Horror is one of the most popular film genres, but recent movies such as Barbarian and Nope show that horror-driven plots are, in fact, nothing more than a way to tell a bigger story. bigger and more important. In the case of both of these movies, the horror elements play a vital role in brutally exposing the worst of humanity and what is called civilization.
A24, for example, has influenced a whole wave of so-called “elevated” horror movies that are really just socially conscious movies, committed to scaring viewers with how realistically they can be inserted into real life. . In this case, killers, entities or intruders are eclipsed by the one and only enemy: society.
Her House (2020)
Using elements of Sudanese folklore and creating a poignant atmosphere, His House follows a young refugee couple as they struggle to adjust to their new life in an English town after a mysterious entity sets out after them.
His house couldn’t have come out at a more relevant time as the subject of immigration continues to spark heated debates all over the world. It is undeniable that refugees bring their traditional culture wherever they go, and His House uses an overwhelming evil force as a metaphor for the oppressive forces that attempt to control immigrants as they please and erase the rich culture and values they bring with them.
Barbarian (2022)
Arguably the most acclaimed horror movie of the year, Barbarian is the kind of movie where it’s best to go spoiler-free for the full experience. In the film, an accidentally double-booked Airbnb is the first of the frightening obstacles Tess faces when she arrives in Detroit for a job interview.
Barbarian unveils a chaotic Detroit engulfed by devastated cityscapes and abandoned neighborhoods, haunted by a constant threat – a “monster” that represents decades of patriarchal oppression disguised in a seemingly progressive era: beautiful facades that hide a disturbing reality in below.
It Follows (2015)
It Follows has one of the most terrifying curses in all horror movies, and the way it may seem too absurd or bizarre to some, it’s actually a very simple analogy to the issue of sexually transmitted diseases and the way people tend to minimize their danger until they end up contracting one.
The film exposes a sexually repressed society and its harmful effects on a youth who lack sex education. Social issues are embodied in a shifting entity that tirelessly marches towards its victims, consuming their sanity until it finally reaches them and returns to the previous recipient. of the curse.
Get Out (2017)
One of the most relevant social commentary films in recent memory, Get Out established Jordan Peele’s sophisticated horror voice inserted into a socially conscious storyline. The film follows young black man, Chris, as he sets out to visit the remote family home of his white girlfriend, a weekend that starts out promising but gradually turns into an absolute nightmare.
Get Out shows a social problem that prevails after decades and decades of fighting for racial equality: structural racism. The movie cleverly reveals all the possible red flags in the family of Chris’ girlfriend’s behavior, even though they act seemingly harmless for most of the movie: the overly polite manners, the insistence on gaining Chris’s trust, and the subtle gaslight that leads to a shocking truth.
Holy Spider (2022)
Holy Spider is part serial killer POV horror and part complex crime thriller told from the perspective of a journalist in the conservative Iranian city of Mashhad. The film tells the true story of the “Spider Killer”, guilty of murdering several sex workers in order to clean the street of “sinners” as a divine duty.
Holy Spider does an incredible job of exposing all the dirt and decay of the underworld of Mashhad, as well as dealing with sensitive topics revolving around religious fundamentalism. What frightens most isn’t the Spider Killer’s brutal murders, but the way society accepts his barbaric ideals at ease.
Videodrome (1983)
Truly, any David Cronenberg horror movie can be considered a direct critique of the modern age. What makes his films so chilling is how easily his absurd and disturbing storylines can be applied to 20th-century reality, and Videodrome is no different, telling the story of a man who discovers a bizarre depicting relentless torture and violence that may not be as fake as he initially thought.
In fact, Videodrome is Cronenberg’s film that best portrays society as the real enemy, tackling two overlooked themes that are still relevant in the current storyline: humanity’s pleasure in the pain of others and the means to shaping and controlling mass culture, subjects that are masterfully inserted into a terrifying story filled with disturbing plots and body horror.
Day of the Dead (1985)
Each George A. Romero film offers insightful social commentary on issues such as racism, class discrimination, or gun control. It is therefore quite logical that he imagined his zombie films to express the revolt and disappointment in the face of a collapsing society, thus shaping an entire genre in cinema.
More than a traditional zombie apocalypse film, Day Of The Dead exposes the controversial truth of how quickly society can crumble when handed over to armed authorities no longer subordinate to a higher power. In the film, a group of scientists working on a cure are constantly oppressed by the military tasked with protecting them, in a scenario where humans pose a far deadlier threat than the zombies that overwhelm them.
The Host (2006)
Bong Joon-ho is one of the most adept directors when it comes to exposing Western oppression and modern imperialism. Years before he offered the emotional Okja in English, he tackled important environmental guidelines with the story of a family torn apart after the attack of a horrific mutant monster.
The creature in the film is only the result of American negligence, a monstrous embodiment of Western obstinacy in the face of the consequences of their actions in developing countries. By the time The Host comes to an end, it’s clear that the creature itself is also a victim of the botched advances of a civilization that doesn’t belong there.
Candyman (1992)
Candyman is a terrifying entity that represents centuries of racial violence and discrimination, a sort of spiritual recipient who channels tons of rage and resentment. The fact that Candyman primarily haunts a black neighborhood extends the horror film’s social commentary to an even more painful truth: how poor areas force communities to turn on themselves, in an endless spiral of violence.
The original film is not told from the point of view of a white woman for no reason, it plays with the trope of the white savior as young Helen Lyle becomes entangled in an event of unattainable proportions, a ghastly reality beyond of repair where the last thing left to do is to die a martyr while the legend of the Candyman grows stronger.
The Purge (2013)
The main story of The Purge revolves around a utopian government policy that allows a 12-hour period when all illegal activity is legal in order to counter overcrowded prisons.
Although all of this may seem too absurd at first, the truth is that humans only live in harmony because they have to. When all sense of morals and rules is taken away from them, nothing prevents them from practicing the disruptive instincts they keep to themselves. The concept becomes clear when every character in the film ends up giving in to violence at some point, either because they find it amusing or because there is no other way to protect themselves.
10 horror movies where the real villain is society | Pretty Reel