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The biggest surprise the movie business has experienced in 2025? The comeback of horror as a main player at the UK box office.

As a genre, it has remarkably surpassed previous years with a annual growth of 22% for the UK and Ireland film earnings: £83.7 million 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,” notes a film industry analyst.

The top performers of the year – a recent horror title (£11.4m), Sinners (£16.2m), the latest Conjuring installment (£14.98 million) and 28 Years Later (£15.54 million) – have all hung about in the theaters and in the popular awareness.

While much of the professional discussion centers on the singular brilliance of prominent auteurs, their triumphs suggest something shifting between viewers and the category.

“Viewers often remark, ‘This is a must-see regardless of your genre preferences,’” says a head of acquisition.

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

But apart from artistic merit, the ongoing appeal of horror movies this year implies they are giving cinemagoers something that’s much needed: therapeutic relief.

“Currently, cinema mirrors the widespread anger, fear, and societal splits,” says 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 noted author of classic monster stories.

Amid a current events featuring war, border tensions, far-right movements, and environmental crises, ghosts, monsters, and mythical entities strike a unique chord with audiences.

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

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

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

Experts point to the rise of European artistic movements after the first world war and the chaotic atmosphere of the early Weimar Republic, with movies such as early expressionist works and Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.

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

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

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

The boogeyman of migration inspired the recently released supernatural tale The Severed Sun.

The filmmaker clarifies: “I wanted to explore ideas around the rise of populism. Firstly, slogans like ‘Let’s Make Britain Great Again’, that harken back to some fantasy time when things were ‘better’, but only if you were a rich white man.”

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

Arguably, the current era of acclaimed, socially switched-on horror began with a sharp parody released a year after a polarizing administration.

It sparked a fresh generation of innovative filmmakers, including several notable names.

“It was a hugely exciting time,” says a filmmaker whose film about a violent prenatal entity was one of the era’s tentpole movies.

“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 same filmmaker, who is writing a new horror original, adds: “During the past decade, viewers have become more receptive to such innovative approaches.”

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

Recently, a nicke l venue opened in the capital, showing underground films such as a quirky horror title, a classic adaptation and the 1989 remake of Dr Caligari.

The fresh acclaim of this “raw and chaotic” genre is, according to the venue creator, a direct reaction to the algorithmic content pumped 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.

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

Fright flicks continue to challenge the norm.

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

In addition to the return of the mad scientist trope – with multiple versions of a classic novel upcoming – he predicts we will see horror films in the coming years addressing our present fears: about tech supremacy in the near future and “vampires living in the Trump tower”.

In the interim, a religious-themed scare film The Carpenter’s Son – which narrates the tale of holy family challenges after Jesus’s birth, and stars well-known actors as the divine couple – is planned for launch in the coming months, and will certainly send a ripple through the religious conservatives in the United States.</