Gen Z loves horror movies because real life is scary enough

For those in Gen Z, life can be a bit of a monster - an uncertain economy, regular school shootings, a global pandemic.

That's why, with "Obsession" and "Backrooms," they were twice recently lured to the cinema with the promise of scares made for them - a reminder of how difficult but satisfying it can be when filmmakers imagine horrors for a generation trapped in a nightmarish reality.

"The horror genre has kind of changed with Gen Z, which is exploring some darker real-life concepts sometimes, rather than just the blood and stuff like that," said Lauren Cook, therapist and author of "Generation Anxiety: A Millennial and Gen Z Guide for Staying Afloat in Uncertain Times."

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"Obsession", to be fair, has a lot of blood.

How can a plot about a man (Michael Johnston) who makes a wish on a magical toy branch so that the unrequited love of his life (Indie Navarrette) return his affections not involve a little blood?

But the film, directed by 26-year-old YouTuber Curry Baker, also touches on deeper themes, including red pill culture, which promotes the idea that men now live in a world that is systemically biased against them, calls for an end to feminism and yearns for a return to what they perceive as traditional values.

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There's also more than meets the eye in "Backrooms," directed by Gen Z filmmaker Kane Parsons. The psychological horror film starring Chiwetel Ejiofor is about a furniture store owner who descends into his own heart of darkness in his store. Inspired by Parsons' YouTube series, it delves into themes of isolation, trauma, and limited possibilities, terms familiar to Gen Z.

"They like the honesty that horror can bring. It doesn't try to sugarcoat the pill," Cook said of Gen Z. "They can live with that morbidity a little more than maybe previous generations did, where they wanted to put makeup on things and put a smile on them, and I think that's really a strength."

Those who were born approximately between 1997 and 2012 have had to fight a lot of scary things.

The 2008 financial crisis served as an economic backdrop to their childhoods, and a bleak job market, with an even bleaker outlook thanks to AI, is their current reality. Then there were climate catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina, the normalization of active shooter drills in their schools, and a global pandemic. It's been a lot.

Hollywood still thinks it can put fear into them, and it's doing so in a way that is resonating deeply with this generation of moviegoers, according to Kaitlyn Ruano, a 23-year-old high school teacher who reviews movies and TV on her website The Drama Drive-In.

Each generation, she explained, seems to be defined by its own subgenre of horror - from the slashers of the '70s to films like "The Craft" that came out during the "Satanic Panic" of the '80s and '90s.

"Fast forward to the 2000s, and we had horror that almost felt more action-based. That's when we had all the zombie movies, and in my opinion, I think it very much reflects the war on terror in America's sort of militaristic environment there," she said.

"I think because Gen Z tends to be very focused on social issues, that's kind of the defining factor of our generation that horror plays very well with."

The data confirms this.

According to a report published last year by market research firm Statista "of all age groups, Gen Z consumers were the most likely to watch horror movies or TV shows, with a total of 91 percent of them doing so."

Cathy Boxall, global head of entertainment at advertising agency Dentsu, recently cited this report in an article, in which she noted that the number represented "the largest share of any generation."

"Horror is their third favorite genre, after comedy and action, and the numbers are accelerating: Scary films now account for 17% of ticket purchases in North America, up from just 4% a decade ago," wrote Boxall.

Studios are riding this wave to the bank.

According to A24, the studio behind "Backrooms," Parsons is the youngest filmmaker in Hollywood history to release a film that finished first at the weekend box office, after Gen Z helped it gross an estimated $80 million in North America and $120 million worldwide during its opening weekend.

"Obsession," backed by Focus Features and Blumhouse Productions, captured second place that weekend and has grossed close to $150 million since its release on May 15 - an astronomical sum in light of the fact that the film only cost about $750,000 to make.

The success of both films is completely in keeping with Gen Z's penchant for loud, curiosity-sparking content - see "Severance" as an example - that goes viral and brings audiences online to discuss.

"Because we live in an era that is so dictated by the media and our interactions with other people, I guess I would argue that Gen Z likes to be a little more analytical about things than most," Ruano said. "I think Gen Z loves to overthink every piece of content we come across. We were raised on opinionated writing and video essays on YouTube."

According to Ruano, his generation needs to be strong in a world that is politically divisive, has its share of darkness and now has a new definition of "escapism."

Gone are the days when nostalgic, comforting films like "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" brought her joy, she said, because that kind of sunny storytelling can feel "a little insulting."

"Watching shows from the nineties and the 2000s where people graduate and get an amazing job or an amazing internship and all this stuff, you watch it, it's almost frustrating because you're like, wow, was life really that easy back then?" she said. "And look where we are now."

Discover the 25 best horror films of the century, according to website

Source: CNN