Abby Meyers

Over the last ten years, elevated horror has seen a surge in popularity. These movies deal more with the metaphorical, tackling themes like grief, generational trauma, and identity. This sort of below-the-surface subject matter lends itself to a specific kind of horror, one that doesn’t typically rely on jump scares or bloodbaths. It’s about something deeper…creepier.

From 2000 to 2023, Jonathan Glazer has glided skillfully across several genres with a strong, distinctive style and uncompromising vision. His work is sparse—just four features in a little over two decades, but each one of them is meticulously made, hypnotically unsettling, and philosophically loaded. He resists offering viewers comfort or catharsis, instead confronting our complicity in dehumanization. Slow and deliberate, Glazer’s films ask you to sit in long silences and moral ambiguity.

Recently, television budgets across the board have been tightening. Unscripted TV specifically seems to be suffering, with funding being slashed and executives fearful of green-lighting original concepts. But for long-running franchises that have proven to be safe bets, budgets are blowing up. Networks are pouring money into high-end filming locales, celebrity hosts, elaborate set designs, and larger prize pots.