Top 5 Indie Horror Movies of 2025

thehauntspot
Dec 29, 2025
2 min read

Independent Horror is finally having its moment to shine, making 2025 an important year for the genre. New voices have attracted audiences during a tie when AI slop and corporate greed is on the rise. We're seeing a particular fascination with Analog and Arthouse subgenres, which creates space for independent artists to share their own stories.

Making a top 5 was a tough challenge, as this year was stacked with exceptionally strong pieces. That said, we've chosen our favorite indie horror movies of the year!

With Analog horror making serious waves in the genre, we had to mention this 40 minute frenzy that's making its way through the festival circuit. Possibly Anthony Leroy's magnum opus, BUM, is a gruesome (bordering splatter) shot-on-video found footage satire. An exploitative freelance news team search for a seemingly chaotic and violent mutant. Aesthetically, the glitchy, CRT glow hits all the right points in creating nasty nightmare fuel.

Queens of the Dead

A charming, queer take on her father's iconic subgenre, Tina Romero glams up the undead in her horror comedy debut. Jack Haven, Katy O'Brian, Tomas Matos, Jaquel Spivey ( and so many more! ) deliver touching performances as they take on club-kid zombies and their own conflicts within the community.

It Ends

Premiering at South by South West, Alexander Ullom's existential horror follows a group of friends when they accidentally turn onto a never ending, two lane road in the middle of nowhere. Letterboxd announced earlier this month that It Ends would be one of the very first on their video store feature. Since then, has captured the attention from NEON and acquired rights for a well deserved 2026 theatrical release.

Good Boy

We couldn't leave off this adorable yet frightening supernatural horror from the perspective of a dog. Ben Leonberg directing and starring alongside his own pup, Indy, has carved a space for himself in the genre with a fresh take of the haunted house trope. Behind the scenes, Good Boy is the perfect poster child for indie horror. Another film to premiere at South by South West and took over three years of production on a $70,000 budget

The Ugly Stepsister

The perfect conglomeration of fantasy and body horror. After the success of The Substance, the body horror subgenre is back with a vengeance. Emilie Kristine Blichfeldt's f***ed up fairytale satire left us with our jaws on the floor (without the tapeworm)! Exploring the pain in beauty, Ugly Stepsister captures the feeling of a nightmare you'd have as a child in a sparkly, gory, glowing package.