It is perhaps telling that the most memorable cinematic experience of 2025, was a film – technically, films – released more than two decades ago. I refer to watching Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, a four-hour slab of Tarantino and his most Tarantinoesque – and I mean that in both good and bad ways. In the year they were released, Volume One finished #5, while Volume Two was #9. But I think that the combined entity would likely be top three here. Though that’s perhaps less a reflection of its synergic strength, than a lower number of really top tier movies. I mean, the #1’s in those two years were Return of the King and Shaun of the Dead. Nothing anywhere near that good could be found in 2025.
We finished at 460 movies logged in Letterboxd for the year. That’s always a little shaky, because they get logged when the review is posted, which is usually 2-3 months after watching. But the basic number is likely accurate. That is up from 443 last year, which makes slight sense, because I did bump this site up to a full seven days a week schedule recently, no longer skipping Sundays. Add in the movies at GirlsWithGuns.org and there you are. Usual flexibility regarding year of release is in play here. As long as it got some kind of release, somewhere near me, at some point in or around 2026, that’s good enough.
Honourable mentions, in no particular order: A Cursed Man, Rewakening, The Last Exit, Night Call, Sincerely Saul, Catch A Killer, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and The UFO’s of Soesterberg. At the other end of the spectrum, far and away the worst thing endured this year was the hell which was Borderline, made all the worse by it being a “proper” movie – y’know, with real actors you have heard of in it. That’s something which couldn’t really be said for dishonourable mentions, such as The Ruck March, Yakuza Girl or the abomination which was the remake of Street Trash.
10. Gatillero
The last film viewed this year to make the list, I wasn’t expecting much beyond the single-take gimmick. However, it was a single-take gimmick which certainly worked, unfolding on the eerie and largely deserted streets of a Buenos Aires industrial estate, inhabited by a mix of gangsters and miffed locals. What we wrote: “Highly engrossing, with some unexpected twists all the way to the very end. Though we will not be visiting Isla Maciel, any time soon.”
9. Chainsaws Were Singing
The horror-musical is not exactly a genre frequently seen. Sweeney Todd, most obviously, plus Anna and the Apocalypse and Repo! The Genetic Opera. Of course, there’s Rocky Horror. But is it horror? Is it, really? Anyway, from Estonia, of all places, comes a very respectable entry in the genre, which balances the two aspects admirably. What we wrote: “It’s difficult to describe this in a way that adequately conveys the truly bizarre nature of this experience… But the final result is often amusing, and occasionally wonderful.”
8. In Vitro
“When Science… Goes Wrong. Very wrong.” That isn’t actually the tagline for this, although it certainly could have been. As if there weren’t enough things already trying to kill you in the Australian outback, why not make some more? Though as so often, it’s the people which are more of a threat than the man-made monsters. What we wrote: “If I’d to describe this in one word, I would go with “unsettling”. Right from the start, it’s apparent that something is not quite right. Or, more probably, some thingS.”
7. Final Destination: Bloodlines
Fourteen years after the previous installment, Death having apparently taken a holiday. And learned a few new tricks while on vacation. The final appearance in the franchise of Tony Todd proved unexpectedly emotional. However, who are we kidding: we are here for the death porn, and from the opening high-rise hell to MRI-fu, this delivered. What we wrote: “I was worried it would feel padded to that end. I’m pleased to report this is not the case, and I was legitimately engaged from the first moment until the final credits rolled.”
6. Diablo
After taking a year off, Scott Adkins returns to this list for the fourth time in five years. And deservedly so, pairing the former “Best action star you’ve never heard of” with the current incumbent, Marko Zorar. This two-for-one deal pays off admirably, with each man doing sterling work on their own – and that’s before they face off. What we said: “Needless to say, this is at its best when both men are in action… Casting Zaror as the villain was a sensible decision. Similarly, Atkins works better as a heroic type.”
5. Weapons
This and Sinners dominated the cultural conversation this year, but I felt this was considerably stronger. It had a consistency of tone which Sinners failed to pull off (admittedly, perhaps deliberately). Many films try to pull off the “fractured timeline” thing and fail, or do so to no purpose. This succeeded, in a highly satisfactory manner. What we said: “There is no need to try and turn Weapons into some kind of “elevated” horror: just accept it as a nasty, modern fairy story.”
4. Azrael
I’m always fond of a hero/ine who gets their point across without excessive verbiage – the anti-Tarantino, as it were. This was the year’s best example, with a mute woman being captured by a cult, then ripping them apart. This may be the first time one person (Samara Weaving) has starred in both a top five film, and the very worst of the year. I guess that’s range! What we said: “There’s scope here for an entire feature before this, plus likely one after, and I’d watch both. Just a shame it got buried on a second-tier streaming service like Shudder.”
3. The Waves of Madness
It’s amazing to think that, after cinema has been around for a hundred and thirty years, there are still new frontiers to be explored. Why had nobody apparently ever made a side-scrolling horror game before? It was instead left to a guy taking advantage of an empty apartment upstairs of his own, to make the first. The second is under way, and I can’t wait. What we said: “What I can say with confidence is, it is very good at capturing the spirit of H.P. Lovecraft, in a way far better-funded movies often struggle to achieve.”
2. Ballerina
I’m tempted just to write “Flamethrowers”, and leave it at that. IYKYK. That scene provoked a sense of genuine danger not often seen in a movie, since Jackie Chan calmed down. [Though you should have seen the original, even more bonkers, script] It’s certainly a film that deserved a much better box-office fate, but we did our part. This and Bloodlines were the only films on this list we saw at the cinema in 2025. What we said: “It’s borderline awesome, and on occasion, there’s no “borderline” about it.”
1. The Ugly Stepsister
Another year, another female director on top. I’m clearly more progressive than the Academy. This would actually make a fine double-bill with last year’s winner, The Substance, being another film which uses body horror to make a point about beauty standards. Yet it’s no knock-off, being fresh, invigorating and thoroughly cynical. Who could ask for more? What we said: “Once upon a time, although not exactly happily ever after. If you’re going to do horror versions of public domain stories, this is the way to do them.”