Lots of new horror's coming our way this year and with each new year I like to list the most notable ones to look out for. Instead of doing my usual large list of movies for the whole year I’m going to split it into two parts, with this first list only featuring movies releasing in the first half of the year. The second part of the list will be released sometime in July and will naturally focus on what’s coming out in the remaining half of the year, so keep an eye out for part 2 this summer. So get your calendars ready and check below for the most notable releases for the first half of 2025!

NOTE: Release dates are tentative and known to change, but I'll try to keep this list updated for as long as I can. This list is ordered by release date.

UPDATED 1/31: THE SHROUDS now has a release date.

VOD: Video on Demand
PVOD: Premium Video on Demand
Limited: Limited Theatrical Release
Theaters: Wide Theatrical Release

PETER PAN'S NEVERLAND NIGHTMARE
JANUARY 13th (Limited)

Follows Wendy Darling as she strikes out in an attempt to rescue her brother Michael from “the clutches of the evil Peter Pan.” Along the way she meets Tinkerbell, who in this twisted version of the story will be seen taking heroine, convinced that it’s pixie dust.

What started simply with a killer Winnie-the-Pooh has turned into a whole "twisted childhood universe" with various childhood characters getting a horror spin and will ultimately meet up in one "Avengers-style" movie. Whether this is a good thing or not remains to be seen, but it's an interesting take nonetheless, and the fad isn't going away any time soon. By the time this list is out the movie should already be in theaters. Originally it was going to be in theaters for only three days, but they've recently expanded it to an additional week.

WOLF MAN
JANUARY 17th (Theaters)

A family at a remote farmhouse is attacked by an unseen animal, but as the night stretches on, the father begins to transform into something unrecognizable.

This new werewolf flick comes to us from director Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man) and much like what he did with Invisible Man, the budget is fairly small, and the story is contained; focusing on just a few characters.

GRAFTED
JANUARY 24th (Shudder)

Chinese scholarship student Wei travels to New Zealand to study medical research at a prestigious university. Shy, introverted, and hiding a genetic facial birthmark, Wei is shunned by her social butterfly cousin Angela and her glamorous friends. Determined to change her fate, Wei immerses herself in her late father's research, working on a revolutionary skin grafting procedure that could cure her deformity. As her experiments take a dark turn, she becomes more dangerous and unhinged, willing to eliminate anyone who threatens her secret.

Body horror seems to be coming back as of late and I'm all for it. This New Zealand indie flick has been described as a "highly original take on the body horror subgenre with sharp social commentary that strikes a nerve." You can catch the movie when it debuts on Shudder.

PRESENCE
JANUARY 24th (Theaters)

A family moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they’re not alone.

There's a lot to look forward to with this haunted house flick, from the creative storyline of being in the POV of the ghost to the fact that it's got names like writer David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Stir of Echoes) and director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven, Contagion, Unsane, No Sudden Move) attached to it.

COMPANION
JANUARY 31st (Theaters)

New Line Cinema—the studio that brought you “The Notebook”—and the unhinged creators of “Barbarian” cordially invite you to experience a new kind of love story…

Zach Cregger (Barbarian) produces this sci-fi-horror-romance-hybrid starring Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher. I'd recommend avoiding the recent full trailer, as it kind of spoils what the storyline seems to be about and this is one of those films that's better off watching knowing very little about it.

DARK MATCH
JANUARY 31st (Shudder)

A small-time wrestling company accepts a well-paying gig in a backwoods town only to learn, too late, that the community is run by a mysterious cult leader with devious plans for their match.

Lowell Dean (WolfCop, Another WolfCop) directs this wrestling horror flick, which stars wrestler Chris Jericho. There isn't much wrestling in the genre, so it should prove an interesting watch when it hits Shudder at the end of the month.

HEART EYES
FEBRUARY 7th (Theaters)

When the Heart Eyes killer targets San Francisco, two co-workers burning the midnight oil on Valentine’s Day find themselves wrongly identified as a couple by the elusive murderer. Now, they’re forced to navigate the city on the most romantic night of the year while evading the deadly pursuit.

