The year 2025 ushered in a fresh wave of horror to the screen. Filmmakers are pushing boundaries this year, delivering unsettling stories that truly get under your skin. From intense psychological thrillers that mess with your mind to brutal slasher flicks and chilling supernatural tales, the horror scene is vibrant and varied.
For those ready to face their fears, we’ve put together a list of the best horror movies of 2025. Discover your next scream-inducing watch and find out exactly where to stream the most gripping and gut-wrenching releases of 2025 across Australia.
What are the best movies horror of 2025?
Compiling our list of 2024 and 2025’s top horror films involved a clear and consistent approach. We focused on presenting the newest releases first, ranking each movie by its release date to ensure you’re always seeing the freshest scares at the top. Beyond just the order, we provided essential details for each entry.
For every film, you’ll find its precise release date, the director behind the terror, and critically, where it’s currently available on streaming services in Australia. We also included a concise title and synopsis to give you a quick overview without spoilers. Further enhancing our recommendations, we incorporated relevant award nominations, its IMDB rating, global box office revenue, and country of origin. This comprehensive data offers a complete picture, helping you decide what to watch next.
The Substance
Drama •Horror •Sci-fi
Overview
A fading celebrity decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.
Director
Coralie Fargeat
Cast
Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Gore Abrams, Hugo Diego Garcia
Duration
141 minutes
Sinister
Horror •Thriller •Mystery
Overview
True-crime writer Ellison Oswald is in a slump; he hasn’t had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims’ home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.
Director
Scott Derrickson
Cast
Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Vincent D’Onofrio, James Ransone, Fred Dalton Thompson
Duration
110 minutes
Hereditary
Horror •Thriller •Drama •Mystery
Overview
Following the death of the Leigh family matriarch, Annie and her children uncover disturbing secrets about their heritage. Their daily lives are not only impacted, but they also become entangled in a chilling fate from which they cannot escape, driving them to the brink of madness.
Director
Ari Aster
Cast
Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd, Gabriel Byrne
Duration
123 minutes
Annihilation
Sci-fi •Thriller •Drama •Horror •Mystery
Overview
Based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer.
Director
Alex Garland
Cast
Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny
Duration
115 minutes
Scream
Horror •Crime •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.
Director
Wes Craven
Cast
David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan
Duration
111 minutes
Black Swan
Drama •Thriller •Mystery •Horror
Overview
The story of Nina, a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica who zealously supports her daughter’s professional ambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice.
Director
Darren Aronofsky
Cast
Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder
Duration
104 minutes
American Psycho
Crime •Drama •Horror •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.
Director
Mary Harron
Cast
Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Bill Sage
Duration
101 minutes
I Am Legend
Sci-fi •Horror •Drama •Thriller •Mystery
Overview
Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone.
Director
Francis Lawrence
Cast
Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Duration
96 minutes
Midsommar
Horror •Thriller •Drama •Mystery
Overview
Several friends travel to Sweden to study as anthropologists a summer festival that is held every ninety years in the remote hometown of one of them. What begins as a dream vacation in a place where the sun never sets, gradually turns into a dark nightmare as the mysterious inhabitants invite them to participate in their disturbing festive activities.
Director
Ari Aster
Cast
Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter, Vilhelm Blomgren
Duration
163 minutes
World War Z
Horror •Action •Adventure •Sci-fi •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
Life for former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family seems content. Suddenly, the world is plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging mindless zombies. After barely escaping the chaos, Lane is persuaded to go on a mission to investigate this disease. What follows is a perilous trek around the world where Lane must brave horrific dangers and long odds to find answers before human civilization falls.
Director
Marc Forster
Cast
Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Ludi Boeken
Duration
111 minutes
Dreamcatcher
Drama •Horror •Sci-fi •Thriller •Mystery
Overview
Four boyhood pals perform a heroic act and are changed by the powers they gain in return. Years later, on a hunting trip in the Maine woods, they’re overtaken by a vicious blizzard that harbors an ominous presence. Challenged to stop an alien force, the friends must first prevent the slaughter of innocent civilians by a military vigilante … and then overcome a threat to the bond that unites the four of them.
Director
Lawrence Kasdan
Cast
Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant
Duration
136 minutes
Copycat
Thriller •Drama •Mystery •Horror
Overview
An agoraphobic psychologist and a female detective must work together to take down a serial killer who copies serial killers from the past.
