🔗 Share this article

The most significant surprise the cinema world has encountered in 2025? The return of horror as a leading genre at the UK box office.

As a style, it has impressively surpassed previous years with a 22% rise compared to last year for the British and Irish cinemas: over £83 million this year, against £68.6 million last year.

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

The big hits of the year – Weapons (£11.4 million), another hit film (£16.2m), The Conjuring Last Rites (£14.98m) and 28 Years Later (£15.54 million) – have all hung about in the multiplexes and in the public consciousness.

Although much of the professional discussion highlights the standout quality of certain directors, their achievements suggest something changing between audiences and the category.

“Many have expressed, ‘You should watch this even if horror isn’t your thing,’” says 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 creative value, the ongoing appeal of spooky films this year indicates they are giving cinemagoers something that’s greatly desired: catharsis.

“Right now, there’s a lot of anger, fear and division that’s being reflected in cinema,” notes 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,” explains a prominent scholar of horror film history.

In the context of a real-world news cycle featuring conflict, immigration issues, political shifts, and climate concerns, witches, zombies and vengeful spirits strike a unique chord with viewers.

“I read somewhere that the success of vampire movies is linked to economically depressed times,” states an star from a successful fright film.

“The concept reflects how economic systems can drain vitality from individuals.”

Historically, public discord has always impacted scary movies.

Experts reference the rise of European artistic movements after the first world war and the chaotic atmosphere of the 1920s Europe, with films such as classic silent horror and a pioneering fright film.

This was followed by the 1930s depression and classic monster movies.

“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 academic.

“Thus, it mirrors widespread fears about migration.”

The specter of border issues inspired the just-premiered supernatural tale The Severed Sun.

The creator elaborates: “I aimed to delve into populist rhetoric. Specifically, calls to restore a mythical past that favored a privileged few.”

“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?’”

Maybe, the present time of acclaimed, socially switched-on horror began with a brilliant satire debuted a year after a divisive leadership period.

It introduced a fresh generation of visionary directors, including various prominent figures.

“Those years were remarkably vibrant,” recalls a creator whose film about a deadly unborn child was one of the era’s tentpole movies.

“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.”

Concurrently, there has been a reconsideration of the overlooked scary films.

Earlier this year, a independent theater opened in a major city, showing obscure movies such as The Greasy Strangler, The Fall of the House of Usher and the modern reinterpretation of Dr Caligari.

The re-appreciation of this “rough and rowdy” genre is, according to the cinema founder, a direct reaction to the formulaic productions churned out at the cinemas.

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

“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.”

Scary movies continue to upset the establishment.

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

In addition to the revival of the mad scientist trope – with several renditions of a well-known story upcoming – he predicts we will see horror films in the near future addressing our current anxieties: about AI’s dominance in the years ahead and “vampires living in the Trump tower”.

At the same time, a religious-themed scare film a forthcoming title – which tells the story of Mary and Joseph’s struggles after Jesus’s birth, and features famous performers as the holy parents – is planned for launch in the coming months, and will undoubtedly create waves through the Christian right in the United States.</