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The biggest surprise the film industry has encountered in 2025? The comeback of horror as a leading genre at the British cinemas.

As a genre, it has remarkably exceeded previous years with a annual growth of 22% for the UK and Ireland film earnings: 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 big hits of the year – a recent horror title (£11.4 million), Sinners (£16.2m), the latest Conjuring installment (£14.98m) and 28 Years Later (£15.54 million) – have all stayed in the multiplexes and in the popular awareness.

While much of the professional discussion highlights the standout quality of prominent auteurs, their successes suggest something shifting between moviegoers and the style.

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

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

But beyond artistic merit, the consistent popularity of frightening features this year implies they are giving moviegoers something that’s much needed: therapeutic relief.

“These days, movies echo the prevalent emotions of rage, anxiety, and polarization,” 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,” says a prominent scholar of vampire and monster cinema.

Against a current events featuring war, border tensions, far-right movements, and environmental crises, witches, zombies and vengeful spirits connect in new ways with audiences.

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

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

Historically, public discord has always impacted scary movies.

Experts highlight the surge of German expressionism after the the Great War and the turbulent times of the post-war Germany, with features such as classic silent horror and a pioneering fright film.

Subsequently came the Great Depression era and Universal Studios’ Frankenstein and The Wolfman.

“The classic example is Dracula: you get this invasion of Britain by someone from eastern Europe who then causes this infection that gets spread in all sorts of ways and threatens the Anglo-Saxon heroes,” explains a commentator.

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

The specter of immigration inspired the newly launched folk horror a recent film title.

The filmmaker elaborates: “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 modern period of celebrated, politically engaged fright cinema commenced with a clever critique launched a year after a contentious political era.

It ushered in a fresh generation of visionary directors, including several notable names.

“Those years were remarkably vibrant,” says a creator 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 director, currently developing another scary story, continues: “In the last ten years, public taste has evolved to welcome bolder horror concepts.”

At the same time, there has been a reappraisal of the underrated horror works.

Earlier this year, a independent theater opened in the capital, showing obscure movies such as The Greasy Strangler, The Fall of the House of Usher and the late-80s version of Dr Caligari.

The fresh acclaim of this “rough and rowdy” genre is, according to the venue creator, a direct reaction to the algorithmic content churned out at the cinemas.

“It’s a reaction to the sanitised product that’s coming out of Hollywood. You have a film scene that’s more tepid and more predictable. A lot of the mainstream films are very similar,” he says.

“In contrast [these alternative films] are a bit broken. It’s like they’ve erupted out of someone’s subconscious and been planted out there without corporate interference.”

Fright flicks continue to upset the establishment.

“Horror possesses a dual nature, feeling both classic and current simultaneously,” notes an specialist.

In addition to the re-emergence of the deranged genius archetype – with several renditions of a classic novel imminent – he predicts we will see horror films in 2026 and 2027 responding to our present fears: about tech supremacy in the years ahead and “supernatural elements in political spheres”.

At the same time, a religious-themed scare film The Carpenter’s Son – which tells the story of holy family challenges after the nativity, and includes celebrated stars as the holy parents – is set for release in the coming months, and will certainly create waves through the faith-based groups in the US.</