I honestly do not have an opinion on this one. This is not a bait thread. And the answer may be nothing. But my daughter, who went to film school, has famously studied and found very interesting the fact that certain genres dominate eras that seem to reflect then current subconscious concerns in society. The classic recent example was the superhero genre after 9/11, especially after the Iraq War seem to undermine our sense of justified projections of US power. Also the Serpico/Bonnie and Clyde/Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid evolving into the Godfather after the 60s and the end of the Hayes Code. I may have some facts wrong. I welcome correction. This is really her area of specialty. But now we see examples like the below. I realize it's October, Halloween month. But as the bottom two tweets show, this is a phenomenon that is been going on for at least a year, possibly longer. People are really going to horror movies when they aren't going to movies near as much. Horror movies are relatively cheap to produce, meaning that you're going to see a lot more of them. As much as some who hate Hollywood try to argue that movie financing choices are driven by ideology, the Hollywood executive's plan to reshape society, it's just a matter of finances. Looking to make money. So, is this a thing? Is something going on in our national subconscious that is causing this? If so what? As I said, this is not a bait thread. I don't have a fixed opinion. I do find it interesting. When I asked my daughter about this seeming phenomenon six months ago, she just said the reduced production costs when the main reason. One of her best friends, a guy who will likely give her a job if one of his scripts gets picked up, has been writing horror scripts for years. It's his thing. It's not my daughter's, but it may indirectly help her if one of his scripts gets picked up. But I digress. I would be curious as to the thoughts of others.
I don't know if horror movies/series are more ubiquitous now. If so, maybe there are just more platforms/directors, etc., to cater to the demand that already existed? I also don't know anything about the budget issues that may be relevant. You seem to be asking whether there is increased demand right now that can be explained by people's moods? I've always liked horror movies, or at least certain sub-genres of them (I prefer movies like the Exorcist over Jason and Freddy slasher type movies). I haven't gone to the theater in years except to see Top Gun - Maverick. But I do watch quite a bit of movies/series at home. Horror movies as well as crime/serial killer shows (Bundy, Dahmer) seem to be very popular on Netflix in recent years, for example. Maybe people are stressed out, or in a dark place, and light topics and comedies don't reflect peoples' current moods? Maybe people are numb and being scared is the best escape? Would be interesting to see if this a global phenomenon or more domestic. Seems like in recent years I've seen more horror/killer movies coming out from places like South Korea, for example.
Exactly what I was getting to. Horror movies really seem to be doing better than any other genre on a semi consistent basis at the Box Office. Just not sure why. Your speculation makes sense. But don't know.
Horror movies give people very extreme feelings. In a world where people feel disconnected via social media and work from home I can see a desire for extremes.
20 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time According to Science | Man of Many All seemed newer… 1 Sinister 2 insidious 3 conjuring 4 Heredity 5 Paranormal Actovity 6 It Follows 7 Conjuring 2 8 Babadook 9 Decscent 10 The Visit
Is this new? Horror movies have always done pretty well at the box office, basically since beginning of Hollywood. Look how many Dracula/Frankenstein/Mummy/Invisible Man films were made in the 1930’s. Look at all the slasher films and nightmare on elm street type films of the 80’s. 90’s and 00’s teen horror (Scream, I know what you did last summer, etc) These things go in waves, maybe some movies get franchised and it turns into franchise fatigue, but seems like it isn’t long before they either create a new hit that spawns a new franchise, or they reboot something old for the nth time. Horror might be the best genre to “invest” in as it doesn’t require big name stars, and doesn’t need big set pieces. It is probably the genre where a micro budget film (Blair Witch, Paranormal Activity) has the best chance at becoming a huge hit.
I've never been a horror fan. After the Exorcist, I slept with my bedroom light on for a month. (not a nightlight, the actual light.) UF was the exceptional period. I went en masse with friends to see Texas Chainsaw Massacre, etc. (my eyes were closed more than they were open.) My first date with my future husband was the original Halloween, at the Rat. I agree with what others have already pointed out--genres come and go in waves, horror flicks are cheap (you save a lot on salaries, for one thing--it's the one genre that can get by with B and C listers, no big-name stars required.) Horror's current prominence may be the peoples immersion into the generalized angst of pandemics, politics, economic uncertainties, war, etc. It would logically follow that times of peril, ie WWII would generate more escapist fare, ie musicals, comedies, and romance, but when is life ever logical?
