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Horror is one of the most popular movie genres, but recent films such as Barbarian and Nope show that horror-focused plotlines are, in fact, nothing more than a vehicle for telling a larger and more important story. In the case of these two films, the horror elements play a vital role in brutally exposing the very worst of humankind and what is known as civilization.
A24, for example, has influenced a whole wave of so-called “elevated” horror movies that are in fact 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 overshadowed by the one and only enemy: society.
His House (2020)
Using elements of Sudanese folklore and crafting a harrowing atmosphere, His House follows a young refugee couple struggling to adapt to their new life in an English town after a mysterious entity begins to chase them.
His House couldn’t have come out at a more relevant time as the subject of immigration continues to ignite heated debates all over the world. It’s undeniable that refugees bring their traditional culture with them wherever they go, and His House uses an overwhelming evil force as a metaphor for the oppressing forces that try to control immigrants at their will 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 film where it’s best going in spoiler-free for the full experience. In the movie, an accidentally double-booked Airbnb is the first of the chilling obstacles faced by Tess as she arrives in Detroit for a job interview.
Barbarian unveils a chaotic Detroit engulfed by devastated urban landscapes and abandoned neighborhoods, haunted by a constant menace — a “monster” that represents decades of patriarchal oppression disguised in a seemingly progressive era: beautiful facades that hide a disturbing reality underneath.
It Follows (2015)
It Follows has one of the most terrifying curses of any horror movie, and the way it may seem too absurd or weird for some, it’s actually a very straightforward analogy to the issue of sexually transmitted diseases and how people tend to undermine their danger until they end up contracting one.
The movie exposes a sexually repressed society and its harmful effects on a youth that lacks sexual education Social problems are embodied in a shape-shifting entity that tirelessly walks towards its victims, consuming their sanity until it finally gets to them and returns to the previous recipient of the curse.
Get Out (2017)
One of the most relevant social commentary movies in recent memory, Get Out established Jordan Peele’s sophisticated horror voice inserted in a socially conscious scenario. The film follows the young Black man, Chris, as he sets out to visit his white girlfriend’s remote family home, a weekend that starts off promising but gradually evolves into an absolute nightmare.
Get Out displays a social problem that prevails after decades and decades of a fight for racial equality: structural racism. The movie cleverly reveals all the possible red flags in the family of Chris’s girlfriend’s behavior, even though they act seemingly harmless throughout most of the film: the overly polite manners, the insistence in getting Chris’ trust, and the subtle gaslight that leads to a shocking truth.
Holy Spider (2022)
Holy Spider is both a serial killer POV horror film and an intricate crime thriller told through the perspective of a female 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 an attempt to cleanse the street of “sinners” as a divine duty.
Holy Spider does an amazing job of uncovering all the filth and decay of the underworld of Mashhad, as well as dealing with delicate topics revolving around religious fundamentalism. What scares the most isn’t the Spider Killer’s brutal murders, but the way society accepts his barbarian ideals at ease.
Videodrome (1983)
Really, any David Cronenberg horror film can be seen as a direct critique of the modern age. What makes his movies so scary is how easily his absurd and disturbing scenarios can be applied to 20th-century reality, and Videodrome isn’t any different, telling the story of a man who discovers a bizarre broadcast featuring non-stop torture and violence that may not be as fake as he initially thought.
In fact, Videodrome is the Cronenberg film that best displays society as the real enemy, addressing two overlooked themes that are still relevant in the current scenario: humanity’s pleasure in the pain of others and the means to shape and control mass culture, topics that are masterfully inserted in a terrifying story packed with disturbing conspiracies and body horror.
Day Of The Dead (1985)
Every single George A. Romero film offers insightful social commentary on matters such as racism, class discrimination, or gun control. It thus makes total sense that he came up with his zombie movies to express the revolt and disappointment towards a society falling apart, consequently shaping a whole genre in cinema.
More than a traditional zombie apocalypse movie, Day Of The Dead exposes the controversial truth of how rapidly society can fall apart when handed to armed authorities that are no longer subordinated to a higher power. In the film, a group of scientists working on a cure is constantly oppressed by the military in charge of protecting them, in a scenario where humans pose a much deadlier threat than the zombies that overwhelm them.
The Host (2006)
Bong Joon-ho is one of the most competent directors when it comes to unmasking Western oppression and modern imperialism. Years before he came up with the emotional English-spoken Okja, he addressed important environmental guidelines with the story of a family torn apart after the attack of a horrifying mutant monster.
The creature of the film is merely a result of American negligence, a monstrous embodiment of Western obstinacy when it comes to dealing with the consequences of their acts in developing countries. By the time The Host gets to the end, it’s clear how the creature itself is also a victim of the sloppy 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 kind of spiritual recipient that channels tons of rage and resentment. The fact that Candyman predominantly haunts a Black district stretches the social commentary in the horror movie to an even more painful truth: of how impoverished areas force communities to turn against themselves, in an endless spiral of violence.
The original film isn’t told from the perspective of a white woman for no reason, it plays with the white savior trope as the young Helen Lyle gets tangled up in an event of unattainable proportions, a dreadful reality beyond reparation where the last thing left to do is die as a martyr while the legend of the Candyman grows stronger.
The Purge (2013)
The Purge‘s main story revolves around a utopian government policy that allows a 12-hour period in which all illegal activity is legal as a way to counter overcrowded prisons.
While the whole thing may sound too absurd at first, the truth is that humans only live in harmony because they have to. When every sense of morality and rules is taken from them, there’s nothing stopping them from putting into practice the disturbing instincts they keep for themselves. The concept becomes clear as every single character of the film ends up giving in to violence at some point, either because they find it amusing or because there’s no other way to protect themselves.
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