How Horror Is Finding Its Place In Awards & What’s New For 2025

Following a successful 2024 awards season, Horror films demonstrated their dominance at the box office, marking a significant year for the genre. Notably, the Academy Awards recognized four films within the genre, signaling a growing appreciation for horror’s artistic merit.

The Academy Awards have historically marginalized horror films, with The Silence of the Lambs in 1991 at the 63rd Academy Awards being the notable exception. Its ‘Big Five’ sweep—Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Adapted Screenplay—remains a unique achievement in the genre’s history. However, recent nominations indicate a growing willingness to acknowledge horror, signaling a potential change in the awards landscape.

Horror at the 46th Academy Awards was first recognized in 1974 for William Friedkin’s groundbreaking horror film The Exorcist, which received a remarkable 10 nominations, including Best Picture, a rare feat for the genre. While it won two awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound, the sheer number of nominations solidified its place as a landmark moment for horror at the Oscars.

2024 proved to be a landmark year for horror, with the genre achieving unprecedented awards season recognition. Coralie Fargeat’s body horror, The Substance, starring Demi Moore, garnered five Oscar nominations. Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu received four, Alien: Romulus earned a nomination for Best Visual Effects, and The Girl with the Needle was recognized in the Best International Film category.

Horror was big money at the box office this year with Parker Finn’s, Smile 2, earning $138 million, Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs, starring Nicolas Cage brought in $126 million, and major franchises like Alien: Romulus ($350 million), and A Quiet Place: Day One ($261 million), also performed strongly.

While mainstream horror thrived, the genre’s indie spirit remained vibrantly alive. Jane Schoenbrun’s Sundance premiere, ‘I Saw the TV Glow,’ J.T. Mollner’s intense cat-and-mouse film, ‘Strange Darling,’ Cameron and Colin Cairnes’ ‘Late Night with the Devil,’ and the surprising standout French horror ‘Mad,’ which took the zombie genre in a fresh new direction, demonstrated the power of unique directorial visions and innovative storytelling in crafting truly effective scares.

Despite many high-profile projects with no release dates scheduled yet, 2025 promises a compelling lineup of horror films. From Guillermo del Toro’s, Frankenstein, and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners to established auteurs, successful franchises, and indie debuts, 2025 is shaping up to be a bloody great year for horror.

Here are some films that hold potential for both sleeper hits and awards season recognition.

Ash – In Theaters March 21, 2025

Fresh from the SXSW 2025 film festival, Flying Lotus returns with his second feature, Ash, a genre-bending sophomore feature executive produced by Neill Blomkamp. This film, starring Eiza González, Aaron Paul, and a diverse ensemble, invites audiences into the director’s unique and hallucinatory vision.

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The story follows Riya (González), who awakens to find her crew slaughtered on the mysterious planet of Ash. When a man named Brion (Paul) arrives to rescue her, an ordeal of psychological and physical terror ensues while Riya and Brion must decide if they can trust one another to survive.

Sinners – In Theaters April 18, 2025

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers Michael and B. Jordan return to their hometown to start again.  But instead of solace, they find a sinister welcome. While hinting at vampires, Jordan reveals the film explores a wider range of supernatural horrors.

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Written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ryan Coogler, Jordan stars in a dual role, joined by Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, and Delroy Lindo.

The Shrouds – In Theaters April 25, 2025

David Cronenberg’s highly anticipated body horror drama delves into themes of grief, technology, and the nature of mortality. The film centers on Karsh (Vincent Cassel), a businessman who invents “GraveTech,” a controversial technology that allows people to monitor the decomposition of their deceased loved ones.

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While Karsh is still reeling from the loss of his wife (Kruger) from cancer—and falling into a peculiar sexual relationship with his wife’s sister (also Kruger)—a spate of vandalized graves utilizing his “shroud” technology begins to put his enterprise at risk, leading him to uncover a potentially vast conspiracy.

Written following the death of the director’s wife, Cronenberg is both a profoundly personal reckoning with grief and a descent into noir-tinged dystopia, set in an ominous world of self-driving cars, data theft, and A.I. personal assistants. Offering Cronenberg’s customary balance of malevolence and wit, The Shrouds is a sly and thought-provoking consideration of the corporeal and the digital, the mortal and the infinite. The film stars Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce, and Sandrine Holt.

Bring Her Back – In Theaters May 30, 2025

Danny and Michael Philippou, the directing duo behind the Sundance sensation Talk to Me, are set to deliver their sophomore feature. The film delves into a terrifying ritual discovered by a brother and sister at their new foster home, located in a remote setting.

Sally Hawkins, a two-time Oscar nominee, stars alongside Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, and Jonah Wren Phillips, with plot details kept tightly under wraps.

28 Years Later – In Theaters June 20, 2025

Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle and Academy Award-nominated writer Alex Garland, the acclaimed duo behind 28 Days Later, return with 28 Years Later, a terrifying new trilogy. The first installment, releasing June 20, 2025, plunges viewers almost three decades into the rage virus aftermath. Survivors, living in a heavily quarantined world, find ways to exist amidst the infected.

