Culture
Why have the best films of 2025 so far been horrors?
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I love horror films. Creepy horror, ghost stories, slashers, vampires, zombies, monsters, aliens, witches, haunted houses, found footage and best of all, folk horror. Hook it to my veins, as they say: I love it all and watch it all year ’round. I’m even a subscriber to horror-dedicated streaming service Shudder. There’s a lot of bad films on there, believe me – but I’ve watched a lot of those ones, too.
Time was, however, that it was only once the summer blockbusters had been flogged to death and the evenings began to darken that most horror films filtered into cinemas. Now, it seems like horror is less of a niche genre than it used to be and has slunk its way into the mainstream – arguably due to the mammoth success of franchises like Paranormal Activity, Saw, The Conjuring and their associated spin-offs over the last decade or two.
Maybe that also goes some way to explaining why the best films of 2025 so far have all been horrors?
It’s true. The biggest films of the year to date have been either kids’ movies or action titles: Lilo & Stitch, A Minecraft Movie, Jurassic World: Rebirth, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, Superman. Meh, meh and meh. The best ones, the most creative ones, the most progressive ones and the ones with the best storylines have all been horrors. In January, I saw one of my favourite films of the year so far in; Steven Soderbergh’s Presence, which has both a brilliant premise – a poltergeist story told from the POV of the ghost – and the requisite creepiness, but it also packed a huge emotional punch, for good measure.
Sinners, of course, was the ‘summer blockbuster’ equivalent of a horror; an ambitious, fast-moving, slick movie that looked amazing on the big screen, but wasn’t all style over substance, either. A horror story set in 1930s Mississippi, with Irish vampires and the most surreal version of Rocky Road to Dublin you’ve ever heard? I can’t wait to see it again.
The same goes for 28 Years Later, the long-awaited sequel and reunion of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, the men behind the genre-defining 2002 classic 28 Days Later. The third film in the franchise had a lot to live up to, but managed to pull it off by nodding to the past without getting too bogged-down in it. 28 Years Later introduced us to a new setting, new story and new characters – not to mention setting us up for a sequel that looks as weird as it does intriguing.
Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why horror holds such an appeal for an increasingly growing audience: it allows filmmakers to tell stories that are usually grounded in reality, yet can take the most fantastical, horrifying, off-kilter flights of fancy. In horror movies, almost anything can happen. Most of the time, it’s real life seen through an unnerving, eerie filter.
Then there was the more low-key horror films, like Companion (Drew Hancock’s clever, compelling sci-fi film about rogue companion robots) and even Aislinn Clarke’s Irish-language horror Fréwaka, which was both beautifully-shot and underpinned with a creeping sense of unease that was catnip for horror buffs.
The best film I’ve seen this year, by the way, has been Weapons (which is still in cinemas, having over-performed on a huge scale). Zach Cregger’s brilliantly original, incredibly entertaining movie keeps you on the edge of your seat until the credits, and harnesses everything that I love about horror without treating the audiences like idiots or descending into ridicule or cliché.
The good news is that spooky season is just around the corner, with another glut of scary movies (including the Jordan Peele-produced Him, Oz Perkins’ Keeper and Guillermo Del Toro’s version of Frankenstein) on the near horizon. Bear in mind, though: a horror film is not just for Halloween – a message that mainstream audiences seem to be steadily embracing. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Culture
Giorgio Armani creations interplay with Italian masterpieces at new Milan exhibition
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“Giorgio Armani, Milano, for love’’ at the Brera Art Gallery opens today, mere weeks after the celebrated designer’s death at the age of 91.
Featuring 129 Armani looks from the 1980s through the present day, the exhibition places his creations among celebrated Italian masterpieces by such luminaries as Raphael and Caravaggio.
It is one of a series of Milan Fashion Week events that were planned before Armani’s death, to highlight his transformative influence on the world of fashion.
“From the start, Armani showed absolute rigor but also humility not common to great fashion figures,’’ said the gallery’s director Angelo Crespi. “He always said that he did not want to enter into close dialogue with great masterpieces, like Raphael, Mantegna, Caravaggio and Piero della Francesca.’’
Instead, the exhibition aims to create a symbiosis with the artworks, with the chosen looks reflecting the mood of each room without interrupting the flow of the museum experience – much the way Armani always intended his apparel to enhance and never overwhelm the individual.
