A peek at the horror movies being unleashed in 2025

At the movies, 2025 will be a particularly strong year for horror.

We’re already had “Nosferatu,” which so far has filled up its fangs with an $89 million haul, according to Box Office Mojo. And “Wolf Man” opened only a couple of weeks ago but has already earned close to $11 million. That’s a hairy situation!

Oscar-winning auteur Steven Soderbergh delivered a rare horror outing (if you don’t count “Magic Mike’s Last Dance”) with “Presence,” which opened last weekend to strong reviews.

And on Friday, Jan. 31, we’ll get “Companion,” which follows a weekend getaway among friends at a remote cabin that unravels into chaos after a revelation that one of the guests is holding a secret. It looks dark, twisted – and great.

The rest of the horror movies coming our way this year look to be diverse and chilling. Here’s a look (release dates and titles are subject to change).

“Heart Eyes” – This is being billed as a “romantic comedy slasher film,” and released just in time for Valentine’s Day! (Feb. 7)

“The Monkey” – Coming directly off the wonderfully weird hit “Longlegs” in 2024, director Osgood Perkins adapts Stephen King’s short story into this tale of twin brothers who find their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, followed by a series of gruesome deaths. The siblings decide to throw the toy away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years. Theo James stars as the twins. (Feb. 21)

“The Woman in the Yard” – A mysterious woman repeatedly appears in a family’s front yard, often delivering chilling warnings or unsettling messages, leaving the family to question her identity, motives, and the potential danger she might pose. (March 28)

“Drop” – Director Christopher Landon follows up the darkly funny “We Have A Ghost” with this tale of a widowed mother whose first date in years takes a terrifying turn when she’s bombarded with anonymous threatening messages on her phone during their upscale dinner. (April 11)

“Sinners” – Director Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther,” “Creed”) steps into the horror genre with this tale of twin brothers who try to leave their troubled lives behind, then return to their hometown to start again only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. Frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan stars as the twin brothers. Jack O’Connell and Hailee Steinfeld also star. (April 18)

“Until Dawn” – This is based on a horror video game, following a group of people who are trapped in a remote valley with a murderer and are killed. Then they are sent back in time, forced to relive the night of their killings. (April 25)

“Clown in a Cornfield” – Writer/director Eli Craig delivered one of my favorite horror comedies ever with 2010’s “Tucker and Dale vs Evil.” He returns with this outing, about a fading midwestern town in which Frendo the clown, a symbol of bygone success, reemerges as a terrifying scourge. (May 9)

“Final Destination: Bloodlines” – This is the sixth – SIXTH – entry in the “Final Destination” series. People, if you keep going to them, they’re just going to make more. (May 16)

“28 Years Later” – This is a sequel to 2007’s “28 Weeks Later,” which was a sequel to 2002’s “28 Days Later,” with Oscar-winning Danny Boyle back in the director’s chair (he directed the original). It’s been a whole 18 years since “28 Weeks,” and it’ll be interesting to see if Boyle can escape the curse of too many years between films, but original writer Alex Garland also returns, co-writing with Boyle, so that adds some pedigree. Not much is known about the actual plot, except that we know there will be zombies, LOTS of zombies. But the film rocks an impressive cast with Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jack O’Connell and original star Cillian Murphy (in some capacity). (June 20)

“M3GAN 2.0” – The first “M3GAN” was a smash hit for production company Blumhouse, one of the first American horror films to really tap into TikTok culture as a multi-media film experience. Not much is known about the sequel’s plot, except that we revisit M3GAN, a robotic AI that is prone to, um, wild mood swings, to say the least. (June 27)

“Untitled I Know What You Did Last Summer Sequel” – I hope they come up with a title soon, because that one is terrible. It looks like it will probably just be called “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” which is lame. But anyway, the story will again follow a group of friends who are terrorized by a stalker who knows about a gruesome incident from their past. Original stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. are rumored to be returning. (July 18)

“The Conjuring: Last Rites” – This is the fourth film in the direct “Conjuring” series (not including pre-quels and spinoffs) and supposedly the last film since “Last” is in the title, which means nothing (I’m talking to you, “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter,” which had seven more films come after it). Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return as Ed and Lorraine Warren, who take on one “last” terrifying case involving mysterious entities. (Sept. 5)

“Him” – Jordan Peele (“Get Out,” “Us”) is producing this tale that stars Marlon Wayans as a legendary quarterback tasked with training a rising young athlete. (Sept. 19)

“The Bride!” – Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal directs her second feature film, following the Oscar-nominated “The Lost Daughter.” This looks to be a different take on the “Frankenstein” story, set in 1930s Chicago, where he asks a doctor to create him a companion. They give life to a murdered woman as the Bride, sparking romance, police interest, and radical social change. Christian Bale, Jake Gyllenhaal (Maggie’s real-life brother), Peter Sarsgaard, Penélope Cruz and Annette Bening star. (Sept. 26)

“Saw XI” – Again, if you keep going to them, they’re just going to keep making them. (Sept. 26)

“Predator: Badlands” – Director Dan Trachtenberg returns after the wild success of his “Prey” reboot of the “Predator” franchise on Hulu with this new entry in the “Predator” saga. Not much is known about the story, except that it probably won’t be a direct sequel to “Prey” and that it will star Elle Fanning. (Nov. 7)

“Frankenstein” – Two Frankenstein-themed movies in one year? OK! Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”) delivers this lavish, big-budget adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel. He’s been wanting to make it for decades, and it’s unknown exactly how his version of the classic story will be different, but he’s sure to put his own spin on it. The cast is great, with Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the monster (as if!). (Exact release date is unknown, but expect somewhere close to Halloween.)

“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” – The original 2023 film, which followed a troubled security guard who begins working night shifts at a haunted pizzeria, was a surprise huge hit, grossing $137 million domestically and $291 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, so naturally there would be a sequel. Not much is known about the plot here, except that apparently we’ll be spending five more nights at Freddy’s. (Dec. 5)

“Return of the Living Dead” – The original “Return of the Living Dead” is one of the most revered zombie classics, but this apparently takes place 18 months after that one, in a small Pennsylvania town on the brink of a zombie outbreak during Christmas 1985. Happy holidays! Nom, nom, nom. (Dec. 25)