Editor’s Note: Abby Pickett is a third-year philosophy major. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Point.
The popularity of horror films is on the rise again because filmmakers are turning back to the roots of horror — a shift in aiming to create a deep, lasting feeling of dread coupled with understanding. This is something I especially noticed in this year’s movies “Good Boy,” “Weapons” and “Sinners.”
“Good Boy” is an independent film directed by Ben Leonberg and starring his own dog, Indy. The film centers around Indy and his owner (portrayed by Leonberg), who move to a cabin in the woods where a supernatural being terrorizes the pair.
The film’s ingenuity is shown in the decision to have it be from Indy’s perspective. This enables the film to explore themes of loyalty, fear and vulnerability in a way that’s unique from a human’s point of view — cameras at lower angles, the faces of humans blurred and limited use of dialogue.
The audience is forced to learn what’s happening through sounds, movements and Indy’s reactions.
We are taken out of our human vantage point, leaving us with a disconcerting feeling of not knowing what’s real, imagined or supernatural. This creates a subjective horror of perception. To me, this is more powerful than cheap jump scares, as this film transforms a dog’s everyday behavior into existential dread. Through this, we see a resurgence of psychological depth in horror films.
“Weapons” is a Zach Cregger-directed film centered around a community scrambling to piece together why all but one student mysteriously disappeared from the same class.
When several children vanish in the fictional town of Maybrook, the adults respond in mixed ways. Some are enraged, while others are apathetic. It seems to me like this film is reflecting on how some have viewed the ways society deals with crisis and institutions handle tragedy.
The title, “Weapons,” left me curious. Who is the weapon? The children, adults or the community as a whole? The horror or “weapon” could also be the characters’ individual reactions, which range from violence to indifference.
The film sets itself in a suburban area, imagery that is typically used to reflect normalcy and safety, but its haunted residents are stricken with paranoia. In this film, we see the typical setting for an “American dream” turned into something uncanny and disturbing. The audience is left to wonder if the malice and neglect we hear about on the news is closer to us than we want to imagine, perhaps by the cul-de-sac or even right next door.
“Sinners,” directed by Ryan Coogler, follows the story of twin brothers and their musically inclined cousin, where the twins attempt to escape their past but encounter horrors and vampires far worse than they could have imagined in the process.
“Sinners” engages deeply with identity; the film uses music, setting and horror to explore what it means to be and belong in ways that show the true roots of the genre. The film explores the concepts of morality and self-worth in the twins, Smoke and Stack (portrayed by Michael B. Jordan), especially. Throughout the film, characters ask themselves who they are and what defines them.
The setting is especially important — 1930s Mississippi is a time and place heavy with racial, social and cultural oppression. The threat of the vampires is a metaphorical tool. These supernatural beings exist to assimilate; they are the embodiment of an intrusion of identity, culture and what is required to “belong.”
It’s not a simple monster movie, but a film about what it means to be human, to belong, to resist erasure and to define oneself. Identity is central to the classic horror genre, and “Sinners” contemporizes it beautifully.
Throughout the history of the genre, we can see how horror movies began as a reflection of humanity. Horror is the part of ourselves we’re scared of. 2025 has shown that it can be as much about gore as it can be about hope, and I have renewed high expectations for the genre for next year.
Isa Darisay