Social horror of the XXI century: what films tell about and why they should be watched

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A life hacker understands stories that are not only frightening, but also make you think about important topics.

How the genre appeared

Before reaching a new level of development, the horror industry almost died. It happened in the early 90s with the appearance of the famous film "The Silence of the Lambs". Then many viewers and directors realized that they had already seen enough of giant monsters and haunted houses. The latest trend of the 80s - slashers with masked maniacs - outlived its own, losing popularity.

Therefore, the nineties can be called the heyday of thrillers and at the same time the decline in the popularity of horror movies. Only rare outbursts like "The Scream", which were more ironic over the genre than continued it, again reminded of past successes.

But with the onset of the 21st century, horror has returned to the screens again. For this, the directors had to remember one important truth.

A good horror movie is always about people, not monsters.

The most successful horror films always somehow resonate with real life, and therefore it is impossible to use exclusively classical clichés in the new time. So, in 1999, the film "The Blair Witch" appeared, completely destroying the canon approach to filming: all the action in it is shown as realistic as possible and allegedly filmed on an amateur camera by eyewitnesses.

Subsequently, this technique was used in "Paranormal Activity" and "Monster". This allowed the viewers to feel that they themselves could become participants in such events.

And director Danny Boyle became one of the 21st century pioneers in the genre of social horror. After all, if you think about it, his "28 Days Later", which is considered one of the best horror films of modern times, is not at all dedicated to the apocalypse, but to the problem of growing aggression in society. And it's not for nothing that in this picture, many survivors behave no better than monsters.

What topics does social horror cover?

The real heyday of the genre came sometime after 2010. Of course, classic horror movies began to recover in parallel: Astral and The Conjuring by James Wang, The Oculus, Sinister and many other films that, with high-quality filming and a good script, simply entertained and frightened the viewer.

But at the same time, unusual author's horror films began to gain popularity, in which the creators were forced to look differently at such urgent problems as family relationships, human communication, racism, and raising children.

It was they who gave the genre a new life. The purpose of such films is not only to scare the viewer. They make you think about the plot and the reasons for what is happening and, perhaps, try to imagine yourself in the situations of the heroes. Here there is a conditional division into plots about family and relationships and pictures about the shortcomings of society.

Horror films about family

Mama

• Spain, Canada, 2013.
• Horror, thriller, drama.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

You can start with Andres Muschetti's debut film "Mama" (not to be confused with the painting by Darren Aronofsky), based on his own short film. This is the story of two girls who survived in the forest for several years under the supervision of some supernatural "mother". Later they are taken to be raised by the father's brother and his wife. But "mom" is not going to give up "her" children.

At first glance, the structure of the film resembles a classic horror movie, in which there is a monster, creaking doors and other standards. Moreover, the picture was produced by Guillermo del Toro himself, and his influence on the visual series is felt very strongly.

But in fact, in this story, the director asks an eternal question related to raising children. Who will the girls be better off with: happy new parents or with a strange and even frightening, but "native" mother? Moreover, Muschetti does not answer this question directly, allowing the audience to reflect on the ending themselves.

It is more important for him not to deduce morality, but to show the conflict itself, as well as changes in people: for example, Jessica Chastain as a stepmother goes from a selfish rocker to a mother who is ready to sacrifice herself for the sake of her adopted children.

Babadouk

• Australia, 2014.
• Horror, mysticism.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

Australian actress Jennifer Kent made her debut in directing a big movie with a completely original project. As in the case of Muschetti's Mama, Kent initially created the short, and only then completed the script for the full film.

And again a seemingly classic plot: Amelia's mother brings her little son Sam a children's book called "Babaduk". The monster from the book becomes real, possesses the mother and begins to create horrors.

But Kent did not build the film around ordinary monsters jumping out of the dark. She decided to show the audience the depths of consciousness of any ordinary person. So, in the 60s, after the mass poisoning of pregnant women with an experimental drug, the screens were filled with stories about creepy children-monsters who torture their mothers and the whole world (remember, for example, "Rosemary's Baby").

And Jennifer Kent seems to show this fear from the other side. Sam is a withdrawn and sickly child, Amelia is a single mother. Of course, she often gets tired of her son, and when he gets sick, she generally goes into hysterics.

