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The biggest shock the movie business has experienced in 2025? The return of horror as a main player at the UK film market.

As a genre, it has notably outperformed past times with a 22% rise compared to last year for the British and Irish cinemas: over £83 million this year, versus £68,612,395 in 2024.

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

The big hits of the year – a recent horror title (£11.4m), Sinners (£16.2m), 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 popular awareness.

While much of the professional discussion focuses on the singular brilliance of certain directors, their successes suggest something changing between viewers and the category.

“Viewers often remark, ‘This is a must-see regardless of your genre preferences,’” explains a film distribution executive.

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

But outside of creative value, the ongoing appeal of spooky films this year suggests they are giving audiences something that’s greatly desired: catharsis.

“Currently, cinema mirrors the widespread anger, fear, and societal splits,” says a horror podcast host.

“Scary movies excel at tapping into viewers' fears, amplifying them, allowing you to set aside daily worries and concentrate on the on-screen terror,” says a noted author of horror film history.

Against a real-world news cycle featuring geopolitical strife, enforcement actions, extremist rises, and ecological disasters, ghosts, monsters, and mythical entities strike a unique chord with audiences.

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

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

From film's inception, societal turmoil has shaped horror.

Analysts reference the surge of early cinematic styles after the first world war and the turbulent times of the 1920s Europe, with films such as classic silent horror and Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.

This was followed by 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 historian.

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

The boogeyman of immigration influenced the newly launched supernatural tale a recent film title.

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

“Additionally, the notion that acquaintances might unexpectedly voice extreme views, leaving others shocked.”

Perhaps, the current era of celebrated, politically engaged fright cinema commenced with a brilliant satire debuted a year after a contentious political era.

It introduced a new wave of horror auteurs, including a range of talented artists.

“Those years were remarkably vibrant,” recalls a creator whose movie about a murderous foetus was one of the period's key works.

“I think it was the beginning of an era when people were opening up to doing a really bonkers horror film which had arthouse aspirations.”

The director, currently developing another scary story, continues: “Over 10 years, audiences’ minds have been opening up to much more of that.”

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

In recent months, a nicke l venue opened in the capital, showing underground films such as The Greasy Strangler, a classic adaptation and the modern reinterpretation of the expressionist icon.

The re-appreciation of this “raw and chaotic” genre is, according to the cinema founder, a clear response to the algorithmic content pumped 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.”

Horror films continue to upset the establishment.

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

Besides the re-emergence of the insane researcher motif – with two adaptations of a classic novel upcoming – he anticipates we will see scary movies in 2026 and 2027 responding to our current anxieties: about tech supremacy in the near future and “vampires living in the Trump tower”.

Meanwhile, a biblical fright story The Carpenter’s Son – which depicts the events of Mary and Joseph’s struggles after the messiah's arrival, and includes famous performers as the sacred figures – is planned for launch soon, and will definitely cause a stir through the Christian right in the US.</