Why are 90% of indy or homemade films horrors?

orchidsofwrath

orchidsofwrath

Active member
Is it me or does just about every home movieist/indy director make horrors? 90% is obviously an exaggeration, but seriously... at least 50% of the non-hollywood stuff i see is horror. Maybe a horror thriller, maybe just a gory horror, maybe a sci-fi horror, but all horror. I don't get it. I'm not saying i hate horror films, but just about every one of my friends who don't know the first thing about movie production come to me with some zombie horror pitch that they think I'll be really stoked about. Their usually not even horror film appreciators, they just wanna make a zombie movie! Its just one genre among many! Why horror?!
I've gotten to the point where i would never even consider doing a horror or anything related because i feel like i'd just be contributing to the already killed and overdone wealth of low-budget indy horrors.

-Any thoughts on this? Has anyone here made the same observation?
 
Probably being a mixture of being easy to make and the easiest to sell. Plus, indy filmmakers tend to consider themselves as avant garde, so they dig on the darkness and the violence.

Me, I'd rather do comedy or sci-fi any day.
 
I didn't wanna say it... But i kind of agree with you guys. I mean almost every other genre requires character development and plot development. For horror its kinda just... make a situtation as scarry as possiple.

EDIT: but ofcourse a GOOD horror (usually hollywood horror films) will have character and plot developement i think
 
Like any genre, horror can be done well, and very well. But it's easier to coast through than most other genres.
 
And don't forget that shooting a horror movie with zombies and blood is alot of FUN :)

My upcoming twilight fest entry for example. I primary made it because of the action sequences. I just wanted to do them so badly. I then put in some zombies and blood and it was one fun shoot!

I know it will not be the best story/film in the world, but I had fun and learned alot and the outcome is still quite well. Never forget the educational factor. And then move on to the next project.
 
It's hard to make money off a drama if you don't have stars or branded actors. In horror, the monster is the star. A lot cheaper to create a monster or get some nobody and slap some fangs on him than hire Brad Pitt.
 
As you probably already know the best selling movies throughout the world are action films. One of the reasons why is that most don't really need to be fluent in english to follow along, almost the same with horror. Horrors are just fun to write and somewhat easy to make (depending on your budget).


I'd say the main reason is that people like a good scare, pretty much anything to get their adrenaline pumping. :Drogar-Love(DBG):
 
David Jimerson said:
Me, I'd rather do comedy or sci-fi any day.
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You mean like Ghostbusters? :)

On topic:

There's a multitude of answers. Someone already said they're easiest to make and sell. I think with the democratization of filmmaking, more and more horror movies are being made by horror fans.
 
I see what you guys are saying. But I'd love to see more action indy movies!
I've seen so many horror indy films I won't even stop to watch them anymore if I see one posted online somewhere! I can see why zombies are fun. But it'd be sweet if everyone moved on to aliens or something. Their fun too. War movies are fun also.

And horror movies really don't sell better than other genres. The biggest blockbusters of all time are mostly some epic-all-audience trilogy like LOTR, Pirates of the Carribean, Harry Potters, Shrek and such. And don't forget, the best selling movie of all time was a romance/drama... Titanic.

Hey, maybe I'm the one who's the sucker missin' out on all the zombie fun though.
 
orchidsofwrath said:
And horror movies really don't sell better than other genres. The biggest blockbusters of all time are mostly some epic-all-audience trilogy like LOTR, Pirates of the Carribean, Harry Potters, Shrek and such. And don't forget, the best selling movie of all time was a romance/drama... Titanic
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By "sell" we mean sell to distributors, be it for a straight-to-DVD release, or small theatrical run, or what have you.
 
I have wondered this for years. I actually like indie horror better than hollywood Horror. I won't even watch the classics on DVD. Halloween should only be viewed on an old VHS tape. : )
 
I'm sure cost comes into the picture at some point. As someone mentioned, you need really good actors and a strong story for Drama. Sci Fi is really cool, but then you are talking props and effects, but you can get by with a little more in the story's plot holes- "F**kin' Aliens!" Action is much like Drama, but it is harder to pull off guns, car chases, stunts, and explosions with no budget, and again you need strong acting or face looking cheesy. That leaves Comedy, Romance, and Horror. Most guys won't attempt a Romance... unless you consider Porn romantic. Comedy is hard for some to pull off, without falling back on Slapstick. So that leaves Horror. Zombies are a no brainer, and look like a lot of fun. All you need is a bunch of people who can shuffle about in some make up, and there you go.
 
Because the two easiest things to do are either scare people... or make them sad.

Of those two choices, scaring them is way more fun. It all started with peekaboo as children... everybody likes surprises... which eventually translates to being scared, because when people are scared they feel alive... and it's a good feeling afterwards.
 
orchidsofwrath said:
I see what you guys are saying. But I'd love to see more action indy movies!
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Yes, action is an easy sale too. But like has been said it's more expensive and harder to make. You need trained people and good special effects. Locations seem to be more important too.

-Nate
 
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