Summer 2025 was the summer I answered the sweet siren song of the AMC A-List subscription. I haven’t been able to leave the movie theatre since. Seriously, they’ve glued me to the chairs.
As a wanna-be film critic and regular Letterboxd user, I like to think I have some idea as to what makes a movie good or, really, deeply bad. This column will hold my quick, not too in-depth reviews of recent movies if you want to know before you go, whether you’re looking at an Oscar winner or a dumpster fire.
October is the month of horror: slashers, thrillers, zombies, vampires, and the occult; they’re all here to celebrate the best holiday of the year: Halloween.
Oddly enough, the most impactful horror films of 2025 have all been released long before the spooky holiday: Sinners was released in April, Weapons in August, and Bring Her Back in May. Still, this October had a lot to offer, from dramas to dark comedy.
Shelby Oaks
“I need to see it for myself.” – Shelby Oaks (2025)
This touching yet turbulent horror film is YouTube reviewer Chris Stuckmann’s debut. This creator has built a career sharing his adoration for the art of filmmaking with a highly involved audience; with the help of a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign and NEON as a distributor, he created an awe-inspiring first film.
Shelby Oaks may not be the perfect horror movie, but many of its elements are highly effective. The film draws clear inspiration from older horror films, such as The Blair Witch Project, featuring many haunting analog horror sequences.
Sitting in the theatre, watching a grainy, glitchy VHS tape on a giant screen is terrifying. These segments are so effective because the viewer can’t fully see the horror of the scenes through this low-quality, hand-held filming method.
However, these scenes are limited. Many of the more traditionally filmed sequences also build audience tension through the snail-paced camera movement and dynamic score. However, in terms of the writing, I think the story began to delve too far into horror clichés in the last quarter of the film: there was a spooky old lady, a blood ritual, and, of course, the literal devil.
Shelby Oaks seems to have its heart in the right place as a story of an older sister struggling to save her younger sister after the world has given up on her. Still, I wish Stuckmann had honed in on this heart rather than falling into schlocky horror tropes. Despite this, Shelby Oaks is definitely worth watching as a new, innovative independent horror film.
After The Hunt
“There are no rewards in death for suffering as much as f*cking possible in life.” – After the Hunt (2025)
Luca Guadagnino is at it again. Only a year after Challengers and Queer, he has released yet another controversial drama that can be interpreted in a myriad of ways. This film centers around the very contentious topic of sexual assault allegations made in a university setting.
Still, it’s not trying to take a stance one way or the other on truth vs. fiction or on vengeance vs. growth. Much like Challengers, After the Hunt is about how a stressful situation impacts personal dynamics.
The plot is more of a backdrop for the characters to develop and reveal their complex backstories and sinister motives. The central character is Alma Imhoff (Julia Roberts), an esteemed philosophy professor approaching tenure at Yale.
The opening scene of an academic dinner party establishes her relationships with fellow professor Hank (Andrew Garfield) and student Maggie (Ayo Ediberi). Both of these relationships slowly deteriorate throughout the film for different reasons, and it’s exhilarating to watch.
This is the type of movie that a lot of people really hate and a lot of people really love; I find myself somewhere in between. When watching this movie, it’s crucial to remember that Alma is a very unreliable narrator, and this dynamic with the audience creates a stressful viewing experience in the best way.
Guadagnino wanted to create a commentary on the performativity of academia — a group of people who believe they’re beacons of morality and justice — but I think After the Hunt gets lost in its overwhelming use of philosophical jargon and in its tendency to tell rather than show.
Bugonia
“You want the bees to be dying, because then it would be my fault.” – Bugonia (2025)
Yorgos Lanthimos has been directing hit after hit in the past three years. Ever since the release of Poor Things (2022), he has been especially bold in his creative decisions, crafting absurd stories with little to no broad audience appeal. I’ve loved every second of it.
Bugonia was my most anticipated release of 2025, and it didn’t disappoint. The first-time viewing experience is pure insanity; at every turn, it takes the exact opposite direction from the one you thought it was going. It’s depressing, nihilistic, absurd, and it’s pretty funny.
Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis) are two poor cousins living in rural Georgia, and Teddy believes prominent female CEO Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone) is an alien trying to destroy Earth. With a premise like that, how could you not be intrigued? Bugonia walks the line between genuine social commentary and insane hilarity. Like many other Lanthimos films, he achieves uncanny line deliveries from Stone, which had me laughing out of my seat.
Many reviewers have compared this film to other political commentary pieces from this year, such as Eddington and One Battle After Another. However, I believe this movie approaches the themes of conspiracy theorists, corrupt CEOs, and humanity’s destruction of the Earth from a more apolitical perspective.
While it explores contemporary conspiracy theorist culture, it doesn’t adopt an overtly political stance, focusing more on the social and economic factors that lead to someone believing aliens are destroying the Earth.
I adored this movie, and I could go on about why every scene was near-perfect in my eyes. Unfortunately, I can’t delve into these scenes without spoilers, and this movie needs to be viewed as close to blind as possible. Bugonia is also best viewed in the movie theatre, so make sure to see it before it moves to streaming platforms!
This October was an incredibly entertaining month at the movie theatre. Whether you’re diving into the depths of horror or exploring the absurdities of life, there was something out there for everyone this October. Now, let’s grab those tickets and see what cinematic wonders await us!
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest!