My Favorite First Time Watches Of 2025

 

Silly as it sounds, I can't help but get so freakin' excited around this time every year because it's time once again to get out my creepy notebook and peruse my first time watches. My hope is that you will find something in here you forgot about or haven't heard of before to add to your "To Watch" list for 2026. My brain is already electrified with all of the stuff I can barely wait to get to in the coming year. Sadly, I only watched like 90 new-to-me movies this year. Ugh, that is awful! I did a whole mess of rewatching favorite shows and movies. 2026 will be different, trust me. I did watch one new show that I loved called "Murderbot" (2025). Highly recommended.

Before I get started, I want to mention a couple of things I did that I would be grateful if you'd lend your eyes/ears to. I put out two albums of ambient music this year. One on the techno side of things and another of the ambient guitar variety. The first is Light Pollution and the second is Sleep/Walk Situationer. I'm immensely proud of these releases, and don't worry, I'll make more! My musical moniker is The Slow Wizard and my YouTube channel where I share my meager attempts at learning synthesizers and other doodads is chugging along. And lastly, the Hello! This is the Doomed Show podcast is still going strong as is my Doomed Moviethon channel. 

In other news: Doomed Moviethon Dot Com celebrated its 20 year anniversary in 2025. I can't believe that I've been writing about horror and cult movies for twenty freakin' years. Unreal. To all of you who have been there supporting my work all this time or folks new to my nightmare worldview, thank you one thousand and five times. I guess I'll keep doing this shiz. 

Okay, that's enough self advertisement -though you should really check out this commercial I made. Anyway! Here are my favorite films I watched this year. As usual, this is not a top 10 list and the order is mostly random, though my favorite film of the year always gets the top spot. Let's go!

Keeper (2025)

Anyone who knows me definitely saw this choice coming as my favorite film of the year. What can I say? I'm always up for the strangeness that Osgood Perkins is going to deliver. And Keeper is certainly a strange one! I went to the theater and it turned out that I was the only person who'd bought a ticket for that night's showing. So there I was, alone in the room, dead center in a sea of empty seats, and regretting not being able to convince LeEtta to come with me. Why? Because I was freakin' scared! (And also this film should have done better.) I can't wait to get this on disc and see it again!

The Vourdalak (2023)

Oh, hello there, France. I remember seeing an early trailer for this and thinking, "I NEED TO SEE THIS." Then finally, it popped up for rent and I went for it. Between the masterful version of this story from Mario Bava in Black Sabbath (1963) and the gory version called Night of the Devils (1972), I never expected another adaptation to hit as hard for me as The Vourdalak does. First time feature film director Adrien Beau (not to be confused with Adrian Belew) takes this film to some very atmospheric, ghoulish, and surreal places. What a treat!

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

LeEtta and I watch a whole bunch of Agatha Christie adaptations all the time, so I've seen multiple versions of her classic tale. And yet somehow, I had missed this star-studded affair from total boss, Sidney Lumet. Everyone in this film is a who's who of awesome A-listers from multiple generations of Hollywood, but it's Albert Finney's gleeful portrayal of Hercule Poirot that makes this one a new favorite I'll enjoy time and time again. 

Oddity (2024)

I can't get excited about The Conjuring or Insidious movies. They're fine, but I've never seen past the second installments of either franchise. Then a movie like Oddity comes along and, for my money, does what those films do, but better. Or at least, it does ghosts really, really well without the cheap -I'm not talking budget- feeling. This spooky ass film also has Carolyn Bracken in it, an actress that I can't take my eyes off. And she is great in this! 

Loft (2005)

I kept stashing this one for a rainy day and when that rainy day arrived, I was totally blown away. Kiyoshi Kurosawa has had the most incredible career, and every time I find another one of his that I haven't seen before, I feel hashtag blessed. How he manages to get so much dread and creepiness into his films is nothing short of miraculous. One of the things I love about him, and something that is absolutely true of Loft, is his films move in such unexpected ways. A fine journey to Hell. 

Sinners (2025)

Usually, I am prepared for a film to hit me in the emotional solar plexus. For instance, I knew Godzilla Minus One (2023) was going to get me, and it did! But the ugly crying I did after Sinners was nearly out of control. Even trying to talk about this film had me choking up for a days afterward. It comes down to emotionally connecting with the characters. The performances, the script, the music, and the production design all came together exquisitely. Those things along with the assured hand of a great director, this was bound to hit and hit hard. The night I saw this film, I was in the presence of greatness.

L.A. Bounty (1989)

I was feeling sad about the passing of Wings Hauser, and I snagged a few of his lesser known (to me) titles and L.A. Bounty was my favorite of the handful I checked out. He plays the whacked out villain in this one and not surprisingly, he almost steals the whole movie. This one is Sybil Danning's show through and through. She plays a mostly mute bounty hunter who will kick your dick inside out. You need to see this.

