Damien Leone, 2025 has proved you wrong
- Gillian Henderson
- Aug 31, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 1, 2025
2025 has proven that horror is most definitely a political form of cinema.
Terrifier has rose from a once indie slasher to a prospering franchise, with Art the Clown quickly skyrocketing to horror icon status. However, director and franchise creator Damien Leone faced criticism earlier this year after claiming that his films are not political and are made "purely for entertainment". These comments were made by the filmmaker after Art the Clown's actor, David Howard Thornton, has repeatedly expressed his left-leaning views online. Leone's post was met with backlash from the horror community, who felt that the director's statements ignored the history of the genre and the gendered violence within the Terrifier films. Not to mention the overt Christian symbolism in the most recent addition to the franchise, Terrifier 3.
In response to Leone's statement, many journalists have already expressed that the horror genre is steeped in political history by reflecting the societal anxieties of the time the films were made. However, since Leone sparked the debate around horror and politics in February, a number of great horror films have released in 2025 with overt political themes and messages. Noticeably, 2025's horror has taken a sharp turn towards women's rights and their bodily autonomy. This isn't shocking given the current discussions around abortion bans and the frequent judgement of women's bodies, with the apparent rise of the ultra-thin body ideal once again. This was explored in Emily Blichfeldt's The Ugly Stepsister, a dark retelling of Cinderella, where her stepsister Elvira goes to extreme and gruesome lengths to be seen as beautiful. The film explicitly showcases the beauty standards forced upon women, with Elvira undergoing brutal facial adjustments and a harrowing weight loss technique involving a tape worm. The film is by no means the only horror film to explore what being the 'perfect woman' is, with 2025 seeing the release of Companion by director Drew Hancock. The film follows Iris (Sophie Thatcher), a lifelike companion robot, as she takes a vacation with her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid) and his friends. Throughout the film, Iris lacks any form of bodily autonomy as most of her actions are created through vocal commands from Josh. Not only this, but Josh chooses her outfits (which are often reminiscent of a 1960s housewife) and sets the levels of her intelligence and strength. Though she is eventually able to override her programming, Iris directly reflects the current rulings and discussions surrounding women's bodily rights.
Edinburgh International Film Festival hosted screenings of Julie Pacino's I Live Here Now, a surrealist and whimsical horror film that follows Rose (Lucy Fry) who hides out in a bizarre hotel whilst seeking an abortion. Whilst the film takes a more absurdist approach to its messaging, it certainly still creates a thorough exploration of self-discovery through past traumas and bodily autonomy. The film also stars Matt Rife, who's presence in I Live Here Now seems to contradict the film's messaging. Rife has faced a number of controversies, most notably the backlash he has faced for jokes about domestic abuse in his stand-up specials. Whether the film reflected social issues and anxieties or not, Rife's casting in the film inherently brings up discussions of current political issues. Though, it must be pointed out, the irony of Rife playing a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of his conservative mother.
Women's rights aren't the only topic to be explored by the horror genre in 2025, with Zach Creggers' newest feature Weapons portraying themes of alcoholism, addiction and grief. The film follows Justine (Julia Garner) a teacher who's entire class, apart from one child, got up in the middle of the night and disappeared. What follows is a multi-person POV into the hunt for the missing children, and the mounting accusations that Justine is the mastermind behind their disappearance. Though Creggers has expressed that the film is primarily about addiction and grief, with both Justine and a local police officer Paul (Alden Ehrenreich) relapsing into alcoholism, the director has stated that the film is up to the interpretation of the viewer. Many have pulled comparisons between the missing children and the victims of school shootings, with Brian Tallerico writing for RogerEbert.com : "it's not overly difficult to read the inciting incident of Weapons as an allegory for school shootings". This interpretation of the film certainly shows how we apply current societal anxieties and fears to the horror genre, whether that's the intention of the filmmaker or not. This is one of the main arguments against Leone's statement that his movies aren't political because, inherently, they are. Whether Leone intentionally incorporates political themes into his films or not, the audience will apply their fears and interpretations of what is happening currently in politics onto the horror genre. That doesn't mean that horror films aren't entertaining, it means that every film (even if it is just a killer clown running around performing goofy and gruesome murders) will be interpreted to reflect our current society.
While films will always be interpreted differently, to claim that a horror film is not political is simply untrue. So far 2025 has proved this point confidently with its contribution to horror cinema, and with more upcoming releases, will no doubt continue to prove that horror is an inherently political film genre. So sorry, Damien Leone, 2025 has proved you wrong.
Labee, RT (2025) Sorry, Damien Leone, Horror has Always been Political. Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/write-a-catalyst/sorry-damien-leone-horror-has-always-been-political-2ff6b5f05b3c
Sharf, Z (2023) Matt Rife Ignites Backlash Over Domestic Violence Joke in Netflix Special and Mock 'Apology' That Links to Website for Special Needs Helmets. Variety. Available at: https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/matt-rife-backlash-domestic-violence-joke-fake-apology-1235803818/
Tallerico, B (2025) Weapons. RogerEbert.com. Available at:
Hassenger, J (2025) Hit Horror Weapons Doesn't Have a Deeper Meaning but that's OK. The Gaurdian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/aug/14/hit-horror-weapons-doesnt-have-a-deeper-meaning-but-thats-okay
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