By Charlie Kendellen
2025 has already proven to be a monumental year for cinema. From big budget blockbusters from long-established auteurs, like Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, and Ari Aster’s divisive Eddington — to pioneering features from independent filmmakers, like The Ugly Stepsister, Sorry, Baby, The Last Showgirl, and Best Wishes to All. 2025 has brought avid film fans no shortage of great cinema to delve into. As the remainder of the year approaches, there are still plenty of long-anticipated films from both beloved filmmakers and first time directors to sink our teeth into.
Bugonia — Yorgos Lanthimos
Release Date: 31st October
Yorgos Lanthimos’ follow-up to his absurd anthology Kinds of Kindness (2024) has received mostly positive reviews this festival run. The film follows two conspiracy obsessed young men (Jesse Plemons) and newcomer Aidan Delbis, who kidnap high-power CEO (Emma Stone) — convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying the planet. With a premise as intriguing as that — and the marketing team for this film outdoing themselves with pre-screenings for anyone willing to shave their head, there is no doubt that this film will be a hit with any fans of Lanthimos’ unconventional style.
Die My Love — Lynne Ramsay
Release Date: 14th November
Lynne Ramsay is finally back after an eight-year directing hiatus, and her latest film looks to be a visceral gut punch. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Standfield, and Sissy Spacek. The drama/thriller follows Grace, a new mother, and her slow descent into madness. Given that Ramsay is no stranger to depicting maternal ambiguity and complex female protagonists, there is no doubt in my mind that Die My Love is going to be yet another banger.
Keeper — Osgood Perkins
Release Date: 14th November
Osgood Perkins has had one hell of a year. Pumping out both his Stephen King adaptation The
Monkey and Keeper merely a few months apart, there’s no denying he’s an ambitious filmmaker. Love him or hate him, his film Longlegs was a deeply polarising flick that was hyped up by genius marketing tactics thanks to A24, so here’s hoping he hasn’t lost steam just yet.
Alpha — Julia Ducournau
Release Date: 21st November
The mighty Julia Ducournau returns after collecting the Palme D’or for her electric 2021 film Titane. Her follow-up, Alpha has received mixed reviews thus far, yet I’m still hopeful as a champion of Ducournau and her transgressive films. Her newest feature follows Alpha, a troubled teen who lives with her single mother. Their world collapses the day she returns home from school with a tattoo on her arm. The premise is deliberately yet intriguingly vague. The film will grace our screens in late November and, rest assured, I will be seated until then.
Sentimental Value — Joachim Trier
Release Date: 26th December
Joachim Trier, known for his critically acclaimed films The Worst Person in the World (2021) and Oslo, August 31st (2011), is set to return with his latest film Sentimental Value that received rave reviews upon its premiere at Cannes Film Festival. The film stars Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning. The film will depict an intimate exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art.
There is still a sea of promising films that have yet to receive an Irish release date, including the long-awaited If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Park Chan-Wook’s latest No Other Choice, and Curry Barker’s follow-up to his YouTube sensation Milk & Serial. Until then, we have just about enough films to hold us obsessive-consumers over!