Zach Cregger’s smash-hit horror-mystery Weapons is the latest entry in what some are referring to as the modern Golden Age of Horror, and there are several key factors that have contributed to the horror genre’s explosion of influence in present-day cinema. Horror has been a mainstay in film since the medium’s inception, but it’s possible that its status as a storytelling medium has never been higher.

The original Golden Age of Horror began in the silent film days, with the advent of classics like F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, which Robert Eggers just recently revisited. Horror’s popularity really erupted in the 1930s and 1940s with the emergence of the Universal Monsters, and the many sequels and spinoffs that they inspired.

Some would argue that a second Golden Age of Horror began in 1978 with John Carpenter’s Halloween, which was so groundbreaking that it spawned an entire generation of now-famous slashers and monsters. Horror’s modern DNA really has its roots there, with classics like The Thing, Alien, Poltergeist, The Shining, and An American Werewolf In London emerging as foundational films for the genre.

Several key filmmakers helped horror reinvent itself yet again in the 2010s, which is when modern elevated horror began to emerge. Names like Jordan Peele, Ari Aster, James Wan, Mike Flanagan, and Fede Álvarez (among many others) helped to craft a new idenтιтy for what horror could be: something that sticks with you more than an empty slasher movie that counts bodies or a straightforward ghost story.

The new wave of horror is marked by a series of holistic cinematic experiences not predicated simply on gore, jump scares, or monsters. Rather, the best horror movies are carefully-crafted tales that weave the best of those elements through an aura of dread with top-notch performances, writing, and cinematography.

Horror’s modern resurrection has reached its zenith in the 2020s, specifically within the last three years. Thanks to a combination of factors, horror is now spoken about in the same breath as the Oscars regularly, when even ten years ago that would have been considered a farce. I dove into some of horror’s biggest recent hits to single out the key reasons why.

Hollywood Is Fully Embracing The Horror Genre

Even at the height of John Carpenter’s powers, horror was still scoffed at on the grander Hollywood stage. For every masterpiece like Halloween or Jaws, there were a dozen B-movie slashers that tainted the general perception of horror as a film genre, leaving horror on the outside looking in during awards season everywhere except perhaps the makeup and effects categories.

It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact moment when Hollywood started to, and I’m generalizing quite a bit here, “take horror seriously” as a genre. However, Jordan Peele’s 2017 seminal psychological horror film Get Out is probably the easiest film to point to in that regard, given that it justifiably earned four Academy Award nominations, including Best Director, Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor (Daniel Kaluuya).

It’s now common for major A-list actors and actresses to appear in true horror movies, with some of the industry’s biggest stars turning in engaging and excellent performances in horror movies. Nic Cage’s demented serial killer in Longlegs certainly springs to mind, as does Michael B. Jordan’s dual-role in Sinners. Even rom-com stalwart Hugh Grant played a brilliant psychopath in the slept-on psychological horror movie Heretic.

The industry’s top filmmakers are even trying their hand at the genre with incredible results. Steven Soderbergh’s experimental horror movie Presence brought a unique perspective to the genre, as he literally sH๏τ the movie from the perspective of a ghost. Ryan Coogler’s first attempt at horror resulted in the Oscar-worthy mega-hit Sinners, and it seems likely that other typically drama- or comedy-leaning filmmakers give horror a sH๏τ.

With powerhouses both in front of and behind the camera, horror movies are beginning to yield some of the best overall pieces of filmmaking each year, regardless of genre. You won’t find a more powerful performance in 2025 than the one Sally Hawkins delivers as a desperate, grief-stricken mother moved to murder in Bring Her Back, or a more breathtaking sequence than Spike’s heartbroken climb to the top of the Bone Temple in 28 Years Later.

Simply put, Hollywood in general appears to have finally embraced horror as a powerful conduit for elevated storytelling. The very best talents in the industry are now crafting some of the most engaging and human stories put to film each year through a horror lens.

Horror Budgets Are Smaller, So Risks Can Be Taken

A good horror movie is only as good as the emotions it elicits, whether it’s dread, anxiety, paranoia, etc. Fortunately, the best way to craft a true horror aura and aesthetic is in realism, making horror movie budgets minimal as a necessity. The second you throw a green screen and a ton of CGI at an audience, the mystique is lost, and good horror is ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.

With so little money on the line, filmmakers have been able to take bigger swings with the opportunities they get, which has resulted in so many memorable concepts in the last few years. Chris Nash’s In a Violent Nature is a perfect example, as a movie sH๏τ almost exclusively from the perspective of a woods-stalking slasher murdering teens in outrageously gruesome fashion.

Colin and Cameron Cairnes’ supernatural horror movie Late Night with the Devil is another shining example of bold choice paying off, as they managed to create something entirely new by smashing possession horror together with 1970s talk show spectacle. With no studio executives to answer to, filmmakers from all backgrounds are trying out risky ideas that have been paying off at a high rate.