Hercules (1983)

Luigi Cozzi made a sci-fi sword and sandal movie in the 1980s packed with eye-popping special effects?! And it's got Lou Ferrigno, Sybil Danning, William Berger, Bobby Rhodes, AND Gianni Garko? Then sign me up! Hercules has just tiniest bit of lag in its energy in the last reel, but otherwise this one is damn near perfect. It's pretty wild. I have to give credit to my childhood favorite, Clash of the Titans (1981), for inspiring the little wave of fantasy films like this and Lucio Fulci's Conquest (1983).

Furiosa (2024)

Sadly, the negative hype of this one got to me -partly that it was a prequel and partly that it was going to be more CGI-heavy than Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)- so I didn't see it in theaters last year. That was dumb of me! I should have had faith in George Miller, because I enjoyed Furiosa so damn much. The weirdness and the contemplative moments of Fury Road were expanded into this insanity. As usual, I'm looking forward to rewatching the whole franchise from start to finish, and I'll be excited to see how this one plays out with the rest of the films.

Strike Commando 2 (1988) 

While I very much enjoyed Bruno Mattei and Claudio Fragasso's Strike Commando (1987), this sequel never missed a beat for me in terms of the awkward, cornball bullshit I want from a shockingly derivative Italian action film. The characters are total weirdos that make me laugh every time they open their mouths, usually to scream at each other and the action scenes are actually cool even though they almost make zero sense sometimes.  

The Monkey (2025)

Did I actually get two Osgood Perkins films in one year and they were both great? Yes, but also yes. While Keeper was more in keeping with what I crave from Perkins's work, The Monkey is a solid entry in his filmography. While I'm pretty much done with gore for comedy sake -though there are exceptions like Psycho Goreman (2020)- there's a great deal of heart stashed away in this outrageous film. 

Black Tight Killers (1966)

I had never heard of this film until Radiance posted the boffo trailer for it, and I turned it off after just a few seconds because the fire had been lit. When the Blu-ray arrived, the film exceeded my expectations! If you need some dynamic spectacle in your life, then Black Tight Killers is for you. It's a pop art explosion with a bonkers ass plot. 

The Night of the Walking Dead (1975)

Rod and Troy of the The Naschycast covered this film ages ago on their show and I very patiently waited for someone, somewhere to put this one out in a non-shitty bootleg/download. Sure enough, Severin Films came in like champs and I was finally able to see this one on a nicey nice Blu-ray. This León Klimovsky jam was totally worth the wait. If you need more strange and atmospheric Spanish horror in your life, then bump this one up in your queue. 

Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025)

Well, dress me up in a tinsel tutu and call me Rudolf, I did not see this last one coming at all. This new take on the freaky ass SNDN franchise hit all the right sleigh bells for LeEtta and I. We absolutely loved this. I love how they too what folks who are familiar with the first film and threw a whole new spin on it, and I think made this just a cool film for newbies. I can't wait to get my hands on this one in the new year.

Honorable Mentions

Surf II (1983) - Truly bizarre spoof movie and sequel to nothing. 

Ferrari (2023) - Classy. Cars are cool or whatever.

The Lady Vanishes (1979) - A cozy and delightful film. 

Mickey 17 (2025) - Do we need more dystopian sci-fi? Always.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979) - Essential 1970s trash. 

Trancers II (1991) - Oh my God! Almost better than the original. 

Stopmotion (2023) - Sad and damn good horror to depress you.

Lady Morgan's Revenge (1965) - Excellent Italian gothic.

Camp Fear (1991) - Almost a fave of the year but I can't remember it.

Prime Cut (1972) - This is so good and so badass that I can't even.

Hired to Kill (1990) - Outrageous and cheap action. A parody?

An Eternal Combat (1991) - Very imaginative Hong Kong goodness.

The Power (1984) - Ambitious horror schlock.

Cut (2000) - Aussie slasher goodness that is pretty wild. 

Weapons (2025) - I want to bottle and sell this one's energy.  

Mister Scarface (1976) - Silly but charming poliziotteschi from my birth year.

Worst Films I Watched This Year

Bloody Psycho (1989) - Just jaw-droppingly bad. Kind of infuriating.

Summer Catch (2001) - Cinematic food poisoning.

Children of the Living Dead (2001) - Brutally sucky, but in a bad way. 

