(This article is part of our Best of 2025 series.)
I feel like every time I make one of these lists I end up having lots of caveats. I didn’t watch enough films, or the films I did watch weren’t that inspiring. This year I didn’t really have that problem. There were a ton of great films, and I’m honestly still getting caught up. (I have a feeling Bring Her Back might be on here, if I’d gotten around to seeing it sooner.) Some of these choices you’ll have already seen on other people’s lists, but I did cheat a bit and chose some films just to have something different. So these aren’t EXACTLY my top five favorite films, really. They ARE films I enjoyed, sometimes surprisingly so, and I hope that’s good enough.
Sinners
Probably my actual favorite film of 2025. I love when a film transports me – to another time, another place or another world. Ryan Coogler’s 1930s set vampire drama left me feeling like I was breathing humid, southern air, hanging around with beautiful, dangerous people, all while listening to incredible music. I was so invested in the story of Smoke and Stack and Sammie and that feeling of impending, inevitable catastrophe that I was initially distracted by the arrival of the vampires. I got over it. (Though part of me wonders how a film without the monsters – the inhuman monsters, that is – might have ended.) It’s a modern southern gothic, and I want more just like it. It’s a film that I loved just about every minute of, and I’m looking forward to rewatching it soon.
Weapons
I was very late to the party with Zach Cregger’s previouis film, Barbarian, having only seen it this past summer. I enjoyed it, though I did feel like it didn’t quite stick the landing. With Weapons, I don’t have that same caveat. It’s always hard to follow through on a high concept story, but Cregger manages it with great skill here. I went in only knowing that 17 kids from a third grade class all disappeared in a single night and no one knows where they went. I didn’t expect any of the twists and turns, nor did I expect as much humor as the film possesses. Amy Madigan is great and the standout character, but I think pretty much everyone does a fantastic job. Romona mentioned a couple of other actors, but I wanted to say that Cary Christopher as Alex, the only one of the class that doesn’t disappear, is amazing as well. A solid horror picture that delivers on multiple levels, and another I’ll be watching again soon.
Frankenstein
I feel like a lot of people were let down by Frankenstein. At least that’s just the impression I got from the other online communities I frequent. I think part of that is down to Guillermo Del Toro’s own love of the source material and investment in the film as his “dream project.” I know I was expecting – hoping – for something closer to the original novel than any of the previous efforts. While there are deviations – and, if I’m honest, it rushes the ending in a way that feels unbelievable given the characters – I still think he succeeded. I’ve been looking for a charismatic and eloquent version of the monster forever, it seems, and Jacob Elordi was everything I hoped he would be. You can see why Elizabeth (an understated and underused Mia Goth) would feel such an instant attraction to him. The film is as luscious and gorgeous as any Del Toro film and the story touched on enough notes from the original that I was mostly satisfied. If not every note rang true, if not every performance was on par with Elordi, the whole was still a fantastic journey. I do find myself hoping that there’s an extended version of the film to be had when it’s finally released for purchase, as it felt weirdly truncated. It might not be Del Toro’s best, but it’s still one of the best Frankenstein adaptations I’ve seen.
Wake Up Dead Man
I’ve really enjoyed all of Rian Johnson’s Knive’s Out movies (and please, can we drop that from the film titles? “A Benoit Blanc Mystery” is right there.) This is my favorite, though. As someone raised Catholic myself I felt personally involved (and attacked). I love the way Johnson hangs a ton of interesting characters, dialogue, and imagery on a very basic kind of murder. Daniel Craig feels like he’s most comfortable with Blanc here, and it lets him make choices he might not have in the earlier films. Josh O’Connor is magnetic as the new priest and primary suspect. Josh Brolin (in his second film appearance on my list) is very… Josh Brolin. (And I mean that in a good way.) This film feels more serious and more personal than the first two, but there’s still plenty of room for Johnson’s trademark biting humor. I hope he keeps making these – I’m certainly not tired of them yet.
KPop Demon Hunters
There are other films that could have made the list, SHOULD have made the list, but few of them surprised me as much as this one. I decided to watch Kpop Demon Hunters just because it seemed like one of those cultural touchstone films – something that kept coming up in my feeds and in conversations. I started out bored and ended up a fan of the animation, the (admittedly basic) story and the music. Damn are those songs catchy. It isn’t deep or significant, but damn did I have fun watching it. And I absolutely want a stuffed Derpy the demon tiger.
I did enjoy a bunch of other films, including Superman, Thunderbolts, One Battle After Another, and The Long Walk, but I’m still mostly playing catch up.
What are your thoughts on the movies that made my list? Share them down below!
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