, an encounter with an unnatural force threatens to corrupt their lives, their love and their flesh.
Review: Real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie star in another movie by a Millennial that criticizes relationships because their generation has a ton of trouble expressing themselves, understanding and staying in relationships. Once you realize the symbolic commentary being made, the hook of the movie, the gag overstays its welcome. It is a one note movie and not a very good one at that and that’s because the core idea is such an immature, rudimentary take on things. Do us all a favour, Millennials. Get some therapy for your personal communication and emotional intelligence issues and stop makin supernatural movies about doomed relationships and mothers grieving their dead children.
Synopsis: Three coworkers on the night shift at a remote diner get in over their heads after digging for proof that one of their customers is a serial killer.
Review: It begins really well as the diner employees played by N’kone Mametja, Deoudoné Pretorius and Adrian Greenwood become paranoid believing a psychopath in their midst. Things go south though once we realize the big mystery is as transparent as a gelatinous cube then Takeout’s story quickly becomes unremarkable.
Synopsis: Two priests, one in crisis with his faith and the other confronting a turbulent past, must overcome their differences to perform a risky exorcism.
Review: Not sure what lured Al Pacino into this one. There is nothing inherently wrong or bad about the film but it doesn’t introduce anything new or different to the genre.
Synopsis: Married couple Daphne and Darcy Davenport are two musicians who moved from London to a cottage in Wales to complete their new album. By accident they record a mystical sound never heard before and gradually disconnect from reality.
Review: The real letdown is there are so many unanswered questions at the end of it all which all leads to an immensely dissatisfying finale. The human drama can be creepy I guess for those who enjoy folk horror. For the rest of us, it is going to take more than a creepy kid to get under our skin.
Synopsis: After a mother and son get in a car wreck, they soon become hunted by Bambi, a mutated grief-stricken deer on a deadly rampage seeking revenge for the death of his mother.
Review: I will give the filmmakers and the cast the credit they deserve. They do their best not to crack up or break character as they play the story of a murderous mutant deer as serious as serious can be. The effects are pretty decent too. Still, it is a movie about a mutant deer goring people to avenge its mother. Shrug.
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