Six years ago, following the lack of recognition at the Oscars for horror films, Trace Thurman and I created “The Hereditaries“ (named after Toni Collette’s Hereditary omission), a series of horror awards to acknowledge all of the great work being done in the genre.
We’re now up to the sixth annual Hereditaries (click here to vote), which celebrates the amazing diversity of horror films released in 2025.
Unlike the 2024 Hereditaries when The Substance obliterated the pack (hear who won here), there are two clear frontrunners this year: Sinners and Weapons (11 nominations each).
Proving how robust 2025 was, however, there are multiple other films nipping at their heels: The Long Walk sped off with eight nominations, while Bring Her Back, 28 Years Later, Companion, and Final Destination Bloodlines all managed six.
Perhaps most surprising (or is it encouraging?) was the strength of gems like Canadian sequel Influencers and European co-production The Ugly Stepsister (six nominations each), as well as Alison Brie & Dave Franco’s underrated Together (five nominations) and HBO Max’s delightful queer horror comedy The Parenting (four nominations).
Here’s what you’re voting on:
- Best Mainstream Release
- Best Indie Release
- Best Under The Radar Film
- Best Foreign/Non-English Language Horror Film
- Best Horror TV Show
- Best Queer Horror
- Best Score
- Best House Porn – New for 2025
- Best First Feature
- Best Director
- Best Lead Performance
- Best Supporting Performance
- Break Out Performance
- Best Duo
- Best Ensemble
- Best Make Up/Creature Design FX
- Best Stephen King adaptation – New for 2025
- Best Villain
- Best Sequence
- Best Non-Fatal Injury
- Best Ending
- Best Death
Context: The 22 categories were informed by Horror Queers Patrons, then narrowed down by Trace and I. In order to be eligible, films had to be widely available this year (either theatrically, VOD or on streaming services), which sadly means no festival exclusives.
Categories are capped at a maximum of 10 nominees and films are only eligible once per category (with two notable exceptions this year: Supporting Performance for Sinners and Non-Fatal Injury for Bring Her Back). This inevitably means that some favourites have been left out, but this is best way to ensure a tight race. Kill your darlings, folks!
Finally, we’ve also added spoiler warnings for the last four categories, just in case you haven’t seen films like Bone Lake, Influencers, or Dangerous Animals.
Click here to vote before the deadline on Friday, Jan 16 2026 at 11:59pm EST.
Winners will be announced on Horror Queers social media accounts (Instagram, BlueSky and Discord), as well as a special Main Feed bonus episode in February 2026.
The post BD’s ‘Horror Queers’ Celebrate Best Horror of 2025 with Sixth Annual “Hereditaries”; Vote Now! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.