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 B Grades, which are above average, just shy of greatness.
Synopsis: A woman wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. Her investigation into what happened sets in motion a terrifying chain of events.
Review: It surely is loud and at time obnoxious and not for everyone yet Flying Lotus’ take on Alien is one of those films that plays with and twists sights and sounds. You will either admire the brashness of the experience or it will turn you off completely. That is why it is one of the most controversial movies of the year.
Synopsis: As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, his sister begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake.
Review: What do you do when you want to make a sequel to a successful horror movie but you… Doh!… killed off your villain? Easy. You borrow heavily from Wes Craven turning The Grabber into Freddy Krueger so he can terrorize siblings Finney and Gwen from beyond the grave. While the original was all about Finney, this is Gwen’s story. Her psychic powers have grown even stronger leading her to investigate their mom’s mysterious death. There aren’t any hockey masked killers at the Christian youth camp where their mom used to work but there are clues to The Grabber’s origin and their mother’s connection to him. Black Phone 2 answers the question… What would happen if Freddy haunted Camp Crystal Lake… in the winter? There is even a scene in which Gwen is flung around a room by an invisible assailant as her helpless pals look on. Whether this and the entire film is considered a Nightmare rip-off or a clever homage is in the eye of the beholder. Black Phone 2 is worth a look though for any fan of the original.
Synopsis: Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
Review: When the action gets going it really gets going but until then we get over an hour of family and cultural drama. Sinners badly needed an editor to amplify the pacing and the momentum. It ranks up there with some of the best vampires movies ever made if you can slog through the first meandering hour.
Synopsis: A group of teenage boys compete in an annual contest known as “The Long Walk,” in which they must maintain a certain walking speed or get shot.
Review: Finally, a decent Stephen King adaption. This is the reward for all those fans who have suffered through his recent book, most of which aren’t even horror any more, and abysmal adaptions that don’t even resemble the original stories like Firestarter or ‘Salem’s Lot. Not a fan of the ending but I understand why they chose that conclusion as it reinforces the theme. Since we are hitching a ride with boys in a marathon walk the dialogue needs to be especially sharp and here it is. The banter is funny, depressing, thoughtful and often insightful making the individual boys and their plights very memorable.
Synopsis: Left stranded in a small town with no way out, Maya must once again face a night of terror courtesy of three deadly killers whose rampage she must put to an end.
Review: I was never a fan of the original franchise. To me, it just seemed to be the same movie and same story told over and over again. Not in a good Friday 13th way either. I am the kind of slasher fan who wants to know the killer’s motivation, wants to know their origin story even if it is just never having won the prestigious “Hitchcock Award” as a student and blaming the heroine’s father for casting the deciding vote that prevented their win. If you know, you know. Chapter 2 is just one long, frantic chase scene in which the final girl from Chapter One, Madelaine Petsch as Maya, is always on the run once The Strangers find out she survived their shenanigans. There is barely time for us or Maya to take a breath as the psychopathic trio of Pin-Up Girl, Scarecrow and Dollface are swiftly in pursuit chasing her through a hospital, a forest and two or three houses.
If that isn’t enough, Maya fights off a wild boar. Yes, you read correctly. Maya runs a foul of a very hungry boar. If Maya didn’t have bad luck she wouldn’t have any luck at all.
The filmmakers do live up to their promise of revealing more about The Strangers who never seem to communicate with one another in any way. How is that even possible? We do learn though how two of them met, where their catch phrase began and a little bit more about the very secretive town of Venus, Oregon. By the end of the film and that dreaded “To Be Continued” prompt, we still have more questions than answers though.
Synopsis: When teen magician Max crosses paths with the sinister Jester on Halloween night, she must outsmart a supernatural killer whose magic is all too real and whose tricks always end up in blood.
Review: One of the biggest surprises of 2025. I thought the first entry in the series was very muddled, very obtuse when it came to The Jester himself. It is a shame this isn’t the original because is a far more compelling, focused and satisfying story. Although I am not a big fan of omnipotent villains like Freddy Krueger, who can alter reality at will, this somehow strikes a better balance than the first as The Jester has some physical and emotional weaknesses, limitations. The entire film rides on the relationship between the supernatural Jester and human magician and wallflower, Kaitlyn Trentham as the self-conscious and socially-inept Max. The way their relationship evolves draws you in to see how it all plays out. If filmmaker Colin Krawchuk continues to refine The Jester character this franchise could rise from a mid-carder to a main event franchise.
