Ben Atkinson
Sinners racked up the record number of Academy Award nominations, Iron Lung made headlines as an entirely independent smash hit, and a third Conjuring sequel made $500 million – are we living in the revival of great horror cinema through elevated horror, or has it been here all along?
Horror has gone through many different phases in recent decades: from the gory slashers of the 1980s, to the torture-porn splatter films of the mid-2000s, to the low-budget found footage of the early 2010s. No matter the subgenre, one trend has always haunted these hauntings: the critics. While the best films of the time were rightly praised, even pioneers such as Halloween (1978) were labelled as “dumb scariness“ (New Yorker) or “transparent and laborious” (The Washington Post). This attitude, often defined by condescension, remained typical for many years: every time a horror film revolutionised, such as The Blair Witch Project or Saw, at least some critics were there to call it boring, cheap or crude. Certainly, few films were ever in the running to break records at the Oscars.
Now, without the option to rebrand it as a psychological thriller, how would critics possibly stomach the idea of genuinely enjoying a horror film?
This, perhaps, is the reason why the most recent evolution of the genre is ‘elevated horror’. Any horror fans reading this might have recoiled at that term, as it implies that ordinary horror is non-elevated. It reads as an excuse for non-horror fans to enjoy a horror film without having to admit it. This idea is an evolution of a previous one; before 2014, any filmmakers hoping for horror success normally needed to tone down the horror aspects of their project and focus on the ‘psychological’. For instance, one of the most critically successful horror films of all time and Oscar-sweeper Silence of the Lambs (1991) was branded as a psychological thriller to distance it from the so-called ‘dumb scariness’ of the 1980s. After 2014, with the success of The Babadook (2014), It Follows (2014) and The Witch (2015), filmmakers trying to make serious, high-budget projects began to embrace the horror aspects of their films. Now, without the option to rebrand it as a psychological thriller, how would critics possibly stomach the idea of genuinely enjoying a horror film? That’s easy: create a new label. Hence, elevated horror.
The reasons for the emergence of this new type of horror could be debated endlessly. There’s certainly the idea of filmmakers finally pushing back against the mainstream snobby attitude towards horror films by trying to create serious art within the genre. But this once again downplays the quality of films before the transition. It also doesn’t substantially answer my most important question: what’s the appeal? After all, it wasn’t just the critics who were drawn to the new style of horror – general audiences loved it too.
In 2013, The Conjuring made just over $300 million, whereas in 2025 its third sequel made almost $500 million. This wasn’t a case of momentum building up to an anticipated conclusion: the second sequel was mostly a disappointment, and came out a full five years after The Conjuring 2 and four years before the series conclusion. The Conjuring: Last Rites and its box office success may be an indicator that audiences are riding the horror wave, too. Additionally, the success of lower budget films, such as Zach Cregger’s Barbarian (2022) and the Philippou Brothers’ Talk to Me (2022), are allowing passionate filmmakers to continue to create brilliant art horror i.e., Cregger’s Weapons (2025) and the Philippous’ Bring Her Back (2025).
Just to drive the rise of horror home, early 2026 brought two monumental moments: Iron Lung, a fully independent horror film, grossing over 10 times its budget, and Sinners being nominated for 16 Oscars, beating out Titanic’s previous record. While Iron Lung was marketed mostly by its creator, the hugely popular YouTuber Markiplier, Sinners happened to fall into many different categories due to its broad focus on music, gory effects, dramatic performances, etc. (factors that might explain its success). One cannot deny that they were horror sensations.
This is a very difficult art, even harder than ordinary immersion
So the question remains: what’s the appeal? Why did people love Sinners? Why did people connect with Weapons? In truth, the current state of the genre (even the current state of the world) provides only a fraction of the answer – the rest of it is the same as it has always been, ever since the 1980s and before. People love stories of all kinds. Sci-fi stories, Western stories, Romance stories. But horror stories demand something different of their audience; they don’t just aim for engagement and investment, but a visceral reaction of fear. This is a very difficult art, even harder than ordinary immersion, but if executed well it elevates the story greatly. Horror films can throw anything at you, and being genuinely disturbed by the villain or genuinely frightened for the characters will make the story more engaging – likewise, well-written characters and plot will elevate the scares. There’s a reason why horror films, especially recent ones, have their themes talked about so extensively (“so was this a metaphor for that, and was that a metaphor for this, and so forth”) – what better way is there to hammer home your subject matter than with a feeling of dread, terror, or horror itself, one that might stick with you long after the credits roll?
It may be divisive and difficult to execute well, but for those willing to embrace the experience: horror can be the genre which is the most experimental, least formulaic, and highly captivating.
Sinners showed a cast of characters in a tight-knit community, set against the cultural complexities of African American life in 1930s Mississippi, and pitted them against a white-Irish vampire. What might have been a quiet but moving story becomes a hard-hitting, life or death struggle in what is far more complicated than just a battle against oppression. The tension which comes from horror imbues the themes with greater stakes, and the audience with greater investment in the characters’ fates. But that’s just my take. The real takeaway should be the impressive quality of film in this particular genre.
Yes, Sinners happens to excel in many different categories. Yes, Iron Lung is a popular YouTuber’s passion project. But seeing their success be met with calls of ‘overrated’ is nonetheless disheartening. Horror is on the rise, and people are seeing its appeal – like with any genre, we should all resist the urge to push back against what is popular. This new era of art horror or elevated horror is brilliant, and while – like all eras before it – it might eventually pass, there’s no reason not to embrace it while it’s here. Hopefully, the critics agree this time, even if it’s just because the term ‘elevated horror’ satisfies their snobby requirements.
Ben Atkinson
Featured image courtesy of Logan Ward via Unsplash. Image use license found here . Image was cropped to size.
In-article photos courtesy of @markiplier and @rottentomatoes via Instagram. No changes were made to these photos.
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