The lack of budget and studio expectations has also led to new voices being introduced into Hollywood, to horror’s benefit. Perhaps the most prominent example of this would be A24’s faith in Danny and Michael Philippou, a pair of Australian YouTubers who have churned out two of the most emotionally affecting horror movies of the last decade with Talk to Me and Bring Her Back.

Horror has been the first step on a path that many legendary directors and writers have taken. Before Spielberg won Oscars for Schindler’s List or Saving Private Ryan, he changed summer blockbusters with Jaws. Decades before James Cameron ever set foot on Pandora he made his debut with the monster horror movie Piranha II: The Spawning.

Without studio executives, marketing agencies, and PR representatives weighing in, filmmakers can craft a movie true to their inspiration. It’s a big reason why so many low-budget horror movies have a profound impact on people: they’re singular visions, seen through from start to finish just as intended.

Horror Allows For Diverse Perspectives To Shine

Horror is also the perfect medium in which diverse perspectives can truly shine. The highly metaphorical nature allows you to understand and connect with perspectives that might not reflect your own reality. While you personally might not be able to identify with someone’s upbringing, their Sєxual orientation, or their ethnic idenтιтy, horror is a tremendous medium through which they can communicate their feelings.

Jane Schoenbrun’s psychological horror drama I Saw The TV Glow has been praised for its ability to communicate the trans experience, with Schoenbrun drawing on their own journey of self-discovery to craft the narrative. Bishal Dutta’s supernatural horror It Lives Inside effectively represents Hindu folklore and the overall immigrant experience in a way that has rarely, if ever, been put on the screen.

Horror is also unique in that it translates into any language. Drama and comedy are often derived from circumstances that require a similar experience to fully comprehend, or some knowledge of a region’s culture or language. A joke in one language may not translate to another, or a cultural taboo in one country could be met with indifference elsewhere.

Even if you don’t understand a word of the language or have subтιтles on, a truly excellent horror movie can still have an incredible impact on you. Demián Rugna’s supernatural horror movie When Evil Lurks is perhaps the best example of this from the last few years; even if you don’t understand any of the dialogue of the Argentinan cast, their performances and the ghastly imagery are all you need to be haunted by it.

Horror Movies Reflect Everyday Anxieties

Once again thanks to the heavy use of metaphors prevalent in the genre, horror is the ideal medium through which to grapple with common existential anxieties. Horror movies allow us to process fear, depression, grief, trauma, and everything else that results from living in the modern world (a horror show in its own right, most days) in an entertaining, more digestible way.

Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance is an entertaining body horror, but there’s no mistaking how poignantly it addresses the societal pressures upon women, particularly older women, to maintain beauty standards. In comparison, Michael Shanks’ body horror film Together unpacks a completely different set of societal pressures, as it deals with the pressure to “settle down” with someone, and the fear of commitment and potential loss of idenтιтy that stems from it.

Just as they allow moviegoers to identify with the experiences of others, good horror movies can help us process experiences that we all share. I’ll call out both Smile and Smile 2 here, as they collectively act as one of the finest examinations of trauma and its effects on both an individual and those around them.

While not connected movies, Talk to Me and Bring Her Back are both positively gripping examinations of how we cope with loss and grief, and from two sides of the same coin. While Talk to Me depicts the desperation of a daughter searching to connect with her ᴅᴇᴀᴅ mother, Bring Her Back shows the lengths to which a mother will go for another chance for her daughter to live.

Moviegoers Have Stronger Stomachs Than They Used To

Perhaps the most underrated reason that horror has made such a big impact not only on the filmmaking and storytelling arms of Hollywood, but at the box office as well, is that the boundaries of acceptable taste appear to have shifted. I don’t have the psychology degree required to dive into whether there’s a connection between how we consume media and why we can stomach more gore, but one likely exists.

Simply put, horror movies can now push the envelope when it comes to dismemberment and sadism, and even the moviegoing public doesn’t seem to be phased anymore. WhileTerrifier 3 had reports of people vomiting at the grisly violence (just like its predecessor), it didn’t seem to bother most; Terrifier 3 earned a jaw-dropping $90.3 million at the box office on a budget of $2 million.

Even the big-budget horror movies aren’t pulling any punches. Once the vampire action started, Sinners was an absolute bloodbath, with geysers of gore shooting from every wooden stake to the heart, while Weapons literally ends with a woman being ripped limb-from-limb by a small horde of possessed children.

While not all good horror is predicated on blood and guts, it certainly helps to give the proceedings a little edge when you can take it to that uglier place, where the human body can be destroyed in heinous ways by even more heinous ghouls, goblins, and monsters. It’s a trend that’s not likely to reverse, although nobody chasing a major award will go as far as Art the Clown does.

Horror has evolved into a powerhouse in recent years, with each year bringing at least three or four highly-anticipated horror movies that not only turn major profits at the box office, but that also capture the public’s attention. With The Substance all over the Academy Awards in 2025 and both Sinners and Weapons vying for spots in 2026, horror’s place upon the pedestal of Hollywood seems secured.