“Queens Of The Dead”
Despite decades of standout examples, the horror-comedy remains an elusive target for many filmmakers. Most attempts fail to balance the two genres, resulting in either comedies with tonally inconsistent bouts of gore or horror movies that squander their best moments. But kudos to Tina Romero, who avoids these traps by tossing her charismatic cast into a quintessential horror movie situation and then letting things unfold as they will. Sure, “Queens of the Dead” has big ideas on its mind – most prominently the relationships between different generations of the queer community – but it’s both a love letter to the zombie movie and a delightful blast of color (literally and metaphorically). – MM
“The Rule Of Jenny Penn”
If Florian Zeller’s “The Father” offered a prestigious take on aging, then James Ashcroft’s “The Rule of Jenny Penn” is the horror genre’s answer to that film, though no less haunting in its depiction of memory loss. At its heart, “Jenny Penn” is a two-hander between John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush, two men who find their natural social order upset when they both end up in a retirement community. Lithgow, in particular, is horrifying, capturing the casual cruelty of a man enamored with even the small amount of power he possesses over others. We’ve gotten so used to Lithgow’s turn as the kindly elder statesman of Hollywood, but “Jenny Penn” is a reminder that Lithgow has always shone as a villain onscreen, and here he gives one of his best performances. – MM
“Silent Night, Deadly Night”
It isn’t often that the seventh film in a franchise – after the original, four sequels, and a remake – ends up being one of the best horror movies of the year, but that’s a credit to how writer-directorMike P. Nelson and company have reimagined “Silent Night, Deadly Night” for modern audiences. On the one hand, it’s a film that utilizes the trappings of exploitation cinema to punch up at authority figures, setting the stage for future movies to find their audience. But what really lets it shine is the tender love story between Rohan Campbell and Ruby Modine’s misfits. Throw in maybe the most-discussed horror sequence of 2025, and this is a film that shows there is nothing wrong with franchise storytelling in horror as long as you give us people we can care about. – MM
“Sinners”
When all is said and done, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” might sit alongside George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” as the preeminent examples of critical acclaim, box office receipts, and awards in equal measure. Every time I’ve revisited “Sinners,” I’ve found something new to love, but the film’s biggest strength will forever be its music. Coogler has crafted a horror story by way of musical ethnography, and the interplay between traditional Black music and Irish folk songs proves to be an unstoppable vehicle for horror. There’s so much to be said about the film – the acting, the use of 70mm, and that showstopping musical number – but Rodrigo Perez put it best in his review: “Blessed are we to have Ryan Coogler.” – MM
“The Ugly Stepsister”
Ask any horror critic their favorite movie of the year, and odds are the answer will be Emilie Blichfeldt’s “The Ugly Stepsister.” Blichfeldt’s film rode a laughable amount of hype out of the Sundance Film Festival, but unlike some festival hype trains, every word of that praise was well-deserved. “The Ugly Stepsister” is a body horror retelling of the Cinderella story, but it also serves as a period piece that utilizes its medieval setting to skewer archaic beauty standards. And while there might be two or three scenes that rival anything you’ll see in horror in 2025, Lea Myren’s pitiful earnestness and Blichfeldt’s deft touch keep the film from ever feeling mean-spirited. I get the comparisons to “The Substance,” but for my money, this one is better. – MM