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One group on a remote island sends a member into the mainland, uncovering mutated horrors and secrets. Featuring a stellar cast including Ralph Fiennes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and more, the saga continues with 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple in 2026.

Dracula: A Love Tale – In Theaters July 30, 2025

Luc Besson reunites with Caleb Landry Jones, following Dogman (2023), for a romantic reimagining of his latest gothic horor film, Dracula: A Love Tale. Set in Belle Epoque Paris, Besson’s film portrays Dracula as a man driven by a 400-year quest to find his reincarnated wife, Elisabeta.

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Zoë Bleu plays both Elisabeta and her 19th-century counterpart, Mina, alongside Matilda De Angelis and Christoph Waltz, who plays a vampire-hunting priest.

Together – In Theaters August 1, 2025

Writer-director Michael Shanks Together, a standout in Sundance’s Midnight section, was the festival’s first major acquisition, with Neon securing it for $17 million. This darkly comedic body horror film, featuring Dave Franco, Alison Brie, and Damon Herriman, explores a couple’s relationship as it’s grotesquely altered by a supernatural event in their new rural home.

The Conjuring: Last Rites – In Theaters September 5, 2025

Michael Chaves brings The Conjuring saga to a close with The Conjuring: Last Rites. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as the Warrens, facing their final supernatural investigation. With James Wan and Peter Safran producing, this film promises a fitting and chilling end to the franchise. With filming wrapped in October 2024, the plot is tightly guarded.

The Bride! Released in Theaters September 26, 2025

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s sophomore film, The Bride!, brings a fresh perspective to the Frankenstein myth, starring Jessie Buckley in the titular role as the Bride and Christian Bale as Frankenstein. The film explores the creation of a companion by Frankenstein and Dr. Euphronius, a resurrected woman whose existence sparks not only romance but also police investigation and radical social change. With Annette Bening, Penélope Cruz, and Peter Sarsgaard rounding out the ensemble.

Frankenstein – Lurches onto Netflix in November 2025

Guillermo del Toro fulfills a lifelong passion, adapting Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein after winning his third Oscar for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. Oscar Isaac stars as the brilliant but flawed Victor Frankenstein, who brings a creature to life in a tragic experiment. Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, and an exceptional ensemble join del Toro’s decade-long vision, premiering on Netflix.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 – In Theaters December 5, 2025

Following the massive success of Five Nights at Freddy’s, Universal and Blumhouse are bringing the terrifying pizzeria back for a sequel. Director Emma Tammi returns, along with stars Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, and Matthew Lillard, to continue the viral video game saga. Plot details remain a closely guarded secret.

Hunting Matthew Nichols – Release Date TBD 2025

Markian Tarasiuk’s indie directorial debut, Hunting Matthew Nichols, currently doing the rounds on the festival circuit, presents a compelling doc-style thriller. The story follows Tara Nichols, an aspiring filmmaker, as she searches for her brother, Matthew, who mysteriously vanishes alongside his friend, Jordan, on Vancouver Island. 

When disturbing evidence surfaces, Tara (Miranda MacDougall) and her crew (Tarasiuk) delve into the disturbing circumstances surrounding his disappearance, revealing a connection to a past inspired by The Blair Witch Project. 23 years prior, Matthew and a friend documented their own forest adventures, echoing the iconic film. 

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While paying homage to The Blair Witch Project, the film establishes its own distinct style. It skillfully combines documentary realism and suspense with polished cinematography, eschewing the shaky cam approach, to weave a chilling tale about the dangers of pursuing hidden truths. A brooding, superbly acted horror debut marks Tarasiuk as a promising filmmaker.

Redux Redux – Release Date TBD 2025

Kevin and Matthew McManus’s film, debuting at SXSW 2025, explores a mother’s descent into relentless vengeance. Irene Kelly, seeking justice for her daughter’s murder, traverses parallel universes, executing the killer time and again. As her thirst for revenge deepens, she faces a profound moral dilemma, risking the loss of her own humanity.

We Bury The Dead – Release Date TBD 2025

The ravaged landscapes of post-apocalyptic Tasmania, Australia, provide the haunting setting for Zak Hilditch’s gripping zombie thriller. Daisy Ridley portrays Ava, a woman driven by hope to find her husband. Her work with a body retrieval unit takes a horrific turn when the dead begin to rise. As she travels through the ravaged south, Ava’s journey becomes a confrontation with both the undead and her own inner demons.

Keeper – Release Date TBD 2025

Known for his atmospheric horror, Osgood Perkins, fresh from Longlegs, returns with Keeper, starring Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland. The film centers on a secluded cabin that transforms into a site of terror when a wife, left alone during an anniversary retreat, uncovers a sinister presence and the dwelling’s chilling secrets. Release details are currently undisclosed.

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