🔗 Share this article

The most significant shock the movie business has experienced in 2025? The return of horror as a leading genre at the British cinemas.

As a genre, it has impressively exceeded previous years with a 22% year-on-year increase for the British and Irish cinemas: over £83 million this year, compared with £68 million the previous year.

“In the past year, not a single horror movie hit £10 million in UK or Irish theaters. Now, five have achieved that,” notes a film industry analyst.

The top performers of the year – Weapons (£11.4 million), another hit film (£16.2 million), the latest Conjuring installment (£14.98 million) and the sequel to a classic (£15.54 million) – have all stayed in the multiplexes and in the audience's minds.

Even though much of the expert analysis centers on the unique excellence of certain directors, their triumphs indicate something evolving between moviegoers and the style.

“Viewers often remark, ‘This is a must-see regardless of your genre preferences,’” says a head of acquisition.

“These productions twist traditional elements to craft unique experiences, resonating deeply with modern audiences.”

But apart from aesthetic quality, the ongoing appeal of horror movies this year suggests they are giving cinemagoers something that’s greatly desired: catharsis.

“Currently, cinema mirrors the widespread anger, fear, and societal splits,” says a genre expert.

“Horror films are great at playing into people’s anxieties, while at the same time exaggerating them. So you forget about your day-to-day anxieties and focus on the monster on the screen,” remarks a prominent scholar of horror film history.

In the context of a current events featuring geopolitical strife, enforcement actions, extremist rises, and ecological disasters, supernatural beings and undead creatures strike a unique chord with filmg oers.

“I read somewhere that the success of vampire movies is linked to economically depressed times,” states an performer from a popular scary movie.

“It’s the idea that capitalism sucks the life out of people.”

Historically, public discord has always impacted scary movies.

Analysts highlight the surge of European artistic movements after the WWI and the turbulent times of the 1920s Europe, with movies such as early expressionist works and a pioneering fright film.

Subsequently came the economic crisis of the 30s and iconic horror characters.

“Consider the Dracula narrative: an outsider from the east brings a corrupting influence that permeates society and challenges its heroes,” says a commentator.

“So it reflects a lot of anxieties around immigration.”

The specter of migration influenced the recently released rural fright The Severed Sun.

Its writer-director elaborates: “My goal was to examine populist trends. For instance, nostalgic phrases promising a return to a 'better' era that excluded many.”

“Secondly, the idea that you could be with someone you know and then suddenly they blurt out something round the dinner table or in a Facebook post and you’re like, ‘Where did that come from?’”

Perhaps, the present time of acclaimed, socially switched-on horror commenced with a clever critique launched a year after a contentious political era.

It sparked a fresh generation of innovative filmmakers, including several notable names.

“It was a hugely exciting time,” recalls a director whose project about a deadly unborn child was one of the period's key works.

“In my view, it marked the start of a phase where filmmakers embraced wildly creative horror with artistic ambitions.”

The same filmmaker, who is writing a new horror original, adds: “In the last ten years, public taste has evolved to welcome bolder horror concepts.”

Concurrently, there has been a revival of the genre’s less celebrated output.

Recently, a nicke l venue opened in a major city, showing obscure movies such as a quirky horror title, The Fall of the House of Usher and the modern reinterpretation of the expressionist icon.

The fresh acclaim of this “rough and rowdy” genre is, according to the theater owner, a clear response to the calculated releases produced at the box office.

“It counters the polished content from big producers. The industry has become blander and more foreseeable. Numerous blockbusters share the same traits,” he says.

“On the other hand, [these indie works] feel imperfect. They seem to burst forth from deep creativity, free from commercial constraints.”

Fright flicks continue to disrupt conventions.

“They have this strange ability to seem old fashioned and up to the minute, both at the same time,” notes an authority.

Alongside the return of the deranged genius archetype – with several renditions of a literary masterpiece on the horizon – he anticipates we will see horror films in 2026 and 2027 addressing our current anxieties: about artificial intelligence control in the near future and “monstrous metaphors in power structures”.

Meanwhile, a biblical fright story The Carpenter’s Son – which narrates the tale of Mary and Joseph’s struggles after the messiah's arrival, and includes famous performers as the divine couple – is planned for launch in the coming months, and will certainly cause a stir through the Christian right in the America.</