As we find ourselves already drifting through the heart of February 2026, the whirlwind of 2025 has slipped quietly into the rearview mirror, leaving behind a year brimming with cinematic curiosities, triumphs, and missteps. With the turning of the calendar comes the perfect moment to cast a thoughtful gaze backward and revisit the many films—both horror and genre-bending—that sought to thrill, unsettle, or simply bewilder us. Dark Discussions and its devoted co-hosts have once again gathered to sift through the shadows, assembling their annual retrospective to determine whether 2025 stood tall as a banner year for genre cinema or faltered under the weight of its own ambitions.

Each co-host curated a personal selection of films worthy of recommendation, resulting in two distinct collections: one devoted to pure horror and another celebrating the broader realms of speculative fiction. From these individual offerings, the team wove together the definitive Dark Discussions lists—carefully balanced, lovingly debated, and reflective of the year’s most memorable achievements. Familiar titles such as SINNERS and FINAL DESTINATION BLOODLINES naturally claimed their place, yet the lists also shine a light on quieter gems like RED ROOMS and DROP, films that may have slipped beneath the mainstream radar but lingered in the minds of those who discovered them.

But the celebration doesn’t end with the films themselves. Dark Discussions dives deeper, presenting an array of additional highlights: the most striking and disastrous scenes, the reigning scream queens, the breakout performers who emerged from the shadows, and countless other delights that color the tapestry of the year. With this comprehensive wrap-up, the podcast ties a neat bow around 2025, offering listeners not only reflection but also a treasure trove of titles to seek out, savor, and perhaps even fear.