By Mark Pukalo
The past few years it has been very difficult to decide on what was the best and worst movies. For 2025, the job is as easy as it could be.
The best on my list will be revealed some time in February. It's not a surprise. The worst, for the second time in three years, is a sports movie. Well, sort of.
The supernatural, sports horror film "Him," about a star quarterback's descent into Hell is ridiculous, gratuitously violent and just plain unwatchable. From what I hear, there was a better script for this film that was cast aside for some reason. Maybe that one would have allowed it to escape the top 10 worst.
While "Dashcam" and "Mother!" are probably still my two most hated movies ever, this one is easily the worst of 2025. Director Justin Tipping does not distinguish himself with this mess and it's disappointing that the brilliant Jordan Peele puts his name on this film as one of the producers.
It's also too bad the upcoming film "Melania" did not debut in 2025. Maybe "Him" would have had some competition.
The top 10 worst films have some beloved stars like Bill Murray, Samara Weaving and Kristen Stewart. However, no Bruce Willis this year. Many of the dishonorable mentions are under-the-radar streaming films you should avoid. Others have great actors that I like. Sorry Alicia Vikander, Dave Bautista, Josh O'Connor, John Travolta, Paul Mescal, John Lithgow and Elizabeth Olsen.
No doubt, horror lovers may not like some of my choices. For me, horror films have to be smart and/or unique like "Talk to Me." There has to be something that sets them apart. Not just violence and gore.
I might annoy some critics, many of which liked "Hedda," "The Rule of Jenny Pen," and "The History of Sound" I may also make people wonder why "Flight Risk" or "War of the Worlds" are not here. I'll admit, they were close. LOL.
However, here's my final list of the worst films of 2025.
Dishonorable Mention
Abraham's Boys: A Dracula Story - Abraham Van Helsing moves his wife and two sons to the United States two decades after Count Dracula dies, but they can't escape the past. Didn't really get the significance.
Ad Vitam - After escaping an attempted murder, a man must find his pregnant wife who has been kidnapped by evil guys in this French film. It's hard to follow.
Ash - An Alien-like science fiction adventure with a woman waking up alone on a ship after a mission to a faraway planet fails. It gets pretty confusing after that.
The Assessment - In a futuristic, dystopian society, couples are assessed to see if they will be allowed to have a child. Aaryan (Hamesh Patel) and Mia (Liz Olsen) go through a rigorous test with assessor Virginia (Alicia Vikander), but it never really gets compelling or logical.
The Calendar Killer - A woman in distress calls an emergency service in this German film. The damaged operator tries to save her in this odd, confusing film.
The Comeback Trail - The comedy with a great cast, including Robert DeNiro, Tommy Lee Jones, Zach Braff and Morgan Freeman, was originally released internationally in 2020. Not enough laughs.
The Damned - Ambitious, but quite boring, film about a community struggling to survive a harsh winter while facing an impossible decision when a shipwrecked foreign ship reaches their shore.
The Heart Knows - Foreign film about a wealthy businessman who falls in love with the widow of the man that was the donor of his heart. It's not really original.
Hell of a Summer - Dumb slasher film at a summer camp. I guess it was supposed to be a little humorous, but there are no real laughs.
Henry Danger The Movie: Based on the Nickelodeon series, a crime fighter battles through multi verses to make things right. Didn't really understand what was going on.
High Rollers - John Travolta and Gina Gershon star in this messy heist drama that veers off in several directions.
The History of Sound - Two good actors - Josh O'Connor and Paul Mescal - try to revive a boring script about a relationship between two gay men who enjoy folk music. I didn't really get the plot.
i Hostage - A lone attacker takes over an Apple store with demands and the police try to rescue the hostages. There is nothing new here.
In the Lost Lands - Milla Jovovich plays a witch who never turns down a job, but gets involved in a spat between an overlord and his ambitious wife. Dave Bautista is also there as a bad/good guy. Not sure which he actually is.
Locked - Eddie (Bill Skarsgard), a man down on his luck, breaks into the wrong car and gets locked in by a bored rich man. The premise isn't bad, but it's kind of all over the place without real direction in the final 30 minutes.
Old Guard 2 - Good immortals fight bad immortals in this sequel with a lot of star power on Netflix, including Charlize Theron, Uma Thurman and Henry Golding. First one was better.
The Rule of Jenny Pen - A bored old man with a puppet, who used to work at the facility (John Lithgow), torments fellow assisted-living residents late at night under the radar of the staff. I didn't find it intriguing like some other critics.
The Surrender - A grieving widow hires a mystery man to go through a ritual that could bring the husband back to life while her daughter protests. It's weird and unique enough, but it's not an easy watch for non-horror fans.
2073 - I'm not sure what they were going for here. It's a documentary about fascism with a glimpse of what the future would be with it. However, the non-documentary element is very vague.
Worst of the Worst
10. Love Me - It had a promising first 15-20 minutes or so, but then it went off the rails. Way too confusing with its symbolism about a relationship between weather buoy and a passing satellite after a catastrophic event. Kristen Stewart could not save it.
9. Hedda - Modernized version of an 1891 play about Hedda Gabler. Nothing in this really interested me, but Tessa Thompson is good at playing a nasty woman. Many critics liked this. I was bored by it.
8. I Don't Understand You - A gay couple travels to Italy for a vacation, as they are in the process of adopting a child, and all Hell breaks loose. Not enough humor to make up for a below-average script.
7. Fear Street: Prom Queen - More violent shenanigans at Shadyside High school and this one doesn't have as much intrigue or fun.
6. The Monkey - Bad horror film about an organ-grinder ceramic monkey with mystical powers that attaches itself to a family and causes a lot of freak deaths. Dumb and confusing.
5. Riff Raff - Great cast for this mob/comedy story that isn't really funny. Bill Murray comes after former mobster Ed Harris at a country home and it gets awkward.
4. Section 31 - Very poor Star Trek spinoff that never gets very compelling while trying to give you a few laughs. It tried to be both and did not succeed with either.
3. The Woman in the Yard - A woman deals with her depression as the evil spirit of her psyche appears in the backyard all in black. The film makes little sense and is so bad it's not even scary.
2. Borderline - A confusing comedy/horror film about a criminally delusional man (Ray Nicholson) stalking a beautiful pop star (Samara Weaving). It looked bad at the start and did not get any better. Sorry Samara.
1. Him - A great college quarterback, recovering from an attack, is trained by the best of all time (Marlon Wayans) to be his replacement on the top team. However, jealousy and evil lurk in the shadows. The script is poor, the storyline ultimately makes no sense and the gratuitous violence is disgusting as well. Nearly walked out of the theater. It's been a while since I did that. I want to say it was during "Burn After Reading." I just had to see how crazy the ending would be. It was bloody and stupid.
2024 - Mean Girls
2023 - Sweetwater
2022 - Dashcam
2021 - False Positive
2020 - Dolittle
2019 - Cold Pursuit
2018: Mile 22
2017 - Mother!
2016 - 13 Hours and Hail Caesar!
2015 - Chappie
2014 - The Monuments Men
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