When many think of horror, they go straight to the goliaths of the genre such as “Halloween”, “Friday the 13th”, and “Nightmare on Elm Street.” The common factor between these three franchises is that they dominated in the ‘80s and have left a long-standing impact that marks the ‘80s as one of the strongest decades of the horror genre. That being said, it is one of the strongest, but not end-all-be-all. Contrary to what some might say, the strongest period for horror is currently being lived through.
Many of the classic horror franchises have had strong requels (new entries in the franchise with past characters present but plenty of new characters, bridging the gap between a remake and a sequel) in recent years that have dominated the horror movie scene. Take for example the first two movies in the new “Halloween” trilogy or the two new “Scream” movies. Both sets of films rank high with fans of the respective franchises. Saw has also made a comeback with “Saw X”, after floundering about with “Jigsaw” and “Spiral”. Additionally, “Friday the 13th” has a TV series from A24 coming soon.
Speaking of A24, indie horror is just as alive and is arguably thriving to a greater extent. A24 has pumped out critically acclaimed horror movies such as “Hereditary”, “Midsommar”, “X”, and “Pearl” with plenty more on the horizon. Moving on from A24, Jordan Peele has turned from the comedy world to the horror world and has been consistently putting out movies such as “Get Out” and “Us’ garnering high praise from critics and the general audience. Even the new slasher franchise Terrifier, albeit divisive for its intense gore, has received a strong following and seen financial success.
The recent surge of horror movies does not stop there either. This revival can be tracked back to the start of franchises such as “Insidious” and “The Purge.” After the success of these major franchises died down, there weren’t very many horror movies being produced until the recent surge kicked off around 2016 to 2018 with movies such as “Happy Death Day”, “A Quiet Place” and “IT” all within that two year span. During and after this range is when brilliant original movies and franchises start to sprout as well as strong entries into long-standing beloved franchises.
Horror is not only seeing strong additions to the titans of the genre, but original intellectual properties are also making strong imprints. Many may wonder why horror is undergoing a “renaissance” right now. If a single reason had to be pinned down for horror’s recent success, it could be attributed to creatives being given freedom once again after a period of studios attempting to profiteer off the genre after the success of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Ultimately, horror right now is one of, if not the most, creative and original genres in film making and the future of horror is positively bright.