Babaduk here is not some otherworldly creature. He is only a reflection of the mother's anger towards her son. Moreover, Kent explains that it is impossible to completely overcome your internal aggression. Everyone still experiences negative emotions and is angry even at their loved ones. But a person is only able to keep aggression under control for the sake of himself and those around him.

Witch

• USA, UK, Canada, Brazil, 2015.
• Horror.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

And one more film, which at the beginning of viewing may seem completely standard, but then it will be fully revealed, revealing the secret sides of human relationships. And again, a newcomer to directing, this time Robert Eggers.

According to the plot of the film "The Witch" in the 17th century, the family of William and Catherine was expelled from the settlement. He and four children lived quietly near the forest, until one day a witch stole their newborn child. The accusations fell on the eldest daughter Thomasin, who did not follow her brother. And then everything only got worse.

The idea behind this film is not witchcraft or evil spirits at all. And that is why the director tried to shoot as naturalistically as possible: most of the shots are shown here in natural light in rather pale colors.

The main focus of fear and mysticism is the forest, which the heroes are afraid of. Although the worst thing happens not somewhere in the thicket, but right in their house. The main focus is on family communication. At some point, it turns out that they all periodically lie to each other and hide something. And it is precisely this mistrust that ultimately leads to disaster.

The director does not set himself an end in itself to show something creepy, refusing to use screamers and blood streams. Rather, he makes the viewer think about how much he himself trusts loved ones and how long he lied to his relatives, even without a good reason.

A similar topic now appears in the cinema more and more often, remember at least the semi-comedic "Ideal Strangers" with a huge number of remakes. But in the horror genre, they rarely talk about her, although it is here that you can clearly show how destructive mutual suspicions are.

Moreover, for greater realism, Eggers does not give a clear interpretation of the ending, since both the happy ending and the direct dark ending would be too predictable.

Instead, the director leaves room for thought to the viewer. Maybe there really was a witch among the family members, or maybe it was they who created the monster by their behavior. For each, the answer will be different.

Quiet place

• USA, 2018.
• Horror.
• Duration: 90 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

A couple of years before "A Quiet Place", the dark thriller "Don't Breathe" had already been released, where a significant part of the action was built on silence. But still, in the new film, director John Krasinski took this idea to a new level.

Evelyn and Lee Abbott live with their children on a remote farm. They spend their whole lives in silence, because somewhere nearby there is a monster that reacts to sound. But children find it difficult not to make noise all the time, especially since young Regan is deaf from birth.

John Krasinski not only directed the picture, but also played in it. And the role of his character's wife went to Emily Blunt - Krasinski's real wife. In addition, shortly before the start of work on the painting, the couple had a child. And if you think about it, the most important part of "Quiet Place" is devoted to the topic of communication in the family.

The heroes had a tragedy - a child died. But they can't even discuss it normally and cry to each other, because they are forced to keep silent all the time. And this is again a story about the difficulties of relationships, when the silence and silence in the family frightens more than the noise and scream.

Reincarnation

• USA, 2018.
• Horror, drama.
• Duration: 127 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

The picture of another newcomer, Ari Astaire, was dubbed by many as the best horror film of 2018. At the same time, the advertising campaign worked against him in many ways: after watching the trailer, viewers went to the cinema for an ordinary horror movie and waited for screamers and murders, but saw a strange slow story filled with metaphors and the logic of sleep.

The plot tells about a family in which a domineering grandmother died. After her death, strange things begin to happen to each of the closest relatives. And it is not clear whether the matter here is in some kind of evil spirit or simply in the legacy.

In the course of the action of the film, you can even get confused who is the main character here, because "Reincarnation" alternately talks about all the characters. But the main idea of this story is already contained in the original title Hereditary, that is, "Heredity".

The author of the film shows that it is almost impossible to get rid of the ancestral heritage. Even if a person does not realize this himself, he is irresistibly attracted to continue the affairs of his family.

One of the heroines of the film creates miniature models of everything she sees, including her house. And we can say that all the characters themselves live in such a toy house and cannot escape from it. Their family heritage is their cage.

Horror films about society

It

• USA, 2014.
• Horror, thriller.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

In this 2014 film (not to be confused with the film adaptations of Stephen King), another not well-known director David Robert Mitchell decided to address an important social problem - promiscuous sexual relations and dangerous diseases.

