All through October, I’ll be posting reviews of the best of the best films in the horror genre released since October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. As an added bonus, I’ll be doing a secondary review that may be somewhat related to the main review or slightly missed the countdown by inches. Follow along the countdown every day in October. Feel free to agree, disagree, or better yet, give me your own picks for your favorite horror movies of the year. Happy Halloween!

The Best in Horror 2025-2026 So Far…

#31 – DOLLY (GATOR FACE)
#30 – THINESTRA (SACCHARINE)
#29 – ONSLAUGHT (BEAST OF WAR)
#28 – READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME (PENNY LANE IS DEAD)

#28 – READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME (2026)

Released on March 20, 2026.
Streaming on Hulu from Fox Searchlight!
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett.
Written by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Guy Busick, R. Christopher Murphy.
Check out the
trailer here! !

Grace (Samara Weaving) left the Le Domas mansion in flames with the entire well-to-do family dead after she survived a night of being hunted. See, for Grace to marry into the Le Domas family, she had to pick a card from a deck and play whatever game that comes up. She picked “Hide and Seek,” meaning that she must hide in the mansion and elude capture by her in-laws, her new husband, as well as their very violent help until dawn. This was part of an age-old ritual involving a deal with the Devil himself in exchange for riches, power and influence. Grace thinks her wedding night from hell was over but wakes up in a hospital chained to her bed. And as the police interrogate her about the dead bodies and the bloody bride’s dress she’s wearing, word goes out from the high seat of the Satanic council (played by none other than David Cronenberg himself), that a new game must be played. Same rules. Survive the night being pursued by the heads of each of the six seats of the high council, played by an ensemble of dastardly character actors like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Nestor Carbonell, and Kevin Durand, among others. And just in case Grace chooses not to play, the council has abducted Faith, Grace’s estranged younger sister played by Kathryn Newton, to guarantee she is playing by the rules. Now Grace and Faith must dodge maniacs with an arsenal of deadly weapons until dawn. The prize? The ring that signifies the highest seat of the Satanic Council and ruler of basically the entire world.

Whew, what a recap! But this is a sequel and a lot went on in that first installment.

And I loved the first READY OR NOT movie. It was a thrill ride from the get-go and that pace continues in the sequel from scene one after a little recap. I’m impressed by how the Radio Silence guys can keep the momentum going forward all the way through this sequel with unique battle sequences and loads of orchestrated carnage. There really isn’t a minute that isn’t full of explosions, blood, or body parts and the filmmakers pepper in some awesome songs for this almost two-hour long massacre to groove to.

Also peppered throughout is some nice drama between Grace and Faith, two sisters who are estranged and so very much alike that it’s obvious why they don’t get along. Though not as proficient in warfare as her sister Grace is, Faith is just as stubborn. Both Weaving and Newton play well off one another, though this rivalry seems to be stretched to its limit by the end of the movie. With all the craziness going on around the two sisters, it seems a bit implausible that they would continue the feud when bullets and knives are flying from all directions. I understand much of this banter between the two is there for both comedic effect as well as some dramatic heft as the sisters both grow closer and unearth deep seeded issues between them, but a lot of the barbs and jabs feel somewhat forced and honestly, in the way of some wonderful violence playing out. But that’s a minor quibble. I really liked the way the action scenes play out. The set pieces in Part 2 are more elaborate and the stakes are risen, but it maintains that fun and macabre tone set in the first.

This is a great movie though. Weaving is entrancing and the screen highlights how amazing she is as an actress and how she radiates, even while screaming and covered in blood. Kathryn Newton compliments Weaving well. Equally beautiful, she is a bit more girl-next-doory and down to earth and provides a more realistic reaction to all this action around her. While Weaving, having endured the last film, is like a bull charging forward, Newton supplies the perspective of the audience, shocked at what is going on around them. They compliment each other well. The rest of the performances are great, though not as deep. It’s basically a cast of known faces having fun playing evil characters, specifically Sarah Michelle Gellar who usually doesn’t play these types of roles. But Gellar, Hatosy, Carbonel, and Durand all are having a good time being bad.

There is a moment in the film that feels somewhat cliched and really makes for a cut in momentum for the film where Grace and Faith inevitably have had it with one another and go their separate ways that felt implausible. It is the only time in the film where I could see the writer’s hand in works as while it is necessary for the plot, it still felt all too predictable and serving only for the two to get together later for a monumental reunion where the two fight together. I guess it must happen, but that doesn’t make it any less predictable. At this point in the film, Weaving and Newton’s characters have donned so much plot armor that everyone knows nothing is going to happen to them.

The horror is there. It comes in the form of violence and gore through these intense battle and survival scenes between the sisters and these warring families trying to win the top seat in the Satantic High Council. The first film waited right until the end before it showed its supernatural hand, so it isn’t a surprise that some demonic shenanigans are afoot. The reveal that the devil plays a major part of the rich and famous of the world was a fun surprise at the end of the first film and smartly, they don’t try to hide the supernatural stuff this time around. So, it is more peppered throughout. Still, as with the first, it ends with a ritual of a sort and some decent late-in-the-game special effects show during the climax all run by the always amazing Elijah Woods who seemingly can’t go wrong in his career if he tried. Seeing him mutter “Hail Satan.” was an especially fun treat and I think if there ever was an actor who would be the perfect Mad Hatter in a Batman movie, Wood is it. Don’t ya think? The ending was fun, yet predictable if you’ve seen more than one movie in your life.

