August & September Horror Movies 2025: Popcorn, Priests & Bad Decisions

Welcome to We The Freakers, your favorite haunted house of chaotic horror opinions. We’ve been eagerly anticipating these upcoming horror releases, doing the dirty work—Reddit threads at 3 a.m., critic scores that made us question humanity—so you don’t have to. August and September are packed with a diverse range of horror releases, from demon-date-night to ‘what in the hell was that ending?’ energy. So grab your popcorn, lock the basement, and maybe schedule therapy now. We’re diving into every single horror movie dropping these two months—and yes, we’re judging all of them. Mercilessly.

Weapons – August 8, 2025

Director: Zach Cregger

Cast: Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong

Tomatometer: 100% (11 critics)

Plot: A classroom full of kids vanishes. One survivor returns mute and shell-shocked. Their quiet suburb fractures under rumour, cult whispers, and hidden rituals. The story shifts through multiple perspectives—teachers, parents, and paranormal investigators. There’s an eerie tapestry of inherited trauma, dark rituals in basements, and a final act that Reddit called “absolute holy‑hell creative overload.” Think Barbarian meets The Leftovers in slow burn mode.

Reddit Says: “Terrifying and confusing—just like my last relationship.”

Our Take: This movie slapped us across the face, and we said, “Thank you.” Officially adding “Zach Cregger horror cult leader” to our vision boards. This is small-town horror turned universal nightmare.

Weapons (2025) right here. It’s got trauma, theories, and one too many punchlines.

Witchboard – August 15, 2025 (Speculative)

Director: Chuck Russell

Cast: Jamie Campbell Bower, Madison Iseman, David La Haye, Charlie Tahan

Tomatometer: 100% (6 critics)

Plot: Emily and her partner open a New Orleans café with hidden occult roots. A vintage pendulum board gets rediscovered, bringing masked rituals, spectral possession, and cryptic messages tied to witchcraft ancestry. As Emily hosts tourist séances, reality shifts. Spectral figures whisper, someone disappears, and Emily realizes she may be the climax of a centuries-old ritual.

Reddit says: “If my ex’s soul comes through this board, I’m charging it rent.”

;Our Take: Messy, campy, dripping in gothic aesthetics—and a perfect brew for social media background ambience. Occult chaos with brunch vibes. Totally our tarot mocha energy. Check out our complete, unhinged preview of

Still craving cursed vibes? Check out Witchboard (2025) right here. It’s got demons, Ouija drama, and enough dread to make you unplug your Wi-Fi.

Hell House LLC: Lineage – August 20, 2025

Director: Stephen Cognetti

Cast: Bridget Rose Perrotta, Destiny Leilani Brown, James Liddell

Tomatometer: TBA

Plot: A team of documentarians heads back to the long-abandoned Abaddon Hotel to uncover the truth behind Carmichael Manor’s dark cult history. Found footage collides with archive revelations as reality blurs. Past victims, future horrors—they all bleed together in ghostly static and mad cult presences.

Reddit says: “Do I need to watch the first four?”

Our Take: Yes. Also, maybe rewatch Grave Encounters for ambience. This franchise finale is equal parts mock-doc suspense and grand ghost breakdown.

Haunted hotels more your thing? Hell House LLC: Lineage (2025) is waiting right here. It’s got found footage, ghost screams, and enough cursed energy to short-circuit your ring light.

Exit 8 – August 29, 2025

Director: Genki Kawamura

Cast: Sosuke Ikematsu, Haruna Kawaguchi, Joe Odagiri

Tomatometer: 100% (8 critics)

Plot: A salaryman ends up trapped in a never-ending Tokyo subway loop that subtly shifts: signage changes, voices echo faintly, corridors twist. One small slip sends him back to square one. He unravels the city’s history, personal grief, and existential guilt via surreal repeat loops.

Reddit says: “Not scary, but I’ll never sleep in fluorescent lighting again.”

