Horror has got to be the most cyclical genre.

There are always phases and trends which come along, dominate, then eventually fade away.

The 30s were dominated by gothic Horror.
The 50s by Sci-Fi Horror.
The late 60s and early 70s saw numerous Satanic horror films.
The early 80s was slasher mania. You also had many practical effects showcases. Gore was ramped up as was nudity.
The mid-80s brought about a bunch of Horror-Comedies. Along with dozens of sequels. Franchises became a big thing.
The 90s was a dry spot but the late 90s had many 'Scream-lite' teen flicks. Whilst J-Horror was really taking off.

The early 00s had numerous phases going on;
- You had the remakes both of slasher classics plus the westernized adaptations of East Asian Horror.
- You had what people call torture porn (Saw, Hostel, the French extremism wave). I'd also add Final Destination to this. FD and Saw were all about elaborate death set pieces. Rob Zombies early films also fall into this edgy era.
- Numerous found footage films came about post-Blair Witch.

The early 10s saw the jump scare paranormal boom. Such as Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Conjuring, Sinister. This era was all about making scary films. Many had little blood, swearing or nudity. They thrived on the fear/anticipation of the jumpscare/startle effect.

The mid 10s saw the rise of 'elevated Horror' or as I like to call it Hipster Horror. Where critical acclaim is the name of the game. It has to be 'art'. Films aren't being made for the general Horror fan to have a fun time but with big aspirations.

I'm not the biggest fan of this hipster trend. It's all a bit pretentious and snobby. I'm eagerly awaiting what comes next.