Horror films were reviled as one step up from pornography – now the genre is a force to be reckoned with

Horror’s fingerprints are everywhere, not just in the grindhouse and VOD, but in mainstream multiplex fare – now Demi Moore and Lady Gaga are joining the gore-fest

Brat summer is yesterday’s news. Brace yourself for horror autumn, which offers something for everyone. Like it elevated? Try Red Rooms, in which a Canadian model becomes obsessed with a serial killer on trial for torturing women to death on the dark web. Partial to French feminist auteur extremism? Look no further than Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, with Demi Moore as an ageing actor who subjects herself to the sort of body horror more usually associated with early David Cronenberg than with the star of Ghost. Enjoyed Hugh Grant’s villain in Paddington 2? Watch him repurpose his malicious charm to more sinister effect in Heretic, written and directed by A Quiet Place scribes Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.

Horror is the little genre that could. While 2024’s tentpole releases were struggling, before the summer’s double whammy of Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine, horror never stopped plugging away, week after week, mostly under the critical radar. Films such as Immaculate and Abigail reaped healthy returns, while Oz Perkins’ breakthrough hit, Longlegs, has made almost 10 times its budget. Horror doesn’t require lavish spending or costly stars and its loyal fans will happily turn up to watch any old devil doll, nun or exorcism, ever hopeful of stumbling across an inspired nugget of nastiness.

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