2025 has been one of the most hit-or-miss years in recent memory for Hollywood, ebbing between hits like Wicked for Good and Superman, and flops like Tron: Ares. While some of these films garnered the praise they deserved, others didn’t quite make the impact that gems like Weapons and Sinners did. From obscure horror films to twisted science fiction gems, many films were so great that they seem destined to achieve cult status.
Cult status is something some films take years to achieve, while others earn it shortly after release as streaming services find them a new audience. For some films, the subject matter is too niche to find success in theaters, while others just don’t get the marketing campaign to reach mainstream moviegoers. From spy thrillers to disturbing horror films, films like Mickey 17 can only garner a bigger audience with time.
Companion Inverts the Killer Robot Genre of Science Fiction
Companion follows a couple, Josh and Iris, as they drive out to meet Josh’s friends and spend a weekend in a beach house with them. Shortly after arriving, Iris is revealed to be an artificial intelligence-powered robot after she kills one of the men there in self-defense. Realizing that the others plan to deactivate her, she comes to understand what she is and is forced to fight for her existence.
Boasting one of the best marketing campaigns of a small-budget movie in all of 2025, Companion takes the conventional “killer robot” movie and flips it on its head. Appealing to everyone from Yellowjackets fans to horror buffs, the film offers a glimpse into the possible future awaiting humanity through the progression and development of AI.
Bring Her Back is an Unforgiving Dark Horror Film
Bring Her Back tells the story of step-siblings Piper and Andy as they are taken in by a foster mother, Laura, following the death of their father. Seeing that Laura is more interested in being a mother to Piper than him, Andy struggles to fit in, clashing with the woman. However, what initially seems to be a tough family dynamic soon turns into a case of brutal supernatural horror as the boy realizes Laura has dark designs on his sister.
It’s no secret that, when it comes to supernatural horror, 2025 was dominated by Weapons, Sinners and The Conjuring. In Bring Her Back, directors Danny and Michael Philippou gave Weapons fans a similar story that went much darker with the concept of witchcraft and black magic. It’s an unforgiving, bleak horror film that’s sure to find a growing audience among people who love the truly disturbing side of the genre.
Black Bag is an Old-School Spy Thriller
Black Bag focuses on a British intelligence operative named George Woodhouse as he’s tasked by his superiors with discovering who of five suspects is a mole. Included among the potential traitors is his own wife, Kathryn, forcing him into a tough spot. Using a combination of classic spycraft, detective work and psychological pressure, he inches closer to uncovering the truth, testing his marriage and allegiances.
Hollywood has struggled to find success with more subdued and cerebral spy thrillers, often relying on action-packed franchises like Mission: Impossible and James Bond. Black Bag showed there’s still a place for a good, old-school espionage drama. However, without the star power or marketing of other films, it failed to earn back its money. For anyone who does give the film a shot, they’re sure to find it an impressive experience that the box office didn’t do justice.
Mickey 17 is 2025’s Best Work of Satire
Mickey 17 takes place in a future where humanity has mastered cloning technology, allowing the rapid copying of people at will. The story focuses on Mickey, a man who volunteered to become a human guinea pig and laborer aboard a deep space starship in search of new worlds to conquer. After having been duplicated sixteen times, Mickey 17 is left for dead on a habitable planet, where he encounters its native alien species, forcing tensions with the ship’s fascistic leader.
As with many of director Bong Joon Ho’s films, it didn’t find the audience it deserved upon release, but feels destined to reach cult status if it hasn’t already. One of the truly unique films of the year, it works as a great, on-the-nose piece of satire of America’s current political climate, while still feeling like a timeless piece of science fiction. With one of Robert Pattinson’s best performances to date, as well as great stars like Mark Ruffalo and Naomi Ackie bringing their characters to life brilliantly.
In an age of increasing political corruption, ethical concerns, and dangers surrounding technological development, Mickey 17 is easily one of the greatest science fiction films of 2025. Its satire is on point, its questions challenging and its comedy brilliant.
Good Boy Turns a Lovable Dog Into the Heart of Horror
Horror has always been a genre that directors love experimenting with, and Ben Leonberg’s Good Boy promised this from the first trailer. Unlike typical horror movies, it shifts the focus to a dog named Indy, whose owner, Todd, is haunted by a malevolent entity. As the pair move into Todd’s late grandfather’s home, the creature grows more malicious, making the man sicker at every turn as it terrorizes Indy.
One of the surest ways for horror films to become cult classics is to give audiences something they’ve never seen before, and Leonberg’s film more than delivered. Few live-action films can claim an animal as the main character, and seeing a haunted house movie from Indy’s perspective is something sure to stay with the audience long after watching. From the movie’s cinematography to its masterful building of tension, fans are unlikely to find a supernatural movie as creepy as Good Boy.
Even for those who dislike horror, it’s hard to beat watching a movie that centers on a great dog actor in every scene. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Indy the Dog earned award nominations for the film.
The Long Walk is a Bleak Dystopian Thriller
The Long Walk takes place in a dystopian alternate America ravaged by poverty and authoritarian rule. In order to keep the masses distracted and drive up economic activity, the state forces fifty boys from around the country to compete in The Long Walk. Under threat of murder, the boys are forced to maintain a steady pace of three miles an hour and keep walking until only one remains. Each in the walk for his own reason, they march to the tune of a ruthless military officer.
An adaptation of Stephen King’s story of the same name, The Long Walk is one of the most chilling dystopian movies in recent memory. Thanks to Mark Hamill’s acting, the film isn’t just a great story; it gave Hollywood one of its most hateful villains of the 2020s, with The Major earning the audience’s disgust. At every turn, the viewers can’t help but get more invested in its characters, making each and every death so much more devastating.
Stephen King adaptations are almost always safe bets in cinema. The film did earn back its money at the box office, but compared to other King adaptations, it should have been much better received.
Caught Stealing is an Enjoyable Crime Thriller
Caught Stealing brings audiences back to 1998 New York, focusing on the story of Hank Thompson, a once aspiring athlete whose dreams were shattered after a car crash. Now a bartender in the Lower East Side, his life takes a turn for the worse when he gets roped into a crime ring by men looking for his neighbor. With everyone he cares about caught in the crossfire, he’s forced to navigate an escalating feud between gangs in search of a mysterious key.
Striking a balance for good, original thrillers has been an uphill climb for the 2020s, with genres like superhero, horror and science fiction getting more attention. Alternating between dark comedy and grim crime, the film carved out its own style. While darker than what viewers might expect, Caught Stealing has an impressive ability to throw unexpected twists and turns at its audience, a film perfect for Guy Ritchie fans.
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