This year has just gotten started but there have already been multiple big horror movie releases and several of them have been excellent. In other words, 2025 is shaping up to be yet another incredible year for the horror movie genre and it's gotten off to a fantastic start that makes us really excited for what's to come.
Between the latest movies from Steven Soderbergh and Osgood Perkins to genre-bending flicks, these are our favorite horror movies of 2025 so far.
Companion
Yellowjackets star Sophie Thatcher plays an android in this sci-fi horror movie from the producers of Barbarian. Declared one of the first great horror movies of 2025, Companion really does live up to the hype. A weekend getaway between friends unravels in surprisingly violent ways when it is revealed that one of them is a companion robot.
Presence
This latest movie from Steven Soderbergh has generated hype since it had an initial debut at a film festival last year. Presence is unique in that it's filmed in multiple long takes and plays out by giving an audience a story viewed through a poltergeist's perspective.
A family moves into a house, unaware it is already inhabited by an entity. It's a slow-burn thriller that won't be for everyone, but those that appreciate its terrifying premise and build-up will enjoy just how effective it is at executing that premise.
The Monkey
While I didn’t particularly enjoy The Monkey, I can understand why the film has become one of 2025’s most acclaimed new horror movies. From Osgood Perkins, the director of Longlegs and The Blackcoat’s Daughter, comes a totally bonkers and darkly comedic gorefest based on Stephen King’s short story of the same name.
The real star of this movie is Theo James, who delivers a brilliant and nuanced performance as twin brothers Hal and Bill. As children, the boys discover a cursed monkey toy that seems to bring death wherever it goes. After it claims their mother’s life, they bury it in the hopes of never seeing it again. But when mysterious deaths start happening again years later, it becomes apparent that the monkey has somehow returned.
Heart Eyes
Between The Monkey and Heart Eyes, 2025 has proven to be a good year for horror comedy films. Heart Eyes is slightly more of a conventional slasher, albeit one that enjoys mixing genres, as it partially functions as a rom-com, too. Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding play a couple who become the targets of a Valentine's Day slasher who terrorizes people while wearing a mask with glowing eyes.
Birdeater
Birdeater is genuinely the most uncomfortable I have felt watching a movie in a long time, which is a remarkably impressive feat that speaks to Jack Clark and Jim Weir's directing prowess because the film doesn’t feature much gore or the type of disturbing content we’re used to seeing in horror films. The movie’s premise is pretty simple, focusing on the unraveling of a relationship when the bride-to-be is invited along for her husband’s bachelor trip.
Birdeater makes the most of its premise, exploring things like misogyny and toxic masculinity in a tight and razor-sharp film that painstakingly builds tension until you can feel it in every inch of your body. Although this Australian horror movie first came out in 2023, it just released on VOD in the US this past January.