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The most significant shock the film industry has witnessed in 2025? The return of horror as a main player at the UK box office.

As a style, it has notably surpassed earlier periods with a annual growth of 22% for the British and Irish cinemas: £83,766,086 in 2025, against £68,612,395 in 2024.

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

The major successes of the year – Weapons (£11.4 million), another hit film (£16.2 million), The Conjuring Last Rites (£14.98m) and the sequel to a classic (£15.54m) – have all stayed in the cinemas and in the audience's minds.

While much of the expert analysis centers on the singular brilliance of certain directors, their successes point to something evolving between viewers and the style.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘Even if you don’t like horror this is a film you need to see,’” says a head of acquisition.

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

But outside of artistic merit, the consistent popularity of horror movies this year suggests they are giving cinemagoers something that’s much needed: therapeutic relief.

“These days, movies echo the prevalent emotions of rage, anxiety, and polarization,” notes a film commentator.

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

Against a real-world news cycle featuring geopolitical strife, enforcement actions, extremist rises, and ecological disasters, supernatural beings and undead creatures resonate a bit differently with audiences.

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

“It’s the idea that capitalism sucks the life out of people.”

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

Experts reference the rise of European artistic movements after the first world war and the turbulent times of the post-war Germany, with films such as early expressionist works and a pioneering fright film.

Later occurred the 1930s depression and iconic horror characters.

“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,” notes a commentator.

“Therefore, it embodies concerns related to foreign influx.”

The phantom of migration shaped the newly launched supernatural tale a recent film title.

Its writer-director clarifies: “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 modern period of acclaimed, socially switched-on horror began with a sharp parody released a year after a contentious political era.

It introduced a fresh generation of horror auteurs, including various prominent figures.

“It was a hugely exciting time,” comments a filmmaker whose project about a deadly unborn child was one of the era’s tentpole movies.

“I believe it initiated a trend toward eccentric, high-concept horror that aimed for artistic recognition.”

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 reconsideration of the underrated horror works.

Earlier this year, a new cinema opened in London, showing underground films such as The Greasy Strangler, a classic adaptation and the modern reinterpretation of Dr Caligari.

The fresh acclaim of this “rough and rowdy” genre is, according to the venue creator, a direct reaction to the formulaic productions produced at the box office.

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

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

Horror films continue to challenge the norm.

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

Alongside the revival of the mad scientist trope – with multiple versions of a well-known story on the horizon – he forecasts we will see fright features in the near future addressing our current anxieties: about tech supremacy in the coming decades and “vampires living in the Trump tower”.

At the same time, a biblical fright story The Carpenter’s Son – which depicts the events of biblical parent hardships after Jesus’s birth, and features celebrated stars as the holy parents – is set for release later this year, and will certainly cause a stir through the religious conservatives in the US.</