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The biggest surprise the movie business has encountered in 2025? The return of horror as a dominant force at the UK film market.

As a style, it has remarkably outperformed earlier periods with a 22% year-on-year increase for the British and Irish cinemas: over £83 million this year, versus £68.6 million last year.

“In the past year, not a single horror movie hit £10 million in UK or Irish theaters. Now, five have achieved that,” comments a cinema revenue expert.

The major successes of the year – a recent horror title (£11.4m), another hit film (£16.2m), The Conjuring Last Rites (£14.98m) and the sequel to a classic (£15.54m) – have all hung about in the cinemas and in the popular awareness.

While much of the industry commentary focuses on the unique excellence of certain directors, their achievements indicate something changing between viewers and the genre.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘Even if you don’t like horror this is a film you need to see,’” explains a content buying lead.

“Films like these play with genre and structure to create something completely different, and that speaks to an audience in a different way.”

But apart from creative value, the steady demand of spooky films this year implies they are giving moviegoers something that’s greatly desired: therapeutic relief.

“Right now, there’s a lot of anger, fear and division that’s being reflected in cinema,” observes a horror podcast host.

“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 respected writer of vampire and monster cinema.

Amid a current events featuring war, border tensions, far-right movements, and environmental crises, supernatural beings and undead creatures resonate a bit differently with viewers.

“Some research suggests vampire film popularity correlates with financial downturns,” states an performer from a recent horror hit.

“This symbolizes the way modern economies can exhaust human spirit.”

Historically, public discord has always impacted scary movies.

Scholars point to the boom of early cinematic styles after the WWI and the chaotic atmosphere of the 1920s Europe, with movies such as early expressionist works and the iconic vampire tale.

Later occurred the Great Depression era and iconic horror characters.

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

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

The boogeyman of border issues inspired the just-premiered supernatural tale a recent film title.

The creator elaborates: “I wanted to explore ideas around the rise of populism. Firstly, slogans like ‘Let’s Make Britain Great Again’, that harken back to some fantasy time when things were ‘better’, but only if you were a rich white man.”

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

Arguably, the current era of acclaimed, socially switched-on horror commenced with a clever critique debuted a year after a polarizing administration.

It introduced a fresh generation of horror auteurs, including several notable names.

“Those years were remarkably vibrant,” says a filmmaker whose movie about a murderous foetus 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 independent theater opened in the capital, showing underground films such as The Greasy Strangler, 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 venue creator, a straightforward answer to the calculated releases churned out at the cinemas.

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

“Conversely, [such movies] appear raw. As if they emerged straight from the artist's mind, untouched by studio control.”

Scary movies continue to challenge the norm.

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

In addition to the return of the deranged genius archetype – with multiple versions of a literary masterpiece on the horizon – he anticipates we will see fright features in the near future addressing our present fears: about artificial intelligence control in the near future and “monstrous metaphors in power structures”.

At the same time, a biblical fright story The Carpenter’s Son – which depicts the events of holy family challenges after the messiah's arrival, and includes famous performers as the divine couple – is planned for launch in the coming months, and will definitely create waves through the Christian right in the US.</