Making a Horror Film on no budget?

Semiazas

Semiazas

Hey, I love horror films and I've always wanted to make one, a short or a feature (preferably a feature, but I guess that's plot and script dependent). But the thing is, I don't have any budget so I've gotta be minimalist and also quite conservative.
I'm partly asking for plot ideas and partly for tips on budgetless horror film making. I'd rather not do something like 'Paranormal Activity' though :P
 
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Most filmmakers just DO IT !! then figure out later it requires a highly dedicated cast & crew and LOTS of creativity. having proven yourself as a filmmaker helps too. Better to start small and work big. I did not listen myself.

If you have creativity and a GREAT story your odds of success are still pretty small. But only filmmakers stubborn enough to run their head thru a brick wall actually succeed, so good luck and wear head protection !

Im 2/3 of the way thru a no-budget thriller myself and it has been hard. Im very fortunate to have a great pool of talent available who is dedicated to making this thing work. I see that my fillmmaking skills need improvement, however I do feel that something watchable will be the end result. Time will tell.
 
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I guess the main problem is, with the lack of budget, I'm struggling to come up with an idea for a plot. I seriously have no ideas, so that's what I could do with some help starting, an idea.
 
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I thinking about working on a horror project as my first 'proper' film thing...

I think he temptation with horror is to think that the plot will take care of itself. There are different ways to do low budget horror but currently popular is the found footage way. I know that you say you're not keen on Paranormal Activity, but take a look at films like The Last Exorcism and Blair Witch. They'll help you overcome our lack of resources.

But also remember that you can take a fairly generic plot and make it good. At the end of the day people will judge horror films on two things: whether it looks good and whether it's scary.

Recycling plot ideas (werewolves, monsters, serial killers...etc) is part and parcel of the creative process with horror movies, you've judge got to make it scary. That's the difficult part, not coming up witness a story...
 
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I love Blair Witch ;)
I wanna do a 'real' sort of horror, so steer clear of supernatural elements and have the horror come from people. I don't know that I wanna do a slasher though just because it's completely done to death. I wanna create realistic horror and the fear being that it's real.
 
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Papertwinproductions said:
;)

P.S Checked TCB as promised. Eagerly awaiting January aswell!
Note: Still haven't seen "Winters' Bone". Browsing to see whether you've reviewed it...
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I saw it right while it was at the end of it's limited theatrical run so I didn't bother to review it :( I would recommend it though....

As for the OP, sorry for steering off topic, I agree that real horror is a scarier proposition. I would recommend seeing The Last Exorcism for two reasons:

1.) How effective and menacing the ambiguity of the supernatural can be. The girl is weird and does freaky stuff, but she could just be crazy. The film crew in the film always assume that there's a rational explanation and that works really well. Sure she screams, jumps out at people, writes stuff on walls...etc, but it's all stuff that could realistically happen to a disturbed young girl.

2.) How terrible the ending is. Take away that ambiguity and your ruin the whole movie. To quote the American, 'period'.

I'm starting to develop an idea that I have for a horror movie, based on a really short script that I wrote. The idea would be to make the terror something that is relatable. I would recommend watching a film called Eden Lake which is one of the few horror movies where the threat comes from something which is very earthly and mundane, but no less threatening for that...
 
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Semiazas said:
I love Blair Witch ;)
I wanna do a 'real' sort of horror, so steer clear of supernatural elements and have the horror come from people. I don't know that I wanna do a slasher though just because it's completely done to death. I wanna create realistic horror and the fear being that it's real.
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there are many good low budget horror filcks out there. One can copy their format, plot points, lighting and camera work, just rehash it in a different way is what Im wanting to do. Horror done well includes specific camera & lighting work to heighten the terror and suspense along with sound etc...Steal from the masters add your unique creativity and strive to perfect your skills.. Im dabbling in studying story structure and camera work along with the whole picture. NEXT big thing Im thinking is editing skills.
 
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I'm actually in the process of making a low-budget horror film too

It's alot harder than it seems, we've limited ourselves to a budget of between £300-£500, which will just about cover make-up effects.

My tips would be: When writing the script, keep the on-screen effects to a minimum, imply the horror through camera work and editing.
I'm aiming for a feature-length. So I've kept it dialogue heavy, but still relative to the plot.

For me, the main problem with low budget horror is keeping it interesting through dialogue.

Although, let's be honest, for me, a zombie film isn't great on budgeting...
 
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I think I said this in another thread: Horror on a budget might be hard. Chiller on a budget would be doable. Check out 'Don't look now'- sure, it's medium budget, and shot in Venice. But they conjure a great atmosphere but show you little.

It gave me nightmares for years.

But only filmmakers stubborn enough to run their head thru a brick wall actually succeed, so good luck and wear head protection !
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Haha. I'll remember this.
 
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Minimal locations that don't cost you money. Actors and crew that will work pro bono. Feed your actors and crew, but keep the cost down.

Have a script that suits your budget. No explosions or fancy sets.

Be creative.
 
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Semiazas said:
I love Blair Witch ;)
I wanna do a 'real' sort of horror, so steer clear of supernatural elements and have the horror come from people. I don't know that I wanna do a slasher though just because it's completely done to death. I wanna create realistic horror and the fear being that it's real.
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psychological! the human mind is just terrifying. the kinds of things we conjure up in our little minds is insane. I would go with something like that. you don't need the threat of death to be scary [like you mentioned, the slasher films.] I think a short about the insanity of a character is the way to go, that's what I usually focus on when I do [animated] horror. go inside their mind...just to see how freaking dillusional they are. you don't need fancy effects or a hyper complex story to do that. just a camera and a story.....[oh, and people.]

good luck with whatever you do.
 
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Semiazas said:
I love Blair Witch ;)
I wanna do a 'real' sort of horror, so steer clear of supernatural elements and have the horror come from people. I don't know that I wanna do a slasher though just because it's completely done to death. I wanna create realistic horror and the fear being that it's real.
Click to expand...

I would call that more of a thriller. Some thrillers do have supernatural elements, but if its not going to involve anything like ghosts or whatever, the only things you can focus on are pain and death. I can see what you mean though. You want it to be scary, but you don't want it to be scary because of zombies or serial killers. You just have to create a really tense atmosphere maybe with off screen deaths and the like.
 
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I know how you feel. I'm on my second movie (which I wanted to UP the antie on, and God is it hard) the first one is only 14 minutes long, but took a year and a half to make. It's all about time, patience, and being OCD enough to finish it with your insanity intact
 
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I've just completed co-directing a 10 minute horror short, it cost us £5.99. We just used what was at our disposal. The £5.99 was spent on a straight razor I demanded on having. Other than that, what's in the film was already in our possession.

We shot the film in and around my apartment. It's the only thing we have actually produced but we had to make something - even if we weren't 100% prepared. We had a basic premise and kept dialogue to a minimum, as we're non-professional actors. Hell, we didn't even have lighting!

If your curious as to how it came out, I've created a couple of trailers which you can see here:

http://vimeo.com/user8473339

We're currently finishing up the sound edit and we'll be done! We shot this on my Canon 550D.

Any ways,

Good luck and I hope you get something sorted.

Regards,

Phill.
441 Films
 
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Get out and travel. See what inspires you as a story. If the story inspires you, it will show in your production.

Some times finding a great shooting location can inspire a great story.

I llive in New York. Upstate New York has a lot of inspiration for horror and ghost stories. People know about Sleepy Hallow and Amityville in Long Island.

We have more great legends of ghosts and haunted mansions that never got turned into movies. Being on location can inspire a great script idea.
 
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