Our Take: Minimalist dread done right. It’s a claustrophobic mirror to your own anxiety. We are spiritually stuck in this loop, too.

Feeling lost in liminal spaces? Exit 8 (2025) is right here. It’s got endless hallways, eerie silence, and paranoia that’ll follow you to the bathroom mirror.

The Toxic Avenger – August 29, 2025

Director: Macon Blair

Cast: Peter Dinklage, Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood, Taylour Paige

Tomatometer: 92% (early buzz)

Plot: Sickly janitor Melvin is weaponized by toxic waste to become a grotesque eco‑vigilante. The reboot adds emotional arcs, grotesque visuals, and a lean satirical narrative. Dinklage exudes grief and rage. Wood plays the twisted villain, drooling with deviant energy. Expect campy gore, corporate satire, and absurd transformation sequences.

Reddit Says: “Camp. Gore. Dumb brilliance.”

Our Take: Trauma-core in human form. We want this pumped directly into our mainline vein. Cult horror meets gross-out art.

In the mood for gory justice and radioactive revenge? The Toxic Avenger (2025) is right here. It’s got sludge, splatter, and superhero chaos straight from your worst eco-nightmare.

The Conjuring: Last Rites – September 5, 2025

Director: Michael Chaves

Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Sterling Jerins, Sarah Catherine Hook

Tomatometer: TBA (test screenings around 8.5/10)

Plot: The Warrens return to a decaying Pennsylvania Smurl house. Lorraine’s psychic senses crackle; demonic figures toy with the family’s faith. It’s a gothic spiritual opera loaded with inverted crosses, creeping walls, and shrieks in invisible corners. The culmination of a legacy—and yes, we all suspect they’ll reboot it again if box office hits $100M.

Reddit Says: “Not Wan? Not sure. But I’m showing up.”

Our Take: Catholic horror comfort food. We’ll come for the cross burnouts and stay for the demon lore bingeworthy sequences.

Craving one last scare from the Warrens? The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) is right here. It’s got demons, desperate prayers, and the kind of evil that doesn’t need jump scares to haunt you.

The Long Walk – September 12, 2025

Director: Francis Lawrence

Cast: Cooper Hoffman, Mark Hamill, Jaeden Martell

Tomatometer: TBD

Plot: In a totalitarian United States, 100 teenage boys walk relentlessly until one remains. Stop for more than thirty seconds? You die. Psychological pressure, alliances, betrayal, and bodily breakdown are on display. Add Hamill as a calculating announcer-figure. It’s psychological horror disguised as a contest, but it feels like a brutal morality treadmill.

Reddit says: “Emotionally broke me.”

Our Take: Horror that’s cardio for your soul. Bring electrolytes—and maybe a therapist on retainer.

Feel like taking a stroll into madness? The Long Walk (2025) is right here. It’s got dread, desperation, and a death march that messes with your head.

Traumatika – September 12, 2025

Director: Julia Ducournau

Cast: Vicky Krieps, Raffiella Chapman, Matthias Schoenaerts

Tomatometer: ~82% audience previews

Plot: A worn‑out therapist’s nightmares spill into reality. Her daughter sees distorted shadows. Trauma bleeds into daily life. The story spirals into surreal horror territory—body horror, poltergeist atmospheres, haunted households. Cinematic aesthetic is grim, hazy, and emotionally raw.

Reddit says: “This one got under my skin and stayed there.”

Our Take: We are NOT okay—and neither is her character. Deep and dark cinematic empathy that stays lodged.

Still reeling from unresolved nightmares? Traumatika (2025) is right here. It’s got screams, scars, and psychological terror that sticks to your skin.

HIM – September 19, 2025

Director: Justin Tipping

Cast: Marlon Wayans, Jahi Winston, David Oyelowo

Tomatometer: TBD

Plot: QB Cameron Cade arrives at an elite athlete camp led by Isaiah White, a charismatic mentor. Training becomes a ritual. Cult themes surface. Peele’s signature undercurrent of societal critique pulses beneath the chopping drills. Varsity Blues with demon worship motifs.

