{'It’s like they’ve erupted out of someone’s subconscious': how horror has come to dominate contemporary film venues.

The biggest surprise the film industry has experienced in 2025? The resurgence of horror as a main player at the UK film market.

As a category, it has notably outperformed past times with a annual growth of 22% for the UK and Ireland film earnings: over £83 million this year, versus £68.6 million last year.

“Previously, zero horror films made £10 million in the UK or Ireland. Currently, five have surpassed that mark,” says a cinema revenue expert.

The big hits of the year – Weapons (£11.4m), another hit film (£16.2 million), The Conjuring Last Rites (£14.98 million) and the sequel to a classic (£15.54 million) – have all stayed in the theaters and in the audience's minds.

While much of the industry commentary highlights the standout quality of certain directors, their successes indicate something evolving between moviegoers and the style.

“Many have expressed, ‘You should watch this even if horror isn’t your thing,’” says a film distribution executive.

“Such movies experiment with style and format to produce entirely fresh content, connecting with viewers on a new level.”

But beyond artistic merit, the steady demand of frightening features this year indicates they are giving audiences something that’s greatly desired: catharsis.

“Right now, there’s a lot of anger, fear and division that’s being reflected in cinema,” 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,” says a prominent scholar of vampire and monster cinema.

Amid a current events featuring war, border tensions, far-right movements, and environmental crises, ghosts, monsters, and mythical entities strike a unique chord with audiences.

“Some research suggests vampire film popularity correlates with financial downturns,” comments an star from a successful fright film.

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

Historically, public discord has always impacted scary movies.

Scholars point to the surge of European artistic movements after the WWI and the turbulent times of the post-war Germany, with movies such as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and a pioneering fright film.

Subsequently came the 1930s depression and classic monster movies.

“Take Dracula: it depicts an Eastern European figure invading Britain, spreading a metaphorical infection that endangers local protagonists,” explains a historian.

“Therefore, it embodies concerns related to foreign influx.”

The phantom of immigration inspired the just-premiered folk horror The Severed Sun.

The filmmaker clarifies: “My goal was to examine populist trends. For instance, nostalgic phrases promising a return to a 'better' era that excluded many.”

“Also, the concept of familiar individuals revealing surprising prejudices in casual settings.”

Perhaps, the current era of celebrated, politically engaged fright cinema began with a sharp parody released a year after a divisive leadership period.

It introduced a new wave of visionary directors, including several notable names.

“It was a hugely exciting time,” comments a director whose movie about a deadly unborn child was one of the era’s tentpole movies.

“I believe it initiated a trend toward eccentric, high-concept horror that aimed for artistic recognition.”

This creator, now penning a fresh horror script, notes: “In the last ten years, public taste has evolved to welcome bolder horror concepts.”

Concurrently, there has been a reconsideration of the underrated horror works.

Recently, a nicke l venue opened in London, showing obscure movies such as The Greasy Strangler, a classic adaptation and the late-80s version of Dr Caligari.

The fresh acclaim of this “raw and chaotic” genre is, according to the cinema founder, a straightforward answer to the calculated releases churned out at the box office.

“This responds to the sterile output from major studios. Today's cinema is safer and more repetitive. Many popular movies feel identical,” 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.

“These movies uniquely blend vintage vibes with contemporary relevance,” observes an specialist.

In addition to the revival of the mad scientist trope – with several renditions of a classic novel imminent – he forecasts we will see horror films in the coming years reacting to our current anxieties: about AI’s dominance in the coming decades and “vampires living in the Trump tower”.

At the same time, a biblical fright story The Carpenter’s Son – which narrates the tale of biblical parent hardships after Jesus’s birth, and features well-known actors as the divine couple – is scheduled to debut later this year, and will certainly cause a stir through the Christian right in the US.</