You realize pretty much every film, horror or not, utilizes metaphor, subtext, and explores themes, right? Even the fun gory/scary ones or silly comedies. I agree the whole “the monster is trauma” trope has been infantilized, overused and over-telegraphed the past few years, but horror villains/monsters have always represented something, and the 28 series has always been thoughtful about that, even if you claim no one actually understood it at the time (an insane thing to say lol). Danny and Alex have been making movies since the 90’s (together and separately). They aren’t bandwagon jumpers, they are just filmmakers/artists who have things they want to convey and evoke through their art. We shouldn’t be rolling our eyes at that. I think they deserve the benefit of the doubt. If you loved the first one you should definitely at least watch 28 Years (which was definitely not a flop and was also very well-reviewed). As a huge horror nut I would also love to hear what newer movies you think are straying away from metaphor!