Horror Movies I’ve Been Watching: Recommendations, and a Few Not So Good

Don’t worry, I avoided spoilers for once! Feel free to keep reading!

In what seems to have become an annual tradition, I start binge watching horror films in September to rev up for spooky season in Halloween. Of course, I watch horror movies year-round, but I put particular emphasis on them during September and October. As a big horror movie fan, something I’ve been frustrated with is the number of notable horror films I’ve missed the past few years. I endeavored to largely correct that with this year’s binge. Below are the horror films I’ve seen the past few weeks, mostly through various streaming services. At first, I thought I’d stick to catching up on 2025, but then I figured I might as well try to hit a few from the prior years, and then, I couldn’t help hitting a few older ones, too. Hopefully, as you look for something spooky or sinister to watch to get you into the Halloween spirit, you’ll find something of intrigue from the list. Again, I keep my mini-reviews of the films spoiler-free and vague.

The order is primarily the chronological order of having watched them, not from worst to best or vice versa.

Companion (2025)

I saw this one in theaters and did an full-on review here. As I said there, it was a goofy, earnest, gory good time. Sophie Thatcher was a standout as well.

Heart Eyes (2025)

One of the more disappointing watches on this list. I’m a fan of blending horror and comedy. The aforementioned Companion struck that tonal balance well. But it’s not easy to do! And I don’t think Heart Eyes was able to thread the needle.

The Blue Drum (2022)

I stumbled across this short film on Netflix (neat that they feature short films!) and I enjoyed what they were able to do atmospherically in their limited time. Absurdly, when I sought out perspectives online, people complained about the runtime. It’s a short film!

Sinners (2025)

Another theater viewing, which was so phenomenal I had to do another standalone review here. I’d have to go through my list of 2025 films, but I’m not sure off the top of my head if there’s been a better one than Sinners. I was highly praise-worthy of the cinematography, direction, score, and acting, saying, “Everyone from Coogler to Jordan to Arkapaw to Goransson were in top form and it made for a pitch-perfect film.”

Final Destination (2003, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2025)

In preparation for watching 2025’s Final Destination: Bloodlines, I watched 2003’s Final Destination 2, which is a close rival with the one that kicked it off, 2000’s Final Destination, for best of the series. It’s wild how much 2006’s Final Destination feels of its time and how dated that vibe is in 2025. With 2009’s Final Destination, which if I recall correctly hopped on the marketing craze of it being 3-D, I felt like maybe they were beginning to run out of ideas. After all, they need a big opening scene and it’s tough to top the first two films’ openings. However, the fifth installment, 2011’s Final Destination brought back some interesting elements, even if the acting was atrocious. For instance, the wrinkle of, if you kill someone else, then you can be saved from Death’s list, as it were. And yes, I thoroughly enjoyed this year’s Final Destination Bloodlines. Everyone involved understood the assignment: these are fun films, an opportunity to be creative with the bloodletting and splatter, and sure, add in some more myth-building around Death. This one goes further back to an inciting incident in 1969 on a skyscraper that was quite spectacular and easily the best opening since 2003’s film. I believe a new wrinkle introduced is that you can cheat death by being considered clinically dead and then being brought back to life. The attempts at doing this in the film were fantastically brutal and creative. I can’t wait for more in this franchise!

Until Dawn (2025)

Based on the 2015 video game, which I’ve never played, Until Dawn seemed like a mashup of 1993’s Groundhog Day and 2011’s The Cabin in the Woods: the characters keep getting killed by various evil-doers from slashers to supernatural entities and then come back to life only to be killed again. I enjoyed it. Sure, they could have gotten more out of the concept (having more variety with the killers, for example), but it was a fun way to spend an evening.

Weapons (2025)

I’m shocked I didn’t do a standalone review of this one, but it was so, so good, and I can’t speak highly enough of Julia Garner’s performance. It was a haunting allegory, I think, about kids being killed in mass shootings and society moving on. Only Zach Cregger, director and writer, uses something else to propel the allegory forward. The surviving boy’s situation was haunting as hell. I’m looking forward to revisiting this one to see what I missed.

Drop (2025)

What a pleasant surprise of a film, which reminded me a great deal of one of my favorite horror-thrillers, 2005’s Red Eye from Wes Craven. It’s essentially the same concept except in a fancy high-end and high-up restaurant. Now that I think about it, Christopher Landon, director, has only missed once out of what I’ve seen with his other 2025 film, Heart Eyes. Otherwise, 2006’s Disturbia is a favorite; a few of the Paranormal Activity films that he did were good; I love the Happy Death Day films (I hope we get a third!); Freaky was a blast; and now this one. I don’t know what the disconnect then was with Heart Eyes.

Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025)

I grew up loving to read R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series; they were my gateway to horror! So, I’m always down for more adaptations from Netflix. While this isn’t as strong an outing as the first trilogy, I still liked watching it, including the Carrie homage. Again, it’s not that tonally different from Heart Eyes, but it worked for me here.

Borderline (2025)

Speaking of tonally interesting, Borderline is about a schizophrenic sociopath who thinks he’s in love with a pop star. Samara Weaving, who plays the pop star, pulls off something different, but still compelling than what she had to do with the phenomenal horror film, 2019’s Ready or Not. But of course, given what he had to do, Ray Nicholson (yes, the son of Jack Nicholson and he is most certainly his father’s son!) stole the show.

Heretic (2024)

Admittedly, I wasn’t sure if I’d like a horror movie with Hugh Grant, but boy, I was unequivocally wrong. In a world where the Academy took horror more seriously, I would have given Grant a Best Actor nomination! And the atmosphere created by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, directors and writers, was palpable and tense. It also had a shocking point in the middle of the film I didn’t see coming at all. One of my favorite watches of the year.

Nosferatu (2024)

I finally saw Nosferatu and it did not disappoint in aesthetics, atmosphere, and acting. It’s a visual and technical treat while also still having moments of horror and dread.

Talk to Me (2023)

One of the better possession outings I’ve seen in some time. Very creative and captivating. There is a moment — what I refer to as the “shit-hitting-the-fan” moment in any horror film — that is perhaps the most shocking and wild moment of any film on this list save for one. Also, the film serves as a great reflection on grief and how it warps the mind. Go see it!

In a Violent Nature (2024)

Much like Nosferatu, this is a horror film where you’re watching it more so for the technical intrigue and what the director/writer is trying to accomplish versus the actual story. In that vein, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of what Chris Nash, director and writer, was trying to offer by depicting the film from the slasher’s perspective, and of course, the readily available metaphor of that.

Get Away (2024)

I feel like there’s a new genre emerging the last few years that this one and another one on my list slots into. But this is also the second film on the list to disappoint me. I’m easy to please, I like to think, so, that’s saying something! Again, without spoiling it, I didn’t think what they tried in the middle of the film was earned or made sense, and it certainly didn’t make the film better.

Scream 4 (2011) and Scream 5 (2022)

It had been a while since I’ve seen those two installments, but man, what a great franchise. I particularly loved how daring Scream 5 was. Another great performance from Jack Quaid, who was fantastic in 2025’s Companion (and also, great in this year’s Novocaine, which I reviewed here.

Longlegs (2024)

Not to seem repetitive, but this is another horror film that is technically fun to watch from Osgood Perkins, director and writer. I loved the way it was shot and the sense of dread. There is a choice made in the film I wouldn’t have done, but in this case, it didn’t negatively affect my viewing pleasure or thoughts on the film. Maika Monroe was great in this, too. And yes, Nicolas Cage disappears into his role, which is quite the feat these days, so, kudos to him.

Presence (2024)

I suppose I am going to be repetitive, but it’s reflective of the quality of horror films the last few years! Presence is another one that is so technically interesting, where, like A Violent Nature, it is from the perspective of the malevolent force in the story. I cannot recommend this one enough, and obviously, you should go into it blind. It made me want to rewatch the movie instantly. Genuinely jaw-dropping.

Terrifier 3 (2024)

What’s funny is I thought Terrifier 2 was overly indulgent with its runtime, and I still feel that way about Terrifier 3, but it’s clear Damien Leone, director and writer, had to truncate much of his plot to fit a shorter runtime and the film feels a bit disjointed in that way with how some of the deaths happen. Still, this series owes a lot to Lauren LaVera’s Sienna Shaw performance (you thought I was going to say Terrifier?!). She is one of the best “final girls” to come around in a long time. I’m not as into these films as others clearly are, but I enjoy them for what they are.

