October has arrived, and for many of us this means binge-watching horror films as much as possible.

The horror genre occupies just about every facet of art imaginable: literature, video games and even music. But nowhere is it more prominent than in film.

Being a film geek and all-around pathetic human being, I’ve been thinking a lot about where the genre is today, and how it got there.

Indie culture is more popular than ever, as society has started to lean toward a DIY attitude devoid of dependency on the mainstream. This means that indie film directors are taking a stab at horror films without the presence of a major Hollywood studio to potentially screw it all up, something that I find refreshing.

Indie films that I find especially worthy of viewing are The Babadook, Oculus, It Follows, and Paranormal Activity. The growing presence of indie horror is needed on the film circuit today, as the corporate swine in Hollywood have found the new big cash cow to milk to death.

I am, of course, talking about the reboot.

Nostalgia is very profitable right now, as film companies never seem to stop making horror films that are simply ersatz renditions of films that came before them.

There’s a Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, a Poltergeist reboot, a Texas Chainsaw reboot, and a reboot of just about any film you can imagine.

All these reboots are absolutely terrible.

Why aren’t we creative anymore? Why do we feel the need to ruin things that were fine the way they were?

I’ll take a wild guess and say that the answer is “money.” Hollywood truly is the real horror to be seen here.

Despite this, I’m content with the state of contemporary horror films. The found-footage film, while it may seem commonplace, is generally quite effective, relying more on subtlety and suspense-building rather than simple jump scares and gore.

Also, indie horror films effectively work as an alternative to the reboot, which reminds us of the mediocrity and banality of mainstream Hollywood.

For the most part, I feel good about the current state of horror, and look forward to seeing what real-life national anxieties the genre will react to next.