Bold Voice of Contemporary Horror Panel Explores Shifting Tactics at Comic-Con

Moderated by Michael Lerman, co-founder and director of programming at the Overlook Film Festival, the discussion featured actor Dan Stevens, actress Deborah Ann Woll, director Zachary Wigon, and filmmaker Dave Boyle. Curated by Rachel Walker, the panel examined how horror creators are blending tones, incorporating humor, and treating the genre as a mystery-driven narrative.

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• Dan Stevens – Star of AMC’s “The Terror,” argued that integrating humor can “ground a story” and add humanity to extreme scenarios.

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• Deborah Ann Woll – Star of Shudder’s upcoming thriller “The Cycle,” highlighted the appeal of films that shift between sub-genres, citing “The Descent” as an example of fluid storytelling.

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• Zachary Wigon – Director of “Victorian Psycho,” described horror as “a subgenre of mystery,” emphasizing the audience’s role in piecing together disparate narrative “patches.”

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• Dave Boyle – Director of the SXSW audience-award winner “Never After Dark,” linked his action-film background to the precision required for effective horror filmmaking.

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• “I mentioned ‘The Descent’ as being one of my favorite movies. Part of the reason for that is that it shifts,” — Deborah Ann Woll, star of Shudder’s upcoming thriller “The Cycle.”

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• “I think that the thing that really prepared me to jump into the genre was working on action, just because of how precise and communicative you have to be,” — Dave Boyle

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• “Something I’m pleased to see spreading at the moment is horror with more humor attached,” — Dan Stevens, star of AMC series “The Terror.”

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• “I feel like horror is a subgenre of mystery,” — Zachary Wigon, director

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The panel’s consensus suggests that contemporary horror is moving beyond singular scares toward hybrid forms that mix psychological, survivalist, and creature-feature elements. Creators emphasized the importance of “withholding information” to create larger payoffs, a tactic that aligns horror with mystery structures. The rise of humor within horror, as noted by Stevens, points to a broader industry trend where producers are more receptive to tonal complexity.

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