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The largest shock the cinema world has encountered in 2025? The return of horror as a leading genre at the British cinemas.

As a category, it has impressively exceeded earlier periods with a 22% rise compared to last year for the UK and Irish box office: 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,” says a box office editor.

The big hits of the year – Weapons (£11.4m), another hit film (£16.2 million), the latest Conjuring installment (£14.98 million) and 28 Years Later (£15.54 million) – have all remained in the theaters and in the popular awareness.

Even though much of the professional discussion focuses on the standout quality of prominent auteurs, their successes point to something shifting between audiences and the category.

“Many have expressed, ‘You should watch this even if horror isn’t your thing,’” states a head of acquisition.

“These productions twist traditional elements to craft unique experiences, resonating deeply with modern audiences.”

But outside of artistic merit, the ongoing appeal of horror movies this year implies they are giving moviegoers something that’s much needed: emotional release.

“Currently, cinema mirrors the widespread anger, fear, and societal splits,” notes 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,” explains a noted author of horror film history.

In the context of a real-world news cycle featuring geopolitical strife, enforcement actions, extremist rises, and ecological disasters, witches, zombies and vengeful spirits strike a unique chord with audiences.

“I read somewhere that the success of vampire movies is linked to economically depressed times,” says an actress from a popular scary movie.

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

Since the early days of cinema, social unrest has influenced the genre.

Experts highlight the boom of German expressionism after the WWI and the chaotic atmosphere of the 1920s Europe, with movies such as classic silent horror and Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.

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

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

“Thus, it mirrors widespread fears about migration.”

The phantom of immigration inspired the just-premiered rural fright The Severed Sun.

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

“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?’”

Arguably, the present time of praised, culturally aware scary films commenced with a clever critique released a year after a divisive leadership period.

It ushered in a recent surge of innovative filmmakers, including several notable names.

“Those years were remarkably vibrant,” says a director whose movie 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: “Over 10 years, audiences’ minds have been opening up to much more of that.”

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 cult classics such as The Greasy Strangler, a classic adaptation and the 1989 remake of the expressionist icon.

The fresh acclaim of this “gritty and loud” genre is, according to the cinema founder, a straightforward answer to the algorithmic content produced at the box office.

“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.

“On the other hand, [these indie works] feel imperfect. They seem to burst forth from deep creativity, free from commercial constraints.”

Scary movies continue to upset the establishment.

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

Alongside the re-emergence of the mad scientist trope – with several renditions of a well-known story imminent – he predicts we will see horror films in the near future responding to our current anxieties: about tech supremacy in the years ahead and “vampires living in the Trump tower”.

Meanwhile, “Jesus horror” a forthcoming title – which depicts the events of biblical parent hardships after the messiah's arrival, and includes celebrated stars as the holy parents – is planned for launch in the coming months, and will definitely send a ripple through the Christian right in the America.</