Sociology of Horror Films

To celebrate Halloween, let’s take a look at recent interviews and research by sociologists who study horror films. We then check out some sociologist characters from horror films. We end with a stellar example of applied sociology: two horror writer/ directors who studied sociology and had tremendous success.

Collective nightmares

“One of the foundational essays on horror films by the film scholar Robin Wood argues that horror films may be interpreted as the ‘collective nightmares’ of a culture. The fears, anxieties and tensions present in different cultures will therefore impact the popularity of horror films generally and certain horror sub-genres specifically and will play out in the representation and narrative content of individual films.”

Marshall Smith and Laura Patterson (sociologists)

Sociologists Kyle Green and Kelsey Berry (2024) analysed over 150 horror movies from 2016 to 2022. They argue that the trope of the ‘final girl’ has shifted from a moral panic about teenage sexuality, to traumatised mothers and women who prioritise their careers:

“Our protagonists are not subject to terror because of their virtue, but because they have not handled pain in the ‘proper’ way—in fact, even in the moments of greatest danger, we must confront the idea that the threats may be all in the main characters’ heads.”

A valuable skill

Dr Amy Lubitow has been teaching the “Sociology of Horror” since 2017. In a 2025 interview, she reflects on the impact of studying horror films through a sociological lens:

“I think that’s a really valuable skill… to have media awareness of how what you’re seeing is reflecting something else that’s happening in our world, and to be thoughtful about that historical change and to be aware of how it might be shifting or changing in what you’re watching now.”

Mirror of society

Sociologist Laura Patterson teaches an undergraduate class called “Gender, Race, and Chainsaws” and has recently created a short horror film, “Silent Generation.” She says:

“Horror films also let us discuss some of the hardest things that we go through as people… They act as a mirror and can reflect back to us the societal biases and stereotypes that we have. We can look at, for example, who is a victim and who’s a villain, who gets to live and who deserves to die, who can save themselves and who can’t.”

Horror films featuring sociologists

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

The sociologist: Curt Vaughan (Chris Hemsworth) is a sociology major.

The plot: Four university students in the USA go into the woods, although they would have been better off staying home and studying. They are thrust into a horrific capitalist plot to perpetuate fear across the world.

Should you watch it? Yes

Is it gory? Yes

Is it scary? No

Score: 8/10

District 9 (2009)

The sociologist: Sarah Livingstone (Nathalie Boltt) is a sociologist interviewed in the film (she’s in the trailer!).

The plot: A petite bourgeoisie man in South Africa works for the government gleefully evicting interplanetary refugees, until he learns that that fascists often turn on their sympathisers.

Should you watch it? Yes

Is it gory? No

Is it scary? No

Score: 10/10

Candyman (1992)

The sociologist: Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) is a sociology postgraduate student.

The plot: Helen is doing unauthorised ethnographic research about urban legends and folklore in a social housing block in Chicago. One of her participants rescinds informed consent big time, after she cites his name three times.

Should you watch it? Yes, but follow up with Nia DaCosta’s (2021) reboot

Is it gory? Yes

Is it scary? Only a little

Score: 7/10

The Belko Experiment (2016)

The sociologist: To avoid spoilers, all I can say is that this sociologist failed all their undergrad assignments.

The plot: Nightmare USA corporation in Colombia fails to get ethics clearance for an experiment, where workers are ordered to attack their colleagues. Spoiler alert: they won’t pass peer review.

Should you watch it? Maybe. It’s silly and tense

Is it gory? Yes

Is it scary? No, but lots of violence on screen

Score: 6/10

Antebellum (2020)

The sociologist: Veronica Henley (Janelle Monáe) is a famous sociologist and author.

The plot: Veronica gives a public speech that sounds like she graduated from the University of Tumblr, and is promptly kidnapped. She’s forced into slavery and must find a way to escape.

Should you watch it? Probably no

Is it gory? Yes

Is it scary? No, but it’s relentlessly cruel

Score: 6/10

Horror directors who studied sociology

Bong Joon Ho: Korean writer/ director majored in sociology at Yonsei University. His film The Host (2006) is an excellent and funny creature feature about a family that heads on a perilous quest to rescue their daughter from a monster. (The 4K restoration is coming back to cinemas in November!) All of his films are profoundly sociological, especially concerning class inequality.

Roxy Shih: Taiwanese-American writer/ director studied sociology and film studies at the University of California, Irvine. She has directed many horror films (Mira Mira, 2023), and TV series (The Haunted Museum, 2021; Dark/ Web, 2019). Watch her short film, The Visit (2018), below. It is beautiful and enigmatic.

References

1. Clint Talbott (2021) ‘Say Hello to our Collective Nightmares in Horror Films,’ Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine, 27 October, online resource: https://www.colorado.edu/asmagazine/2021/10/27/say-hello-our-collective-nightmares-horror-films
2. Kyle Green & Kelsey Berry (2024). ‘The New Final Girl Shares Her Trauma,’ Contexts 23(2): 58-60. https://doi.org/10.1177/15365042241252132
3. Daniel Strain (2025) ‘CUriosity: What Can Horror Films Teach Us About Society?,’ CU Boulder Today, 30 October, online resource: https://www.colorado.edu/today/2025/10/30/curiosity-what-can-horror-films-teach-us-about-society
4. Jashayla Pettigrew (2026) ‘What Do Scary Movies Reveal About Society? PSU’s “Sociology of Horror” Professor Weighs In,’ KOIN, 29 October, online resource: https://www.koin.com/news/portland/what-do-scary-movies-reveal-about-society-psus-sociology-of-horror-professor-weighs-in/