Premise: A cursed Witchboard awakens dark forces, dragging a young couple into a deadly game of possession and deception
Review:
Even though it had its world premiere at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival on July 26, 2024, it wasn’t widely released until August 15, 2025 so we are considering this a 2025 release. Chuck Russell (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Blob, Bless the Child) returns to the horror genre after a 25 year absence with a remake of Witchboard, which actually turns out is better than the original film. Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna in Stranger Things) plays a cult leader, occult expert, who tries to aid a young couple who come into the possession of the cursed Witchboard of the title. This isn’t your dad’s witchboard either. It works and operates in a very cool way. Witchboard goes off the rails in the third act with a few too many plot twists but it has some cool death scenes and you will find yourself rooting for the couple who want nothing more than to be rid of the curse.
Synopsis: A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties.
Review: Who would’ve thunk that unicorns could be any kind of scary? Writer/director Alex Scharfman does the impossible in this first film. Well-meaning but perpetually perplexed dad (Paul Rudd) mows down a mystical unicorn while he and his snarky daughter (Jenna Ortega) are on their way to meet his dying billionaire boss (Richard E. Grant) and his eccentric family: Téa Leoni and Will Poulter. The unfortunate accident results in one bad decision after another setting into motion a wonderfully wild whirlwind that eventually sweeps up both the guilty and the innocent in its wake. As the ever conniving, manipulative Leopold, Poulter trumps his sensational work in Guardians of the Galaxy and The Bear. Although I may not be a fan of everything they produce I will give A24 the respect they deserve. They are rolling the dice on batshit crazy ideas that nobody else will touch.
Synopsis: After seeing his parents killed by someone dressed as Santa, a grown man later wears a Santa suit himself and seeks violent revenge.
Review: Far better and less skeevy than the original film. The plot and characterizations have much more depth to them. This version of the killer Santa borrows a lot from Dexter though in that he is guided by an inner voice and attempts to only kill people who deserve to die, however, you could make the argument that many of the victims in this film may be shitty humans but they don’t deserve to be executed. I didn’t like the supernatural element at all nor the predictable ending.
Synopsis: A fading midwestern town in which Frendo the clown, a symbol of bygone success, reemerges as a terrifying scourge.
Review: Clown is a lot brighter and smarter which is why horror fans shouldn’t be fooled into thinking this is just another release trying to capitalize on the popularity of Terrifier and Art the Clown. While I am sure that is partially why it was greenlit in the first place as Hollywood loves to play Invasion of the Body Snatchers cranking out cinematic clones when someone or something is red hot but Clown sort of like the Bad Batch’s Sergeant Hunter who thinks and acts on his own even though he owes his very existence to Jango Fett’s DNA. You can be rest assured though that unlike Jango, the Force is definitely with Frendo.
Full Review:
Their new guardian Laura (Sally Hawkins) is like Jack Nicholson from The Shining. You know she is bat-shit crazy from the moment you see her so that kind of ruins some of the suspense. Laura has a young son who has gone mute since the death of his sister. She drowned in the backyard pool and Laura is still drowning in grief.
The issue here is that despite being a compelling narrative Bring Her Back’s story is predictable from beginning to end in the sense that you know where the story is heading, you know what is and will happen even if the characters don’t. There are a few surprises along the way but mostly the story end up where you think it might. Bring Her Back is worth checking out just for Sally Hawkins’ incredibly manic and often sympathetic portrayal of Laura which deserves some kind of gold statuette.
Synopsis: Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront.
Review: A little bloated with all the plots it has to juggle but perhaps more human and emotional than most of the other films. This is purportedly the last in the series with the main characters on one last mission of ghostbusting and it take some time before they even get their hands dirty in ectoplasm. Still, like all the other films, the main characters are what carry the film.
Synopsis: Vietnam. 1968. A recon unit known as Vulture Squad is sent to an isolated jungle valley to uncover the fate of a missing Green Beret platoon. They soon discover they are not alone.
