As a long-time Twi-hard and overall vampire-horror fan, I’ve noticed some interesting media trends. With the devastating state of the American economy, the general public is finding comfort in material things and short-term dopamine bursts. Lipstick, happy-hour clubbing, and movies.
At the end of 2024, theaters were blessed with Robert Eggers’ latest project, Nosferatu – a modern adaptation of the 1922 film. Social media platforms like X and Letterboxd were filled with interpretations of the Gothic film, and I found myself connecting dots like Charlie in It’s Always Sunny…
If seemingly minor things like lipstick sales and restaurant activity were recession indicators, wouldn’t film trends be as well? Horror as a genre has always been used to force audiences to recognize uncomfortable social trends: abusive families in The Shining, sexual degeneracy in Friday the 13th, and total predation in almost all vampire films.
Universal first released Dracula in 1931, right at the start of the Great Depression. Bela Lugosi’s Dracula showcased a strange, foreign man preying on the innocent Western civilization (as most vampire media does) and set forth a domino effect for the early silver screen. Audiences were fascinated by these horrific stories, and Universal responded with Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and many more. It’s almost as though comfort was found in these terrifying tales.
In the late 1950s, Hammer Film Productions began pumping out its own campy interpretations of these classic Gothic horror stories. This rise of genre came with a tumultuous post-WW2 economic period and skyrocketed in the 1970s, as the Cold War impacted the American economy. In the mid-1990s, we got Interview with the Vampire in theatres right as the age of Reaganomics began.
Horror and vampire media took a lull until the mid-to-late 2000s, with True Blood and Twilight taking a major turn in the vampire genre’s image. Audiences still relied on horror to push them through economic turmoil, with shows like The Walking Dead and movies like 28 Days Later soaring into popularity during the aftermath of the 2008 recession. It’s hard not to note the connection between financial stressors and the enjoyment of horror media – whether it be vampires or campy snuff fests. The deeper we get into the Trump administration’s economic failures, the more I see people appreciate Gothic stories. Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein seem to be next on the GPs list after the success of Sinners and Twilight renaissance. I can only hope this shift from vampires means a shift towards prosperity as well.