Regular Horror Fuel readers may be aware that the vast majority of my reviews are for film festival movies, so that is why my top 10 list for this year is so heavy on them. Three of the features lsited have received wide theatrical, streaming, or VOD releases, though. I have indicated fest films below, and hopefully they will receive wide releases soon. For films that I have reviewed for Horror Fuel, you will see quotes from my reviews and links to read the full reviews. Enjoy!
1. The Ugly Stepsister
“Boasting plenty of flinch-inducing body horror, this jaw-dropping riff on the Cinderella story is also rich with dark humor.”
https://horrorfuel.com/2025/04/04/spoiler-free-reviews-the-ugly-stepsister-and-mr-k-panic-fest-2025/
2. A Desert
“What transpires is an increasingly tense and chilling desert-set neo noir reminiscent of David Lynch’s dives into the dark, surreal explorations of small-town Americana, although Erkman, working from a screenplay that he cowrote with Bossi Baker, invests A Desert with its own original flavor. The third act delivers unnerving horror set pieces that are not easy to shake off.”
https://horrorfuel.com/2025/10/07/spoiler-free-review-a-desert-dark-nights-film-fest-2025/
3. Don’t Leave the Kids Alone
Mexican feature Don’t Leave the Kids Alone is a chilling roller coaster ride as two young brothers grieve over their father’s recent death in threatening manners — in a house hosting something that eagerly influences them. Currently on the film festival circuit.
4. Every Heavy Thing
Giallo horror! Techno thriller! Dark comedy! Lynchian vibes! A serial killer! Social commentary! Auteur Mickey Reece’s mind-blowing latest feature has all this and more, including Barbara Crampton! Currently on the film festival circuit.
5. Coyotes
“Aficionados of ‘When animals attack!’ movies and horror comedies are certain to find much to be delighted about with Coyotes. It’s not easy to get a near-perfect balance of fear fare and humor in a horror comedy, but here director/editor Colin Minihan does an outstanding job.” Currently on the film festival circuit.
https://horrorfuel.com/2025/09/22/spoiler-free-reviews-coyotes-and-open-wide-fantastic-fest-2025/
6. The Undertone
Writer/director Ian Tuason’s The Undertone, winner of Fantasia’s Best Canadian Feature: Gold award, is one of the eeriest, most unnerving slices of fright fare viewers are likely to see this year. Stellar sound design greatly helps to set the chilling atmosphere in this tale of isolated paranormal podcast co-host Evy (Nina Kiri in a star performance). A series of creepy, anonymous tapes sent to the show becomes increasingly alarming as a demon named Abyzou asserts itself into her life. Currently on the film festival circuit.
7. Flush
Fantasia’s Best International Feature: Gold prize went to director Grégory Morin’s French feature Flush (France, 2025), a darkly humorous thriller calculated to keep viewers on the edge of their seats, while holding back gagging several times. A middle-aged cocaine addict gets his foot stuck in the squat toilet of a club, which is where a drug dealer hid his stash of cocaine. Insanity abounds in this mostly single-location (yes, a toilet stall) slice of genre cinema. Currently on the film festival circuit.
8. Salt Along the Tongue
This mesmerizing Australian witchcraft feature, which “practically makes food a character in the film . . . boasts an authentic 1970s Eurohorror vibe along with elements of that decade’s Australian fear-fare cinema. The result is a remarkable chiller with style to spare and plenty of dramatic weight, as well.” Currently on the film festival circuit.
9. Hellcat
“You’re likely to find much more about the plot of writer/director Brock Bodell’s excellent chiller Hellcat elsewhere online, but my advice to you is simple: Don’t. You’ll want to go along for the ambiguous ride exactly how Bodell envisions it: thrilling, puzzling, and revealing its secrets at a pace calculated for maximum fingernail chewing.” Currently on the film festival circuit.
https://horrorfuel.com/2025/07/28/spoiler-free-reviews-hellcat-and-i-live-here-now-fantasia-2025/
10. Monster Island
This well-done throwback aquatic creature feature boasts a great looking practical monster suit, survival thriller elements, and two soldiers on the opposite side of WWII having to bond together to fight the ferocious beast.
