Myth, motherhood and modern fear: The best films of 2025
As 2025 comes to a close, our top writers reflect on a year of cinema that found fresh ways into familiar territory. Across these picks are films that rework myth and genre into something culturally resonant, revive the romantic comedy without leaning on tired formulas, and push beyond the expected limits of British realism. There are tense, character-driven thrillers that make the most of their settings, horror that balances genuine terror with dark humour, and adaptations that remain emotionally devastating decades after the source material was written. Elsewhere, filmmakers turn their focus to modern stardom, motherhood, addiction and inherited trauma – stories that sit with discomfort rather than offering easy resolution. These are the films that stayed with our writers long after the credits rolled.
Sinners – “Exhilarating, culturally resonant and enriching”
Including Sinners on yet another “Best of 2025” list might seem obvious and predictable, but leaving it out would feel far more indefensible, as any serious overview of the year’s cinematic highlights would be incomplete without it. Set over a single day in the 1930s Mississippi Delta, Ryan Coogler transforms vampirism and mythic lore into a vessel for Black history, delivering a film that is exhilarating, culturally resonant and enriching. The ensemble, which boasts names like Delroy Lindo, Omar Benson Miller and Wunmi Mosaku alongside double-lead Michael B Jordan, absolutely soars, perfectly in tune with the film’s heart song.
Selina Sondermann
Weapons – “Both terrifying and hilarious”
Zach Cregger’s follow-up to Barbarian, Weapons is a devilishly fun horror that centres around the disappearance of a class of schoolchildren who all run out of their homes at the exact same time one night. Following different characters from the affected town, the plot slowly unravels the central mystery to reveal the witchy horror that’s terrorising the area. Fronted by extraordinary turns from Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, and Amy Madigan as one of the best horror villains in recent years, Cregger’s sophomore outing succeeds in being both terrifying and hilarious, all while serving as a thoughtful allegory for addiction.
Andy Murray
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – “Reframes motherhood as something messy and destabilising”
Mary Bronstein’s second feature is powered by a ferocious, nervy performance from Rose Byrne, arguably the finest of her career. As Linda, a mother and therapist stretched beyond endurance, Byrne is caught between professional underperformance and domestic collapse, reflecting wider anxieties around healthcare, parenting and isolation in late-capitalist suburbia. The film focuses on the psychological toll of responsibility within contemporary suburban life: the claustrophobia of routines, small failures and accumulated pressure. Bronstein reframes motherhood as something messy and destabilising, shaped by exhaustion rather than fulfilment.
Christina Yang
Pillion – “Without a doubt, the dom-com of the year”
With films like Materialists and Eternity, romantic comedies were brought back into public discourse in 2025. How do we define the genre, and how can contemporary cinema reflect modern dating, when so many of our expectations were shaped and misled by the movies we grew up watching? Pillion finally feels like a fresh and honest take: witty, sexy, heartfelt – tickling our dopamine centre without adhering to familiar formulas. Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård are at the top of their game as their characters explore personal boundaries in a BDSM relationship. It may come wrapped in chains and leather, but Pillion is an instant Christmas classic, and it is without a doubt the rom-com – or should one say dom-com? – of the year!
Selina Sondermann
Marty Supreme – “A blast from start to finish”
Table tennis has never been as riotous or exhilarating as in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme. Loosely inspired by real-life table tennis star Marty Reisman, the feature follows hot-headed prodigy Marty Mauser as he does whatever he can to reach the world championships in Tokyo. However, what he believes should be his god-given right to compete descends into a black comedy of gonzo proportions. Timothée Chalamet gives arguably the best performance of his career as the anarchistic and self-deluded Mauser. Watching the increasing absurdity of his situation grow is a non-stop delight, with a scene involving a bathtub in a rundown hotel room being a stomach-tightening highlight. Featuring strong supporting performances from Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin O’Leary, alongside a scene-stealing turn from Abel Ferrara, Marty Supreme is a blast from start to finish.
Andrew Murray
A Pale View of Hills – “Treats trauma as an inheritance”
Kei Ishikawa’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s debut novel approaches war as something remembered rather than witnessed, filtered through time, distance and self-deception. Moving between postwar Nagasaki and 80s England, the movie treats trauma as an inheritance – not explosive, but persistent, reshaping identity across generations and continents. A Pale View of Hills confronts history obliquely, showing how the consequences of war remain, quietly, woven into everyday life.
Christina Yang
Wasteman – “Tense and immensely gripping”
Perhaps mentioning Cal McMau’s directorial debut as a 2025 highlight verges on cheating, since it won’t hit UK cinemas until February 2026. Still, out of the 30+ movies I saw at TIFF this autumn, it stayed with me the most, and the director was deservedly awarded the Douglas Hickox Award at the BIFA ceremony in November. In this prison drama-turned-thriller, British rising stars David Jonsson and Tom Blyth go head-to-head, showcasing their acting chops and delivering the most transformative performances of the year. Tense and immensely gripping, Wasteman shows just how effectively a film can use its location and characterisation.
Selina Sondermann
The Long Walk – “An emotionally devastating exploration of the human spirit”
With the release of The Monkey and Life of Chuck, there’s been a recent renaissance in Stephen King adaptations. One of the best is Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk. Based on King’s 1979 novel of the same name, the film takes place in a dystopian version of the US where a group of boys are selected to participate in the titular annual event in which they must walk nonstop until only one is left standing. If they slow down for too long or leave the road, they’re eliminated. Despite its simple premise, the feature is an emotionally devastating exploration of camaraderie and the human spirit, punctuated by moments of violence that are as harrowing as they are tragic. Decades after its publication, King’s unflinching critique of authoritarianism is still chillingly relevant today.
Andrew Murray
Lurker – “An incisive study of contemporary stardom”
Alex Russell’s feature debut is an incisive study of contemporary stardom, following a young man who inserts himself into the orbit of a rising pop star, exposing the fragile social architecture surrounding modern celebrity. Here, fame is a system of proximity: the closer you are, the more influence – and the greater the risk. Russell observes this world clinically, noting the subtle cruelties, unspoken hierarchies and transactional relationships that sustain it. The tension comes not from the stars or the art, but from the relentless drive to remain close, navigating boys’ club networks and the informal rules that govern this world.
Christina Yang
Urchin – “Defies the usual expectations of bleak British realism”
2025 saw its fair share of actors-turned-directors, but the most accomplished move behind the camera belongs to Harris Dickinson. From the instant the camera follows its protagonist into a prison shower and continues its journey down the drain, it becomes evident that the film is driven by a genuine need to tell this story and shed light on those falling through the cracks. Frank Dillane gives an indelible performance as his character goes through homelessness, addiction, despair, hope, attempts at rehabilitation and estrangement. There is no sugarcoating to the issues addressed, and yet Urchin defies the usual expectations of bleak British realism in favour of finding a lyricism of its own.
Selina Sondermann
Read all our movie reviews here.
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