A long blue asymmetrical skirt and bodysuit ensemble worn by Juliette Binoche at Cannes in 2016 neatly reflects the blue in Giovanni Bellini’s 1510 portrait “Madonna and Child”; a trio of underlit dresses glow on a wall opposite Raphael’s “The Marriage of the Virgin”; the famed soft-shouldered suit worn by Richard Gere in American Gigolo, arguably the garment that launched Armani to global fame, is set among detached frescoes by Donato Bramante. Every choice in the exhibition underscores the timelessness of Armani’s fashion.
Armani himself makes a cameo, on a t-shirt in the final room, opposite the Brera’s emblematic painting “Il Bacio” by Francesco Hayez.
“When I walk around, I think he would be super proud,’’ said Anoushka Borghesi, Armani’s global communications director.
Armani’s fashion house confirmed a series of events this week that Armani himself had planned to celebrate his 50th anniversary. They include the announcement of an initiative to support education for children in six Southeast Asian, African and South American countries. The project, in conjunction with the Catholic charity Caritas, is named “Mariu’,’’ an affectionate nickname for Armani’s mother.
In a final farewell, the last Giorgio Armani collection signed by the designer will be shown in the Brera Gallery on Sunday, among looks he personally chose to represent his 50-year legacy.
“Giorgio Armani – 50 Years” opened to the public today at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, Italy. The exhibition lasts until 11 January 2026.
Culture
The last day of doomsday: What is the viral ‘RaptureTok’ trend?
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If you’re reading this today, Wednesday 24 September 2025 could be the last day before the end of the world as you know it.
If you’re reading this tomorrow, you weren’t blipped out of existence and good luck with all the rebuilding. Please do better.
Confused? We’ve got you covered.
According to the more holy corners of TikTok, it has been prophesized that yesterday – or today, they couldn’t make their minds up on which one, so just go with it – is the day of the Rapture.
For the filthy heathens among you, that’s the long-awaited end-time event when Jesus Christ returns to Earth, resurrects all dead Christian disciples and brings all believers “to meet the Lord in the air.”
It wasn’t yesterday, clearly, so today’s the day… And turn off that R.E.M. song, this is serious.
This all stems from South African pastor Joshua Mhlakela, who claimed that the Rapture will occur on 23 or 24 September 2025. Mhlakela said that this knowledge came directly from a dream he had in 2018, in which Jesus appeared to him. Mhlakela reiterated all of this on 9 September in an interview with CettwinzTV and since then, the prophecy has become a viral sensation on TikTok.
Many individuals on the social media platform have taken this literally and very seriously, with more than 350,000 videos appearing under the hashtag #rapturenow – leading to the trend / popular subsection dubbed ‘RaptureTok’.
Some videos mock the prophecy, but you don’t have to scroll for too long to find those who are completely convinced that it’s happening today.
There’s advice on how to prepare; tips on what to remove from your house should certain objects contain “demonic energy”; and testimonies of people selling their possessions. One man, who goes by the name Tilahun on TikTok, shared a video last month, in which he said he was selling his car in preparation for the big day. “Car is gone just like the Brides of Christ will be in September,” he said.
One woman in North Carolina was live recording yesterday from the Blue Ridge Mountains, fervently keeping an eye on any holy activity in the sky. Another claimed that her 3-year-old started speaking in Hebrew, thereby confirming that it’s all legit.
Some more distressing videos include American evangelicals saying goodbye to their children for the last time… We won’t share those, as they’re actually quite depressing.
It’s hard to completely blame TikTok users for wanting the final curtain to drop, as things aren’t going too great down here on Earth. That being said, it’s worth noting that the Bible never actually mentions the Rapture; it’s a relatively recent doctrine that originates from the early 1800s, one which has gained traction among fundamentalist theologians – specifically in the US, where everything is fine, civil conversation is alive and well, no one’s worried, and they’re all enjoying their “God-given freedoms”.
So, if the Rapture does come to pass, we here at Euronews Culture will be eating a whole concrete mixer full of humble pie. If it doesn’t, see you tomorrow, and do spare a thought for those who are going to be very disappointed on Thursday 25 September.
And if extra-terrestrial beings followed Tara Rule’s advice (see below), thank you alien visitors for joining in on the fun. And if you could provide some much-needed guidance on how to do better, that would be grand.
Only a few more hours left to find out…
Culture
‘Dawson’s Creek’ reunion sees James Van Der Beek make surprise appearance amid cancer battle
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