Hear Me Out: Making your debut feature a horror is the smartest choice
In the vast, unpredictable landscape of the film industry, one genre has consistently proven to be a refuge for both fledgeling filmmakers and seasoned directors looking to experiment: horror. Specifically, there’s a whole bunch of debut features which fall firmly in the horror category. This isn’t a fleeting fad. We can’t just dismiss this as a mere coincidence. When you peel back the layers of this eerie correlation, it quickly becomes apparent that it’s a methodical, carefully calculated strategy.
Horror, as a genre, has a unique, almost inherent ability to offer a low-risk, high-reward scenario for filmmakers. With minimal budgets, horror directors can construct an engaging narrative that taps into primal emotions, allowing filmmakers to make a substantial impact without needing to rely as heavily on star power or expensive set pieces. For a first-time director attempting to break into an industry brimming with competition, this is a more than alluring proposition. Even with regard to micro-budget filmmaking, there is a spectrum. At one end, there’s the attempt to make something that looks just polished enough that, if the audience squints, it could pass for a studio-made, theatrical movie. But then you have Sam Raimi, with his indelible, low-budget B-movie masterpiece, 1981’s The Evil Dead.
Cut to roughly 20 years later, the late 1990s and early 2000s were the golden era for micro-budget, debut feature horror films. In 1999, Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick released The Blair Witch Project, which was made on a shoestring budget of just $60,000. The film, a pioneering example of the found footage sub-genre, leveraged viral marketing to generate tremendous buzz and went on to gross a staggering $248million worldwide. I’ll do the math for you: that’s over 4,000 times what the movie cost. In other words: return on investment that most big-budget blockbusters can only dream of. And only in the realm of horror could you make a film on VHS which really features nothing other than some campers arguing in the woods.
In the footsteps of The Blair Witch Project, James Wan’s 2004 debut, Saw, was developed on a slightly larger budget of $1.2m. The psychological horror made a substantial impact on release, not only giving birth to a gore-soaked franchise that spans multiple sequels and is still going strong but also raking in over $100m at the box office. Once again, like Sánchez and Myrick’s film, the sandbox of horror allowed them to make such a culturally impactful movie.
One setting, dim lighting, and a handful of actors – the holy trinity of first feature parameters. Paranormal Activity, by director Oren Peli, coming three years after Saw, took the Blair Witch ethos and said, “We can do it cheaper”. The film, which cost a mere $15,000 to produce, utilised the found footage format to a great new 21st-century effect and managed to amass a shocking $193m worldwide.
Why your first film should be a horror
Fast forward to the current era, and the tradition of debut horror features has not just survived but evolved to new, ‘elevated’ heights. Today’s savvy filmmakers have discovered that horror not only allows for cost-effective storytelling but also opens the door for their narratives to reach wider audiences, thanks to the genre’s inherent and sustained marketability. For instance, Robert Eggers’ Sundance-winning 2015 debut, The Witch, was produced on a budget of $4m and grossed $40m. By immersing a deeply researched historical drama in the trappings of folk horror, Eggers created a hauntingly atmospheric film that was as critically acclaimed as it was commercially successful.
Similarly, Ari Aster’s Hereditary, which came three years later, made on a $10m budget, pulled in $80m at the box office. Beyond its commercial success, Hereditary was lauded for its artistic depth, reminding audiences that the horror genre can provide a fertile ground for exploring complex themes and character studies, all while guaranteeing a return on investment. As Aster himself told Vanity Fair the year of his debut release, “It begins as a family tragedy and then continues down that path, but gradually curdles into a full-bore nightmare.”
Only last week, another debut horror came in the form of Danny and Michael Philippou’s sensational, Talk To Me. Another A24 horror, this Aussie breakout straddles the line between arty and outright demonic. The genre presents a safer financial bet and offers a chance to reach an eager, genre-savvy audience ready to embrace new visions and voices. So, if you’re an aspiring director hoping to break into the film industry, what are you waiting for? The message is clear: a debut horror feature could be your golden ticket.
