Commentary clash over whether horror and politics are crowding film festivals
A Hollywood Reporter column, which IndieWire attributes to filmmaker Joseph Kahn, argues horror films and political posturing dominate festivals. IndieWire says the data shown doesn't establish that horror is crowding out other work.
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The story, neutrally told
Left · 1A column in the Oct. 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine argues that horror films and political messaging are distorting film festivals, saying festivals have become a marketplace where "the bloodiest movie on the screen can spark the biggest bidding war." The Hollywood ReporterLC “where aspiring auteurs compete with movie stars, gore gets dressed up as political commentary and the bloodiest movie on the screen can spark the biggest bidding war.”“This story appeared in the Oct. 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ Left · 1IndieWire attributes the piece to filmmaker Joseph Kahn, describing it as an opinion piece in which Kahn accused festival programmers of letting horror's commercial appeal distort their artistic priorities. IndieWireLC “filmmaker Joseph Kahn accused festival programmers of allowing horror’s commercial appeal to distort their artistic priorities.” Read at IndieWire ↗ Left · 1The column says it has nothing against horror at festivals ("There is nothing wrong with playing horror or lowbrow genre films at prestigious film festivals. I certainly love them"), but objects when festival political activism "crosses wires" with horror fans, so that gore is wrapped in political language in Q&As. The Hollywood ReporterLC “There is nothing wrong with playing horror or lowbrow genre films at prestigious film festivals. I certainly love them.”“Festivals aren’t rewarding leftist politics so much as wrapping gore in political language.” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗
Left · 1It also offers a business explanation: "Horror sells." It describes a buyer's market in which streamers have gained power, festival programmers act like "mini-studio heads," and horror titles draw the biggest acquisitions, citing Netflix paying $17 million for It's What's Inside at Sundance, Neon matching that for Together, and Focus spending a TIFF-record $15 million on Obsession. The Hollywood ReporterLC “Netflix paying $17 million for It’s What’s Inside at Sundance, Neon matching it a year later for Together, Focus spending a TIFF-record $15 million on Obsession”“They are effectively mini-studio heads now, and the agents treat them like it.” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ Left · 1Kahn's stated objection, as IndieWire summarises it, is about what other creative work gets overlooked when an event can screen only a limited number of films. IndieWireLC “Kahn said his objection concerned what other creative work gets overlooked when an event can screen only a limited number of films.” Read at IndieWire ↗ Left · 1In a response piece on Oct. 9, IndieWire's Alison Foreman asked whether there are too many horror movies, and found the genre growing only modestly: Cinema United counted 24 wide-release horror films in 2024, 26 in 2025 and projected 29 for 2026, and Nielsen found horror took 15.8 percent of movie-watching time in October 2024, up from 14.9 percent the year before. IndieWireLC “Cinema United, a movie theater trade group, counted 24 wide-release horror movies in 2024. They recorded 26 films in the same category for 2025 and projected 29 for 2026, suggesting a modest increase.”“in October 2024, horror accounted for 15.8 percent of movie-watching time across traditional TV and streaming, up from 14.9 percent the year before.” Read at IndieWire ↗
Left · 1IndieWire says the column drew online pushback, including from Beyond Fest, which noted on X that Kahn's 2024 horror film Ick premiered at TIFF; it also notes Obsession, the highest-grossing horror film of 2026 so far, sold after debuting in TIFF's Midnight Madness section. IndieWireLC “including from Beyond Fest, which pointed out on X that Kahn’s latest feature, the 2024 horror film “Ick,” had premiered at TIFF.”““Obsession,” so far the highest-grossing horror movie of 2026 worldwide, found its buyer after debuting in TIFF’s Midnight Madness section” Read at IndieWire ↗ Left · 1IndieWire accepts that the cited deals show buyers' investment in horror but says they don't show horror is crowding out other categories, which would require a broader picture of festival purchases, including what distributors passed on and why. IndieWireLC “But those acquisitions alone don’t show that horror is crowding out other film categories at festivals.” Read at IndieWire ↗ Left · 1IndieWire's piece mainly concerns audience fatigue: it notes audience appetite remains strong, especially among U.S. viewers aged 18 to 24, that fans pick titles rather than watching everything, and that anecdotal burnout "doesn’t establish an industry surplus." IndieWireLC “This seems particularly true among U.S. viewers ages 18 to 24, who, in research published this June, were most likely to call horror their “favorite” genre.”“That kind of anecdotal genre fatigue doesn’t establish an industry surplus” Read at IndieWire ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left2 outlets
- Framing
- Both are opinion pieces from lean-left trade outlets. The Hollywood Reporter runs a polemical, satirical column against horror and political posturing at festivals; IndieWire responds with a data-led, more measured look at whether horror is oversupplied.
- Emphasis
- THR stresses festival politics, horror acquisition deals and the loss of indie credibility; IndieWire stresses release and viewing statistics, fan behaviour and the limits of the column's evidence.
- Leaves out or plays down
- THR offers no release or audience figures to back its claim that horror dominates festivals. IndieWire does not engage with the column's critique of festival political culture.
- Charged language
- “Horror Movies and Politics Are Killing Film Festivals”“drowning in bloody genre fare and ideological theater”“Inquisitors”“Fangoria running the gift shop”
- For example
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“The film festival circuit is drowning in bloody genre fare and ideological theater. Whatever happened to indie cred?” — The Hollywood Reporter
“That kind of anecdotal genre fatigue doesn’t establish an industry surplus” — IndieWire
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Horror titles have fetched large festival acquisition prices: about $15 million from Focus for Obsession at TIFF, and $17 million from Netflix for It's What's Inside and a comparable sum from Neon for Together, per both pieces.
- The Hollywood Reporter column says there is nothing wrong with horror at prestigious festivals.
Where accounts differ
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Whether horror is crowding out other films at festivals
- Left
- THR column: horror is the festival darling and most bankable product, with programmers acting as mini-studio heads. IndieWire: the cited deals show buyer investment but not that horror displaces other work; broader purchase data would be needed.
Joseph Kahn person
As described by IndieWire, Kahn argues festival programmers let horror's commercial appeal distort priorities and overlook other work, while saying they love horror at festivals.
“filmmaker Joseph Kahn accused festival programmers of allowing horror’s commercial appeal to distort their artistic priorities.” — IndieWire
““I certainly love them.”” — IndieWire
Film festivals topic
The Hollywood Reporter column portrays festivals as having drifted from a refuge from commercial instincts into a marketplace where horror is the most bankable product.
“The festivals set out to save cinema from Hollywood’s worst instincts, and they ended up stuffing their bleeding intestines into tuxedos and slapping laurels on them.” — The Hollywood Reporter
Horror films topic
IndieWire sees horror growing modestly with strong audience appetite, and not shown to be crowding out other genres at festivals.
“So, the genre does appear to be growing… a bit.” — IndieWire
Left2 articles
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The Hollywood ReporterLC · · Opinion
Horror Movies and Politics Are Killing Film Festivals
Critical Satirical, sweeping column blaming horror's marketability and festival political rhetoric for eroding indie festivals' identity.
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IndieWireLC · · Opinion
Are There Too Many Horror Movies?
Mixed Measured response using industry data to test the column's claims, concluding evidence for crowding-out is lacking and that fan fatigue is anecdotal.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 8 Oct 16:00 First The Hollywood ReporterLC Horror Movies and Politics Are Killing Film Festivals Opinion
- 9 Oct 14:15 +22h 15m IndieWireLC Are There Too Many Horror Movies? Opinion
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.