Not wanting to start on a downer or anything, but it’s safe to say 2025 has been a tricky one – to put it mildly.

Whether it’s the film industry or the wider world, we’ve all been going through it this year, however, despite the trying times, movies are very much still here. As are we. And that, let’s be honest, is something to cherish.

So yes, battered and bruised though we (and cinema) may be, we’ve made it to the end of yet another year. As such, and as custom dictates, this feels like the perfect time to look back and tip our hat to what the last twelve months brought us.

Leaving the very real-world doom and gloom to one side for the time being (this is a movie top 10 after all), let’s take a moment to celebrate 2025’s cinematic positives. With the green shoots of recovery starting to show through in this post-pandemic, post-strike world, there was certainly a marked quality uptick compared to where we were a year ago, and a clear indication that further good times lie ahead.

With the festival circuit feeling much healthier than it has been in a while, the box office continuing to show signs of recovery, and an award season ahead that promises to be one of the most interesting in years, there really has been a lot to celebrate in 2025.

And celebrate we most certainly will with…

THE INSERT MONTAGE TOP 10 FILMS OF 2025!

What an absolute delight. Charming, witty, wholesome, and incredibly big-hearted from start to finish, this is one of those films you just want to wrap yourself up in and bathe in its warm, kindly glow. Leading the way is Tim Key who operates at peak-Tim Key, while his bromance with Tom Baseden’s faded folk star is truly something to cherish.

After the (slight) dip of Glass Onion, Knives Out has arisen with Wake Up Dead Man. A devilishly plotted murder mystery, classic whodunnit vibes, Rian Johnson’s razor-sharp writing, and cracking performances from Josh O’Connor and an all-star ensemble combine for a wild, twisty, ridiculously accented ride that gives the entire Knives Out franchise a new lease of life, just as it was threatening to fade away entirely.

At once hypnotic, horny, beautiful, thrilling, and utterly repulsive – Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a thing of grainy, gory gothic glory. Crammed with captivating performances (not least from Lily-Rose Depp), visceral splendour, and spellbinding visual flair, Nosferatu is a thoroughly immersive viewing experience of intrigue, dark desire, and unrelenting fear that will sink its teeth in and slowly bleed you dry.

A delicately balanced blend of poignancy, family drama, and wry humour. Fear, forgiveness, and generational trauma intertwine through a smartly constructed script, wonderful performances, and some beautifully executed direction. Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas are simply fantastic, as is Stellan Skarsgård, who delivers one of the finest performances of his career.

It’s been quite some time since I’ve found myself this locked into a horror film and considering the run the genre has been on these past few years, that’s pretty damn impressive. An utterly enthralling, frequently disturbing, sometimes disorientating, often uncomfortably funny watch that revels in its slowly revealing, multi-angled mystery. Relentlessly and brutally piecing his film together from multiple perspectives, Zach Cregger relishes in keeping you lost and guessing until the bitter end.

An earthy, soulful tale of life, love, loss, and human connection with a wistful, haunting, beautifully ethereal quality to it. Train Dreams just comes along, tells the story it needs to tell, and exits with minimal fuss but maximum impact. It’s not earth-shattering stuff but it doesn’t need to be. Train Dreams a simple tale about a simple man dreaming of a simple life, however, the emotions are big and universal and will affect you in ways you really weren’t expecting.

Kidnap thriller, oddball comedy, freaky body horror, offbeat sci-fi silliness, societal commentary, existential drama. Even by Yorgos Lanthimos standards, there’s a lot going on with Bugonia, yet somehow, between the incredible performances of its stars, the relatively approachable tone, and admirably bold plot swings, this is the director’s most mainstream and surprisingly accessible work to date.

Park Chan-wook you sonofabitch (compliment). How do you keep pulling these absolute bangers out of the bag? Chan-wook’s kinetic, beautifully fluid direction, some seriously slick editing, a wickedly dark sense of humour, and a riotously unpredictable – and painfully relevant – story crash head-first into one another for one of the wildest, funniest, most unsettling cinematic rides of the year.

Big, bold, bloody, and unapologetically Black, Sinners is a truly transcendent cinematic achievement that sinks its teeth in and doesn’t let go. Coming in hot, Ryan Coogler digs deep to unearth a profound, powerful whirlwind of style, sound, sweat, sex, and metaphor-drenched horror that gleefully overwhelms both your senses and soul to leave an indelible mark on you.

Exhilarating, entertaining, exhausting, eviscerating – One Battle After Another is an astute, urgent instant classic and undoubtedly Paul Thomas Anderson’s most accessible, outright enjoyable effort to date. A jagged, dishevelled, timely political drama wrapped up in a rollicking action thriller, it’s an astonishing piece of cinema that hits on so many levels and at a moment in time where its impact couldn’t be more opportune or devastating.

Happy New Year to one and all! Here’s to better times and plenty more fantastic films in 2026 🎉