The Horror Genre’s Unique Autopsy of Our Times

Terrifying Films Are Feasting Off Real-World Nightmares—And Experiencing a Global Renaissance

You know it’s been a bad year when making a “Masque of the Red Death” reference this Halloween season seems banal and obvious. What use is there for the genre of horror when the morning’s glance at our news feed can turn into a vicious mental spiral? When the White House seems to have become America’s haunted house? The contagion premise—which has provided uncountable zombie narratives since the 2002 premiere of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later—can seem downright ghoulish in the middle of a global pandemic.

On the other hand, horror …