Plenty of great films are made in Australia every year, but there are also some that stand out as true highlights of the year, whether it’s because they’re a bit more obscure, a bit more unique, or simply a fantastic movie. From the beaches to the big cities and even space, Australian films covered a lot of ground in the past year.
Here are my picks for the five best Australian films of 2025.
5.) Dangerous Animals
This tense thriller from Sean Byrne stars Jai Courtney as the villain who kidnaps people, takes them out to the middle of the ocean, and feeds them to sharks, recording it all for his own amusement. He is scene-chewingly good here, thankfully Hassie Harrison does a great job as playing our heroine we’re to root for, and Dangerous Animals joins the ranks of great isolated thrillers Australians love to produce.
4.) The Surfer
Another isolated thriller, but in a very different tone; even with Nicholas Cage in the lead role, The Surfer feels utterly Australian thanks to its tone and editing, reminding me of Wake in Fright. The sun builds and scorns harder as the film progresses, and Cage’s character loses his mind more and more as he just wants to surf on a beach. A unique and supernatural exploration of masculinity and our own obsessive natures.
3.) Bring Her Back
The Philippou brothers follow up Talk To Me with a grief-drenched psychological horror that favours slow-building dread and tense performances over jump scares. It’s a hard film to sit through at times, thanks to some literally hard-to-chew scenes, but it’s the films succcess in enveloping you in its characters’ own death and depression and sharing that with the audience that makes this a success.
2.) Lesbian Space Princess
When Pricness Saira, played by Shabana Azeez, has her ex-girlfriend kidnapped by the Straight White Maliens, voiced by the Aunty Donna crew, she has to set out on a space quest for the first time in her life to try and rescue her. The jokes come thick and fast, the cast all sound exceptionally into this wild material, and this unapologetically queer film has a strong voice and direction from writers and directors Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese that’ll make whatever they do next an instant must-watch.
1.) Inside
When Mel, played by Vincent Miller, is transferred to an adult prison, he meets two other inmates, one played by Guy Pearce, who is going to be getting out of prison, hopefully, very soon, and the other played by Cosmo Jarvis, a well-known rapist and murderer who has found god within the prison system. Inside lets us get to know all of these characters through performance-focused storytelling, allowing each actor to shine in their own way, from Pearce giving possibly some of his best work to newcomer Miller making a memorable first impression. The film explores reform and the prison system in ways I’ve not seen before, while also examining masculinity and generational trauma.
Find all of Explosion Network’s Best of 2025 coverage right here, and be sure to let us know your thoughts on any of our lists in the comments section.
