Fantastic Fest 2025 Recap: The Films You Need to Know

Part Dream Warriors-era Freddy Krueger, part ‘80s sleepaway camp slasher, Black Phone 2 is meaner, gorier, and gives Madeleine McGraw a larger role battling The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) alongside the teen-angsty Mason Thames. Author Joe Hill (who wrote the original short story) pitched the sequel idea to director Scott Derrickson, which retcons some Grabber lore and fuels a new mystery for the plucky heroes to solve.

Possibly my favorite film that I screened at Fantastic Fest this year, this Chile-Mexico co-production from director Nico Postiglione had me hooked from the first frame. More of a dark drama than horror, the mystery at the heart of The Evil That Binds Us unfolds beautifully through some wonderful visual storytelling and several riveting performances.

The brainchild of Brad Miska — founder of online horror website Bloody Disgusting — the V/H/S franchise just keeps going. And why wouldn't it? The marriage of two great horror sub-genres (found footage + anthology) has resulted in an endless trove of video delights, and this eighth installment might be the best in the series. Seriously. And if you’re really into the sub-genre, take a look at this Watchlist hand-picked by the directors of V/H/S/Halloween.

Best known for his popular YouTube channel (which boasts over 2 million subscribers), director Chris Stuckmann crafted a creepy mix of found footage, mystery, and absolutely grisly terror. His vision for Shelby Oaks earned the support of NEON and executive producer Mike Flanagan and will be serving up a nice treat for horror hounds this spooky season.

Christmas came early with the first of four Secret Screenings at Fantastic Fest. Sunday night’s movie was a reboot of the ultra-sleazy ‘80s slasher Silent Night, Deadly Night. Directed Mike P. Nelson, the new version reframes the killer in a Santa Claus suit as a “Dexter”-like anti-hero. Rohan Campbell (The Monkey, Halloween Ends) is terrific as the killer, and there are enough twists, laughs, and kills in Silent Night, Deadly Night to recommend watching it in the theater this December.

The Adams family have made a staggering eight features in the last 12 years. The latest from the filmmakers behind 2021’s Hellbender and who produce, write, direct, edit, score, and act in their movies, is a witchy work of art, with gorgeous visuals and a story that speaks to the disillusionment of modern science.

We’re always looking for a new worthy addition to Our Favorite "When Animals Attack" Movies, and Primate earns a spot with its practical effects and creatively gruesome kills.

Dakota Fanning is given a mysterious box and instructed to place three things inside: something you need, something you hate, and something you love. I had SO MANY questions going in, and believe me, the answers director Bryan Bertino (writer-director of the original The Strangers) are not pretty.

Director Jelmari Helander's original Sisu is frequently regarded as Finland's John Wick, filled with violent set pieces, gorgeous landscapes, and a stoic performance from the weathered Jorma Tommila as a gold prospector hunting down Nazis. A sequel could have just been more of the same, but Helander (who also helmed the evil Santa Claus flick Rare Exports) cranked up the volume with even crazier action sequences and added Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don't Breathe) as a foil to Tommila's Aatami.

Trigger warning: The dog(s) definitely die in Coyotes, as a pack of bloodthirsty canines terrorize on- and off-screen couple Justin Long and Kate Bosworth in this horror-comedy from director Colin Minihan (Grave Encounters).

Dolly shares more than a little DNA with the 1974 classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, from its hulking, childlike villain, to its gleeful torture of a captive heroine, to its gritty visuals (shot on 16mm, no less). The film — directed by Nightswim writer Rod Blackhurst — wears its influences on its sleeve. And while it didn’t totally click for me, the end credits pledge to bring Dolly back for a sequel tells me Blackhurst and company are confident there’s enough meat on the bone to kick off a franchise. We’ll know for sure if we start seeing porcelain Dolly masks on the racks at Spirit Halloween.

Ever since I saw directors Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears, I've been fascinated by their unique aesthetic of '70s giallo on overdrive.

The kinetic trailer for Chris Marrs Piliero's Appofeniacs looks like a lost episode of "Black Mirror," or possibly what was happening down in the real world while the billionaires of Mountainhead were holed up watching the world burn. Now imagine that premise in a Tarantino-like narrative complete with time jumps, interconnected storylines, and monologues galore.

Director Brooke H. Cellars' debut feature draws its inspiration from auteurs like Federico Fellini, Mario Bava, and John Waters to create a body horror comedy like none you've ever seen.

Romanian director Radu Jude's multi-faceted riff on Dracula made immediate headlines on its Locarno Film Festival world premiere, mostly for being a wild mess of a movie, jammed full of genres, storylines, and asides. At nearly three hours, it's not an easy film to slot into a film fest schedule. But Dracula completists will not want to miss it.

Director Kenichi Ugana’s newest film (he was last at Fantastic Fest in 2023 with his film Visitors) takes the well-worn Japanese “curse” movie and updates it for the Instagram age, where the anonymity of online discourse goes way beyond toxic to become a weapon of petty evil.

Yes, this short is exactly what it sounds like, and it’s just as gross as you might imagine. Even so, the eponymous home installation is truly a work of prosthetic art that you’ll (sadly) never find at IKEA.