The 13 most anticipated horror movies of 2025

6 January 2025 at 14:55

A composite image of a man and a doll. On the left, a man with long wet brown hair is dressed in a brown jacket and is aiming a bow and arrow. On the right is a doll with blond hair and blue eyes. She's wearing a blue top. — Aaron Taylor-Johnson in "28 Years Later" and M3gan in "M3GAN 2.0."
Sony Pictures Releasing/Universal Pictures

Buzzy horror movies coming this year include sequels like "M3GAN 2.0" and "28 Years Later."
There are also originals like "Sinners" and "The Monkey."
Two separate Frankenstein adaptations are also in the works.

2024 was a great year for horror movies, and 2025 is shaping up to be a solid one too.

Last year, several of the best new horror movies were among the top 50 highest-grossing films of the year in the US. That included long-running franchise titles like "A Quiet Place: Day One" and "Alien: Romulus," buzzy sequels like "Smile 2" and "Terrifier 3," and surprise original hits like "Longlegs."

This year, it appears that IP is king once again. "Saw XI" and a long-gestating sequel to the 1997 slasher "I Know What You Did Last Summer" are on the docket, while James Wan's hit "Conjuring" franchise is set to take its final bow.

There's also a new film adaptation of a Stephen King story from "Longlegs" director Osgood Perkins, plus two different "Frankenstein" adaptations.

Below, Business Insider reporters Eammon Jacobs and Caralynn Matassa break down their most anticipated horror movies of 2025.

"Wolf Man"

A man and a woman sitting on the floor. On the left, the woman with short blond hair is wearing blue jeans with a red flannel shirt tucked in. On the right the man with short black hair is lent up against a wooden wall with his legs stretched out in front of him. He's sweaty, and his green shirt collar is open. — Julia Garner as Charlotte and Christopher Abbott as Blake in "Wolf Man."
Universal Pictures

Release date: January 17, 2025

Universal is continuing to reinvent its vault of classic horror monsters with the "Wolf Man" remake.

The first trailer for the film sees Blake (Christopher Abbott) move his family to his childhood home after his father's disappearance.

Once they arrive, the family locks themselves inside the home after Blake gets attacked by a creature outside. He then begins to change into — you guessed it — a werewolf.

It sounds pretty predictable, but director Leigh Whannell managed to weave a haunting level of relevance into "The Invisible Man" back in 2020, so we'll see if he has something special up his sleeve for "Wolf Man."

"Companion"

Release date: January 31, 2025

The trailer for "Companion" is creepy and vague, giving virtually no indication of what the movie is about (other than a promise that it's "a new kind of love story"). That secrecy has certainly piqued interest in it.

On top of the minimal plot details (a tactic that worked incredibly well for "Longlegs" at the box office), the pedigree behind this title is a big draw. It was produced by the filmmakers behind the buzzy 2022 horror hit "Barbarian," including director Zach Cregger, and stars "Yellowjackets" breakout Sophie Thatcher (also known for her horror roles in "The Boogeyman" and "Heretic") and "The Boys" actor Jack Quaid.

"The Monkey"

Release date: February 21, 2025

After the unexpected success of "Longlegs" at the box office, fans don't have to wait very long for director Osgood Perkins' follow-up. He's re-teaming with again Neon (who snagged the film in a reportedly competitive deal) on "The Monkey," about twin brothers Hal and Bill (Theo James in dual roles) who are terrorized by their father's old toy monkey after finding it in the attic.

As if the excitement over Perkins as a rising horror icon isn't enough, the movie is also an adaptation of a Stephen King story.

"Sinners"

An image of two Black men looking scared while their faces are lit up by something off-camera. On the left, a man with short black hair and a black goatee is wearing a white best and has two necklaces on. He has his arm around the man on the right, who has short black hair and scratches across his face. He's wearing a brown shirt. — Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton in "Sinners."
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: March 7, 2025

Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler's names alone should be enough to get anyone excited for "Sinners."

