The Year Ahead in Horror
Hollywood sure hopes you're still into sequels, reboots, and franchise continuations.
Hollywood sure hopes you're still into sequels, reboots, and franchise continuations.
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Hollywood sure hopes you're still into sequels, reboots, and franchise continuations.
The 13 most anticipated horror movies of 2025
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"
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 β you guessed it β 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"
Warner Bros. Pictures
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"
Neon
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"
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 β which obviously don't match the rest of the old-timey setting.
"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"
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)
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 Knowβ¦," 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"
Warner Bros.
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!"
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 β 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"
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"
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"
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"
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.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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Cillian Murphy is not in '28 Years Later,' its producer said. Here's everything we know about the '28 Days Later' sequel.
Sony Pictures Releasing
- "28 Years Later," the sequel to "28 Days Later," is out in June.
- The story follows a young boy trying to save his mother.
- Producer Andrew Macdonald confirmed that Cillian Murphy is not in the movie β but might be in the sequel.
Cillian Murphy won't be in "28 Years Later" β but he might appear in its sequel.
The film sees director Danny Boyle return for the long-awaited horror sequel two decades after "28 Days Later."
In the original film, Murphy played Jim, a bicycle courier who wakes up from a coma to find that the UK has been hit by the "Rage" virus, which turns people into fast zombie-like creatures.
The film performed fairly well at the time, earning $84 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
Boyle's unique vision of a post-apocalyptic Britain led to a resurgence of zombie movies in the 2000s. Many took inspiration from Boyle's fast zombies, such as in the "Dawn of the Dead" remake, and "Zombieland."
While Boyle produced the 2007 sequel, "28 Weeks Later," the Juan Carlos Fresnadillo-directed film focused more on gory action, than the suspense-driven horror of the original.
But judging by the brutal first trailer, it looks like "28 Years Later" will be a mix of both. Here's what we know about the sequel.
The "28 Years Later" trailer depicts a brutal vision of post-apocalyptic Britain
Last December, Sony released the first trailer for the highly anticipated sequel, showing what post-apocalyptic Britain looks like and who has survived the Rage virus.
It shows Jamie and Spike, a father-and-son duo played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and 13-year-old Alfie Williams, respectively. Empire reported the two survivors live on Lindisfarne, a heavily defended island community in Northumberland, which has become a safe haven from the virus.
When they venture out onto the mainland, they're chased by the infected. There are also glimpses of other cast members in the trailer, including Jodie Comer as Isla, Spike's mother, and Ralph Fiennes as the mysterious Dr. Kelson.
The footage is narrated using a creepy recording of Rudyard Kipling's poem "Boots," which the military also uses to train elite soldiers.
One scene shows totem poles made out of bones and skulls, which could be where "28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple," the sequel which doesn't have a release date yet, gets its title.
Sony Pictures Releasing
Sony also shared the film's synopsis, which reads: "It's been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway.
"When one of the group leaves the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well."
Cillian Murphy is not in '28 Years Later,' despite rumors
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images/Fox Searchlight Pictures
It was rumored that Murphy would reprise his role in the film, and the actor appeared to hint at his involvement last February.
He told Variety: "I've always said I would love to be involved because that movie changed everything for me and I have great affection for it and for those guys Alex, and Danny."
Murphy added: "So I'm really thrilled that we'll get the band back together to make this one."
And last May, Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman Tom Rothman told Deadline that Murphy would reprise his role as Jim in the film.
However, the producer Andrew Macdonald told Empire on Thursday that Murphy is not in "28 Years Later," but he might appear in a sequel.
He said: "[On] this, we wanted him to be involved and he wanted to be involved. He is not in the first film, but I'm hoping there will be some Jim somewhere along the line."
Fans on social media thought they'd spotted Murphy in set photos. But it's possible that whatever was being filmed was intended for the sequel, "The Bone Temple," because the two films were shot back-to-back.
Highly unlikely that Cillian Murphy is the zombie in the #28YearsLater trailer cos the BTS stuff has him looking like this pic.twitter.com/ie7vrNcTWq
β Heavy Spoilers (@heavyspoilers) December 10, 2024
Deadline reported that the film stars Jack O'Connell, and Erin Kellyman.
Last October, Fiennes told IndieWire that the story revolves around a young boy trying to save his mother in the north of England.
He said: "Britain is 28 years into this terrible plague of infected people who are violent, rabid humans with a few pockets of uninfected communities. And it centers on a young boy who wants to find a doctor to help his dying mother. He leads his mother through this beautiful northern English terrain.
"But of course, around them hiding in forests and hills and woods are the infected. But he finds a doctor who is a man we might think is going to be weird and odd, but actually is a force for good."
Ralph Fiennes said filming on the '28 Years Later' sequel, 'The Bone Temple,' has also finished.
Karwai Tang/WireImage
The long-awaited sequel will arrive in theaters on June 20, 2025, and is the start of a new trilogy. Per Deadline, "Candyman" director Nia DaCosta was in talks to direct the follow-up in early 2024.
The title for the second movie, "The Bone Temple," was revealed by the United States Copyright Office.
According to Fiennes, the follow-up has already been shot. He said: "It's three films, of which two have been shot."
In January, Boyle told Empire that Fiennes' character gets more of the spotlight in the sequel.
"He strides forward into the second film in an enormous way, where the question of what he's after and what he wants to do gets fully resolved," Boyle said.
Danny Boyle used farm animals and an iPhone to film '28 Years Later.'
Getty
Wired reported last September, citing unnamed sources, that Boyle shot the new sequel using an iPhone 15 Pro Max modified with additional lenses.
Wired also reported that "some scenes in '28 Years Later' were shot with action cams strapped to farm animals," although the outlet didn't reveal why.
Sony didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
It seems likely that this unusual filming method will help capture a specific, energetic visual style during a chase scene involving the infected. But it's not clear whether the animals are specifically in the film, or if they're just an unorthodox filming tool.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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