Summary
As the years pass, the horror genre remains supreme within cinema and Hollywood, with frights and ominous spectacles still being created or reimagined daily in the new streaming landscape.From classic ghost and demon storiesto fresh and original new horror tales from A24, horror continues to hold a firm grip on audiences as of 2025, delivering a movie-going experience unlike any other.
Within the horror genre, it has become commonplace for stereotypical horror tropes to be rehashed over the last few decades, with several movies leaning in on their usage as a part of the filmmaking process. As a result, numerous horror movies have emerged that don’t take themselves too seriously, often blending comedy and horror elements while operating as self-aware, distinct from out-and-out horror movies.
The much-reveredTremorshas undoubtedly amassed a substantial following since its release decades ago, with the monster horror starring Kevin Bacon being draped in 90s charm. Set in the fictional town of Perfection, Nevada, two handymen discover theexistence of burrowing worm monstersthat threaten the small town and its population.
While the threat of the vicious monsters inTremorsholds much mystery and cause for fright, the movie’s lighthearted tone, cheesy one-liners, comedic characters, and performances truly makeTremorsa monster horror that amuses along the way.
Among British films that dabble within the horror genre,Attack the Block, a movie that saw John Boyega before his rise to stardom, weaves in UK banter alongsideterrifying aliens that run rampantwithin a block tower in London. The movie’s premise revolves around a group of teenagers who find themselves cornered by an alien invasion on their block, forcing them to fight for their survival with unlikely allies by their side.
While the aliens and the tension they cause are certainly petrifying,Attack the Block’s sprinkling of British slang and culture, along with Moses and his friend’s hilarious overconfidence in taking on the ominous fiends, lends itself to the creative and fun filmmaking at hand.
Before Sam Raimi’s time spent working on hisSpider-Mantrilogy, the horror connoisseur delivered theEvil Deadtrilogy, with his second entry in the franchise,Evil Dead 2, building on the success of its predecessor. However, its excess in over-the-top chaos, unfiltered gore, and dated monster designs makeEvil Dead 2a jaw-dropping spectaclethat opts not to take itself seriously, more so than the first film in the trilogy.
Evil Dead 2reestablishes Ash Williams and his girlfriend Linda, who come across a recording that unleashes demonic forces seeking to possess and traumatize them while secluded in a small cabin. What unfolds is pure carnage and slapstick horror of the highest order, as laughing rooms and practical effects run wild, creating a pure, entertaining horror that is aware of its own absurdities.
One of the more fun horrors to release within the last decade isHappy Death Day, a modern slasherthat utilizes many horror tropes to bring forth a vibrant and original premise in the genre.Happy Death Dayfollows Theresa Gelbman, a college student whose world is turned upside-down when an unknown masked individual murders her. However, Theresa is soon faced with the reality of being locked in an infinite time loop, living the same day, with her mission being to try to identify her killer to stop the never-ending cycle.
Combining slasher tropes with the concept ofGroundhog Day, the movie plays into typical slasher clichés through the incorporation of self-aware humor and campy elements, as Theresa relives her inescapable hell, lightening the mood throughout an often bloody affair.
Very few horrors completely deliver a brilliant movie, jokingly mocking the typical tropes expected within slasher horrors, likeTucker & Dale vs. Evil, a slasher comedy that offers a wealth of laughs amidsthorrendous deaths. The movie follows two hillbillies, Tucker and Dale, who suddenly become entangled in a sticky situation when a group of college students believe them to be gruesome murderers, when in fact, the pair are kind and generous souls, with the murders surrounding them coming through misunderstandings or tragic accidents.
Playing on slasher genre conventions such as young and dumb college students and menacingly-looking axe-wielders, the movie’s absurd premise and hilarious death sequences that flip the script on what we expect from slasher moviesbring forth a truly comical experience.
One of the most popular and acclaimed horrors of the 21st century,The Cabin in the Woodsconstantly challenges audiences and their expectations, deconstructing familiar horror tropes. Following a group of popular college students who stay in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, the group slowly starts to become victims of the mysteries of their location.
The Cabin in the Woods’sexamination of tropes such as the use of stereotypical split-up situations when in danger and character archetypes illustrates the movie’s awareness.However, the movie’s surprising revealfully embraces the genre’s formulaic script, acting as a love letter to the mountains of horror movies that came before.
The British cult classic,Shaun of the Dead, the movie that put Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost on the map, is the ultimate horror movie that chooses not to take itself seriously. In a common theme with many of Wright’s films,Shaun of the Dead’shilarious approach to the horror genresees Pegg star as Shaun, a directionless man whose ambitions and needs leave his girlfriend reeling, while he and his lazy best friend Ed become stuck in a zombie apocalypse that intertwines with his personal life.
Shaun of the Dead,in particular, out of Wright’s filmography, toes the line between comedy and seriousness, heavily evoking British humor and sensibilities to break up the horror elements of zombies that threaten society, with Pegg and Frost’s often nonchalant buddy cop behavior turning the movie into acertifiedwinner.
