If you’re a horror fan, you’re probably just as excited about the horror movies coming out this year as you are about the horror novels. There are a lot of scary movies to look forward to in 2025, including these four, which are all adaptations of horror novels.
Fear Street: Prom Queen
This upcoming Netflix movie is based on the Fear Street novel The Prom Queen by R.L. Stine. Set in 1988, the story follows students of Shadyside High who are fighting to win the title of prom queen. It’s totally normal high school stuff, right? That is, until some of them go missing.
The movie stars India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, David Iacono, Ella Rubin, Chris Klein, Lili Taylor, and Katherine Waterston. It’s directed by Matt Palmer. No release date has been announced yet, but filming wrapped in May 2024, and we’ve been promised a release sometime this year.
Frankenstein
You are probably very familiar with Mary Shelley’s gothic novel. Now we’re getting a fresh take on the classic from director Guillermo del Toro. The film stars Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein’s monster. It also stars Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, Christian Convery, Charles Dance, and Ralph Ineson.
This one also doesn’t have a release date yet, but it will be streaming on Netflix sometime in 2025.
The Monkey
Here’s one we can expect very, very soon: Osgood Perkins’ adaptation of the Stephen King short story “The Monkey” from his 1985 collection Skeleton Crew. Theo James stars as both Hal and Bill, twin brothers who are dealing with a string of horrifying deaths after finding a toy monkey in their father’s attic. Also starring in the film are Christian Convery, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, and Sarah Levy.
If you want to learn more about this upcoming adaptation, check out this post! The Monkey hits theaters everywhere on February 21.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
An untitled sequel to I Know What You Did Last Summer is also expected to be released later this year. This one is meant to be a direct sequel to the 1998 film, which was an adaptation of Lois Duncan’s YA novel of the same name. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. will reprise their roles as Julie James and Ray Bronson. Joining the cast for the sequel are Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers, Jonah Hauer-King, Chase Sui Wonders, Billy Campbell, Lola Tung, Gabbriette, Austin Nichols, and Nicholas Alexander Chavez.
It’s scheduled for a theatrical release on July 18, 2025.
We’ve discussed this before, but unfortunately, not enough works by authors of color are being adapted in 2025. This is especially true in the horror category. That doesn’t mean, however, that new horror by BIPOC authors isn’t coming out this year. Be sure to explore these titles and grow your TBR!