The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) turns 50 this year, and with it comes a blood-red carpet of cinematic goodies. From pulse-pounding thrillers to cerebral chillers and genre-defying oddities, TIFF has long been a proving ground for films that blur the line between arthouse and artful scream. The 2025 lineup continues this legacy with an eclectic slate of world premieres, prestige debuts, and macabre surprises.
Whether you’re tracking future awards contenders or just looking for your next great scare, TIFF50’s horror and thriller offerings should be on your radar. Here are the titles we’re most excited about — in alphabetical order:
Adulthood – dir. Alex Winter
Starring Josh Gad, Kaya Scodelario, Anthony Carrigan, Billie Lourd, and Alex Winter.
A dark comic modern-noir about a pair of estranged siblings pulled back to their hometown after finding a buried body in their parents’ basement. The discovery sets off a spiral of crime, guilt, and grim humor in a country already unraveling.
Bad Apples – dir. Jonathan Etzler
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Jacob Anderson, Rakie Ayola, Robert Emms, Sean Gilder, and Kerry Howard.
Adapted from Rasmus Lindgren’s debut novel De Oönskade, Bad Apples is a tense psychological thriller written by Jess O’Kane. It centers on Maria (Saoirse Ronan), a burned-out schoolteacher who makes a morally catastrophic decision involving a disruptive student. As her career unexpectedly flourishes, her conscience spirals — and the consequences are anything but clean.
Ballad of a Small Player – dir. Edward Berger
Starring Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton, Fala Chen, and Jason Tobin.
“Lord Doyle” returns to the tables that rule his nights. A corrupt English lawyer in self-imposed exile, he drowns his past in booze, gambling, and forgotten hotel rooms, watching his fortune rise and fall with the cards. Then he meets Dao-Ming, a mysterious woman who offers him money, love…or maybe salvation. But as Doyle reaches for something real, reality itself begins to slip through his fingers.
Dead Man’s Wire – dir. Gus Van Sant
Starring Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo, Myha’la, Cary Elwes, John Robinson, and Al Pacino.
Dead Man’s Wire plunges into the disturbing true story of the 1977 kidnapping that transformed Indianapolis man Tony Kiritsis from a desperate entrepreneur into a volatile criminal.
Frankenstein – dir. Guillermo del Toro
Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, Charles Dance, and Christoph Waltz.
The upcoming gothic sci-fi horror adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 classic, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus follows a brilliant but arrogant scientist whose attempt to defy death unleashes a tragic chain of events — for both the man and the monster he creates.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – dir. Mary Bronstein
Starring Rose Byrne, Conan O’Brien, Danielle Macdonald, and A$AP Rocky.
A darkly absurd descent into maternal anxiety and urban paranoia, where nothing — not the therapist, not the missing person case, not even time itself — can be trusted.
It Was Just an Accident – dir. Jafar Panahi
Starring Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, and Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr.
After hitting a dog and breaking down, a man known as Eghbal seeks help at a remote garage, only to be recognized by Vahid, a former political prisoner, as the torturer who maimed him years ago. Convinced he’s found his abuser, Vahid kidnaps Eghbal and gathers other victims to exact revenge. But as they drive through the night with their captive, doubt creeps in: is he really the man they think he is? And if so, what justice do they deserve?
Sacrifice – dir. Romain Gavras
Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Evans, Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, Ambika Mod, Sam Richardson, Charli XCX and John Malkovich.
A fading film star and two others are taken by a ruthless cult that believes the sacrifice of three souls will cleanse the world.
She’s Got No Name – dir. Peter Chan
Starring Zhang Ziyi.
A murder trial becomes a national spectacle in this historical true-crime tale set during the Japanese occupation. At its center: one woman, a severed husband, and a society on the brink.
Steal Away – dir. Clement Virgo
Starring Angourie Rice and Mallori Johnson.
“A teenager forms an intense bond with a refugee taken in by her family. As their obsessive relationship deepens, she becomes enamored with the refugee’s lifestyle, leading to desire, jealousy, and a world that is not as it appears.”
The Testament of Ann Lee – dir. Mona Fastvold
Starring Amanda Seyfried, Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Christopher Abbott, Tim Blake Nelson, Stacy Martin, and Matthew Beard.
Set in 18th-century England and loosely based on true events, The Testament of Ann Lee is an epic fable about the radical spiritual leader who founded the Shaker Movement and was hailed by her followers as the “female Christ.”
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery – dir. Rian Johnson
Starring Daniel Craig, Glenn Close, Josh O’Connor, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church.
Though the plot for the third installment of the Knives Out franchise is under wraps, director Rian Johnson told Rolling Stone, “It’s much more a Gothic, much more grounded tone. It’s more similar to the first one in that way. It kind of gets back to the real origins of the genre, which, predating [Agatha] Christie, go back to [Edgar Allen] Poe.”
From reimagined monsters to cults, kidnappings, and courtroom reckonings, the horror and thriller slate at TIFF50 promises not just screams, but smart and stylish storytelling. Genre fans will find plenty to sink their teeth into, while casual viewers may discover that some of the year’s most daring and emotional films come cloaked in shadow.
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