Lots and lots of horror now are becoming more multi genre and sitting in adjacent zones. Strange Darling was another one. And especially the horror dramas that deal with grief, which is a lot of them these days. Unfortunately lots of people still think horror equals boo moments. A good reason horror has so many sub genres is because it can work in so many different ways.
Holy shit! I think you described me and my filmmaking?? I have literally been told this about my last short films! I thought I had made some kind of mistake. So weird. Thanks for this! Really..
This definitely describes my current feature project. I like to call the sub-genre ‘social horror’ and I think early 2000s asian horror films like Pulse and Suicide Club were precursors.
Great article! I’d be very curious of your thoughts on my new YouTube webseries The Hounds Of Asterisk. I think it actually fits this ‘not quite horror’ genre- I’ve been calling it “cringe core”, focusing on social anxiety and internet culture. It’s been tough to categorize, but encouraging to see there’s others fascinated by this sort of existential dread also. Very interesting to see this new wave of meta horror emerging!
Jeff, this piece's strongest insight is that these stories are about watching a person become a monster from the inside.
However, the essay stops short of articulating the deeper why. It attributes the phenomenon primarily to internet culture, attention economies, and social alienation. These are all valid, but ultimately proximate causes, not root causes. I'd like to see the piece expanded on the unspoken conceit underlying these films, which is more metaphysical: they reflect a culture that has lost a stable orienting principle (whether understood as God, moral order, or the Jungian Self).
In earlier eras, horror often reaffirmed a boundary: evil existed, but it was "Other", and there were structures (religious, moral, communal) that could contain or name it. In these newer films, that boundary has collapsed. The individual is no longer protected by a coherent moral framework, and so the Jungian Shadow is not something to be confronted, but instead something that emerges unchecked and ultimately possesses.
What these films dramatize, then, is the characters are not simply corrupted by technology. They are unmoored, lacking any transcendent reference point against which to measure or resist their impulses. The result is a kind of psychological free fall where attention, validation, and notoriety become the only remaining “gods,” and they are insufficient to prevent disintegration.
I'd love to see you expand on the throughline of this emerging genre, as not just that we are watching monsters be made, but that nothing remains in the culture strong enough to stop the transformation. Or, as Dostoevsky observed, “If God does not exist, everything is permitted.”
Really interesting article, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I especially appreciated this: "Horror and thrillers focus on the fears we deal with every day." I think this is one of the reasons why I, a pretty gentle, quiet, introverted creative, tend to enjoy (some) horror and many thrillers/suspense books and movies--for exactly this reason. Thanks for the thought-provoking read today.
Interesting to see other people have seen and appreciated this movie. A few weeks ago I wrote a deep analysis for this movie on my Substack. Curious to see what you think about it.
Lots and lots of horror now are becoming more multi genre and sitting in adjacent zones. Strange Darling was another one. And especially the horror dramas that deal with grief, which is a lot of them these days. Unfortunately lots of people still think horror equals boo moments. A good reason horror has so many sub genres is because it can work in so many different ways.
On your suggestion I saw Undertone. You were so right. Very creepy and gave me a constant uneasy feeling.
As a Fan who's always leaned more towards Thrillers, I will be adding these to my watchlist.
Holy shit! I think you described me and my filmmaking?? I have literally been told this about my last short films! I thought I had made some kind of mistake. So weird. Thanks for this! Really..
This definitely describes my current feature project. I like to call the sub-genre ‘social horror’ and I think early 2000s asian horror films like Pulse and Suicide Club were precursors.
I wonder if it's particularly horrifying because we can almost identify with the killers in a way by using social media and AI?
Absolutely
Great article! I’d be very curious of your thoughts on my new YouTube webseries The Hounds Of Asterisk. I think it actually fits this ‘not quite horror’ genre- I’ve been calling it “cringe core”, focusing on social anxiety and internet culture. It’s been tough to categorize, but encouraging to see there’s others fascinated by this sort of existential dread also. Very interesting to see this new wave of meta horror emerging!
Jeff, this piece's strongest insight is that these stories are about watching a person become a monster from the inside.
However, the essay stops short of articulating the deeper why. It attributes the phenomenon primarily to internet culture, attention economies, and social alienation. These are all valid, but ultimately proximate causes, not root causes. I'd like to see the piece expanded on the unspoken conceit underlying these films, which is more metaphysical: they reflect a culture that has lost a stable orienting principle (whether understood as God, moral order, or the Jungian Self).
In earlier eras, horror often reaffirmed a boundary: evil existed, but it was "Other", and there were structures (religious, moral, communal) that could contain or name it. In these newer films, that boundary has collapsed. The individual is no longer protected by a coherent moral framework, and so the Jungian Shadow is not something to be confronted, but instead something that emerges unchecked and ultimately possesses.
What these films dramatize, then, is the characters are not simply corrupted by technology. They are unmoored, lacking any transcendent reference point against which to measure or resist their impulses. The result is a kind of psychological free fall where attention, validation, and notoriety become the only remaining “gods,” and they are insufficient to prevent disintegration.
I'd love to see you expand on the throughline of this emerging genre, as not just that we are watching monsters be made, but that nothing remains in the culture strong enough to stop the transformation. Or, as Dostoevsky observed, “If God does not exist, everything is permitted.”
Great insight - I appreciate it! I was just writing up a short piece on the trend but could definitely go deeper.
Likewise, this also describes my current feature project! My big question though - I agree it’s a new sub genre but what’s the sub genre called?!
I liked “social horror”
Really interesting article, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I especially appreciated this: "Horror and thrillers focus on the fears we deal with every day." I think this is one of the reasons why I, a pretty gentle, quiet, introverted creative, tend to enjoy (some) horror and many thrillers/suspense books and movies--for exactly this reason. Thanks for the thought-provoking read today.
Interesting to see other people have seen and appreciated this movie. A few weeks ago I wrote a deep analysis for this movie on my Substack. Curious to see what you think about it.