By Julien Garcia
Horror has always been a staple of Cinema, a genre that (for the most part) has been a part of movies since the beginning. The first ever film released in 1888, and the first horror film in 1896. Today, it stands as a respected film genre and a pillar in which cinema stands, but it has had its run in with controversy. Horror films have been unfairly criticized for their notorious use of gore, nudity, and uneasy themes even for those we consider masterpieces. An example is what most consider the first slasher film: Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Although the film remains a cult classic today, it was first met with mixed reactions due to its controversial premise and themes, but was a success at the box office and with critics. Previous to Psycho, the horror genre had mostly been a monster or creature that hunts down people, like Frankenstein respectively. This would continue after Psycho, but this new genre, ¨Slashers,¨ was the new mainstream.
We see this again in the 2010’s when the horror genre experienced a decline in traditional horror and introduced a new form of horror: elevated. The 2010s were filled to the brim with reboots (It), pre/sequels (Prometheus), and even requels (Halloween 2018), but films of this new genre of ¨elevated horror¨ as well. Elevated horror is a subgenre of psychological horror with art house themes that focus on tone or atmosphere to cause anxiety/fear. The term was popularized with the pretentious A24 films like The Witch (2015) and Midsommar (2019). And with this new genre, there were still gems of horror, just not the same way as it was previously. Movies such as Hereditary, It Follows, Baboodook, and Get Out were all wonderful films that displayed a new form of horror. Physiological or elevated horror is a far cry from the traditional slasher or slaughter torture promiscuous films of the 2000s.
The 2000s is what I considered the peak of the horror genre not just in film but in pop culture too. The 2000s focused on heavy gore and grunge/metal music (all spectacle, a little substance). But the 2000s was a whole different type of breed. Before caped crusaders it was horror; it was in video games such as the Silent Hill franchise, Resident Evil series, and even Call of Duty: Zombies. 2010 horror films were (in my opinion) overshadowed by the superhero pandemic in cinema and abundant reboots/franchise sequels. But the 2020s has had a huge rise in popularity and success. Just this year we have seen two movies have huge success. Longlegs starring Maika Monroe had a budget of $3-10 million and made $101 million in its theatrical release. We currently have Alien: Romulus with a budget of $80 million, which made $225 million just in 10 days. Even the horrid Night Swim with a $1 million budget made $58 million at the box office. Horror films have lower budgets (almost indie films) and are exponentially making a profit. Horror is having a comeback to the spotlight.
Both Alien: Romulus and Longlegs were wonderful films that I am very fond of but were blasted in popularity by others. More and more horror films are being produced in the 2020s whether that be films like the slasher Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey or MaXXXine. As the horror genre continues to evolve, blending traditional horror with new subgenres like elevated horror, the genre remains resilient and is on its way to returning to its long-awaited spotlight (especially after its recent success financially and critically). I am excited for this new era of horror with all of the amazing and terrible films it’ll bring.
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