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The biggest shock the film industry has experienced in 2025? The return of horror as a dominant force at the UK box office.

As a category, it has impressively surpassed past times with a 22% rise compared to last year for the UK and Irish box office: £83.7 million in 2025, compared with £68.6 million last year.

“Last year, no horror film reached £10m at the UK or Irish box office. This year, five films have,” says a film industry analyst.

The big hits of the year – a recent horror title (£11.4 million), 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.

Although much of the professional discussion focuses on the singular brilliance of renowned filmmakers, their successes point to something shifting between viewers and the genre.

“Many have expressed, ‘You should watch this even if horror isn’t your thing,’” 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 aesthetic quality, the consistent popularity of horror movies this year indicates they are giving moviegoers 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,” says a noted author of classic monster stories.

Against a current events featuring war, border tensions, far-right movements, and environmental crises, supernatural beings and undead creatures strike a unique chord with viewers.

“I read somewhere that the success of vampire movies is linked to economically depressed times,” says an star from a recent horror hit.

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

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

Analysts reference the rise of German expressionism after the WWI and the unstable environment of the 1920s Europe, with features such as early expressionist works and the iconic vampire tale.

Subsequently came the Great Depression era and iconic horror characters.

“Take Dracula: it depicts an Eastern European figure invading Britain, spreading a metaphorical infection that endangers local protagonists,” explains a commentator.

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

The boogeyman of migration influenced the just-premiered folk horror a recent film title.

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

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

Perhaps, the current era of praised, culturally aware scary films started with a sharp parody debuted a year after a divisive leadership period.

It sparked a recent surge of innovative filmmakers, including various prominent figures.

“It was a hugely exciting time,” says a director whose movie about a deadly unborn child 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.”

This creator, now penning a fresh horror script, notes: “During the past decade, viewers have become more receptive to such innovative approaches.”

At the same time, there has been a reconsideration of the genre’s less celebrated output.

Earlier this year, a new cinema opened in a major city, showing obscure movies such as a quirky horror title, The Fall of the House of Usher and the modern reinterpretation of the expressionist icon.

The fresh acclaim of this “raw and chaotic” genre is, according to the cinema founder, a direct reaction to the calculated releases produced at the theaters.

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

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

Fright flicks continue to upset the establishment.

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

Alongside the re-emergence of the insane researcher motif – with two adaptations of a classic novel imminent – he anticipates we will see scary movies in the near future addressing our current anxieties: about artificial intelligence control in the near future and “monstrous metaphors in power structures”.

At the same time, a biblical fright story a forthcoming title – which tells the story of biblical parent hardships after the nativity, and includes celebrated stars as the holy parents – is set for release soon, and will definitely send a ripple through the religious conservatives in the America.</