‘Mainstream’ Horror

This chapter reflects on how the year 2017 saw a renaissance in horror cinema, the genre as a whole becoming 'mainstream'. It looks at the parameters of the term 'mainstream horror', and how it relates to the genre as it developed through the years. The chapter then considers a film that succeeded in capturing the imaginations, and box-office dollars, of traditional and non-traditional horror audiences around the world. Capitalising on renewed interest in the work of Stephen King, the 2017 adaptation of his epic novel IT quickly became the highest grossing R-rated horror film of all time. Encompassing many of the themes and ideas covered in the previous chapters, Andy Muschietti's It provides a fascinating barometer for the state of horror cinema as we approach the third decade of the twenty-first century.