The year ahead in Horror

Cheryl Eddy is a senior writer for io9; covers horror, books, sci-fi, fantasy and weird culture, sometimes all at once. Email tips to (email protected).

The top story

At the beginning of 2024, we looked ahead and realized that the horror genre was disproportionately full of reboots, remakes and sequels. At the beginning of 2025, we’re looking in that same direction and… the future still looks pretty familiar.

But 2024 came with some exceptional originals, including The Substance, Heretic, I watched Glow TV, Longlegsand Late Night With the Devil– all those that were lit io9’s list of the best movies of the year, with, yes, many sequels and prequels and such (Smile 2, Nosferatu, The first wish, Terrifying 3).

It’s often the case that smaller indies aren’t teased months or years ahead of time, just bouncing on our collective radars until they make a film-fest splash, much like The Substance done So if you’re hungry for a calendar that charts the arrival of really fresh horror meat, that list may be incomplete at the start of 2025. We’ve got a few off-the-beaten-path titles to get excited about – as well as adaptations, reboots, remakes, franchise continuations, and sequels galore.

We also believe some highly anticipated TV series, as 2025 looks to be mostly nightmares (in a good way) even on the small screen.

And, a note: we do our best to only include titles with confirmed release dates – which are always subject to change – and also to focus on things we’re really excited to see!

Sequels, prequels, reboots, franchise continuations

If you loved the first movie, you can watch it again with the same characters M3GAN 2.0 (June 27), The black phone 2 (October 17), and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (December 5). A new popular cast 28 years later (June 20), which technically arrives 23 years after the original (28 days later, 2002) and 18 after his first follow-up (28 weeks later2007). After all, zombies are eternal.

Thread: An insidious story (August 29) is the first Insidious spin-off, but it is the sixth entry in the Insidious series spawned from James Wan’s 2010 original. The casting (Mandy Moore and Kumail Nanjiani co-star) and the writer-director (Jeremy Slater, who makes his directorial debut after the credits of Moon Knight, The exorcist tv series, The Umbrella Academy, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empireand more) make us excited to see what new terrors Ultra will throw at us this time.

Other long-lived franchises that have more left in them include The Conjuring: Last Rites (September 5), the fourth and allegedly last film in the Conjuring series, and the ninth entry in the Conjuring Universe spawned by serial franchise-starter James Wan in 2013. Death will continue to try to complete unfinished business in Final Destination: Bloodlines (May 16); it is the sixth Final Destination film, and the first new entry since 2011 Final Destination 5. (So ​​much for the assertion of the fourth part of being The final destination.)

While the biggest horror series of the 1990s, Screamwill not have a new movie this year (early 2026, however Scream 7), his most prominent coattail rider, I know what you did last summerwill revive its formula of secrets and slashers with a fourth series entry (July 18) billed as a sequel to 1998’s terrible but wonderful. I still know what you did last summer. Autumn will bring the 11th Saw movie, Vio XI (September 25). He seems ready to follow seen Xis guided by being carried out in the established Saw timeline (seen XThe events of the first two films) rather than extending the story into the future.

But wait, there’s more! Streaming eyeballs can look for the return of the Hell House LLC A found footage series, which started out as a story about an actual haunted attraction, but has since become mostly about weird clowns (we’re fine with that), in Hell House LLC: Lineage (October on Shudder). Netflix is ​​very popular Road of fear trilogy becomes a four part with Fear Street: Prom Night (2025 on Netflix), and the eight V/H/S found footage anthology, V/H/S/8will bring even more gritty grit to Shudder (2025).

And then, of course, 2025 will be a killer year for Predator fans, between Prey by director Dan Trachtenberg return to the franchise with Predator: Badlands (November 7) – and also the first Predator animated film (2025), which until now has kept most of its details under wraps.

Familiar monsters and monstrous adaptations

Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man) returns to the Universal Monsters realm with his reimagining of The wolf man (January 17). William of the Bull Frankensteina long-gestating passion project, will debut on Netflix (2025), with Jacob Elordi as the monster and Oscar Isaac as Dr. Frankenstein. And Maggie Gyllenhaal brings a musical twist The Bride of Frankenstein with The bride! (September 25), with Christian Bale as the monster and Jessie Buckley as his bride.

Two great horror adaptations to look out for: David F. Sandberg Until dawnwhich brings the popular horror video game to the big screen (April 25), and The Monkeyan adaptation of Stephen King’s short story by Longlegs” Osgood Perkins (February 21).

And, well, we’re not sure where to put this, but it’s definitely a familiar monster at least: the new one Anaconda The film, starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd, has all the makings of a giant snake meta-horror comedy scream (December 25).

Public domain horror

Like it or not, this schlocky subgenre that takes hilarious liberties with children’s stories is here to stay. This year will only bring Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare (January 13); a couple of Twisted Childhood Universe entries in Pinocchio: No ropewhich has a bona fide horror starring Robert Englund (2025), and crossover extravaganza Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble (2025); and Steamboat Willie do it above Screamboatwith David Howard Thornton (Terrifier’s Art the Clown) as Mickey Mouse (January 24).

Original stories?

Yes, they exist! We have our sights set on Ryan Coogler Sinnersa vampire tale with twin Michaels B. Jordan (April 18); Viciouswith Dakoka Fanning, da Strangers creators Bryan Bertino (2025); Clown in a cornfield (May 9), an adaptation of the acclaimed YA horror novel by Eli Craig (Tucker & Dale vs. Evil); thriller drop (April 11), by director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day); Meat of the Gods (2025), a vampire film set in the 1980s starring Kristen Stewart and Oscar Isaac Mandy‘s Panos Cosmatos; Steven Soderbergh’s Haunted House Experiment presence (January 24); and He (September 19), an intriguing mix of sports and horror from Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions.

But really, we’re hoping for many, many more original stories in 2025 — and we expect additional releases to be announced as the year goes on. Maybe Bring it backfrom the Philippou brothers behind talk to me? Or Let evil go to the Westwith Sebastian Stan and Lily James, from the director of the original Do not speak evil?

Horror TV shows

If you think your nightmares will begin and end with the movies in 2025, fear not, or perhaps fear no more. A robust series of TV series are on the slate, including, as it happens, a lot of sequels, spin-offs and continuations of franchises. That includes Alien: Earth (2025, FX on Hulu); The last of us the second season (early 2025, HBO); It: Welcome to Derry (2025, HBO); Stranger Things the fifth season (2025, Netflix); Wednesday the second season (2025, Netflix); new seasons for Walking Dead income Dead City (second season) and Daryl Dixon (season 3, both 2025 on AMC); and The Witches of Mayfair by Anne Rice the second season (January 5, AMC and AMC +).

Eventually, though perhaps 2025 is too much of a prediction, we’ll get Mike Flanagan. Carrie series for Prime Video, as well as Peacock’s Crystal Lake series, which had a showrunner bid in mid-2024.

As for the original series? So far we are more than stoked The BondsmanStarring the always delightful Kevin Bacon as a bounty hunter who comes back from the dead and back to work…with a spooky twist (2025, Prime Video).

A long bet

While we hope all the sequels and spin-offs and IP retreads we’ve just discussed turn out to be fun and (more importantly) scary as hell, there’s certainly a chance that audiences will tire of so many trips through the familiar. 2025 box-office results will help push Hollywood toward embracing fresher ideas in future years — or will we be here in January 2026, talking about see XII?

Want more io9 news? Check when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Warsand Star Trek free, what is next for the DC Universe in film and TVand everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.