FrightFest once again took over Leicester Square’s Odeon Luxe this month for an array of spine-chilling and stomach-churning horror offerings.
Now in its 26th year, the acclaimed film festival boasts more than 70 features and shorts for attendees to enjoy across five days, with world premieres and special guest appearances aplenty.
Last year saw Oscar winner The Substance among its exciting offerings, as well as Elijah Wood-starring Bookworm, Samara Weaving’s Azrael, and a special screening of The Last Voyage of The Demeter, which previously never made port in the UK.
This year’s festival featured a very special 20th anniversary screening, a documentary about one of the most controversial films ever made, eagerly anticipated sequels, and debut features – so those descending on the fest were spoiled for choice.
But now the premieres are out of the way, which FrightFest films should you be adding to your watchlist?
After working my way through the festival’s bumper programme for 2025, I have 13 recommendations for you to keep your eyes peeled for – if you dare.
Appofeniacs
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfake technology has provided a wealth of ideas for horror cinema, usually following murderous robots on the rampage.
But Chris Marrs Piliero’s feature Appofeniacs takes a much simpler approach – and it’s incredibly effective.
Starring Sean Gunn, Jermaine Fowler, Aaron Holiday, and Michael Abbott Jr, among others, Appofeniacs follows multiple characters and narratives all tied together by the devastation of the ease with which deepfake videos can make them appear to say and do things they never have.
Human
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Perfect for fans of gore, violence, comedy, and more bodily fluids than you can shake a stick at, Human is a riotous horror film in the vein of The Evil Dead.
Matt Stuertz directs the wild flick, which follows Dani Ferris (Jackie Kelly), an actor forced to live on the set of her current production.
While texting her former fling, a mysterious man bangs on the door of the studio asking to be let inside, but it doesn’t take her long to work out that this person has more sinister motives than first meets the eye.
Dooba Dooba
Lo-fi analogue horror has certainly seen a boom in recent years with the releases of Skinamarink, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, and The Outwaters, to name a few.
Injecting found footage frights into the festival this year was Ehrland Hollingsworth’s Dooba Dooba, a skin-crawling tale told through security cameras placed around the home of a family surviving after their son was murdered.
Amna (Amna Vegha) arrives at the home to care for Monroe (Betsy Sligh), the family’s 16-year-old daughter, suffering from severe anxiety after the slaying, and who needs a series of bizarre rituals and rules to feel safe.
The Red Mask
Slasher films are a staple of the horror genre, but it’s hard to deny they can often become stale and predictable, recycling the tropes we’re used to.
The Red Mask, directed by Ritesh Gupta, is the perfect meta slasher antidote told from the perspective of ourspoken queer screenwriter Allina Green (Helena Howard), who is given the dream gig of penning the final installment in the titular slasher franchise.
After receiving death threats from die-hard fans and suffering from writer’s block, she visits a remote Airbnb to get creative, but soon sees her weekend retreat turn into a real-life Red Mask sequel, leaving her fighting for her life.
The Toxic Avenger
After being deemed ‘unreleasable’ for several years, The Toxic Avenger finally had its English premiere at FrightFest 2025, and it brought all of the mayhem and laughter you would expect.
The Toxic Avenger follows janitor Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage), who, after a freak accident at his workplace, transforms into the mutant vigilante Toxie.
With his mop in hand, he battles everything from corrupt CEOs to hardened criminals to expose the truths hidden in the company, while also trying to salvage his complicated relationship with his son.
Portal To Hell
From one horror comedy to another, Woody Bess’ debut Portal To Hell is a life-affirming, witty tale with a starry cast boasting Keith David and Richard Kind.
It tells the story of medical debt collector Dunn (Trey Holland) whose life is turned upside down when a portal to hell opens in a washing machine at his local laundromat.
He and owner Ed (Romina D’Ugo) are faced with a dilemma – do they interact with it and the demon that exits, or ignore its existence?
Blood Shine
Husband-and-wife creative duo Emily Bennett and Justin Brooks have joined forces once more for another savagely beautiful horror offering in the form of Blood Shine.
Bennett also stars in the picture as Clara, a religious zealot who worships the light in lonely, sadistic rituals.
That is, until she comes across Brighton West (David Call), who travels to a remote, nondescript American town to write the latest installment in his wildly popular horror film franchise.
Crushed
Examining the limits of faith and what humans are capable of, Simon Rumley’s Crushed is certainly not a film for the faint of heart.
It stars Steve Oram as Father Daniel, a priest living in Thailand with his wife May (Nattapohn Rawddon) and daughter Olivia (Margaux Dietrich).
Daniel and May are pushed to extreme lengths when Olivia is taken by opportunistic criminal Stanley (Christian Ferriera), who plans to sell her.
Bone Lake
Sexy and sinister, Bone Lake is a twisty erotic thriller that had FrightFest audiences on the edge of their seats.
Diego (Marco Pigossi) and Sage (Maddie Hasson) take a romantic vacation to a secluded lakeside estate, but they soon find that they have been double-booked with fellow couple Cin (Andra Nechita) and Will (Alex Roe).
They decide to both stay at the expansive rental property, but their dream getaway soon spirals into a nightmarish fight for survival.
Redux Redux
Screened straight after Bone Lake, Redux Redux stunned FrightFest audiences with its savage revenge narrative and poignant musings over parenthood.
The tear-jerking science-fiction hit follows Irene Kelly (Michaela McManus), who is desperate to avenge her daughter Anna’s murder by any means necessary, going as far as journeying through parallel dimensions over and over again to track down and annihilate her killer, Nelson (Jeremy Holm).
She journeys through the multiverse searching for a world in which her daughter is still alive, but instead, she finds Mia (Stella Marcus), a would-be victim of Nelson, whom Irene saves.
Above The Knee
After shocking FrightFest audiences in 2023 with warped thriller Good Boy (no, not that one), Viljar Bøe is back with Above The Knee.
Above The Knee swaps dog costumes and hostages for Amir (Freddy Singh), a man who is tormented by visions of his left leg rotting.
He becomes obsessed with amputating it, meticulously planning an ‘accident’ in which he can sever it while keeping his scheme secret from his girlfriend, Kim (Julie Abrahamsen), and longtime friend and new boss Jonas (Viggo Solomon).
Sick Puppy
There was no shortage of twisted thrillers for the sickos at this year’s FrightFest, and Sick Puppy was one of the best of the weekend.
Directed by Jay Reid, Sick Puppy follows veterinary nurse Charlie (Natasha Calis) and her husband John (Brett Geddes), a gardener.
They appear to have the perfect life; however, John is hiding a dark secret in the basement of their house, where he regularly imprisons, tortures, and murders young women with the help (but disapproval) of Charlie.
Mother Of Flies
The Adams Family – made up of Toby Poser, John Adams, Lulu Adams, and Zelda Adams – is a staple of FrightFest, having premiered their films in London over the years.
And 2025 saw them debut what might be their best and most personal yet – Mother Of Flies, which currently boasts a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
After her cancer returns and her prognosis is grim, Mickey (Zelda) visits a healer, Solveig (Toby), turning to necromancy when conventional medicine fails her.
Mickey’s father, Jake (John), is skeptical that Solveig can help his daughter, but goes along for the ride that soon proves to be more tumultuous and gruelling than previously thought.
FrightFest 2025 took place from August 21 to 25 at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square
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