This year’s horror releases have been among the best in recent years. With so many outstanding movies and box-office successes, the genre is closing out 2024 on a high note. Now, as the end of the year approaches, we’re looking ahead. IFC Films, RLJE Films, and Shudder have all announced their 2025 film slates.
Some highlights include Shudder’s Dark Match, starring Chris Jericho, which merges wrestling and a secret cult. Clown in a Cornfield, the adaptation of Adam Cesare’s bestselling novel, is one of our most anticipated films, and it hits theaters next month. The Rule of Jenny Pen, starring John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush, is about a retirement home that is terrorized by a resident who has a bizarre doll.
Read more about those movies and the other 2025 releases:
The Ugly Stepsister
Directed by Emilie Blichfeldt
Cast: Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Ane Dahl Torp
Shudder | Streaming On Shudder In 2025
Synopsis: A sinister twist on the classic Cinderella story, The Ugly Stepsister follows Elvira as she prepares to earn the prince’s affection at any cost. In a kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, Elvira will compete with the beautiful and enchanting Agnes to become the belle of the ball.
Inheritance
Directed by Neil Burger
Cast: Phoebe Dynevor, Rhys Ifans
IFC Films | In Theaters January 24
Synopsis: When Maya learns that her father was once a spy, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an international conspiracy. In her quest for answers, Maya becomes a target and must travel the globe, mastering her father’s skills and unraveling the mysteries of his past in this gripping espionage thriller.
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Grafted
Directed by Sasha Rainbow
Written by: Lee Murray, Mia Maramara, Sasha Rainbow, Hweiling Ow
Cast: Joyena Sun, Jess Hong, Jared Turner
Shudder | Streaming on Shudder January 24
Synopsis: Chinese scholarship student Wei travels to New Zealand to study medical research at a prestigious university. Shy, introverted, and hiding a genetic facial birthmark, Wei is shunned by her social butterfly cousin Angela and her glamorous friends. Determined to change her fate, Wei immerses herself in her late father’s research, working on a revolutionary skin grafting procedure that could cure her deformity.
As her experiments turn dark, she becomes more dangerous and unhinged, willing to eliminate anyone who threatens her secret.
Dark Match
Written & Directed by Lowell Dean
Cast: Ayisha Issa, Chris Jericho, Steven Ogg, Sara Canning
Shudder | Streaming on Shudder January 31
Synopsis: A small-time wrestling company accepts a well-paying gig in a backwoods town only to learn, too late, that the community is run by a mysterious cult leader with devious plans for their match.
Armand
Written & Directed by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
Cast: Renate Reinsve, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Thea Lambrechts Vaulen, Endre Hellestveit, Øystein Røger, Vera Veljovic
Synopsis: When defamed actress Elisabeth is abruptly called into a parent-teacher meeting after hours, she is presented with scathing allegations that trigger a tangled web of accusations between parents and faculty. As Elisabeth struggles to uncover the truth amid the empty school rooms and dark corridors, a chaotic fight for redemption arises where desire, madness, and obsession prevail.
The Dead Thing
Directed by Elric Kane
Written by: Elric Kane, Webb Wilcoxen
Cast: Blu Hunt, Ben Smith-Petersen
Shudder | Streaming on Shudder February 14
Synopsis: A young woman lost in a series of meaningless connections falls in love with a charismatic and sensitive man who hides a dark secret, turning her affair into a dangerous obsession.
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The Rule of Jenny Pen
Directed by James Ashcroft
Written by: Eli Kent, James Ashcroft
Cast: John Lithgow, Geoffrey Rush
IFC Films & Shudder | In Theaters March 7
Synopsis: Arrogant Judge Stefan Mortensen suffers a near-fatal stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed and confined to a retirement home. Resistant to the staff and distant from his friendly roommate, Mortensen soon clashes with seemingly gentle resident Dave Crealy, who secretly terrorizes the home with a sadistic game called “The Rule of Jenny Pen” while wielding his dementia doll as an instrument of cruelty.
What begins as childish torment quickly escalates into far more sinister and disturbing incidents. When Mortensen’s pleas to the staff go unanswered, he takes it upon himself to put an end to Crealy’s reign of terror.
Ash
Directed by Flying Lotus
Written by: Jonni Remmler
Cast: Eiza González, Aaron Paul, Iko Uwais, Beulah Koale, Kate Elliott, Flying Lotus
RLJE Films & Shudder | In Theaters March 21
Synopsis: On the mysterious planet of Ash, Riya awakens to find her crew slaughtered. When a man named Brion arrives to rescue her, an ordeal of psychological and physical terror ensues while Riya and Brion must decide if they can trust one another to survive.
Clown in a Cornfield
Directed by Eli Craig
Written by: Carter Blanchard and Eli Craig
Cast: Katie Douglas, Carson MacCormac, Aaron Abrams, Will Sasso, Kevin Durand
RLJE Films & Shudder | In Theaters May 9
Synopsis: Adapted to a screenplay by Carter Blanchard and Craig, Clown in a Cornfield follows Quinn and her father, who have just moved to the quiet town of Kettle Springs, hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down.
As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning figure emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time. Welcome to Kettle Springs. The real fun starts when Frendo the Clown comes out to play.
The Luckiest Man in America
Directed by Samir Oliveros
Written by: Maggie Briggs and Samir Oliveros
Cast: Paul Walter Hauser, David Strathairn, Shamier Anderson, Walton Goggins, Maisie Williams, Haley Bennett, Johnny Knoxville
IFC Films | In Theaters Spring 2025
Synopsis: Based on a true story, The Luckiest Man in America is set in May 1984, when an unemployed ice cream truck driver from Ohio steps onto the game show Press Your Luck harboring a big secret: the key to endless amounts of money. His winning streak is threatened when the bewildered executives in the control room start to uncover his real motivations.
