Recurring Nightmares: Horror Sequels and New Installments Coming in 2025

For the first time in fourteen years, Final Destination is back. This time following a college student who returns home to stop a curse that’s been serving as nightmare fuel while she’s been away at school. 

The movie, the sixth in the franchise, will feature a role reprisal from Tony Todd (most widely known for his portrayal of Candyman in 1992) as William Bludworth, an ominous funeral director who happens to be a subject matter expert on the rules of death and attempting to evade it, with a promise to take a deeper dive into his backstory than ever before.

Todd passed away in November 2024 though was able to complete filming before his passing, which means this May release will mark the last performance from someone who has left an indelible mark on the horror genre.

Starring Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes, 28 Years Later will be a new installment in the 28 Days Later film series that kicked off in 2002.

Written by Alex Garland (the mind behind Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Men) and directed by Danny Boyle, this time around we’ll see how life has found a way on a small, isolated island in spite of the Rage Virus. 

But when a father and his son have to leave the island on a mission, it quickly becomes clear that the rest of the world is surviving much differently.

What’s likely to throw a wrench into things is that there’s a death cult involved now, led by actor Jack O’Connell, who have developed rituals and beliefs inspired by the effects of the virus.

This cult is also the subject of focus in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the 2026 sequel to the new installment, releasing June 2025. 

You heard that right—even the sequels are getting sequels.

Still technically unnamed, the I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel coming out this summer will be the fourth film for the franchise. 

From what we know so far: expect the premise to be similar to the original. A group of teens are chased down by a murderous stalker who knows the truth of a terrible event from their collective past.

Principals from the original, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt are planned to make returns, and Madelyn Cline (Netflix’s Outer Banks) is slated to lead the band of troubled teens.

And while there’s not much else known at this time, the release date is, of course, set for the dead of summer: July 18, 2025.

Ed and Lorraine Warren are back in the ninth installment of The Conjuring universe, in which the duo will take on their final investigation.

Few details are known about which of their cases (Ed and Lorraine are real people and life paranormal investigators) it will feature. 

However, some speculate it will be based on the Snedeker Haunting, a haunting that unfolds after a family moves into an old funeral home to be closer to the hospital where their son is receiving cancer treatment.

This would explain the movie’s title—funerals are often a person’s “last rites.”

If that premise sounds vaguely familiar, that’s because the Snedeker Haunting is also the basis for the 2009 horror movie The Haunting in Connecticut.

So if this film covers the same haunting, it’ll be interesting to see how the franchise differentiates itself for the final installment. 

Regardless of which case is covered, though, The Conjuring: Last Rites promises to go deeper into the relationship dynamics of the Warrens more than ever before, and let’s be honest, the sincerity and dedication of this couple is what keeps us coming back for more. 

Hopes are high and haunted for September 5, 2025.

Releasing October 17, 2025, The Black Phone 2 will pick up where the original left off, following the story of Finney Shaw, a young boy who was kidnapped by a serial killer called The Grabber, known for murdering young boys, and survived against the odds. 

From what it seems, the sequel will follow Finney as he reacclimates back to regular life after the ordeal of his abduction.

However, we can certainly expect a reappearance of The Grabber, because Ethan Hawke, the actor who plays him, is also going to be making a return. 

If it’s half as dreadful and jump-scary as the first, The Black Phone 2 should be another hell of a ride.

These films are just a handful of the horror sequels this year.

In addition, we can also expect Megan 2.0, Saw XI, and even an Anaconda reboot. 

For now, horror isn’t going anywhere, and that’s a damn good thing.