2025 has been a great year for film. From blockbusters to indie releases, there’s no denying movie buffs have been spoilt for choice.
Rachel Barker, a film critic and content creator has been producing in depth film reviews on YouTube since 2021 under the name ‘Girl on Film’. She recently attended Cannes and will be attending the BFI London Film Festival in October, and is a huge fan of all things film – especially horror. Rachel took the time to sit down with express.co.uk and talk about her top five favourite films of 2025 – and says one absolutely blew her away.
5. Eddington – directed by Ari Aster.
Released in August this film came in at the bottom of Rachel’s top five. The film is set in the midst of the pandemic in the small American town of Eddington, where Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal face off in a mayoral election.
Rachel said: “It is not anywhere near as black and white as you would expect from a modern film about politics. It’s very nuanced. It shows everyone’s unique ugliness. It allows us to sympathise with everyone, but at the same time, it is not a soft film. It’s a very uncomfortable watch and it culminates in a very unexpected and almost surreal final act that makes us question what it wanted us to be focusing on to start with.”
4. The Materialists – directed by Celine Song
Rachel is usually much more of a fan of horror – but she says this romantic comedy was “very enjoyable” even if it’s more romance than comedy.
Pedro Pascal, Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans headline this jam-packed cast.
Rachel said: “The lead character played by Dakota Johnson is a matchmaker and her perspective throughout the film is that perfect partners have to tick certain boxes, and I think it’s very relevant to the way we date today. With all of these arbitrary standards the internet has raised us with it’s a good slap to the face to be reminded of what love is supposed to be.
She added it also touches on themes of male loneliness that have been brought to the fire by the Grammy award winning ‘Adolescence’.
Rachel said: “This actually looks at some of those same issues, but in adults and through an entirely different lens.”
3. Sorry, Baby – directed by Eva Victor
This film is the directorial debut of Eva Victor who also stars in the lead role. Rachel explained the film offers a “tender” insight into the aftermath of a sexual assault.
She said: “[Sorry, Baby] did the indie festival circuits and was applauded constantly along the way. It’s a story about the aftermath of a sexual assault, but it’s incredibly tender and handled with a lot of humour. Eva Victor wrote it, directs it, and plays the lead character and the story is based on her own assault, so it’s a very intimate experience.
“I saw it at Cannes and it was a very emotional viewing. I think I cried almost the entire time and still walked away feeling better about the world.”
2. Weapons – directed by Zach Cregger
Zach Cregger is the latest comedian to make a switch to horror films, following in the footsteps of Jordan Peele. Formerly a part of sketch comedy group The Whitest Kids U’Know, Zach horror debut was with the 2022 film Barbarians – which Rachel loved.
Now, he’s back with the highly anticipated Weapons.
Rachel said: “Weapons got a lot of attention because it had a fabulous marketing campaign featuring footage of children running in this really eerie stiff position out of their houses and off into the night. The initial concept is very tantalising, and the film may not answer it in a way that is satisfactory for everyone.
Rachel added that despite being a horror, Weapons has moments of levity.
“There’s a lot of, of comedy given Cregger’s background, but for me personally I was just giddy with excitement watching it.”
1. Sinners – Ryan Coogler
This thrilling, vampiric film rocketed its way into first place in Rachel’s list. It is set in 1930s Mississippi and follows two brothers as they set up a juke joint in their town for the black community but the appearance of a terrifying newcomer changes their night -and their lives.
Rachel said: “Sinners was without question my favourite film of the year. I think it, although I don’t really believe in objective criticism, I think it is the best film of the year.
“It’s a pitch perfect, emotionally gut-wrenching drama with elements of horror. And the film feels dangerous in a way, I think, because of its focus on race. There’s an element of it that is still revelatory even today in 2025, exposing some of the ugly dynamics we have about race in our society.”