Review: This movie only cost $7 million and you would never know it as director Luke Sparke stretches every dollar as far as he can. Primitive War is basically Jurassic Park meets Aliens. There ain’t no dumb ass kids to get in the way of the blood and bullets flying as season soldiers do battle with killer dinosaurs. There are a few places in which you can tell that Sparke is using a few cinematic slight of hands, cutting some corners but to be honest it all very seamless for the most part. If you love the darker parts of Jurassic Park, this is definitely for you.
Synopsis: At a remote island reform school, Ing faces strict obedience rules and a rigid hierarchy. As strange events occur, she questions if she’s their victim or cause.
Review: Host takes high school bullying to another level. It also tinkers with the conventions we have seen in all sorts of Asian anime and horror. Clever, dark and twisted.
Synopsis: A woman spends the night fighting for her existence as she slips down a rabbit hole contained inside a gift from a late-night visitor.
Review: The idea of sacrificing something you hate, need and love to a cursed box to avoid tragedy is original and compelling. Dakota Fanning is just phenomenal as the frenzied Polly fighting against the clock to feed the ravenous box. Director and writer Bryan Bertino (The Strangers) doesn’t know when to pull back though so the story goes off the deep end and never makes it back to dry land. Fanning’s performance alone though keep the film afloat and us invested in her plight.
Synopsis: Set in the Pacific, 1942. A Japanese soldier and a British prisoner of war are stranded on a deserted island, hunted by a deadly creature. Two mortal enemies must come together to survive the unknown.
Review: A great set-up that gets lost in the translation in the sense that the core creatures will be looked at as cool by some and cheesy by others. That is where someone’s enjoyment will hinge on. Although Godzilla and his friends are not part of Monster Island in any way it is still populated by these Creature From The Black Lagoon knock-offs who are far more savage than their fifties cousin. Whether you are excited by their ferocity or chuckle at their silliness is up to you.
Synopsis: One year after the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, Abby runs away to reconnect with her animatronic friends, uncovering dark secrets about the true origins of Freddy’s and unleashing a horror hidden for decades. woman spends the night fighting for her existence as she slips down a rabbit hole contained inside a gift from a late-night visitor.
Review: Like most Blumhouse sequels this is just…Meh! The reason why the gang gets back together is intriguing but there are no real scares at all except for a tense scene in which a young girl and her mom are threatened at knife point. The filmmakers actually start poking fun of the animatronic terrors which is usually introduced in later franchise sequels when the threats just aren’t that frightening any more. So, that was kind of surprising. The design and look of the Marionette are very creepy and an older Addy is really annoying.
Synopsis: A bright but socially awkward exchange student takes her craving for popularity to horrifying heights.
Review: An update on the mad scientist formula as a wallflower of a teenage prodigy continues her father’s experimental skin graft experiments but takes them to a whole new level. Bloody and at times grisly fun but it runs out of steam as it reaches its finale. Sasha Rainbow proves with her first feature film that she is a name to keep an eye on in the future.
Synopsis: Rosario spends the night with her grandmother’s body while she waits for the ambulance to arrive, during a severe snowfall, Rosario is attacked by otherworldly entities that have taken control of her grandmother’s body.
Review: If you can look past the fact that grandma has a hidden ceremonial chamber in her squalid apartment or that anyone would let their grannie live in such a rathole, Rosario is a good scare that has the same tone as 2017’s Terrified. The premise is creepy enough to begin with but when you add parasitic worms, evil spirits popping out of bookcases and Late Night with the Devil’s David Dastmalchian as abuela’s next door neighbor then you have something that will completely weird you out.
Synopsis: In a zombie-ravaged world, a resourceful teen and her protector fight for survival, facing relentless dangers and testing the limits of hope and loyalty.
Review: Although there is nothing really ground-breaking about this post-apocalyptic thriller that crams an entire season of The Walking Dead into one movie, the relationship between adopted father Cassius and orphaned Abigail feels genuine and reels you in as they confront both undead and very alive threats on their journey of hope.
Synopsis: After a young girl bursts into their home psychiatry practice claiming an entity is feeding on her, Jordan and her clairvoyant mother must find a way to stop the force before the girl is taken completely.
Review: Even though it relies far too heavily on jump scares and borrows far too much from 2004’s Shutter, there is something about the relationship between the psychic mom (Ashley Greene) and her maybe psychic daughter (Ellie O’Brien) that will keep you watching this supernatural drama play out.
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