I don’t know if I want Part 3 though. I feel as if this series has kind of run its course. I don’t think going deeper into Grace and Faith’s extended family or finding out why Grace is so scrappy and proficient with weaponry is interesting enough to warrant a third movie, but maybe the Radio Silence guys have something fresh up their sleeves and they’ll prove me wrong. But READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME really is just READY OR NOT extended beyond the house and I think stretching the borders any further isn’t going to be enough for a continuation.

For me, I prefer the very similarly themed THEY WILL KILL YOU to READY OR NOT 2. And it might, just might, be showing up higher up in my Best of List for the year for reasons that I will elaborate on in that review. READY OR NOT 2 is a fun roller coaster. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Guy Busick, and R. Christopher Murphy continue to deliver crowd-pleasing films with a dark bent to them, rooting their films in the horror genre no matter how action-packed and funny they are as well. READY OR NOT 2 is another winner from them. The sequel cliches extending the family and broadening the playing field work, but I don’t know how far this concept can be stretched. Still, I recommend this one as READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME is a helluva good time at the movies.

Worth Noting – PENNY LANE IS DEAD (2025)

Released on August 28, 2026!
Streaming on Shudder from Buffalo Median and Sanctuary Pictures!
Directed/Written by Mia Kate Russell.
Check out the
trailer here! !

It’s the late eighties in Australia and Penny Lane (Bailey Spalding) and her two best Shiela’s, Toni (Tahlee Fereday) and Amy (Alexandra Jensen) plan on having a girls’ weekend at Penny’s beach house before Penny moves off to college. A week prior, Penny shared a kiss with Toni and since it tasted better than a “bloomin’ onion,” the two are kinda-sorta interested in seeing where that evolution of their relationship could go from there. But unbeknownst to the group, Penny’s jealous cousin Kat (Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn) plans to crash the party. And after Kat spike’s Penny’s cupcake with drugs, Penny passes out and the rest of the gals kick Kat out of the beach house. But Kat calls her new boyfriend Angus (BLOODY HELL’s Ben O’Toole) and his two degenerate mates to pick her up. Instead of taking Kat someplace else, the blokes decide to crash the party themselves. And faster than you can say, “digeridoo,” things quickly go all the way to hell.

Yes, all the Australian I know is from the Outback Steakhouse.

PENNY LANE IS DEAD is one of those films that starts a little slow but after the first twenty or so minutes of gettin’-to-know-you time. But once it gets going, it rolls like a freight train without a conductor all the way until the end. Filmmaker Mia Kate Russell juggles quite a few unique characters as they bump, bounce, slam, and smash into one another. Once Kat’s boyfriend Angus and his friends show up, things get brutal and violent. The blood speweth everywhere and no character is left unscathed. This is a pitch dark film about love, friendship, and jealousy and how a potent mix of those three elements means disaster to all involved. I loved the wanton carnage this film tosses around.

PENNY LANE IS DEAD is worth recommending specifically for two or three extremely strong performances. The whole cast is strong, but Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn has a devilishly fun time being the unhinged Kat and almost steals the entire show as Penny’s jealous cousin. The way you see Kat build fragile confidence only to have it crumble around her is an amazing arc for this character. She wants to be accepted into Penny’s group but lacks the social skills to actually be cordial with them. Her response to her awkwardness is to lash out with harsh words, sabotage good things, and ultimately go full postal on anyone around her. Seeing her reactions to everything that unfolds is quite a fascinating character study of a truly dangerous, anti-social outcast who just wants to be loved.

But Kat’s character is outshined by the ultra-charismatic Angus played by the ultra-charismatic Ben O’Toole. If you’ve seen BLOODY HELL, you know how O’Toole commands every scene he is in. Here he doesn’t play a hapless hero, but a raging psychopath itching to prove how bad he is at every turn. It’s wonderful to see this actor’s range between this and BLOODY HELL as Angus really is a monster. As Angus, he is perpetually cocking his chin down and eyes up, a look perfected by DeNiro and Colin Farrell, that conveys a dangerous, conniving tone of a serpent just about to strike. Still, O’Toole plays much of his role for laughs and false bravado. I loved every minute he was on screen.

The rest of the cast is strong. I loved Steve Le Marquand as the gruff older crook Merrick. Seeing him whack Angus down a couple of notches is great fun. Alexandra Jensen is also very good as the innocent Amy who is completely out of sorts with the horrible things going on around her. Tahlee Fereday is the only chink in this film’s armor. She is supposed to be the lead Toni, but for some reason, besides looking tough covered in blood, her performance feels somewhat uncomfortable at times. Finally, there’s Penny Lane herself, a charming beauty played by Bailey Spalding. She’s good but as the title suggests, she’s dead for most of the movie.

The ultra-violence and performances by Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn and Ben O’Toole are the main reasons to check out this modern Ozzie nightmare. There are some very disturbing scenes of violence but then again, there are some hilarious scenes peppered throughout. This is a devilish little number that is hard to forget. Recommended.