Reddit says: “Varsity Blues meets Hereditary.”

Our Take: The only sports horror worth watching. Ever. We’ll be screaming into locker rooms about this one.

Curious about the mysterious force everyone’s whispering about? HIM (2025) is right here. It’s got symbols, secrets, and the kind of slow-burn paranoia that crawls under your skin.

The Strangers: Chapter 2 – September 26, 2025

Director: Renny Harlin

Cast: Madelaine Petsch, Froy Gutierrez, Rachel Shenton

Tomatometer: TBD

Plot: Direct sequel set immediately after the first attack. Maya and survivors flee into a suburban nightmare where killers invade anonymity. Silence builds pressure, broken by gunshots and cell phone rings turning into static screams. The payoff is slow. The dread is physical.

Reddit says: “Just stab me already.”

Our Take: Home invasion horror, perfected. We’re triple-checking our locks already.

If home invasions still haunt your dreams, The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025) is right here. It’s got masks, mayhem, and that terrifying silence before the knock.

Saw XI – The Final Game That Never Played

Director: Kevin Greutert

Cast: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnove Macody Lund

Tomatometer: TBD

Plot: Corporate criminals find themselves in Jigsaw’s designer trap rooms built to punish moral crimes. Recreational torture becomes morality theatre. Traps escalate. Ethical dilemmas shuffle. The tribute aesthetic remains. Fans seem addicted; critics are exhausted.

Reddit says: “We’re here for the blood math.”

Our Take: We don’t care how many times they reboot this. Just show us the mechanics of horror torture reliably.

Saw XI (2025) was right here. It had traps, trauma, and one last twisted legacy to close—until Lionsgate pulled the plug. Want to know why the game ended before it began? Step into the canceled sequel’s dark timeline.

FAQs for the Horror-Obsessed

Which August/September horror movies 2025 have confirmed trailers?

Latest trailers are released for Weapons, Witchboard, Exit 8, Last Rites, The Long Walk, Traumatika, HIM, and The Strangers: Chapter 2. Hell House LLC: Lineage, The Toxic Avenger, and Saw XI haven’t dropped official trailers yet, but buzz is heavy.

Are these films staying true to original material or fan expectations?

Weapons, Witchboard, and Exit 8 lean into original, atmospheric horror rather than franchise cookie-cutter tropes.
The Long Walk and Traumatika are bonafide adaptations of cult horror literature and festival hits, promising emotional and allegorical depth.
Franchise titles (Conjuring, Strangers, Saw) ride legacy, drama, and fan nostalgia—with final entries or continuations that balance payoff and expectation.

What should We The Freakers fans watch first?

Our top recs by mood:
Cosmic dread/haunt: Exit 8, Traumatika
Cult horror & campus disappearances: Weapons
Occult aesthetic with TikTok-ready witch vibes: Witchboard
Emotional dystopian nightmare: The Long Walk
Comfort franchise terror: Last Rites, Strangers Chapter 2, Saw XI

Where are these movies streaming or releasing?

All are slated for theatrical release. Titles like Witchboard, Weapons, and Conjuring may move to streaming or premium VOD post-run, as usual with horror circuits.

Should I expect more of the same from familiar franchises?

Maybe. But directors and fan chatter suggest The Long Walk, Traumatika, and Exit 8 may be the unexpected standouts with tonal risk and originality.

Closing Rites from We The Freakers

This season’s new horror movies 2025—the full August & September release slate—is a perfect storm of occult intensity, small‑town vanishings, emotional endurance horror, and cult-themed terror. Whether you’re chasing dread loops, demon worship, dystopian suffering, or pure mansion terror, there’s something to break you here.

If even one movie doesn’t wreck your sleep cycle… congratulations, you’re either already dead inside or leveling up as the villain in someone else’s nightmare. After you watch, come back and scream at us—we’ll be here, meme-ing about every last blood drip.

Stay loud. Stay scared. Stay freaky.
— We The Freakers