Throw in the creepy trailer set in a small, seemingly post-WWII town beset by an evil force, plus Jordan playing a pair of twin brothers next to Hailee Steinfeld and Wunmi Mosaku, and the film easily earns its place on this list.

It's rumored to be a vampire movie, but the footage cleverly hides its fangs if that's the case. "Sinners" seems to be a mystery box of sorts, considering that at the end of the trailer, a DJ and a boom-box can be seen in the crowd — which obviously don't match the rest of the old-timey setting.

"28 Years Later"

A man and a boy standing in a woodland area. On the left, the man has long brown hair and a long brown beard. He's wearing a burgundy coat with a quiver of arrows strapped to his back. On the right, the young boy wears a black hodded coat and has a white bag strap across his chest. — Aaron Taylor Johnson and Alfie Williams in "28 Years Later."
Sony Pictures Releasing

Release date: June 20, 2025

As the title might suggest, "28 Years Later" takes place several decades after Danny Boyle's game-changing "28 Days Later," which delivered a pulse-pounding vision of a modern zombie apocalypse.

The haunting first trailer showed a rural community that survived the virus by living on an isolated British island. Two of those survivors are played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and teenage star Alfie Williams.

In October, actor Ralph Fiennes teased that the film follows a young boy in northern England who goes looking for a doctor who can help his dying mother.

"M3GAN 2.0"

A robot doll with long blond hair and pale blue eyes. She's wearing a blue coat. — M3GAN in "M3GAN 2.0."
Geoffrey Short/Universal Pictures

Release date: June 27, 2025

Get ready for more viral dances and brutal violence, because everyone's favorite killer robot toy is back in "M3GAN 2.0."

Plot details are scarce, but Allison Williams and Violet McGraw are reprising their roles as Gemma and Cady, the aunt and niece who faced off with the malevolent doll in the first movie.

Presumably, it'll involve M3GAN trying to replace Gemma as Cady's guardian following the violent ending to the first film. Regardless, Amie Donald is also returning to physically play the android, and Jenna Davis is voicing her again.

"I Never Forget What You Did Last Summer" (rumored title)

jennifer love hewitt in i know what you did last summer — Jennifer Love Hewitt in "I Know What You Did Last Summer."
Columbia Pictures

Release date: July 18, 2025

"I Know What You Did Last Summer" is getting a follow-up nearly 30 years after its release.

The 1997 slasher followed four teens (played by '90s icons Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr.) who are stalked by a hook-wielding killer a year after they seemingly killed a man in a hit-and-run accident.

The not-good sequel released a year later ("I Still Know What You Did Last Summer") took the murder-y action to the Bahamas. It was later followed by the (also not good) direct-to-video "I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer" in 2006, which had nothing to do with the previous two movies. Neither indicated a promising future for the franchise.

The upcoming movie, expected to be a direct follow-up to "I Still Know…," has had an interesting journey. Mike Flanagan was originally set to reboot the first movie, but those plans were eventually canned. After years of languishing in development hell, the fourth film directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson was officially announced.

There are no plot details yet, but original stars Hewitt and Prinze Jr. are both set to reprise their roles. Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers, and Jonah Hauer-King also star, according to Deadline.

"The Conjuring: Last Rites"

Release date: September 5, 2025

The highest-grossing horror movie franchise of all time is back for one final face-off with the forces of darkness.

The franchise, which kicked off in 2013 with the first film directed by James Wan, stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren, famed paranormal investigators. Each film took its inspiration from a real-life case the Warrens were involved in. Its success even spawned multiple other offshoot series within the shared "Conjuring Universe," including the "Annabelle" and "The Nun" movies.

Plot details are scarce, but it's being billed as a finale of sorts, meaning Ed and Lorraine's story is likely to come to an end. Whether that means one or both of them die in the process remains to be seen.

"The Bride!"