The INV4SIAN: Review Roundup

Well, happy Halloween everybody! This post will conclude an entire month of Asian cinema reviews here at the Cinema Somnambulist blog palace. I hope you all have been enjoying this cavalcade of goodness (and only occasional not-so-greatness). As usual, I have watched way more films than I can hope to write full reviews of within any kind of a thing called "time". So, here's a list of 13 more films that I watched in order to celebrate Asian cinema. Check it out:

Skin Striperess (1992)

Skin Stripperess is the trashy tale of a shady dude pimping out his girlfriend to secure investors for a beachfront development project. When she dies in a freak electrical accident, her spirit returns and funks his ship up. A monk (Ching-Ying Lam) is called in to exorcise her spirt. It doesn’t go very well. I enjoy this film’s gore (especially that skin stripping), colorful lighting, and liberal use of fog machines. Unfortunately, there’s animal violence with frogs and snakes getting murdered onscreen. Dig the music lifted from Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead (1980) on this film’s score. I kind of liked this one, but would never sit through it again.

A Monstrous Corpse (1981)

This Korean remake of Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974) is somewhat disjointed and flat, but has enough cool moments to warrant a viewing for fans of Jorge Grau's masterpiece. The story (that follows the original's very closely with only slight variations) is about an experimental radio transmitter that awakens the dead. The version I'm reviewing is either censored or was very tame from the get go, but that's okay since the countryside setting is beautiful and the music features some neato synthesizer work. Not too shabby, but not essential viewing.

Mail (2004)

Mail is a collection of stories featuring a detective who specializes in sending ghosts to the afterlife. After being very impressed by the manga by Housui Yamazaki, I have to admit I was a little let down by this shot on video (and probably made for TV) adaptation. Part of the problem is that it's so cheap looking, but also I wasn't expecting an episodic collection of stories crammed into a feature length movie. Stylistically, this movie can be summed up in the main character's ridiculous looking baggy leather pants. You're better off reading the manga, though Chiaki Kuriyama (of Battle Royale (2000) fame) is in this and she makes everything better (sometimes).

Witch from Nepal (1986)

Before you even ask, it's not pronounced "weyatch frown nipple". Chow Yun-Fat plays Joe, just your average Jim, who ends up getting himself involved in a supernatural battle against the forces of evil. He also strikes up a romance with magical Sheila (Emily Chu), much to the chagrin of his girlfriend Ida. Witch from Nepal is pretty awesome with its magical fun, dreamlike qualities, emphasis on spectacle, corny love story, and genuine weirdness. Low key but also kind of essential if you're a fan of Hong Kong madness. At the time of this review, Witch from Nepal is on Tubi. Go for it!

Kakashi AKA Scarecrow (2001)

A remote village is getting ready for their Wicker Man-like festival by putting up nightmarish scarecrows all over the damn place. Kaoru (Maho Nonami) has shown up in the middle of tthis wacko fest to find her missing brother. She should have not done that. This quiet and eerie little movie was a nice creepy surprise. Any time I can find a Japanese horror film from the late 1990s/early 2000s heyday that is unseen by me, I'm gonna jump on it. Kakashi is tinged with a melancholic vibe and is graced with beautiful cinematography and cool sound design. Director Norio Tsuruta has made quite a few horror films in their career including Ring 0: Birthday (2000). I wish Kakashi was more talked about. I mean more than me right now. Highly recommended. 

Ghost Eyes (1974)

Pao-ling (played by Szu-Chia Chen) is a manicurist that meets a mysterious optometrist who seems to have some strange power over her. Could he be a vampire? This is a solid horror film from the director of COrpse Mania (1981). It has some scary moments, is super melodramatic, but also brings the silliness at times. I ended up rooting for the heroine. I really wanted her to be okay. The music and the cinematography give this one some occasional giallo feels which I always appreciate. 

Look Out, Officer! (1990)

Seasoned police detective Piao (Bill Tung) is killed by a smelly drug kingpin and returns from the afterlife as a ghost. He teams up with police cadet Hsing (Stephen Chow) and his former partner (Stanley Sui-Fan Fung) to set things right. This one is pretty bad (those fart and pee jokes), but enjoyable enough for Stephen Chow fans. A cat poops on an altar... twice. There are some clever gags and I got a kick out of the hokey music stingers on the soundtrack. There's plenty of ghostly malfeasance and even some sorcery in the plot. There are some jokes at the expense of Vietnamese immigrants. Boo. No one asked for that.

Exte: Hair Extensions (2007)

A body is discovered in a crate of human hair. Thanks to a shady security guard/hair fetishist at the morgue, the hair ends up getting sent to a hairdresser and used as extensions. But it's cursed hair, y'all! So yes, this is truly one of the strangest films I've ever seen, which is hardly surprising since it comes from writer/director Sion Sono. Chiaki Kuriyama stars in this one and well, you know, she rocks. This isn't all just freaky and hilarious weirdness. Exte is also emotionally brutal and can get pretty disturbing. If I reveal too much, it would be a disservice since you need to see this one for yourself.