Described as a "horror rom-com," the movie looks like a nice 90's-esque slasher throwback that might be a fun watch when it lands in theaters.

THE GORGE
FEBRUARY 14th (Apple TV+)

Two highly-trained operatives (Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy) are appointed to posts in guard towers on opposite sides of a vast and highly classified gorge, protecting the world from an undisclosed, mysterious evil that lurks within. They bond from a distance while trying to stay vigilant in defending against an unseen enemy. When the cataclysmic threat to humanity is revealed to them, they must work together in a test of both their physical and mental strength to keep the secret in the gorge before it’s too late.

Directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister, The Black Phone) and starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller, this genre-bending sci-fi horror flick seems to also blend bits of romance into the mix, which if anything, should prove interesting.

THE MONKEY
FEBRUARY 21st (Theaters)

When twin brothers Hal and Bill discover their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths starts occurring all around them. The brothers decide to throw the monkey away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years. But when the mysterious deaths begin again, the brothers must reunite to find a way to destroy the monkey for good before it takes the lives of everyone close to them.

Based on a short story from Stephen King, this is the latest movie from director Osgood Perkins (Longlegs) and judging from the trailer it looks like a fun bloody ride!

IN THE LOST LANDS
MARCH 7th (Theaters)

A Queen sends the powerful and feared sorceress Gray Alys to the ghostly wilderness of the Lost Lands in search of a magical power, where the sorceress and her guide, the drifter Boyce, must outwit and outfight man and demon.

Paul W.S. Anderson (Event Horizon, Resident Evil movies) may be done with the Resident Evil movies, but If the trailer is any indication, he's still not done proving that his wife Milla Jovovich is a badass. Also starring Dave Bautista, this is the latest entry from the director, which looks like a big CG-infested action fantasy flick.

THE RULE OF JENNY PEN
MARCH 7th (Limited)

Confined to a secluded rest home and trapped within his stroke-ridden body, a former Judge must stop an elderly psychopath who employs a child's puppet to abuse the home's residents with deadly consequences.

This is a promising-looking psychological horror flick starring John Lithgow as a disturbed patient that trolls his peers with a creepy puppet, while Geoffrey Rush is the new guy that's had enough of his shenanigans. Hopefully with a couple great actors like that it'll prove to be a promising watch when it limited theaters before landing on Shudder.

OPUS
MARCH 14th (Theaters)

A young writer is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago. Surrounded by the star’s cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan.

John Malkovich plays a cult leader in this flick, which has been described as "bold, fun, and flashy pop-horror." I'm not quite sure how well it'll translate on film, but I'm open to it, especially with Malkovich playing the villain.

ASH
MARCH 21st (Theaters)

On the mysterious planet of Ash, Riya (Eiza González) awakens to find her crew slaughtered. When a man named Brion (Aaron 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.

Record producer and DJ/rapper-turned filmmaker "Flying Lotus" helms this trippy-looking sci-fi horror pic starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul. Not much has been revealed from the movie outside of a teaser and some pics, which boasts a nice mixture of colors and some visually stunning scenes.

DEATH OF A UNICORN
MARCH 28th (Theaters)

A father (Paul Rudd) and daughter (Jenna Ortega) accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss (Richard E. Grant) seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties.

Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega star in this fun-looking horror comedy that features a killer Unicorn. Need I say more?

THE WOMAN IN THE YARD
MARCH 28th (Theaters)

A mysterious woman who repeatedly appears in a family's front yard, often delivering chilling warnings or unsettling messages, leaving the residents to question her identity, motives, and the potential danger she might pose.

Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, The Shallows, Black Adam) directs this latest effort from Blumhouse, which offers a seemingly creepy and semi-original concept about a mysterious woman in black.

DROP

APRIL 11th (Theaters)

A widowed mother's first date in years takes a terrifying turn when she's bombarded with anonymous threatening messages on her phone during their upscale dinner, leaving her questioning if her charming date is behind the harassment.