According to the plot, the main character Jane has sex with an unfamiliar guy and then finds out that a curse was passed on to her. Now Jane is being pursued by a terrible monster, from which it is impossible to escape. The idea is simple and straightforward: you need to get to know the person better before going to bed with him. Well, you should not forget about contraception.

However, at the same time, Mitchell does not turn the film into a propaganda brochure, but simply shows an excellent horror, often referring to his idol David Lynch and horror classic David Cronenberg. And yet, in the end, the picture leaves an interesting residue that makes you think.

Away

• USA, 2017.
• Horror, satire.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

The story of this film is inseparable from the personality of its author - director and screenwriter Jordan Peel. For many it was a complete surprise that the comedian and satirist decided to turn to horror. But, as it turned out, the actual and important topic of racism can be played up in this genre as well.

Black photographer Chris and his white girlfriend Rose visit her parents. He worries that the Rose family will be against their union, as the girl's parents seem to be retrogrades from the upper classes. However, they make the guest feel welcome, although Chris senses that something is wrong with them. And this is clearly related to his skin color.

Jordan Peele, as a talented author, chose not to show the problem of racism corny and head-on. The main character is not humiliated. On the contrary, everyone around and guests of the house admires his body. Only all this resembles admiration for some inanimate object and the desire to somehow get closer to modern trends.

As a result, Peel shows in what terrible forms the desire to conform to fashion in everything can pour out, and clearly hints at the dangers that arise in a new political situation. The characters in this film are so eager to prove their tolerance that they do terrible things. At the same time, the police do not believe that a black person could become a victim of a crime. In all this, of course, there is a grain of grotesque and humor. But still the plot is very topical.

It

• USA, 2017.
• Horror.
• Duration: 135 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

Surprisingly, a place for sociality was found in the new film adaptation of the classic novel by Stephen King. And this brings the film closer to the ideas of the writer himself, who very often showed in his books that the main evil is people themselves. Just remember the famous "Carrie", where an introverted girl was bullied at school and at home.

The general plot of the film is known to many: in a small town, children begin to disappear - they are dragged into the sewers by the sinister clown Pennywise. But none of the adults wants to believe in the existence of a monster, and therefore a group of rogue children who have called themselves a "club of losers" have to confront him.

Of course, before the release of the film, everyone remembered the classic 1990 film adaptation, where Pennywise was played by Tim Curry. But it is not for nothing that the first version of the script for the new version was written by Carey Fukunaga, the director of the first season of True Detective. And the creator of Mama, Andres Muschetti, a master of realistic horror films, was entrusted to shoot the picture.

Yes, this movie also has a monster stealing children. But still the new "It" is about people, not about clowns. The life of the "losers' club" is poisoned by those around them and, first of all, by their parents, and Pennywise only visually embodies their fears.

The sick Eddie is stuffed with medicine by his mother - he sees a leper on the street. Beverly's father does not want his daughter to grow up - she sees rivers of blood in the sink, clearly associated with changes in her body.

Pennywise is just a marker here, showing the flaws of a society that persecutes weak and unusual children. That is why there is not a single positive adult character in the entire film.

Suspiria

• Italy, USA, 2018.
• Horror, thriller.
• Duration: 152 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

This film by Luca Guadagnino is based on the 1977 film of the same name directed by Dario Argento, the master of the genre of "giallo" (bloody stories filled with eroticism and violence). But if in the original the author tried to simply scare the viewer and show as much cruelty and explicit scenes as possible, then the remake created a deeper atmosphere.

In the story, an American dancer comes to Germany in the 70s to enroll in a ballet school. But it turns out that the teachers of this school are witches who worship ancient goddesses. In the new version of the film, everything that happens is directly related to real historical events that take place in Germany. And it is easy to see that the witches who run the school do their best to protect their students from the cruelty of the world around them. As a result, they themselves are building an almost totalitarian society.

In addition, by the end, an idea is revealed that can be associated with religion and politics. Witches, who served the supreme beings for many years, eventually began to consider themselves gods. Like many representatives of religious sects or politicians, they have forgotten that they are only chosen to fulfill a certain role and can lose their powers at any moment.