Director
Jon Amiel
Cast
Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, Will Patton, William McNamara, Harry Connick Jr.
Duration
123 minutes
Talk to Me
Horror •Thriller •Mystery
Overview
When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.
Director
Michael Philippou
Cast
Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto
Duration
95 minutes
Get Out
Horror •Thriller •Mystery
Overview
Chris and his girlfriend Rose go upstate to visit her parents for the weekend. At first, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.
Director
Jordan Peele
Cast
Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones
Duration
100 minutes
X
Horror •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives.
Director
Ti West
Cast
Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Brittany Snow, Martin Henderson, Kid Cudi
Duration
102 minutes
A Quiet Place
Horror •Drama •Sci-fi
Overview
A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.
Director
John Krasinski
Cast
Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cade Woodward
Duration
87 minutes
The Descent
Horror •Thriller •Mystery •Action •Adventure
Overview
After a tragic accident, six friends reunite for a caving expedition. Their adventure soon goes horribly wrong when a collapse traps them deep underground and they find themselves pursued by bloodthirsty creatures. As their friendships deteriorate, they find themselves in a desperate struggle to survive the creatures and each other.
Director
Neil Marshall
Cast
Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, MyAnna Buring, Saskia Mulder
Duration
99 minutes
The Silence of the Lambs
Crime •Drama •Thriller •Mystery •Horror
Overview
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI’s training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
Director
Jonathan Demme
Cast
Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald
Duration
119 minutes
Species
Sci-fi •Action •Horror •Thriller •Adventure •Mystery
Overview
In 1993, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Project receives a transmission detailing an alien DNA structure, along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. The result is Sil, a sensual but deadly creature who can change from a beautiful woman to an armour-plated killing machine in the blink of an eye.
Director
Roger Donaldson
Cast
Natasha Henstridge, Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger, Alfred Molina
Duration
108 minutes
Triangle
Horror •Mystery •Thriller •Fantasy •Sci-fi
Overview
When Jess sets sail on a yacht with a group of friends, she cannot shake the feeling that there is something wrong.
Director
Christopher Smith
Cast
Melissa George, Liam Hemsworth, Emma Lung, Rachael Carpani, Michael Dorman
Duration
99 minutes
Frequently asked questions
Psychological thrillers in horror mess with your mind more than your guts. They focus on the characters’ unstable mental states, paranoia, and internal conflicts. Expect a slow burn, building suspense through unsettling atmosphere, ambiguous events, and often, a twist that redefines everything you thought you knew. It’s about dread, not jump scares.
Absolutely. 2024 offered some solid slasher action for fans of classic masked killers and gruesome creativity. The standouts deliver on intense chase sequences, memorable villains, and plenty of inventive kills, proving the subgenre is far from dead. You’ll find a fresh take on the formula while still getting that satisfying bloodlust. Popular horror films last year include Longlegs, Abigail, The Watchers, Smile 2, Maxxxine, and many others.
Supernatural horror brings in elements beyond the natural world. Think ghosts, demons, curses, or unexplained phenomena. The fear comes from an unseen, often ancient, force that defies logic. These films often tap into primal fears of the unknown, spiritual threats, and the vulnerability of humanity against overwhelming, otherworldly power.
When we say “”best,”” we’re talking about films that left a significant impact. Our selections consider critical reception, audience buzz, and their ability to deliver on their genre promises – whether that’s sustained tension, shocking scares, or a compelling narrative. We focus on movies that genuinely excel at what they set out to achieve.
While our primary focus is on films readily accessible to an Australian audience, we do highlight significant international releases that have made waves globally and are available on major streaming platforms here. We aim to offer a comprehensive look at the best, regardless of their origin, as long as you can actually watch them.
Our list covers the most impactful psychological thrillers, slashers, and supernatural horror films of 2024, as well as of 2025. If your preferred niche isn’t heavily featured, consider checking out related titles from the directors or actors on our list. Often, great horror extends beyond strict subgenre boundaries.
We recommend checking major platforms like Netflix, Stan, BINGE, and Prime Video, as they frequently update their horror libraries. Keep an eye on new release sections, and consider signing up for free trials if a specific movie is exclusive to one service. Always check the streaming rights for Australia, as they can vary.
Horror continues to be a massive draw for Australian audiences. The genre consistently performs well at the box office and on streaming platforms. Australians love a good scare, whether it’s a chilling psychological breakdown or a gruesome slasher flick. The demand for fresh, terrifying content remains consistently high.
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