Directed by Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, Freaky), this movie reportedly unfolds over a single night and in real time, which should hopefully prove to be a tense and unnerving watch.

HELL OF A SUMMER
APRIL 18th (Theaters)

As the counselors are getting Camp Pineway ready the night before the campers arrive, a masked killer begins killing the staff.

This is a horror comedy that seems to also be a throwback to slashers from the 80's and marks the directorial debut of actors Billy Bryk (Ghostbusters: Afterlife) and Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things).

SINNERS
APRIL 18th (Theaters)

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

This is an original idea from writer/director Ryan Coogler (Creed, Black Panther) that features vampires and vampire hunters in the 1930's South. There are not enough horror flicks set in this period, letalone vampire movies, so this is definitely something to look out for.

THE RITUAL
APRIL 18th (Theaters)

Follows two priests — one questioning his faith (Stevens) and one reckoning with a troubled past (Pacino) — who must put aside their differences to save a possessed young woman through a difficult and dangerous series of exorcisms.

Based on the true story of Emma Schmidt, who was an American woman whose demonic possession culminated in harrowing exorcisms. Her case remains the most thoroughly documented exorcism in American history. Al Pacino and Dan Stevens star in this one.

THE SHROUDS
APRIL 25th (Theaters)

Karsh, an innovative businessman and grieving widower, builds a device to connect with the dead inside a burial shroud.

This is the newest flick from writer/director David Cronenberg (Scanners, The Fly, eXistenZ, Crimes of the Future), so you can expect a certain kind of weirdness. How much horror will actually be in the movie remains to be seen, but with names like Vincent Cassel and Guy Pearce attached to the project it should at least be on everyone's radar. At the moment there's no release date, but it's rumored to be coming out this Spring.

UNTIL DAWN
APRIL 25th (Theaters)

A group is trapped in a remote valley by a murderer and are killed, but are sent back in time and forced to relive the night of their killings.

David F. Sandberg (Lights Out, Annabelle: Creation) directs this movie, which is based on the hit game with the same name. The game itself was like a long horror movie, so it'll be interesting to see how it's adapated into a live-action film.

CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD
MAY 9th (Theaters)

Follows Quinn (Douglas) and her father (Abrams), who have just moved to the quiet town of Kettle Springs hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning figure emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time. Welcome to Kettle Springs. The real fun starts when Frendo the clown comes out to play.

Based on the 2020 YA novel with the same name, which I'm sadly unfamiliar with, so I'm not sure what to expect. Though, with a director like Eli Craig (Tucker and Dale vs Evil, Little Evil) at the helm, I'm hopeful.

FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES
MAY 16th (Theaters)

This is the latest installment in the Final Destination franchise, which hasn't had a new film in over a decade. This new entry is said to be a "re-imagining of the franchise" from directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein (duo behind 2018's Freaks).

28 YEARS LATER
JUNE 20th (Theaters)

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.

Original writer Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle return for this new sequel, which is said to be the first installment in a new trilogy. The first two movies have already been filmed, while the third will be dependant on how well received the first two are. Considering how long fans have been anxiously awaiting a sequel, I'd be surprised if this doesn't bring in decent coin at the box office. Ralph Fiennes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer lead the cast of new faces. It's said that Cillian Murphy will not be in this movie, but will reportedly appear in the next one.

M3GAN 2.0
JUNE 27th (Theaters)

No official plot yet, but it'll likely continue sometime after the events of the first movie.

This sequel was greenlit pretty quick after the first movie, which makes sense considering it made over $90-million on a reported budget of only $12-million. Much of the original cast and crew return for this sequel (including leads Allison Williams and Violet McGraw), which so far hasn't officially revealed a plot. In fact, we only recently got a couple pics from the movie, but that should change as we get closer to the film's release.

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW — THANKS FOR READING
PART 2 OF THIS YEAR'S LIST COMING OVER THE SUMMER