It is the beautiful reality of cinema that golden ages of films come when they are most needed. After the bursting of the disaster movie bubble in the early 2000’s, Hollywood films shifted more towards adaptions featuring our favorite superheroes/book characters, or even the rise of Neo-Noir following the death of it’s predecessor in the 1960’s. It is in this logic that I argue we are on the verge of the next great horror era, however large studios must play their role, the financial role.
In all of the ways people like myself bemoan the state of current horror movies, economics appears to be at the center of the many problems.While the genre has made countless strides in terms of special effects and cultural impact, the financial restrictions placed on the genre have become more problematic in recent years.
A horror film is often viewed as a low risk venture by major film studios because they relatively inexpensive to make. A budget of a few million dollars is created with minimal concern because of the two outcomes. Either the movie doesn't make it's budget back but it was so cheap to make that the loss isn't substantial, or it makes back it's cost relatively quickly and turns a profit because of how inexpensive production was.
While I am not opposed to inexpensive film making or success, my concern is that the business model has been more focused on cost cutting in the recent decades. Compare the Scream series, with it's A-list cast and iconic killer, to the supernatural Paranormal Activity franchise. When Scream 4 finished it's run in 2011, the franchise brought in just over 600 million dollars on a budget of 120 million with all the quotable lines and influence to show for it. Then there is Paranormal Activity, earned almost 900 million at the box office on a cumulative 28 million dollar budget for all 6 six films, with very little substance outside of a filming technique that has worn thin quickly.
This emphasis on cheaper film making as a means of maximizing profits lies at the problems of the modern horror genre. Instead of taking risks on more out of the box films, studios instead invest in production companies such as Blumhouse, that make run of the mill horror movies that rarely cost more than 5 million. On the off chance the movie makes a substantial amount money, sequels are made with a budget no more than 10 million dollars until the money train stops.
The unfortunate reality of recent horror film making is that the cheaper film making isn't benefiting the smaller studios anymore. An overwhelming amount of mainstream horror films now come from a handful of production companies that occasionally turn out an impact film. Creative control is bequeathed only to those who perpetuate the current system rather than change it for the better.
While great films are still being made on these small budgets, it is time for a different approach in the horror genre. While films like It Follows, The Witch, and The Babadook all took risks in making quality horror films and were properly executed by people who wanted to make something different on small budgets, perhaps allocating these director more money for the next project should be considered. Sequels can still be very profitable in a more open market, look at The Conjuring 2, a sequel with a 40 million dollar budget lead by quality actors that made 270 million dollars.
We are at the precipice of a new age in horror with these new projects and directors, but it is our job as consumers to hold studios to a higher standard for our films. Demand cheap films that take bold steps, demand larger budget films that do more, never stop demanding, because if we wish to be properly scared, it will not be cheap or easy.