Howling Village (2019)

A lady goes searching for her brother who disappeared at the legendary “Howling Village”. I freakin’ love how prolific Takashi Shimizu is. The guy has directed over 25 horror movies and TV shows at the time of this writing. Howling Village is a very pretty and gloomily atmospheric film with some overly melodramatic moments near the finale, but overall, it’s a solid effort. Keep an eye out for Renji Ishibashi, one of my favorite character actors whose credits have already pushed past the 400 mark. The worst thing I can say about this film is that it felt about 5 minutes too long for me. I suspect that if you’re vibing with it, you won’t mind at all.

Forbidden Siren (2006)

Oh no! Not another cursed village movie! Why does this keep crappening to me?! In 1976, a terrible disaster struck a small island village leaving only one survivor. A writer moves there with his two kids and is warned by the locals not to go out at night when the island's siren goes off. His daughter (Yui Ichikawa) almost immediately discovers that shit just ain't right in this spooky place. This one really surprised me. It has a really cool, unique vibe to it. I dig the Lovecraftian vibes and the claustrophobic nature of the island setting. Now I want to play the video game it's based on.

Heartbeat 100 (1987)

Trying to remember the plot of this movie is almost impossible thanks to my gibberish notes. BUT... I will try. Murderous thieves hiding out in a small village terrorize some tourists, including a writer (Maggie Cheung), who's just looking for a relaxing working vacation. That should do it. Anyway, Heartbeat 100 won me over with its uncomplicated plot, spooky moments, garish lighting, surprising gore, corny comedic situations, and a killer ceiling fan. It's basic as hell but entertaining. Not a strong recommend, but if you're in the mood for some Hong Kong trash, give it a whirl. One of the characters is named Weeny Eyes and also there's a poodle named Chu-Chu.

Vampire Hunters (2003)

Four vampire fighting monks battle the forces of evil to save the life of a beautiful girl. That is the VERY SHORT version because, this is way too complicated to get into here. I kept seeing this one for rent at Hollywood Video, but never took a chance on it. I'm really glad that I finally did because it's a winner! Co-produced and written by Tsui Hark and directed by actor-turned-director Wellson Chin, Vampire Hunters is very imaginative with some inventive gore and cool vampires. This came out right before dodgy CGI took over, but there's a few cruddy digital touches here and there. A lot of the film takes place on sound stages with practical effects aplenty. There's also just the right amount of humor mixed in to keep things from ever getting too serious. 

Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue (1992)

Thanks to his dad's experimentation, college athlete Shin becomes Kamen Rider, a half-man, half-grasshopper superhero. It's up to him to battle an evil syndicate called "The Syndicate", who plan on using his dad's work to take over the world. Where has this movie been all my life? The creature effects are as cool as they are slimy. With its schlocky melodrama and heightened over acting from the cast, this one just hits all the right beats for me. It plays like a kids movie, but there's nudity (laughable swimming pool sex scene) and tons of violence (arterial spray!). The jammin' synthesizer score alone should make this essential viewing for 1980s creature feature enthusiasts. Based on the hit TV series that has spawned many, many iterations, I heartily recommend this and its very fun sequel from the following year called Kamen Rider ZO (1993).

THE INVASIAN: 2LDK (2003)

 

 

Roommates Rana (Maho Nonami) and Nozomi (Eiko Koike) are actresses competing for the same role in an upcoming film. Nozomi is a softspoken and polite stage actress and this part will be her big film debut. Rana is a loud and opinionated former child star who ain’t freakin’ naïve about the film business. She needs this part to set up the rest of her career. Whichever studio exec thought that these two should share an apartment is either an idiot or a sadist. Petty squabbles over energy drinks and shampoo escalate into full blown war. Did I mention that their apartment is full of sharp objects? It’s snobs versus slobs and the only winner can be… the audience.

I recommend director Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s other horror film called Siren (2006). It’s not great, but it’s a creepy little timewaster. I’ve been looking for his haunted middle school film called Hanako of the Toilet (1998). What? Don’t be weird okay! You need to get your mind out of the gutter and into the toilet! Both of this film’s leading ladies have gone on to amazing careers in both television and film with nearly 200 credits between the two of them.

What’s the deal with roommates? [taps on microphone] Hey, is this thing on? Unearthed Films brought this little obscurity out of the budget Asian horror DVD pile. I’ve always been a fan of this film, but I rarely hear people talking about it. The little details that ratchet up the tension, the inventive camerawork, the pitch-black humor, the excellent script, and the bonkers escalating violence make 2LDK worth checking out. I say give it a look!