28 Days Later (2002), 28 Weeks Later (2007), and 28 Years Later (2025)

In preparation for finally seeing 28 Years Later, I rewatched 28 Days Later (an incredible horror film, with an unforgettable Cillian Murphy performance) and watched for the first time, 28 Weeks Later (this one frustrated me for what it implied about the main zombie, but it was still better than I expected). Now, 28 Years Later, which brought back Danny Boyle to direct and Alex Garland to write, was quite good. I’m a big Garland fan, and I loved, loved the bold move he pulled off here. Sticking with “everything is a metaphor theme” here, they offer three distinct attitudes about death, which made for a more layered and interesting film. Ralph Fiennes stole the show for me, as did Young Fathers’ score and sound elements. I’m still not quite sure how to feel about the ending, but we’ll see how it develops with future installments.

Speak No Evil (2024)

Talk about a film with an overwhelming since of impending doom prior to that quintessential “shit-hitting-the-fan” moment. This built up and built up. A remake of a Danish film, I’m not sure it plays in the same way in an American or British context, but regardless, it had me on the edge of my seat. James McAvoy is always a captivating force-of-nature on the screen. I kept shouting, “Get out, get out!” to my screen. Mamma bear mode was activated in this film to my satisfaction as well. They made me care about the fate of the main characters.

Villains (2019)

Everyone needs to go out of their way to watch Villains. Bill Skarsgård and Maika Monroe (who I mentioned as being great in Longlegs) have the best chemistry of any couple from any of these films. This was a blast, and it reminded me of a Wes Anderson aesthetic (complimentary).

Match (2025)

Don’t overlook this one because it’s a Tubi original: it was damn good! Humberly González was a great final girl barring one item that really devastated me. But no, this was a sick, disturbing film. One of the dark horses in horror films this year!

Smile (2022)

I didn’t know what to expect when finally watching Smile, but it was disturbing and effective. Now that I think about it, it has a similar mythos to Final Destination: it’ll jump to the next person unless you kill someone or yourself. I’m looking forward to checking out the 2024 sequel, which I’ve heard from some is better.

The Coffee Table (2022)

Easily, without question, the most disturbing film on this list, and one of the most disturbing films I’ve ever seen. Yes. Seriously. Go into it blind. (It’s on Tubi, I believe.)

Lowlifes (2024)

I’m as shocked as you are that another Tubi original film made the list, but hot damn, this was good. This is what Get Away was trying to be, but failed out. The ending is divisive, and I fall on the side of “not a huge fan of that direction,” but all the same, this was a good time on Tubi.

The Monkey (2025)

I only recently read Stephen King’s short story, The Monkey, so, when I saw the film coming out, also by Longlegs director and writer, Osgood Perkins, I was excited. It’s a difficult concept to play with because inherently, it’s about an evil toy causing death and mayhem. Which is what Perkins thought, so he went the Heart Eyes comedy/campy route. The metaphor was obvious enough Perkins wasn’t subtle about it: death is absurd. He leaned into its absurdity for comedic purposes. It comes from a real place for him. Anthony Perkins, his father, most famous for playing Norman Bates in 1960’s Psycho, died of AIDS, and then his mother, Berry Berenson, was on one of the planes crashed into the Twin Towers on 9/11. Sheesh. Still, unfortunately, I have to put this up there with Heart Eyes and Get Away as a disappointment and one of the worst films on the list. It didn’t work for me at all and it was a chore to get through. That said, they did nail the creepiness of the monkey.

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

Thankfully, we’re going to end on a good note because Late Night with the Devil is one of the best films on this list and a must-see. Colin and Cameron Cairnes, directors and writers, breathe new life into the possession genre in a unique approach using the late night talk show format (itself in its death throes!) to do so. Set in the 1970s, the film feels and looks astonishingly authentic and that’s aided also by David Dastmalchian’s pitch-perfect performance.

To recap, if I had to recommend five films from this entire list (no particular order):

• Sinners
• The Coffee Table (I cannot emphasize going in blind enough)
• Weapons
• Late Night with the Devil
• Talk to Me

Honorable mentions to Heretic, Presence, and Villains. But aside from Heart Eyes, Get Away, and The Monkey, which I can’t in good faith recommend to anyone, I’d recommend horror fans to give any of the other films on this list a whirl and see what you think. Please let me know if you do!

What am I missing over the last few years that I should give a watch? I know 2024’s The Substance is one of my biggest omissions, which I hope to rectify that soon. I also need to see 2022’s M3GAN (I’ve heard the sequel is not good, though). As a fan of the franchise, I’m also quite derelict in not having gotten to 2023’s Evil Dead Rise yet. What else?!