Why Gen Z Is Obsessed With Horror

It’s often observed that horror films are a good barometer of pressing cultural anxieties. If so, the weather doesn’t look very good for social interaction right now. Backrooms has just been released, exploiting the spooky Covidian aesthetics of deserted buildings, and taking $118 million in its first weekend. Meanwhile, another low-budget shocker has been crushing the box office for three weeks straight: Obsession, by 26-year-old wunderkind director Curry Barker. To watch this film is to experience unaccountable dread and terror, as you enter the mind of a Gen Z man trying and failing to get a date.