They have always been popular. I don't know that they have ever been the most popular, which they are now. Could be wrong on that. My question was not why are they popular but why are they the most popular.
People really only go to the movies now for big spectacles. Great character dramas go to streaming cable. It takes years to make a $300M Marvel movie but nowhere near as long or expensive to make a ghost movie.
It seems that the movie viewing audience has bifurcated. You have this wanting to see the huge blockbusters and then those who want the cheap scare. I think the cheap scares may be ultimately more profitable.
True on all that. But everyone still wants the tent pole with sequel and cross-marketing opportunities, to create the whole universe. That's the ultimate financial bang. Of course, I wish they were more dedicated to original IP
I chalk a lot of this up to covid. Horror movies are relatively low budget compared to your big action blockbuster. People still aren't returning to theater en masse, and studios are reluctant to spend big on blockbusters (Top Gun Maverick being a huge exception to this). We're still seeing only a fraction of what we had in a pre-covid year. But putting $10-15M on a horror movie is a pretty safe bet - they generally give a decent ROI. In my experience, horror is generally more popular among the younger crowd - which is a lower risk population, and more easily drawn back to theaters. I'd love to see some moviegoer stats of today vs. pre-covid. But in general, I just think horror just happens to be a larger than usual slice of the pie in terms of what studios are willing to green light these days.
All makes sense and may well be all of it. Still wonder if something else more substantial is going on
I think the economic argument is correct, they are cheap to make and are good ways for directors to create a style and get creative. Genre movies are always a good way to explore certain cultural anxieties less directly and without being boring or lecturing people. I saw Barbarian pretty recently and it did that while still basically being a fun, entertaining movie.
That makes perfect sense in terms on why are a lot of them being made. But I'm curious why horror films are outperforming all other fare, which at least to me is a different question. Even pre-Covid, there was a financing model of finding projects, especially horror films, that could be made for $20 million (sometimes way less), if there was an identifiable audience for some multiple, usually 2X. But those were considered niche, not box office leaders. It was mainly horror films as a genre, but there was also the aspect of targeting traditionally underrepresented audiences. Instead of spending $100- $250 million to find a film that everyone wanted to see, spend $40 million on a film targeted to religious conservatives, African-Americans, older women, etc. There's been a lot of realization over the last decade in Hollywood that money can be made by targeting a niche audience that may not turn out a $250 million box office but can turn out a $70 million box office pretty reliably. That's a good thing in my opinion. Now we have 6x this year (not just October), that horror films that were not big projects dominating the box office as #1. A big part of that, as previously noted, is just that movie audiences are down overall. But still, a decent amount of these horror movies are doing over $100 million dollars on very cheap budgets. That seems to me to be something different including dominating the box office. Obviously a large part of that is that audiences are way down overall. So maybe the better question is a lot harder for him for doing so well, but why they are the only genre that is doing very well. Pretty sure every other genre is underperforming compared to its history, while the horror genre is overperforming. Perhaps that's the better way to frame the issue. Does that have something to do with our current national zeitgeist? Despite not wanting to go back to the movies, Americans are going back to the movies in greater numbers than before for horror films.
I think on some level its just people gravitating to more original movies, and there is a certain "experience" you get from them in a theater setting with other people. Studios don't see them as a risk. For directors too I think they see them as being able to establish themselves. I doubt the Northman gets made if Robert Eggers hadn't done The Witch. It Follows made Under the Silver Lake possible. Jordan Peele can basically do whatever he wants now too. Make a few good horror movies that make money and show you have a style, the studios are more likely to fund other more artsy projects. Or they let you direct a big budget movie.
My daughter loves this podcast, which covers that phenomenon: Not just another bad movie podcast, Blank Check reviews directors' complete filmographies episode to episode. Specifically, the auteurs whose early successes afforded them the rare ‘blank check’ from Hollywood to produce passion projects. Each new miniseries, hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims delve into the works of film’s most outsized personalities in painstakingly hilarious detail. Produced by Ben Hosley. Blank Check with Griffin & David on Apple Podcasts
This reminds me, what other genre unites firm nerds and people who know what "auteur" means and casual movie goers like horror?