A woman with wild white hair looks down at the ground. She has a black and white fur coat on and has black ink smeared across her cheek. — Jessie Buckley as the Bride in "The Bride!"
Nico Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures

Release date: September 26, 2025

The first of the two "Frankenstein" movies on this list is Maggie Gyllenhaal's "The Bride!" This one isn't a direct adaptation, though — it's a horror musical set in 1930s Chicago and stars Christian Bale as Frankenstein's monster and Jessie Buckley as the bride of Frankenstein's monster.

Yes, that's right: a horror musical.

Penelope Cruz, Jake Gyllenhaal, Annette Bening, Peter Sarsgaard, and John Magaro also star.

"Saw XI"

tobin bell as jigsaw saw movies — Tobin Bell as John Kramer aka the Jigsaw Killer.
Lionsgate

Release Date: September 27, 2025

Love them or hate them, it's hard to deny that any new "Saw" movie is an interesting idea purely because it's hard to imagine how someone will be able to top the previous chapter.

"Saw XI" will be directed by Kevin Greutert. Greutert previously helmed the 2023 prequel "Saw X," which followed John Kramer (Tobin Bell) as he tortured a group that cons cancer patients.

Producer Oren Koules told GamesRadar+ that "Saw XI" might be a direct sequel to "Saw X."

"Cecilia is still alive and Tobin and Shawnee are in a foreign country still," he said. "So that, to me, would be the natural place to take at least the next one."

"The Black Phone 2"

Ethan Hawke in a mask — Ethan Hawke in "The Black Phone."
Universal

Release Date: October 25, 2025

Scott Derrickson is calling up some scares again with "The Black Phone 2." It's a direct sequel to the 2021 movie, which starred Mason Thames as a young boy who gets kidnapped by The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) and finds that the ghosts of the serial killer's past victims are trying to help him escape.

Hawke's terrifying performance (and that incredibly creepy mask) make the idea of a sequel very tantalizing.

Derrickson and his co-writer, C. Robert Cargill, have yet to reveal what will bring The Grabber back to the big screen, but both Hawke and Thames will reprise their roles.

"Five Nights at Freddy's 2"

"Five Nights at Freddy's" animatronics. — Foxy, Chica, Freddy Fazbear, and Bonnie in "Five Nights at Freddy's."
Patti Perret/Universal Pictures

Release date: December 5, 2025

The "Five Nights at Freddy's" follow-up might be one of Blumhouse's biggest hits of the year, if the success of the first film is any indication.

The first movie, an adaptation of the popular video game franchise of the same name, was a surprise hit at the box office when it was released in 2023. It focused on Mike (Josh Hutcherson), a security guard with a dark past who ends up facing off with animatronics possessed by dead kids (and William Afton, the serial killer who murdered them) at a Chuck E. Cheese-like pizza restaurant.

Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard, who played Afton, are both set to return for the sequel.

"Frankenstein"

A large, gothic room made out of stone slabs with a circular metal grated floor. In the background is a large, circular glass window designed like a flower. A man stands with his back to the camera looking at the window. He has long black hair and is wearing black trousers and a white shirt, On the left is a big green cylinder with a gold frame. There is a corpse on a wooden table wrapped in bandages. There are various body parts and blood on the floor in the background. There is a camera arm hanging over the corpse with a camera attached. — A photo of Oscar Isaac in "Frankenstein" via Vanity Fair.
Ken Woroner/Netflix/Vanity Fair

Release date: TBD 2025

A Guillermo del Toro horror movie is always something of an event. (See: "Blade II," "Hellboy," "Pan's Labyrinth," and "Crimson Peak," for example.) In 2025, he'll deliver his version of "Frankenstein" for Netflix, featuring a monstrously talented cast.

Most importantly, "Dune" star Oscar Isaac will play Victor Frankenstein opposite "Euphoria" actor Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein's monster.

They're joined by Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, Ralph Ineson, Lars Mikkelsen, and David Bradley.

Given the director's love of practical effects and creature design, this take on the well-trodden "Frankenstein" could be something truly special.

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